The Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, Sizewell C Supply Chain team have held their first ‘in person’ event in almost 2 years,
“Refuelling the workforce of Sizewell C” was an event dedicated to the catering sector from across the Anglia region. The morning was full of insight, advice, guidance and direction for the many businesses who were in attendance. With over 100 people joining the teams from the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and Sizewell C, it was a wonderful example of how Suffolk and the surrounding region is ready to deliver on the call to action for the Nuclear new build. The attendees stretched across the catering spectrum, from small SME’s producing single product ranges, through to wholesalers, and even large-scale catering providers.
The event itself, held at Trinity Park in Ipswich, featured speakers from Sizewell C where we gained a greater understanding of how the Sizewell C project is vitally important on a local level, especially regarding the need to leave a legacy in our region. We heard from South-West Larder (the current catering provider on Hinkley Point C in Somerset) on their experiences and lessons they have learnt over the years working on the nuclear build down in Somerset. Finally, the New Anglia LEP helped us understand the ways in which they can support business to take advantage of the opportunity that Sizewell C will offer as well as the support they have offered the project. In addition, the event was supported by East Coast College, the Growth Hub and BEE Anglia. The event also had representation from the Sizewell C Consortium, with Suffolk company VERTAS joining us to find out more about the opportunities that the project would offer them.
After each presentation from the speakers, it was pleasing to see the interaction between the speakers and the guests, with some excellent question and answer sessions and some great insight from the local businesses on how the project could be delivered.
After the main presentation had finished, many of the businesses in attendance remained to discuss their thoughts and observations with the Sizewell C Supply Chain team and to help understand how they can form part of this incredibly exciting project. It was also extremely evident how businesses in our region are open to working together to deliver this vital project, not just for Sizewell C, but for the wider goal of creating a local supply chain that is fit for the future of our region. We enjoyed hearing many businesses speaking of how they are looking to create joint ventures and collaborations to help secure greater opportunities that Sizewell C will bring them
Feedback from all who attended was incredibly positive, with an air of excitement and enthusiasm as people left to consider their next steps. Whilst the Suffolk chamber and Sizewell C were never in doubt, it is now abundantly clear that this region can deliver on the key promises that have been set out as part of the plans to build Sizewell C on the Suffolk Coast.
With the project now moving into the decision stage, after many months of consultations with the planning inspectorate, we are excitedly awaiting the final verdict from the government in the spring of 2022. As we move closer to a potential start date for the build, we will be increasing our engagement through events and communications with our registered businesses. With this in mind, we urge all registered businesses to re visit your portal entry. Update and improve your entries to include all services and solutions you can provide to this project. We want to give your business the best chance possible to benefit from the building of Sizewell C…. the Supply Chain Portal is the most important avenue in assisting us in making this happen.
We look forward to meeting with many of you in the coming months. If the team can help you understanding how you can access funding, skills advice, support achieving your own Net Zero or just support in meeting similar businesses locally, to proactive boost your own local supply chain, then do not hesitate to get in touch with us.