‘Innovation is key to our recovery as a region’

Businesses must seize the opportunity to create a greener, more inclusive and resilient economic recovery, say those leading work in the region.

The West of England Recovery Taskforce was set up in 2020 to create more than 1,800 new jobs and provide some 22,000 training and skills placements each year as industries seek to build back in the wake of the pandemic.

A plan for the region sets out five key areas to focus on; including the creation of new jobs and safeguarding existing roles, training and skills to match opportunities, strengthening inclusion, prioritising green practices and creating healthier places to live and work.

Sammy Payne is the co-founder of Open Bionics, an award-winning robotics company based on All Saints’ Street, chair of the Creative Scale-Up board and a recovery taskforce member.

“Innovation is key to our recovery as a region,” says Sammy. “Organisations of all sizes are being helped to innovate, giving them access to expertise, funding and partnerships to bring new products and services to market. We’re already seeing creative and innovative businesses adapting, improving their resilience and making their ideas reality.”

The recovery plan also outlines how to harness the region’s creativity and diversity to protect and secure jobs, while building back greener and creating new opportunities.

Margot Day, the global director for risk, commercial & Legal for Buro Happold and a recovery taskforce member, is passionate about driving equality, diversity and inclusion.

“Having the opportunity to work on the West of England recovery plan has been really important to me to make sure that building back better means that everyone has access to training and job opportunities,” says Margot.

“Using changes in behaviour brought about by the pandemic we also need to seize the opportunity to build back cleaner and greener creating greener, healthier, more vibrant places to live and work.”

Heather Cooper, a director at Hargreaves Lansdown is a board member of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership and part of the team supporting the work of the taskforce. She sees the benefits of partnership working to achieve wider social aims.

“My involvement in the Local Enterprise Partnership and the recovery plan for the region has given me the opportunity to work alongside people in business, education and the public and third sector to make sure that the recovery plan is inclusive and will benefit people across the region,” says Heather.

£9.4m has been committed by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to support the recovery plan. Central to this is the dedicated business support service, the West of England Growth Hub, which provides SMEs with tailored one-to-one advice and access to finance, support programmes and expert guidance.

Commenting on the work being carried out, Patricia Greer, chief executive of WECA and the Local Enterprise Partnership, adds: “The recovery taskforce is made up of leaders from some key businesses from across the West of England, alongside universities and the public sector – working together on the recovery of our region. I am immensely grateful for the time and insight they have given to support our work as we have faced the impact of Covid-19.”

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