3 minute read
CEO Update
NI Chamber Chief’s UPDATE
A new year brings with it new opportunities, fresh ideas, perspectives and in the current trading environment, unfortunately, continued challenges. At NI Chamber, we’re choosing to focus on the opportunities which 2022 presents, without taking our eye off the very real issues which many members continue to face.
At the end of last year, we hosted one of NI Chamber’s flagship annual events, the President’s Banquet. It was a wonderful evening in the company of colleagues and friends in business, as well as our inspirational guest speaker, Sir Mo Farah CBE. The theme of that event was ‘Moving Forward Together’ which was fitting, as we look towards new ways to prosper through partnership and collaboration.
On the night, our President, Paul Murnaghan, spoke about the unique opportunities of dual-market access, our incredible talent base and reputation for innovation. He challenged us all to re-imagine Northern Ireland’s position in the world as a global centre of creativity, innovation and prosperity. That’s a challenge the NI Chamber team certainly accept. But there is work to be done to get there and we continue to play our part in delivering it.
In the immediate term, we’re working extensively with the NI Business Brexit Working Group to keep issues highlighted to both EU and UK negotiators.
In late December, we published the results of a trade survey with Invest NI, which assessed the impact of Brexit, one year on. It showed that 84% of businesses in Northern Ireland are dealing with increased costs, with 89% reporting increases in the time it takes to transport goods to or from overseas. But despite the significant challenges, the report also illustrated the potentially huge benefits of dual-market access, with Northern Ireland companies reporting much more concrete plans to grow both domestically and internationally, compared to the UK average.
We know that that the re-introduction of COVID-19 restrictions has placed a heavy burden on some sectors, particularly in hospitality and tourism. They need sufficient support, for as long as is necessary, to compensate for the lack of business they are faced with. This is something we will continue to stress.
At NI Chamber, we are doing all we can to provide member businesses with practical support. We have an extensive package of services for exporters who are working under new trading arrangements and we are available to support and train any organisation which needs assistance. So if your team needs to up-skill in areas like Rules of Origin, customs declarations, commodity codes or incoterms, or indeed have bespoke requirements, please do get in touch to see how our in-house team of experts can help.
In January, we’re also launching a new Learn Grow Excel training prospectus. Following the success of last year’s courses, over the next few months we’ll be providing access to accredited training in digital strategy, sales and presentation skills. In 2021, over 100 people joined one of those courses and we hope that even more will do so this year.
In closing, I’m delighted to welcome our newest member businesses to NI Chamber, who represent many industries from media and technology, to manufacturing, agri-food and energy, as well as banking and professional services. We look forward to helping them, and all of our member businesses throughout the year ahead.
