Kingston Large Employers Forum

What does ‘large’ business mean in a Kingston context? There are only about 20 of these meeting the official’ definition of 250+ employees in the borough - think Unilever, Chessington World of Adventures - but between them they provide at least 10% of borough jobs. If we extended that definition to employers of 50 or more staff (large in our context) this rises to around just 130 businesses, likely to be providing at least a quarter of all borough jobs.

This means there is a relatively small number of businesses that bring a disproportionate economic benefit, through employment and local purchasing - while also sharing a range of opportunities and challenges including transport needs, recruitment and skills, and environmental considerations.

This is why we’ve initiated the Kingston Large Employers Forum - to bring shared attention to some of the borough’s strategic issues and opportunities. It reflects a part of the council’s objective to deliver ‘Together’ - a key theme of our new Council Plan. The forum kicked off in June with a focus on skills, employment and recruitment and the next on 2 November, will include a focus on a new economic development strategy for the borough, and how to address shared recruitment challenges.