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Chamber Locates with College in the Heart of Doncaster

Doncaster Chamber is moving to a new location in order to better serve the local business community and from 11th October will be working alongside one of its key strategic partners, Doncaster College.

The Chamber staff will be moving into the Doncaster Business Innovation Centre (DBIC) but the Membership, Policy and Corporate Teams will soon be working in Doncaster’s town centre at The Hub; meanwhile the Chamber’s Business Support and International Trade Teams will remain based at the (DBIC) just off White Rose Way.

Commenting on the move, the Chamber’s President Nigel Brewster, says:

“Throughout my Presidency of the Chamber I have focused the organisation’s energies on building key strategic partnerships with the Mayor, DMBC, Doncaster College, Business Link and many others.

“I am delighted that these partnerships have progressed to the extent that we can now co-locate with one of our partners in this way and demonstrate to the local business community just how closely their Chamber is working with Doncaster College on the issues that are important to them.  This is particularly the case in such difficult economic times when we must all work together to deliver the best possible offer for business.””

The Chamber’s Business Support Team will be joined at DBIC by Donbac, an organisation that provides loan finance to local businesses and entrepreneurs; this will ensure that Doncaster businesses can access a joined up and comprehensive enterprise service with DBIC increasingly serving as a real one stop shop for business support.

Locating the Chamber’s staff within DBIC will make strategic sense and support the College in making its business incubator an increasingly attractive offer for new business start ups.  The Chamber’s presence at DBIC will also complement the work it currently delivers under the Success Doncaster contract whereby Chamber staff are active in Doncaster communities and provide business support at a grassroots level.

Commenting on the Chamber’s new location Howard Gannaway, Chief Executive, of the Chamber, says:

“From a policy and lobbying point of view, local businesses have, for a long time, identified the skills agenda as their top priority for the Chamber.  The Chamber working within The Hub therefore sends a very powerful message to all partners about the importance that the Chamber, on behalf of its business members, attaches to training and education.

“After completing a robust Skills Audit of Doncaster in 2009 the Chamber has worked increasingly hard with partners such as DMBC and Doncaster College to ensure that today’s learners have the skills necessary to join tomorrow’s workforce.  Physically positioning the Chamber within DBIC and The Hub will play a key part in supporting this work as projects like ‘Student Chamber’ come to fruition and exciting new links are forged between business and education.”

Commenting on the move, Doncaster College’s Principal and Chief Executive George Trow says:

“The Chamber is a key partner of Doncaster College.  For a long time businesses have been challenging partners in education to meet their skills needs; the Chamber’s decision to locate at the College is a real indication of how seriously they take that challenge and how committed they are to working with education and training providers like ourselves to help ensure that skills supply meets skills demand in Doncaster.”

Local businesses will also be pleased to see the Chamber relocating back into Doncaster’s town centre.  Recent developments such as Frenchgate, combined with pending assets such as the Civic and Cultural Quarter and Church View, demonstrate the vibrancy of Doncaster’s urban centre; it is important therefore that the Chamber can act as an ambassador for the town centre, particularly at a time when DMBC’s ambitious Local Development Framework is acknowledging the need for further regeneration in areas such as Marshgate and the Waterfront.

With the Chamber Membership Team soon to be working within the Hub this will ensure that any businessperson can effectively walk in off the high street to seek business advice and assistance; a progressive approach to delivering business support and representation that the Chamber hopes will pay dividends for the town and its economy.