Join us at the historic Hanse House in Kings Lynn for a session of networking.
Agenda 07:30 – Event Start and Networking 09:00 – Welcome by Norfolk Chambers of Commerce 09:30 – Networking 10:00 – Event Close Speaker TBC
Who is it for? Anyone is welcome at this event, and it is open to both members and non-members. Refreshments We will be providing a selection of coffee/tea/water and squash. Please inform us of any dietary requirements upon booking. Cancellation policy If you have booked tickets for this event and can no longer attend, please notify us at hello@norfolkchambers.co.uk.
The UK Internal Market White Papersets out policy options to protect the flow of goods and services across the UK borders between England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales after the end of transition period.
Commenting on the government’s launch of the white paper and associated consultation, BCC Director General Adam Marshall said:
“Businesses in all four nations of the UK will want to examine the detail of these proposals.
“No business should have to face additional costs when trading between the four nations of the UK, now or into the future. The UK government and the devolved administrations must work together to create a clear framework that gives businesses in every nation of the UK the same opportunities to trade and compete following the end of the transition period.
“A fragmented system would create additional costs, bureaucracy and supply chain challenges that could disrupt operations for firms across the UK.
“As these proposals progress, business communities will want practical considerations – not politics – at the heart of the debate.”
Commenting on the announcement of the government’s Kickstart Scheme, allowing employers to offer government-subsidised work placements for young people aged between 16-24 who are claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment, BCC Co-Executive Director Claire Walker said:
“The Kickstart Scheme will help firms create and support thousands of opportunities for young people, maintaining their access to the job market and driving the UK’s economic recovery.
“The Chancellor has responded to our calls to prioritise work experience and job opportunities for those entering the world of work at a particularly challenging time. The Chamber network stands ready to work with government on the detail of the scheme to ensure it is successfully delivered on the ground.
“This announcement must form part of a wider plan to boost business confidence and protect livelihoods as we restart, rebuild and renew the UK economy.”
Course dates: 11 days from 18th May 2026
Exam date: 9th June 2026
Location: Terrington St John,
Wisbech
Take the next step in your
transport career with our Transport Manager CPC Training for Road Transport.
Delivered through a CILT Approved Centre, this course provides the knowledge
and competence required to manage transport operations legally, safely, and
efficiently.
Course Overview:
– Full coverage of the syllabus required to become
a qualified Transport Manager
– Transport legislation, compliance, and operator
licensing
– Drivers’ hours, tachographs, and working time
requirements
– Transport operations, maintenance systems, and
vehicle safety
– Financial management, record keeping, and audit
readiness
– Road safety, health & safety, and risk
management
– Examination preparation and support
Why enrol with CTS Training:
– As a CILT Approved Centre, we deliver
high-quality, industry-recognised training that reflects current regulations
and best practice
– Gain a recognised, industry-standard
qualification
– Improve your career prospects within the
transport and logistics sector
– Ensure your organisation meets legal
requirements for professional competence
– Benefit from expert instruction and
comprehensive exam preparation
Book your Transport Manager CPC
training on 01945 880155 or training@ctservicesltd.co.uk
Over the coming months, you will all have a role to play in shaping a new Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk.
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership is working with local authorities and businesses to develop a strategy which outlines our ambitious vision for the future. It will look at how we build on our strengths to make the most of our region’s opportunities.
Consultation is key to the success of this piece of work as it is you – the local businesses – who will create jobs, innovate and drive economic growth.
Our current plan runs to 2026 and sets out ambitious targets to create:
• 95,000 more jobs by 2026 • 15,000 new businesses by 2026 • 117,000 new homes by 2026 • Increased productivity (added value per job) to equal the national average We are on track to reach many of these targets and where progress is slower than we’d anticipated, we are working together to drive the change which is needed. The new Economic Strategy will give further strength to our plans to achieve them. We will be looking at the timeframe for the new Economic Strategy and the targets will be reviewed accordingly.
So what are we doing? At the moment, work is under way to develop the evidence base which will be used to look at future potential growth. Over the next few weeks, that evidence will be analysed and any gaps will be identified. The draft evidence report will be ready by the end of May. Once that report is ready, we will start consulting with businesses to get your views on the future scenarios which the data presents.
