Cause for Optimism

NI Chamber Board members on business priorities and predictions for 2022

As firms across Northern Ireland look to the year ahead, NI Chamber Chief Executive and Executive Director Ann McGregor joins fellow Board members Vicky Davies, Andrea McIlroy-Rose and Gillian McAuley in outlining business priorities and predictions for 2022.

According to NI Chamber’s most recent Quarterly Economic Survey (QES), published in early January, businesses in Northern Ireland, broadly speaking, are feeling optimistic about prospects for their own organisations and for the regional economy this year.

Many of the region’s firms are making plans to invest and re-shore supply chains, continuing to explore new customers and markets in the UK, Ireland, Europe and Rest of the World.

For businesses to maximise the opportunity, government must create the conditions for business growth. The Department for the Economy has been active in this regard having recently published its long awaited Energy Strategy, launched Skills Strategy consultation and draft export strategy following on from the Department’s wider 10X Economic Strategy published in May.

NI Chamber Chief Executive Ann McGregor tells Ambition: “Whilst these strategies are welcome, progress is slower than expected especially as we emerge from COVID-19. It is important that there is a renewed focus on implementation, with key decisions being made before the forthcoming election purdah kicks in. It is particularly important that the NI Assembly is not dismantled any earlier as it will really damage local and international business confidence.

“Stability in the final phase of this NI Executive is very important for confidence. An Assembly election in May will see a new Executive formed. Whatever its make-up, it is also vitally important that the next set of Ministers keep business and the economy front and centre.”

And the reasons for keeping economy and business front and centre in 2022 are clear. Ann comments: “The economy/business needs to be a priority because it plays a fundamental role in delivering for people and communities. So when we talk about business, we should not see it in a narrow, profit driven sense. It’s about people’s livelihoods and their sense of purpose and wellbeing, communities and families, as well as taxes to run vital public services and the region.”

The delivery of key government strategies, along with the importance of political stability, are not the only issues of vital importance to businesses in 2022. Other challenge persist, with companies experiencing increased costs and paper-work, transport delays and difficulties with recruiting and retaining staff. These, coupled with the arrival of the Omicron variant and new COVID-19 restrictions in December, make for difficult circumstances. “Our MPs must do all that they can to ensure the voice of Northern Ireland is heard in Westminster in a coherent way in non-devolved matters impacting on business costs and to ensure we secure the rumoured benefits of levelling up,” says Ann.

The NI Chamber Chief Executive highlights that the strength of NI Chamber and its Board is helping members overcome these challenges. She comments: “In the midst of such unprecedented trading conditions, the NI Chamber Board, comprising individuals from top NI firms including Danske Bank, Devenish and Pinsent Masons, continues to play a central role in steering the course of the organisation’s priorities and preparing for the future.”

One of these Board members, Vicky Davies, is the recently appointed CEO at Danske Bank and she’s aware of the many unknowns facing firms right now, telling Ambition, “At this point, there is considerable uncertainty about the economic outlook. With regards to economic growth, at Danske Bank we think the annual rate of expansion in 2022 is likely to remain relatively strong. However, there are a number of challenges that could affect the economy, including the potential impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant, high inflation, supply chain disruption and labour shortages.”

Andrea McIlroy-Rose, Head of Pinsent Mason’s Belfast, is also a Board member of NI Chamber. Andrea comments: “Whilst it is very difficult to try to forecast with any accuracy how the NI economy will perform this year, our local market has proved to be surprisingly resilient at a time of enormous change and uncertainty. In spite of the challenges presented by COVID and the continuing impact of Brexit there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the future and to believe that this year will be a positive one in terms of growing our economy.”

For Gillian McAuley, Group HR Director at Devenish Nutrition and current NI Chamber Vice-President, one of the biggest priorities for Devenish and Northern Ireland as a whole, is addressing the skills challenge.

“Northern Ireland has had a skills shortage for decades, which has been exacerbated since the onset of the pandemic. Whilst the proportion of people in employment has risen consistently for six years, high levels of longterm economic inactivity remain.

“We need to invest in languages and digital skills, increase apprenticeship numbers, deliver wrap-around support for people with no or low qualifications and develop a flexible and cost effective immigration system that ensures fast access to skills when they can’t be recruited locally. If we are to really tackle the growing skills problem, we need to start at school level, amending the curriculum for subjects at all levels to include both ‘systems skills’ like robotics, and coding, as well as

“The NI Chamber Board, comprising individuals from top NI firms including Danske Bank, Devenish and Pinsent Masons, continues to play a central role in steering the course of the organisation’s priorities and preparing for the future.”

‘human skills’ such empathy and strategy, which are required for work in a more digitised future.”

As the current NI Chamber representative on the new NI Skills Council, Gillian continues: “In the long-term, investing in the skills of our population is one of the key levers at our disposal to stimulate economic development and address social inequality, which is why it must be a priority this year. Last year’s 10X Skills Strategy has provided a roadmap to start tackling the problems and the current Independent Review of Education is a real opportunity to ensure that every young person can benefit from a high-quality education.”

Gillian concludes: “2022 must therefore be about funding the solutions adequately and rolling them out without delay. The problem is though, the required level of finance is not in place to do this – and until that’s resolved, change on the scale that we need simply won’t be achieved.”

Whilst acknowledging the central role of policy makers in creating the conditions for businesses to grow in 2022, Vicky Davies was also keen to conclude by highlighting the crucial role that business people themselves have to play in recovery and economic prosperity for the future.

She commented, “There has always been change in the business world, but never have we seen such speed of change and uncertainty. My advice for business leaders would be to embrace change, be agile and reposition their businesses for success. It’s not an easy time for business leaders, and bringing colleagues on the change journey with them will be instrumental to ensuring success.”

The sentiment was shared by Andrea McIlroy-Rose, who added, “NI business leaders are used to facing uncertainty and overcoming difficulties that other regions have not had to and so will be well placed to deal with the unprecedented social and economic effects of the pandemic. The ability to embrace change, seize the opportunities presented by our unique position in the UK and European markets and adjust to the new agile and flexible working models that are now an integral part of our working environment are key to the continued growth and success of our local businesses.”

Vicky Davies, Chief Executive, Danske Bank

“The pandemic has brought many challenges for the UK banking industry, including multiple government support schemes launching rapidly, increased customer vulnerability and increasing expectations on the digital banking side. Customers today, be it customers considering current accounts, or businesses reviewing their banking services, want more; more options, including greater personalisation, faster solutions, self-service, and the ability to bank anytime and anywhere with immediate and effective human intervention, when required. In 2022 banks need to continue to transform at pace to meet expectations, while maintaining their fundamental role in supporting consumers, businesses and the economy.”

Andrea-McIlroy Rose, Head of Pinsent Masons Belfast

“2021 proved to be a very strong year for Pinsent Masons and one of the busiest we have had in terms of transactions. As we start the new year, activity levels continue to be very high across our global network and that remains the case in NI and across our other UK and Irish offices.

“Pinsent Masons is unique in being a purpose-led professional services business with law at its core and for the last few years our focus has been purposeful growth where we put clients, communities, people and the planet before pure profit and this seems to have resonated very strongly with both our colleagues and clients as they have faced such unforeseen difficulties in their personal and working lives; it provides the platform for our optimistic plans for growth in the years ahead.”