After the hugely successful launch in 2017, SME Live is returning to the NEC on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 16 and 17.

H&W Chamber of Commerce will share a stand with other West Midlands-based Chambers, and I’d like to encourage Members and Non-members to come along and find out more about your local Chamber.

The SME community has a growing need to learn, network and meet specific service providers to support the continued growth of their businesses. The event’s mission is to enable growth, by bringing together the whole SME community to establish relationships that will allow their businesses to flourish now and in the future. To find out more information, visit sme-live.co.uk.

In further great news, earlier this year Worcestershire County Council announced that the county had been chosen as one of a handful of areas in England to change how we all think and act about mental health locally.

The Time to Change Hub is made up of the Worcestershire Health and Wellbeing Board, Worcestershire County Council, Community First, Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, The University of Worcester, Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, West Mercia Police, Redditch and Bromsgrove District Councils, Unison and local champions.

On Tuesday, July 31, I was delighted to invite the partners of the campaign to the Chamber to talk about the way people think and act about mental health in Worcestershire’s business community.

I am pleased to reveal the Chamber is leading on the employer strand of the movement, and is driving a campaign to establish how partner companies can encourage Chamber Members and the wider business community to sign up to support the Time to Change group. To find out more, visit time-to-change.org.uk.