The Business, Innovation and Skills team is responsible for promoting and developing the following sectors: construction, creative industries, digital, horticulture, intellectual property, manufacturing, media, retail, business services. Combined, these industries represent over 40% of Guernsey's GDP.
The Digital Economy
- The Digital Framework published in 2017 identified the role that government can play in directly supporting the digital and wider economy through digital innovation and capability. The economic objective of the digital framework is to develop digitally enabled industry, data and innovation. More information about the framework can be found here.
Retail
- Retail and wholesale activities employ around 4,000 people in Guernsey and are an important part of business and community life. Having commissioned a retail survey, undertaken in late 2017, the Committee will continue to reflect 18 on the insight gathered from the nearly 1,000 respondents to inform its approach to supporting and working with the retail sector. This will include ongoing work across various policy areas - for example, in relation to skills, land use, transport connectivity and cutting red tape.
The Construction Industry
- The construction sector within Guernsey has faced demand-based challenges in recent years in relation to commercial property, as there have not been the same number of larger projects previously enjoyed by the sector. The Committee wishes to play an active role in creating the right environment for investment in infrastructure, and supports the aim of ensuring new projects and maintenance commissioned by the States are spread more evenly through political terms but also at an increased overall rate.
Skills
- There is good academic evidence to suggest that investment in skills development has considerable economic benefit, with each £1 spent on training equivalent to over £4 in long term economic benefit, through higher productivity benefits for employers and therefore wage levels.
- During 2018, Skills Guernsey will publish a skills action plan, led jointly by the Committee with the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, which sets out the following objectives:
- Setting out the skills gaps in the economy that have been identified;
- Ensuring that providers of education and training address these gaps;
- Coordinating the monitoring and actions in this area on an ongoing basis.
