Reaching the Regions
Firstly, apologies for neglecting my blog in recent weeks. I would like to say it is because I have been lying on a beach in the Med being fed grapes and pina coladas by Carlos, without my PC and mobile device but, alas, I have been somewhat distracted with year-end and new fiscal year planning at Microsoft. Somewhat less glamorous, July and August have featured heavily trips to London, Reading and Brum. Sometimes through floods. But with the roof down.
Scott Dodds confirmed our support of a regional strategy a few weeks ago and it might surprise you to know that I have been spending quite a bit of time on the M40 to visit Aston Science Park and Advantage West Midlands, discussing the Regional Economic Strategy amongst other things.
They had some good news recently with the Ericsson investment and AWM have plenty of activities underway to increase the impact and profitability of the IT industry in the region. Hopefully Microsoft and BT can play an active role in closing the productivity gap.
Talking of active roles.....my favourite maverick, Sir Digby Jones, who hails from this region, was vocal in his support of investment in skills and training...
Sir Digby said the structure of the British economy was right for the challenges of global competition – but believes that a failure to properly invest in skills has held us back for too long.
“Globalisation is made for this country,” he said. “We are so open. We don’t do tariffs and subsidies. The one nation that is so free in engaging the world in business is us, but there are two things we need to put the ball in the net – financial investment and a broader skills base.”
“China and India will always beat us; Vietnam and Cambodia will beat them. The only way we can win is if we add value. You can’t do that without skilled people and a market that will buy those skills.
“If we don’t give people the skills, then we don’t sell anything around the world – it’s as simple as that. The only way we win is being able to sell the world something which has that added value.”
Our partnership with the Black Country Consortium - closely linked to Unlimited Potential - is one example of our commitment to the region and, through our work with the AWM leadership team, local universities and strong public and private sector partnerships, we are hoping to find the next generation of Ericssons and BT's. We're exploring ways to create more Innovation Centres and help students and entrepreneurs take their ideas to market. For me, its about finding the right balance between Technology Enablement and Business Enablement - Access to Finance being continually quoted as the biggest obstacle to growth.
It will be interesting to see what the new minister has planned for regional enterprise. In the meantime, we will continue our stints on the M40 and hope that we don't encounter too much traffic on our travels.
