Greater Manchester Chamber - Up Front

GMCC

A fresh take on business, policy, and the big issues shaping Greater Manchester. Brought to you by Lucy Mulligan and Chris Fletcher from Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. This podcast puts local business voices at the heart of the conversation — from breaking down government decisions to spotlighting opportunities for growth. Join us as we explore the policies, opportunities and insights that matter to our members.

  1. 11/06/2025

    International Trade Week: Focus on 5-1-2

    As part of International Trade Week, we speak to Chris of 5-1-2 (Manchester) Ltd, the official sponsor of Greater Manchester Chamber’s International Trade Training programme. 5-1-2 (Manchester) Ltd is offering members the opportunity to participate in a short placement at its office, giving them the chance to see how a freight forwarder deals with your shipments and to learn how rates are calculated directly from the experienced team. Find out more about 512 (Manchester) Ltd here or contact Chris at chris@5-1-2.com for more information. For more details about the Chamber's International Trade Training Programme, please visit our page here or contact exportbritain@gmchamber.co.uk.

  2. 07/16/2025

    Up Front - Cutting Through the Noise

    Join Chris Fletcher and Lucy Mulligan as they dive into the Chamber’s critical role in shaping policy — and why it matters to you. 🔹 Spending Review unpacked – what it means for businesses🔹 10-Year Infrastructure Plan – the big wins for Greater Manchester🔹 Industrial Strategy (IS8) – where opportunity meets ambition🔹 US Tariffs – what businesses need to know right now🔹 Business Mood Check – clarity, confidence and local resilience Policy affects everything from how you hire to how you grow. This episode explains what’s coming, what it means, and how Greater Manchester businesses can not only respond but influence what happens next.

  3. 09/11/2024

    Talking Skills: Progress in tackling your skills gaps

    In this next episode in the series of podcasts from the Chamber's Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) team, we discuss our latest progress report approved by the Department for Education. Chris Fletcher, the Chamber's policy director and GM LSIP contract director, starts by giving us an overview of the political landscape in the UK right now, and what that means for skills and the LSIP project. The LSIP progress report lists the new training and courses that have been put in place since we highlighted the skills gaps affecting businesses in our first LSIP report in summer 2023, and Chris talks about how the LSIP findings fit into the current skills landscape in Greater Manchester, and how businesses can get involved in the next stage of the project. ⁠Follow this link to read the LSIP progress report⁠ and if you'd like to get in touch with the Chamber's LSIP team, email ⁠gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk⁠. To find out more about the GM LSIP, visit our website: ⁠gmlsip.co.uk⁠. Thanks for listening!

    Talking Skills: Progress in tackling your skills gaps

  4. 08/01/2024

    Talking Skills: It's all in the mindset...

    Talking Skills is the new name for the podcast that examines the research, findings and insights emerging from the Chamber's work on the Greater Manchester Local Skills Improvement Plan (GM LSIP). Our latest guest is Beau Ormrod, owner of FocalPoint Coaching. Beau is not only an executive coach, but he's also an advocate of the Positive Intelligence programme, which focuses on mental fitness and wellbeing. Business training has been a prominent area of research for the GM LSIP, as the team has been working to understand how many businesses train their teams, and what types of training are lacking or missing the mark. Beau sheds some light on how businesses need to tackle training to ensure that employees get the most out of it, and provides some invaluable tips on how to improve engagement and retention amongst staff. You can find out more about Beau and FocalPoint Coaching here: https://beauormrod.focalpointcoaching.com/ and contact him via the links here: https://miitap.me/profile/zLgiB3hpp. And you can learn more about the GM LSIP via https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/. To contact the GM LSIP team, email gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk.

    Talking Skills: It's all in the mindset...

  5. 06/17/2024

    The GM Local Skills Improvement Plan - Episode 15: Supporting Providers and GM Residents

    In this episode of the Chamber's Local Skills Improvement Plan podcast, we're joined by Julie Lappin, Executive Director at Greater Manchester Learning Provider Network (GMLPN) and Subrah Krishnan-Harihara, Deputy Director of Research at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Julie talks about the wide range of GMLPN-run programmes and initiatives designed to support learning providers and Greater Manchester residents, including ASK (Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge in Schools), Multiply, which helps to support Further Education providers in delivering maths skills across Greater Manchester, and a project which aims to support autistic individuals into apprenticeships. Subrah and Julie also discuss the changing skills system in Greater Manchester - the integrated technical education system - and the alternative pathways that this will provide for young people entering the workforce through work-based learning. They also look at some of the challenges facing learning providers, such as recruitment in FE Colleges. Subrah talks about the importance of understanding the skills and recruitment challenges impacting businesses and how, through that data, we can help to make the changes to skills provision that employers need. For more information about the Greater Manchester Local Skills Improvement Plan, visit: https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/ and to contact the team, email: gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. For further information about Greater Manchester Learning Provider Network, visit: https://gmlpn.co.uk/.