Join us for a free employer breakfast to explore how a Skills Brokerage System could help your business access the right training, courses, and workforce solutions.
Take a safari through the skills system in Norfolk and Suffolk and explore how a skills brokerage system could help you navigate the future of your workforce development.
Network with local employers Share your views in a roundtable discussion Help shape a smarter, more responsive skills system
Free to attend | Breakfast included
There will be a free tour of the zoo at the end of the event for attendees that wish to stay.
Hosted by LSIP in partnership with Norfolk Chambers of Commerce and the Department for Education
By Jim R. Wilson ISBN-13: 978-1937785734 Node.js the Right Way is a fantastic little book. It’s a small book (but then it’s Pragmatic exPress) and it doesn’t go into anything in much detail, but then that’s what makes it fantastic. It gives a useful and practical overview of writing Node.js server side applications and explains many of the tools and JavaScript patterns which will be useful to Node.js programmers. It starts off with examples of manipulating the local file system using Node.js. This struck me a little odd as the only thing I tend to use the local file system for is reading configuration files. If I need to write a file I tend to put it in Amazon S3. However, this is genius and looking at how to manipulate the filesystem gives some useful insights into Node.js programming. The book then goes on to look at networking with sockets, something which is often neglected in a world where we expect everything to be RESTful. There’s then a tour through scalable messaging, including clustering, how to access databases and how to write web services, including JavaScript promises and generators! The final chapter covers writing a web application with a single page front end and authentication. This is the only place the book falls down. Too much is covered in two short a chapter. It’s still quite useful though. This is not a book for a novice JavaScript or even a novice Node.js developer, but for once a little knowledge is not a dangerous thing and Node.js the Right Way will help increase that knowledge. It even led me to believe JavaScript might actually be the future. Click here to read the blog on our site. Words by Paul
Imagine the scene – it’s Week 3 of the year’s 2nd Quarter. You know how important it is that the first month of the Q is a successful one, as it helps build momentum or maybe even carry the momentum forward from a successful Q1. Everyone is expecting you to deliver a strong performance, because that is why you do it. It’s what you love doing – delivering performances through others; helping them succeed and being successful yourself as a result. But there are more than a few “moving parts” in this machine and just like a conductor of an orchestra, you need to know who to lean on and when… Otherwise the music quickly turns flat…
Motivational calls, interrogation of forecasts, role playing client negotiation, following up that event you went to or that campaign you ran – the list never ends and it is relentless. However, there is one thing that appears on the to-do list for every commercial person who they know will cost them time and money (the former being the most valuable resource any of us have) and only has a limited chance of delivering an ROI. That thing? Problems with your staff.
How many times have you been distracted from the important tasks, the ones you know are most likely to contribute to generating revenue, when one of your staff calls in sick the day after a bank holiday weekend? How did it make you feel the last time you wanted to treat your staff with an event (staff night out or something similar), but one person in the team seems to be permanently unavailable? What about that employee who is regularly rude to colleagues, who in turn come to you with their issues?
From experience I can confidently say it is a minefield! I prefer to set expectations with my teams about such matters and if any don’t hold up their end of the employment “bargain”, I’ll have an honest conversation with them. But what happens if that doesn’t work? What if someone is determined to make a formal complaint about the employee who is persistently rude? This is where Qdos can help.
If you have policies in place for such an event, that’s a good start. Make sure you get them reviewed regularly by a commercially minded professional who understands what your business is about and how you like to operate. It is really easy to identify what not to do, but having processes in place that genuinely reflect who you are and what your company is about, is much more powerful and something that can lead into employee engagement (HR speak for “getting the most out of your staff by making them happy”).
So, if you’ve found yourself getting distracted from the things you really need to be doing and you’ve had experiences where staff have caused you a headache which you’d like to avoid in the future, contact the ChamberHR advice line on 01455 852037.
The Power of the Inbox: Email Marketing Basics to Best Practice
Whether you’re new to email marketing or looking to refine your skills, this session will introduce you to best practice in creating effective and engaging email campaigns.
In this session you will discover:
What email marketing is and why it is one of the most misunderstood but most powerful tools in digital marketing.
