VISION 2026

West Cheshire and North Wales Chamber of Commerce is the leading organisation representing the business community across the whole of West Cheshire and North Wales. As an independent, not for profit organisation, our objectives remain clear: to promote and encourage business for our members and others regionally, nationally and internationally through our global network to improve commercial growth and prosperity.

Vision 2026 focuses on four priority areas in the next three years, that will enable businesses to thrive:

Bridging the Employment and Skills

gap across West Cheshire and North Wales.

Promoting International Trade and supporting businesses to navigate the changing landscape.

Creating enhanced Infrastructure & Connectivity for our region to meet the needs of businesses. and North Wales.

Focusing on Climate Challenge and the increased demands on businesses to be more sustainable.

Laying the foundations for a sustainable economy in our region

As we launch Vision 2026, businesses have faced enormous challenge and change in recent years; from EU withdrawal, Covid-19 and more recently, the cost-of-living and energy crisis. Building on our existing vision, we aim to continue enhancing the Chamber, drive our economy forward, and celebrate achievements as we continue to act as the authentic voice of business across our region.

Employment & Skills

A skilled workforce is the lifeblood of successful businesses across the region, however, there have been unprecedented challenges for businesses in recent years following the Covid pandemic and the UK exiting the EU.

Many sectors are still struggling to overcome recruitment and training difficulties in striving to meet their growth ambitions. These issues are compounded by the cost-of-living crisis and rising energy costs.

The world of work and ways of working are changing, businesses will see shifts in supply chain and business processes. In addition, they will need to respond to new job requirements, working patterns and upskilling and reskilling challenges as businesses embrace digitalisation, automation and climate challenge.

Across West Cheshire and North Wales, there is an ageing workforce which presents challenges of replacement demand in some sectors as over 65-year-olds leave the workforce. We intend to be at the forefront of driving skills priorities.

International Trade

EU withdrawal has had a significant impact on businesses that trade internationally with new customs procedures, new documentation, and the impact of new trade agreements. Further changes in customs procedures and IT platforms are also being phased in.

In the light of these changes and the impact the pandemic has had, businesses will need greater support and access to information.

Importing is also crucially important to the wider economy, providing key products and services for consumers. Imports also play a key part in manufacturing and processing supply chains and supporting

Infrastructure & Connectivity

Increasing digitalisation requires innovative solutions to improve the transport network and to meet the evolving needs of businesses. As businesses move to more sustainable solutions for transporting people and goods, there remains a disparity in the quality of the transport network across various parts of our region.

The scale of the challenge for businesses across West Cheshire and North Wales relating to transport infrastructure should not be underestimated. Many business leaders tell us that they do not feel that the current transport system supports the needs of businesses. This problem is compounded by the timescales for planning infrastructure and the cost involved with some of the larger projects.

Covid restrictions highlighted the importance of improving connectivity as businesses learned to trade and work more flexibly during the pandemic. The introduction of superfast broadband ongoing innovation and product development. across our region goes part way towards laying the communication foundations but improvements must keep pace with business demand. Further work must also be done to support businesses to access new technologies, respond to new opportunities and keep pace with the speed of change. This is essential if businesses in West Cheshire and North Wales are to compete on a global platform.

Research by the British Chambers of Commerce has shown that internationally active businesses are more productive and resilient. It also shows that exporters are more likely to be innovative and introduce new products, services or production methods than those businesses which don’t export.

The world of trade is changing, new markets are emerging, greener, sustainable goods and services are being developed and we have an opportunity to be leaders in this new wave of commerce for years to come.