Simon Richards, Finance Director of beam and Managing Director of Convenus commented
“We called upon the Chancellor to provide support more specifically appropriate to our industry and its issues and there was none. That highlights again the need for everyone to support the work of all those who are endeavouring to build within government awareness and understanding of our industry and its distinctive issues. The SIC codes are increasingly important in this.
“We specifically wanted help with recruiting more young people into the industry and to address staff shortages. We welcome the new concept of Returnerships and the expansion of Childcare provisions as both of these may well bring new people into our industry where they will be trained and also bring back experienced staff.
“However initiatives such as the Events Apprenticeships scheme are vital to the future of our industry but they need government seed money to kick start them and a re-think on how the levy works. It is disappointing that there isn’t any consideration in the Budget for this.”