How to use automation to save time and ensure your messages reach the right audience at the right time
The importance of audience segmentation and tagging, allowing you to tailor your content to meet the specific needs and interests of different subscriber groups
Design best practices, ensuring your emails not only look great but also drive action
Join Kathy Ennis from littlepiggyltd to discover actionable tips to elevate your email marketing.
Incremental Holiday System – Increasing holiday entitlement
Increasing holiday entitlement for long serving employees is one of the methods employers use to reward employees for their commitment to the company.
This week a client wanted to implement an incremental holiday system based on employee length of service. This being the longer serving employees who had up to 10 years plus service with the company.
Employers are perfectly entitled to implement such schemes however they must fully observe the provision of the Equality Act 2010 to avoid any claims of direct/indirect claims of discrimination.
How can rewarding for someone for their long service be discriminatory, you might well ask?
Well, when we speak about increasing holiday entitlement for long service, the age of the person comes into play because the longer the service the more likely it is that they will be older. I can hear the penny dropping now!
This is not to say that an employer cannot reward someone with a benefit past five years’ service but what the law says in these circumstances is that the needs of the business in implementing this must outweigh the discriminatory effect. It can be to encourage loyalty or reward higher levels of experience.
This can apply to any benefits that are awarded through length of service not just holiday. If you would like more information, make the most of free ChamberHR advice line by calling 01455 852037.
As the sun comes out, annual leave requests tend to flood in with employees planning trips abroad, staycations and childcare during the school holidays. Are you concerned that this could lead to a drop in productivity? Or that results and outcomes won’t be achieved? We can help you to find short-term candidates to fill any gaps and keep everything flowing smoothly. If you’ve never thought about using a temp before, here’s just some of the business benefits they can bring.
Experience at short notice
Short-term contracts are not just for administrative roles, we can provide temporary candidates for senior and specialist positions within the fields of Accountancy, Financial Services, Human Resources, IT, Marketing and Office Support. The temps we place are highly-experienced, skilled employees. In many cases they have chosen to work on short-term contract or interim basis as a way of providing themselves with a more flexible career option.
Fresh perspectives
Bringing new talent into an organisation often brings fresh perspectives. This is just as relevant for temporary employees and in some cases even more so. Temporary candidates are likely to have worked across many different organisations, both in the same industry and outside of it. They may have experience and knowledge of different systems or processes which could work far better and introduce innovative ideas you may not even have considered.
Strategic skill sets
If there are specific short-term projects taking place during the time you are looking to cover absences, you can look for temps with the relevant skills and experience to handle these. This could help you to bring in additional experience you may not already have in house. It can also help to inspire existing employees who will be able to learn from them and develop new skills.
Increased morale
Some employers may be concerned that bringing a short-term ‘stranger’ into an organisation may have a negative impact on the rest of the team. However, our experience shows that temporary employees bring new ideas and an added enthusiasm which can be a boost to the entire team. Team members will also feel reassured that there will be an extra pair of hands to support them and that any additional workload will not all fall to them.
Smooth transitions
Temporary placements can be arranged to include handover time with the person they will be filling in for, both before and after the person returns to the business. This makes the transition period much smoother for all involved.
We’ll help make sure you get the right fit
Whether it is temporary or permanent placements, we pride ourselves on finding the right person for the role and for the organisation. If appropriate, we arrange for the candidate to experience a four-hour working interview in the organisation. This gives both you and the candidate the chance to review cultural fit and skills needed. If for any reason you didn’t think the candidate was suitable, you wouldn’t be charged for this time.
Longer term options
Once you have found a temporary employee, you may appreciate them so much you don’t want to let them go! It provides an extended interview in which you can see how they work, the results they achieve and how they fit in with the team. This puts you in the best position to know if you would like to offer them a permanent role, if there is one available now or in the future. However, remember that it will depend on what the temp is looking for as to whether this is of interest to them. If they’ve chosen to work on a temporary basis to increase flexibility then a permanent position may not appeal to them. Instead they will hopefully become ambassadors for your organisation, sharing their experience of working for you amongst what is likely to be an extensive network of contacts, helping you to attract future talent.
We’ll support you through the process
If you’ve never recruited on a temporary basis before, it may seem like a daunting process. Our expert consultants will guide you through everything, from administration through to understanding the regulations around short-term contracts. For more information, get in touch with one of our offices.