    The GM Local Skills Improvement Plan - Episode 15: Supporting Providers and GM Residents

  6. 04/25/2024

    The GM Local Skills Improvement Plan - Episode 14: Sparking the Conversation

    This episode of the podcast from the Chamber's Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) team focuses on the skills shortages affecting the electrical trades. We are joined by the chief operating officer at the Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA), Andrew Eldred; the operations director at 24-7 Group, Matt Longworth; and the Chamber's deputy director of research, Subrah Krishnan-Harihara. We discuss some of the main skills shortages affecting businesses in the electrical and technical engineering industries, and, as there is only 1 electrician for every 368 people in Greater Manchester*, we hear about some of the problems and possible solutions to getting more apprentices and skilled individuals into the industry. Subrah talks about what businesses in Greater Manchester can do if they are affected by skills shortages, and why it's so important to get a dialogue going between employers and skills providers. Tune in and let us know your thoughts! You can contact the Chamber's LSIP team via gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk, and read our published reports on skills shortages here: https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/. More information about the Electrical Contractors' Association can be found at https://www.eca.co.uk/ To read the ECA's Charter to Recharge Electrical Skills, click here. Finally, you can find out more about Matt's company and the work they do via https://24-7group.co.uk/. *Source: Electrical Contractors' Association.

    The GM Local Skills Improvement Plan - Episode 14: Sparking the Conversation

  7. 04/23/2024

    The GM Local Skills Improvement Plan - Episode 13: We love it when a plan comes together...

    In this episode of the podcast from the Chamber's Local Skills Improvement Plan team, Richard Caulfield, Senior Policy Manager at the Greater Manchester Colleges Group, is back in the hot seat to update us on how the funds from the Local Skills Improvement Fund are being spent, and crucially, when learners will be able to reap the benefits of this. Richard also tells us about another fund - the Further Education Innovation Fund - and how businesses across Greater Manchester will be able to take advantage of it. Chris Fletcher, Policy Director at the Chamber, provides further information about the development of the Local Skills Improvement Plan and talks about how businesses can still get involved. Further information about the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan can be found here: https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/ To contact the team, email gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. For more information about the Local Skills Improvement Fund, visit: https://gmcg.ac.uk/lsif/. And to find out more about the Further Education Innovation Fund, visit: https://gmcg.ac.uk/feif/. If you'd like to attend the Innovation Roadshow that Richard mentions in this podcast, which is taking place at Wigan & Leigh College on 10th May, you can book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-reality-in-business-cdi-roadshow-wigan-tickets-875897662487

    The GM Local Skills Improvement Plan - Episode 13: We love it when a plan comes together...

  8. 03/05/2024

    The GM Local Skills Improvement Plan - Episode 12: Build a new relationship...with your local college

    In this podcast, we're joined by Rebecca Durber, NW Area Director & Senior Policy Lead for Skills Reform at the Association of Colleges (AOC). Rebecca speaks to us off the back of the latest AOC campaign, Colleges Week 2024, where colleges across the region focused on influencing local political representatives, engaging with their stakeholders (including the business community), and celebrating their successes. As well as highlighting the positive work that colleges do in engaging with businesses in local areas and helping relieve skills shortages, Rebecca gives some useful ways in which businesses can get involved with their local colleges...ask what you can do for your college! Tune in to find out more. If you'd like to learn about the AOC and the work it does, visit: https://www.aoc.co.uk/about-us/aoc-regions/aoc-n-w. For more information about the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan, visit https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/ or contact us via gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. Thanks for listening!

    The GM Local Skills Improvement Plan - Episode 12: Build a new relationship...with your local college
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A fresh take on business, policy, and the big issues shaping Greater Manchester. Brought to you by Lucy Mulligan and Chris Fletcher from Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. This podcast puts local business voices at the heart of the conversation — from breaking down government decisions to spotlighting opportunities for growth. Join us as we explore the policies, opportunities and insights that matter to our members.

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