Recognising the strengths of our local economy and what's important to our businesses and communities means we are alway well-prepared to champion a variety of aspects relating to Oxfordshire.
Above: Backed by a supportive business community, the OxLEP-led Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards (launched here for 2023 at our 2022 annual event) continues to champion all things apprenticeships.
As well as being determined to lead and deliver, our championing role is equally as vital and key for a number of stakeholders.
For close to a decade, we have worked closely with Government colleagues to highlight the significant inward investment opportunities available across a number of internationally-significant sectors and transformative technologies and, in doing so, have supported to drive new business opportunities into Oxfordshire alongside the new jobs that inevitably follow this too.
We have also championed and embraced new ways of connecting with our audiences too. Our OxTalks podcast shines a light, not just on our work, but some of the great examples of business leaders in the county, with many willing to pass on their experience and knowledge to other Oxfordshire leaders to make for a more wholesome business community.
And our 'championing' is just limited to our external work.
Internally, we have committed to taking part in a four-day working week trial, running from 1 April 2023. Our directly-employed staff working on a full-time basis will continue to work a 30-hour week across four days, with the organisation operating between Monday and Thursday.
Through this, we hope to tangibly support improved wellbeing of our staff and create a stronger work-life balance, resulting in a healthy, motivated and productive workforce better able to respond to the challenges of a post-pandemic environment.
“We believe an optimised approach through a four-day working week will maintain service delivery, offer focused interventions and maximise the use of technology to provide ‘wrap-around’ support."
Our championing powers ...
Our ability to not only work independently, but also as a collective, remains key to our championing role.
The Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards remains a mainstay in our calendar, bringing together hundreds of people each year. Now several year on from our first awards, the event is completely business-led, backed by a group of people who can truly see the value of apprenticeships, not just to young people but growing businesses too.
We also recognise the importance of a clean future for us all. The Ox to Zero conference, held in September 2022, brought to together Oxfordshire's best people championing a net-zero future and highlighting just how this county can provide world-changing solutions to address this major problem.
Equally, our podcast series OxTalks shines a light and champions Oxfordshire's best businesses and what they are doing to support our vibrant economy. It's a platform we hope will receive many thousands of people moving forward.