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Throughout the year, the West Midlands Growth Company hosts a number of prestigious dinners with senior leaders across the region. Each event focuses on a key sector of strength for the West Midlands, inviting industry experts and commentators to discuss the opportunities and challenges that we are facing together. 

By hosting representatives from business, the public sector and academia, we aim to bring together people who might not have had the opportunity to meet before – but would certainly benefit from these new connections. This also ensures that the creative and ambitious ideas being developed here are shared, and supported, as widely as possible. Key sectors covered by the dinners have included advanced manufacturing; technology; food and drink; business, property and construction; and life sciences. 

Partnerships have been a vital component of the West Midlands’ recent success. From its strong performance in attracting foreign direct investment, to securing the UK’s first multi-city 5G testbed and events like the Commonwealth Games and City of Culture – local collaboration has been constantly cited as a reason why we are viewed as a leading destination for businesses, investment and tourism. 

The range of topics covered at our dinners have included opportunities in the rail sector, Industry 4.0, the West Midlands Local Industrial Strategy, and the growth of the region’s tech ecosystem. Having attended several of the events it is clear that, regardless of the industry you operate in, many businesses are addressing similar issues – from recruitment and the skills gap, to growing local supply chain networks. They are also excited about many of the region’s upcoming developments and opportunities. The growth of the West Midlands’ tech infrastructure and its young, diverse workforce have been discussed at several of the dinners.   

One of our more recent and most successful events focused on the property sector. Representatives from construction firms, property agents, developers, the public sector and universities were joined by specialists within our professional services industry. This led to an insightful and lively conversation about subjects ranging from building a smart and sustainable urban landscape, to capitalising on improvements to the region’s transport infrastructure. 

If you would like more information on our sector dinners, please email the team at partners@wmgrowth.com.

Nicola Hewitt
Commercial Director

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