Member Article

CBI North East plan for trust and young people

Trust in business and the role of businesses in keeping young people in the region were the main topics on the agenda at the CBI North East’s first Christmas debate last week. CBI (Confederation of British Industy) director general Richard Lambert hosted the event at The Lit & Phil and Mining Institute in central Newcastle in a ‘Question Time’ style.

The debate was led by Mr Lambert, who stated that loss of trust could be attributed to a number of factors. These included a small number of unfortunate failures by businesses, and the impact of globalisation - meaning that businesses were less connected to the communities in which they operated. He said that it was a major challenge for businesses to become more centered and valued at the heart of society, and this can only be done by better communication on the role and impact of business activities on the lives of each and every member of the community of the North East.

The event also included a novelty Christmas bauble poll of business leaders, which asked them for their opinion on the most important issue to them in 2007. The response which came back identified that working with schools and young people was vital for future economic security. CBI North East co-owns the Aspire campaign that aims to change the cultural trend of young North Easterners looking to other areas of the UK for employment opportunities.

Mary Coyle, Aspire’s incoming chief executive, said: “It is a pleasure to be involved in such a high profile debate that quickly brought the issue of young people to the forefront of business agenda, which is encouraging to see. Tonight we agreed businesses must work much harder to communicate their message to young people, but it was also confirmed that this is not an easy task. “It is not enough to just turn up on their doorstep; businesses need to expect it may take some time to work out a mutually beneficial relationship with the education system, but it will be worth it in the long run.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .