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LSBU chancellor co-hosts local business gathering with Southwark Chamber of Commerce
LSBU Chancellor Sir Simon Hughes hosts local business networking evening with Southwark Chamber of Commerce to encourage greater take-up of apprentices by local employersLondon South Bank University Chancellor, Sir Simon Hughes, co-hosted a gathering of local businesses with Southwark Chamber of Commerce on Monday 8 April at the University’s Passmore Centre for Apprenticeship.
During the evening, Sir Simon warmly addressed local business leaders and spoke about his experience of seeing the changing face of business in Southwark over the course of his 30-year long career as local MP.
Mindful of the current British political maelstrom caused by Brexit, which has been the cause of economic anxiety for many local businesses in London and beyond, Simon was keen to highlight the positive opportunities available to employers considering investing in the future of their business, by encouraging them to take on more LSBU apprentices.
While holding up a hefty copy of the UK’s draft Brexit Withdrawal agreement to demonstrate its daunting weight and thickness, Sir Simon spoke positively about the potential business opportunities ready and waiting to be exploited by local Southwark businesses. He highlighted the potential for local employers to work closely with LSBU to exploit the University’s cutting edge technology, package of support and skills training opportunities for apprentices.
The Chancellor mentioned this year’s Southwark Business Awards (SBA), which are sponsored by LSBU, as a recent example of a positive initiative supporting local businesses. The SBA awards are designed to showcase the best of Southwark’s 18,000 businesses and the winning business categories will be announced in June 2019.
Sarah Moore-Williams, Dean of LSBU’s Business School, who introduced the event said, “LSBU is very proud to be working closely with Southwark’s Chamber of Commerce to support business growth in our local area. In particular, we are delighted to be sponsoring the Southwark Business Awards 2019 which will enable us all to come together and celebrate our achievements and successes with the best of Southwark’s business community.”
LSBU’s aim is that, by 2020, 2000 people will have completed an apprenticeship and employer-sponsored programme at the University, as part of LSBU’s strategy for supporting professional and technical learning in the local community.