Our South West Roundtable
We partnered with Exeter College as part of our regional roundtable series.
This week, we travelled to Exeter College for our first Jobs Foundation South West Business Council roundtable, bringing together over 20 business leaders, educators, and charity leaders from across the region to set the agenda for the Jobs Foundation South West Business Council in 2026 and beyond.
This event was the second of our regional roundtable series, which will see us hold roundtables in every nation and region of the UK as part of our regional business council rollout. In September, we were delighted to partner with the University of Sunderland for our first regional roundtable, from which we produced a representation to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget calling for an Employer NICs exemption for businesses hiring individuals from long-term unemployment – a cost neutral measure that would create more than 6,000 jobs across the region in its first year alone.
Our day began with a panel discussion, chaired by Mike Blakeley, Executive Director of Partnerships & Apprenticeships at Exeter College of Further Education & Chair of the Constructing Excellence South West Skills Panel. Mike was joined on the panel by the Jobs Foundation’s regional chairman, Simon Boyd, our Co-founder and CEO, Georgiana Bristol, and Helen Wylde-Archibald. Helen is the Chief Executive of Devon Chamber of Commerce, and the Co-Founder of South West AI Solutions Ltd., having previously been the Managing Director of East Coast Trains Limited throughout the launch of Lumo.
The panel discussion addressed a range of pertinent issues such as AI in the workplace, the constraints on regional job creation, the benefit of investing in employees, and the misconceptions around hiring from non-traditional backgrounds.
Our Business Council Manager, Kellen, and Simon Boyd then led a roundtable discussion focussed on the South West skills pipeline, employment from non-traditional backgrounds and the obstacles to business growth.
Huge thanks must go to Mike Blakeley, Exeter College, and Helen Wylde-Archibald for their support in helping us bring the Jobs Foundation’s mission to Exeter.
Next week, we are travelling to Sheffield for the launch of our Yorkshire Business Council, where we are bringing together more than 120 business leaders from across Yorkshire, ahead of our first Yorkshire roundtable in early 2026.
We look forward to returning to the South West in 2026 and announcing our South West Steering Group shortly. If you would like to know more about our regional business council work, please contact Kellen at kellen@thejobsfoundation.com.
