Fife Chamber CEO update April 2023

I hope this update finds you well!

I am delighted to have taken over the role of Chief Executive of the Chamber and express my thanks to Ken Richards who has done an exceptional job over the last few months.

Your Team at the Chamber have been busy this month.

We hosted a reception for the Finalists of the Fife Business Awards at the Dean Park Hotel which was attended by 60+ finalists (I wish you all good luck on the night). We are now looking forward to the main event on the 19th of May at the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews. The Awards evening is now a complete sell-out with over 400 guests in attendance. I do look forward to meeting as many members as possible, old and new, on the night.

Earlier this month I was delighted to attend an event on Innovation. This was hosted by Fife Chamber and Margaret Teven from the Research and Innovation Services Department at the University of Dundee whose team provided some very interesting talks and discussions including the role of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and possible funding routes for Business Growth.

I always look forward to a Social and this Week’s Social on the 20th of April is at the Carnegie House – The business tycoon who gave it all away! This Spring Fife’s most relaxed networking event is being hosted by the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust within Andrew Carnegie House. Join us there on 20 April from 4pm.

In addition, we are looking forward to the Engaging Employer Workshop ‘Cake, Coffee and Careers’ led by our DYW (Developing the Young Workforce) Business Engagement Executive Amanda Liddell.

Come along to our FREE Employer workshops on Thursday 27th April at the Old Manor Hotel, Lundin Links and enjoy a coffee and a cake while speaking to employers who are already taking part in this fantastic initiative for Fife.

We also have the Open University Roadshow ‘Informative Skills for Business’ at the beginning of May. This is the perfect opportunity for employers to gain valuable insights and to discover what training is available.

Our AGM is on the 4th of May and all the information is now on the website.

I would like to also take this opportunity to welcome our new members joining us over the last month and look forward to meeting with them at future events and likewise thank our renewing members for their continued support. We continue to offer guidance and support to our members on a daily basis so if we don’t know the answer to your issue immediately, we do have the resources to achieve this.

On a business front, we are still getting feedback that trading is tough and that the Market is fairly stagnant. Hopefully, we are now heading down from the top of the inflation curve which will ease some of the pain and frustration over the last year. It is critical for Business that the new First Minister MUST engage with and listen to businesses as we have been ignored for too long now. We await to see what happens next….

Stephen Percy-Robb

CEO, Fife Chamber of Commerce