A Year in Review: Reflecting on 2024 and Looking Ahead | A message from Rebecca George, Chief Executive | Dec 2024
18 December 2024
As 2024 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the year’s achievements, the challenges we’ve tackled together, and what lies ahead for our Chamber and our business community.
This year has been marked by progress, collaboration, and change. We’ve seen growth in our events, greater engagement with government, and a renewed focus on key issues that matter to our members.
Things came to a head following the publication of this year’s budget, after which we issued an open letter highlighting members’ concerns and calling on Government to take decisive action to re-establish real fiscal responsibility across Ministers and Departments, and to rebuild the confidence of businesses.
This was followed by a call for urgent action to protect the Island’s hospitality industry—a sector worth approximately £90 million to the economy and critical to supporting small businesses in other industries.
Our events programme grew stronger than ever in 2024, with 42 events hosted and attended by over 1,500 people from across our membership.
I’m particularly proud of two key events. The Charity & Business Partnership Event provided a fantastic opportunity to connect our charity members with the wider business community, promoting collaboration, mutual understanding and support. Secondly, the Positive Health & Workplace Wellbeing Conference. Now in its second year, this event continues to grow and highlights the importance of supporting employee mental and physical wellbeing whilst taking responsibility for future health – a fast-growing area for Chamber.
October’s AGM brought with it significant change. We were delighted to welcome Claire Watterson as our new President, succeeding Kristan McDonald and new Treasurer, Lee Worswold. We also appointed new Forum Leads for Digital, Charity, Visitor Economy, and Positive Health & Wellbeing. They are already bringing fresh perspectives and energy to these areas.
Our work with the Skills Board remains a key focus for us. Together with Skills Lead, Kelley Corlett and the Skills Forum team, we are committed to driving meaningful actions that will address skills gaps and support workforce development from Q1 2025.
This year, we’ve been active in responding to critical government consultations, ensuring our members’ views are heard. These include the Minimum & Living Wage, the National Infrastructure Security Bill (via the Digital Forum), feedback on the Suicide Prevention Strategy (Positive Health & Wellbeing Forum), Procurement, and the more recent Employment Law Consultation.
The Board took the opportunity over the summer to review and upweight Chambers Policies, Processes, and Governance, thanks to Stuart Colligon and Deb Byron for leading on that project.
2025 will be a year of transition for Chamber. We plan to introduce new efficiencies internally, which will not only improve our productivity but in turn better support our members as well.
We’ve missed hearing from you regularly, so we’re re-launching quarterly Member Surveys to make sure we focus on what matters most to you.
The year has ended with some important meetings with Ministers and Senior Officers openly discussing the issues that matter most to our members and our Island, which saw greater collaboration and dialogue between Chamber and Government, while we continue to maintain our role as a critical friend, holding decision-makers to account and advocating for the interests of our members.
Of course, 2025 will come with its own uncertainties and challenges, but I remain optimistic. The Isle of Man remains a special place to live and work, and YOUR Chamber will be right here to bring businesses together, act as the conduit to government, and make sure your voices are heard.
None of this would be possible without you—our members, our amazing Leads, and Board.
Thank you for your continued support, your collaboration, and your inspiration throughout 2024.
Here’s to a prosperous, collaborative, and successful 2025!
Rebecca George
Chief Executive, Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce