Latest Updates From Surrey Chambers CEO – 10th June 2025

10th June 2025

Last week we started our series of Generation Next masterclasses. Led by Frederick Afrifa it was a really powerful session on public speaking and I asked our Marketing and Events co-ordinator how it went! Her response was “A resounding success. One thing that really stood out.? Every single person was engaged from start to finish. No looking at phones, no zoning out – just 25 young professionals completely focused, soaking up knowledge, and pushing themselves out of their comfort zones. In just a few hours, Fred helped people believe in themselves more and that’s something they’ll carry with them for years to come. The difference in confidence from the start to the end was incredible to see. To kick off the workshop, I asked everyone to write down one word describing how they felt about public speaking. Words like nervous, anxious, shy, and worried filled the wall. At the end, we did the same activity again and the board transformed: confident, capable, enthusiastic, ready and my favourite… IT CAN BE DONE! The shift was incredible.” We are looking forward to further sessions supporting our Generation Next members.

Guildford Shakespeare innovating for the audiences

We are delighted to be supporting Guildford Shakespeare again this season with their ambitious production of The Comedy of Errors and A Company of Rascals. We have been advised to strap ourselves in for Shakespeare’s ultimate rollercoaster of comedy chaos, as two sets of identical twins arrive in the same town, on the same day, completely unaware of the other’s existence! Running alongside is A Company of Rascals, which takes its audience on a journey round the bawdy backstreets of Ephesus, a world of charlatans and bootleggers.

Audiences for BOTH plays will watch the first and last scenes of The Comedy of Errors together. What could possibly go wrong! Based on every other season this is sure to be a huge success! Tickets can be booked here

Talking to government

In anticipation of the Comprehensive Spending Review this week we have been setting out the key asks that business believe can help grow the economy. Regardless of the Review we will be championing these asks going forward.

These include:

Get Britain Thriving

• Investing in infrastructure by delivering more transport and energy projects and better grid connectivity.
• Providing long-term funding and practical support to help SME’s adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) to boost productivity and growth.
• Setting out long-term funding for Project Gigabit; AI is of no use if too many areas of the country are still in broadband blackspots.

Get Britain Working

• Transferring more Apprenticeship Levy funding from the Treasury to the Department for Education so it can be spent on training.
• Expanding the Youth Guarantee – to help young people find jobs, training and education – to include anyone between the ages of 18 and 24.
• Involving more employers in skills planning by extending investment in Local Skills Improvement Plans and addressing gaps in training provision

Get Britain Trading

• Providing global leadership by investing in digital trade.
• Giving SMEs better support to export and promote their products.
• Building upon the success of last year’s International Investment Summit by developing a pipeline of overseas investors into the UK.

Surrey Chambers of Commerce can be reached on 01483 735540, info@surrey-chambers.co.uk, @surreychambers www.surrey-chambers.co.uk We are always happy to help businesses find what they need to help them grow and prosper.