Greater opportunities for companies in South Cheshire to increase their overseas trade will be created through access to the new partnership set up to deliver UK Trade & Investment’s advice and services across the North West.
South Cheshire Chamber is part of Chambers of Commerce North West (CCNW), which has been awarded the contract to provide international trade support across the region, in a move that will improve prospects for growth by ensuring more funding goes directly towards helping businesses realise their overseas trade potential.
On Monday 18th June, Clive Drinkwater, UKTI’s Regional Director for the North West, and Colin Daniels, Chief Executive of Cheshire and Warrington Chambers of Commerce representing CCNW, formally launched the new organisation at Liverpool Chamber with partners including Northwest Development Agency, the Chambers, Business Link North West, local authorities and councils and North West Heads of Economic Development.
Based in the North West International Trade Centre in Manchester, and headed up by Caron Flitcroft, the streamlined set-up replaces the various sub-regional offices that previously delivered UKTI’s services, and will work with all 16 Chambers of Commerce in the North West to give coverage from Crewe to Carlisle. Under the new arrangements, the team of 36 International Trade Advisers (ITAs) continue to provide professional advice on all aspects of International Trade from market research and contacts in overseas markets to international trade processes and procedures – and will link with the International Trade Services provided through the Chambers such as export documentation, training and the worldwide Chamber network.
Each ITA has now been assigned a specialist sector such as Chemicals, Advanced Engineering, Food & Drink, Biotechnology, Digital and Creative Industries, Energy and Environment or Finance and Professional Services, and will be able to offer greater knowledge and opportunities by developing close links with appropriate partner organisations and integrating with Regional Cluster organisations and International Sector Groups.
Popular schemes such as Passport to Export, the flagship programme for new and inexperienced exporters, the Export Market Research Service (EMRS), Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) and Export Communications Reviews (ECR) will all be continuing, and there will also be a comprehensive programme of overseas market visits and incoming trade delegations, as well as help with more ambitious projects such as setting up joint ventures with help from the Strategic Alliance Service (SAS.)
Clive Drinkwater, Regional Director of UKTI North West says,
“The new partnership is an excellent opportunity to provide a truly first class service to North West businesses and ensure that the region remains at the forefront of British exporting excellence.
“In recent years the North West has been growing faster than England as a whole and has climbed from seventh to third place in terms of export activity, and we need to make sure we are in a position to capitalise upon this growth by raising the standard of international trade support and
improving the competitiveness of our companies in the global market.
“We believe the new arrangements will allow us to establish a UK and International best practice standard for the North West by offering a very high quality package of practical support from ITAs and support staff, together with a comprehensive offering of products and services which will be uniformly available to companies across the region.”
John Dunning, Chief Executive of South Cheshire Chamber commented
“Chambers of Commerce in the North West have an excellent track record in delivering a range of international trade services, but under the new arrangements working in partnership with UK Trade & Investment there will be even more opportunities for businesses to access support.
“It will help us to assist more companies and also operate a more targeted approach, with International Trade Advisers able to offer expert advice in a range of specialist sectors which will mean a vastly improved service for companies.”
The new service will also be able to ensure that UK Trade & Investment in the North West is a key contributor to achieving the vision for economic growth set out in UKTI’s 5 Year Strategy and the Northwest Development Agency’s Regional Economic Strategy.
For further information on UK Trade & Investment services, contact the North West International Trade Team Tel: 0845 603 7053 E-mail: info@uktinorthwest.co.uk
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