Sussex and Surrey IoT and Crawley College host successful Manor Royal BID exhibition

The Sussex and Surrey Institute of Technology (IoT) and Crawley College hosted the Manor Royal BID’s annual People Conference last Week.

More than 70 Manor Royal business owners, managers and HR professionals gathered to network and discuss the latest best practice, focusing on the workforce skills of the future. The keynote speech on AI and its likely impact was delivered by Anthony Fitton, Head of Consulting at Bailey & French Ltd.

After lunch, delegates were taken for a tour of new college and IoT facilities, including the Green Village, the college’s new construction hub which focuses on sustainable technologies and new immersive learning spaces – featuring interactive simulation, 360 video and computer-generated content – designed and developed by BT and Immersive Interactive Ltd.

Paul Rolfe, Director of the Sussex and Surrey IoT and Associate Principal at Chichester College Group, said: “We were delighted to welcome so many colleagues from companies across Manor Royal and to host this year’s People Conference.

“As a college group, we pride ourselves on building close relationships with our local industries – this is vital to the development of our curriculum, ensuring our students are being given the skills and training that’s needed by employers in our region – and our work with Manor Royal is key to that.

“The Manor Royal BID plays a vital role in the economy of Crawley, the Gatwick Diamond and Sussex and Surrey region. We are grateful to Steve and the team for giving us the opportunity to talk about the Sussex and Surrey IoT and to showcase the college’s amazing Green Village.”

The Manor Royal BID was created in 2013 and allows businesses to create a fund and attract additional investment to the business district. Manor Royal – the largest business district in the South East – is home to over more than 600 businesses and 30,000 job, with Crawley College serving as the chosen training provider of the Manor Royal BID since 2015.

Steve Sawyer, Executive Director of Manor Royal BID, added: “The training programme that we deliver with the college meets a real need of Manor Royal. We first looked across the country to see what all the other BIDS are doing, and we needed to find somebody with the right skills and the right understanding of local business who could meet their needs.

“From day one, Crawley College has been fantastic at doing all of those things. The service we provide through the college is one of our most popular. It helps people get ahead quicker, easier and cheaper, and the way we’ve devised it means it also are able to interact with the community, so it ticks so many boxes for us.”