Businesses in plea for faster broadband

SECURING faster broadband and improving employee skills are the main priorities of businesses on the Suffolk coast, a new survey has revealed.The Suffolk Coastal Local Strategic Partnership has commissioned a report to find out how 100 businesses in the district are coping in the current economic climate.

SECURING faster broadband and improving employee skills are the main priorities of businesses on the Suffolk coast, a new survey has revealed.

The Suffolk Coastal Local Strategic Partnership has commissioned a report to find out how 100 businesses in the district are coping in the current economic climate.

The survey highlighted the importance of establishing improved broadband access as soon as possible and concluded that the slowness of internet speeds was detrimental to businesses, preventing them from working effectively with customers and other companies.

Another important finding was that a lack of skilled workers meant many local businesses found it difficult to recruit employees such as chefs, managers, accountants, custom-er care and sales staff.

Nick Boulter, chairman of the Suffolk Coastal Business Forum, said: 'Our economy and skills group has been looking at how to improve the skills of our residents, and has backed some pioneering work which has helped young people gain skills local employers wanted, and saw the students gain a new nationally recognised vocation-al award.'

The full report is available online at the website www. suffolkcoastalbusinessforum. org.uk.