Essex Developer Engagement Events

By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property

Essex County Council (ECC) has announced the first of a series of developer engagement events. A webinar discussing the industry’s role in skills and training will be held on Tuesday 10th November between 4.10pm and 5.15pm. 

ECC would like to hear views and discuss how industry can help to shape and benefit from the skills agenda. The Essex economy has always relied on SMEs and, as a result, unemployment has never been a significant issue in the county. However, with up to a third of Essex’s workforce unemployed through job loss or the furlough scheme, offering people the opportunity to learn, (re)train and find work in Essex has never been more important.  

The threshold for contributions towards training, in the form of the preparation of an Employment and Skills Plan, is set to be reduced from 200 to 50.  

• What opportunities are there through developer contributions to offer meaningful skills pathways for Essex residents?  

• How could developer contributions support the development industry now and in the future through apprenticeships and other routes?  

The chair for the event will be Cllr Tony Ball (ECC Cabinet Member for Economic Development). He will be joined by Cllr Ray Gooding (ECC Cabinet Member for Education and Skills), Hassan Shammi (ECC Commissioner for Skills Development), Richard Dixon (Director from Wilmott Dixon) and Will Allanson (Deputy Principal from Harlow College).  

The webinar will be held online via Teams. You do not need to download Teams in order to join. Please email Alethea Evans (alethea.evans@essex.gov.uk) and she will forward the invitation.