Business Growth & Development, Economic Growth, Skills Development 8 October 2026
Cost pressures and skills shortages continue to weigh on business confidence across the region
New Q3 2026 Quarterly Economic Survey shows businesses remain resilient, but high costs, recruitment difficulties and softer demand are holding back growth
Businesses across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Stamford remain resilient but cautious as persistent cost pressures, skills shortages and uncertainty over demand continue to affect investment, recruitment and growth, according to the latest Quarterly Economic Survey from Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce.
Skills Development 30 September 2026
WoW Bus Tour Hits Cambridgeshire to Offer Support on Financial Wellbeing
Drivers, Engineers, and Support Teams for Cambridgeshire’s biggest bus operator have jumped on board a specially modified bus to learn about how to improve their financial wellbeing, and that of their families.
Stagecoach East’s Wellbeing on Wheels (WoW) Bus has visited its roughly 800 colleagues, who serve the region, encouraging colleagues to learn more about personal and family financial wellbeing and opportunities.
Skills Development 28 September 2026
WorldSkills project helps students raise funds for local hedgehog rescue
A WorldSkills project which challenged three College of West Anglia (CWA) students, from the Wisbech campus, to develop a sustainable product has now helped raise money for a local hedgehog rescue.
Construction Skills students Finn McAuley, Marc Watson and Erikas Rimkus came up with the idea of creating hedgehog houses from recycled materials, including old pallets and discarded plastic bottles, as part of their WorldSkills 2026 entry briefing.
Next Generation, Skills Development 1 September 2026
Lifelong Learning Crucial to Tackling Youth Jobs Crisis
Urgently tackling the jobs crisis facing young people should be part of a wider rethink on lifelong learning, according to a new report by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
With Alan Milburn’s final report into the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) due this Autumn, the BCC’s report argues “investment in youth opportunity and adult skills is not an either or”. The AI revolution makes this even more critical.
Economic Growth, Skills Development 19 August 2026
Costs Crisis Hampering Hiring
Reacting to the latest labour market data from the ONS, Patrick Milnes, Head of Policy for People and Work at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Although unemployment has held steady at 4.9%, this cannot hide the wider problems bedeviling the UK’s job market.
“Business confidence is at a post-Pandemic low and the squeeze on firms’ finances shows no signs of easing.
Economic Growth, Local Skills Improvement Plan, Next Generation, Skills Development 30 July 2026
Skills reforms could strengthen Cambridgeshire’s future workforce
Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce welcomes the Government’s latest measures to strengthen technical education, expand post-16 provision and reduce barriers to apprenticeships.
Employers across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough consistently tell us that access to people with the right technical and transferable skills is one of the biggest constraints on growth. These announcements could help address that challenge, provided national investment is shaped by local employer demand.
Local Skills Improvement Plan, Next Generation, Skills Development 28 July 2026
New technical education pathways set to boost opportunities for young people across Cambridgeshire
Young people across Cambridgeshire could benefit from major reforms to technical education announced by the Prime Minister, giving 14-year-olds earlier access to industry-focused learning, work experience and employer engagement.
The reforms will create prestigious new technical education pathways from Year 10, allowing students to combine core academic subjects with practical skills development linked to local growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences, digital technology, AI, construction, health and care.
Local Skills Improvement Plan, Next Generation, Skills Development 13 July 2026
Refreshed Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) to power Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s growth over next three years
Cambridge, 10 July 2026: The Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) have today published a three-year plan to deliver the skills and training needed to achieve the region’s ambition to double – and ultimately treble – the size of its economy by 2050.
The refreshed Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) 2026–2029 is built on one of the most extensive local evidence bases in the country, with 341 employer survey responses, 70 in-depth interviews and continuous labour market intelligence gathered since 2023.
Next Generation, Skills Development 6 July 2026
Local recruitment expert advises businesses reframe marketing to overcome recruitment challenges
According to a recent report, 32% of local businesses struggle with recruitment due to a lack of candidates – something that recruitment marketing firm, crooton, finds surprising.
Stephen Anderson, CEO of Cambridgeshire-based businesses crooton, says that many traditional recruitment tools ignore ‘passive candidates’ and therefore ignore 73% of the potential candidate pool – which could explain why so many local businesses are struggling with recruitment.
The Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce Skills Survey 2026 cited that 52% of local businesses are finding recruitment challenging. 39% of these shared that applicants lack the required skills and 32% said that challenges were due to a simple ‘lack of candidates’.