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Nineteen Black Country Business Festival events in Dudley

It is just over two weeks until the start of the Black Country Business Festival and an incredible 19 of the events will be taking place in the Dudley area.

With a total of 122 events in the programme, the Business Festival – in its inaugural year – is already the biggest business event in the region.

Running from 23 April until 4 May, the Festival will see everything from seminars, workshops, behind-the-scenes tours and speed networking to conferences, exhibitions and debates. Most events are completely free to attend.

The Dudley-based events are being held in a range of different and interesting venues within the area, such as the Showcase Cinema, Black Country Living Museum, Dudley Canal Trust, Intu Merry Hill shopping centre and at several locally-based businesses which are running their own events.

There is an interesting and diverse mix that will appeal to everyone - including seminars and conferences that feature well-known national names such as Global Radio, Natwest Bank; the Department of Work & Pensions and the Bank of England.

A array of subject matters comprise property development, GDPR, diversity, apprenticeship, exporting, recruitment, funding and credit, as well as health and safety, wellbeing in the work place and the Business Festival’s own opening event on Monday 23rd April

Helen Martin is the chief officer for regeneration and enterprise at Dudley Council, – the authority behind DY5 - Dudley’s Business & Innovation Enterprise Zone (pictured) and partner of the Business Festival. She said, “It’s fantastic to see so many events in our area, representing a great geographical spread throughout the Black Country.

“The Business Festival is a dynamic and innovative concept that provides us with a fantastic platform on which to showcase the brilliant assets of our area – such as DY5 and other significant investment propositions. We are very much looking forward to the start of our first Business Festival and are delighted that DY5 is playing an integral part.”

The complete list of events in Dudley encompasses:

23 April

  • Black Country Business Festival Opening Event at Black Country Living Museum

  • Food Bugs and Safe Factory Practices (Cox and Plant) at Cox and Plant

24 April

  • Every Brand has a Voice in the Digital Market (Global Media) at Showcase Cinema Dudley

25 April

  • Joining Military Forces with Business - Bridging the Skills Gap (Forces Recruitment Services) at Dudley Army Reserve Centre

  • Retail Regeneration (intu Merry Hill) at intu MerryHill (Bold Meeting Room)

26 April

  • A Black Country Renaissance (Calderdale College) at Dudley College

27 April

  • Making the Apprenticeship Reforms Work for Non-Levy Paying Employers(Dudley College of Technology) at Dudley College of Technology

  • Boost Your Business – GDPR (Natwest Bank) at Sadler's Brewery

30 April

  • Sources of Funding to help SME Growth & Development (Blue Sky Corporate Finance) at Dudley Canal Trust

  • The Clock is Ticking - Spend Your Apprenticeship Levy Before You lose it!(Dudley College of Technology) at Dudley College of Technology

1 May

  • Better Wellbeing, Better Business - The Workplace Wellbeing Seminar and Marketplace (Black Country Chamber of Commerce) at Higgs & Sons

  • Ready Steady Grow: Is Your Business Fit For The future? (Talbots Law) at Talbots Law

  • Property Development - Land Acquisition & Funding (Talbots Law) at Talbots Law

2 May

  • Rules Britannia? (Higgs & Sons) at Higgs & Sons

3 May

  • Sign of the Times (Calderdale College) at Higgs & Sons

  • Enhancing your exporting opportunities through Intellectual Property (Forresters) at Village Hotel Dudley

4 May

  • How Universal Credit Can Help Your business (Department for Work and Pensions) at Stourbridge College

  • Diversity in the Black Country – Driving Change and the Benefits of Inclusivity(Higgs & Sons) at Higgs & Sons

  • FSB Exclusive Roundtable Debate with The Bank of England (Federation of Small Businesses) at Talbots Law

All the events are listed on the website www.blackcountrybusinessfestival.com where tickets are also available on a first come first served basis. The vast majority of events are completely free to attend so it is advisable to book early.

Originated by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce and partnered by DY5 – Dudley’s Business & Innovation Enterprise Zone, the plan is for the Festival to become an annual event in the business calendar, bringing the region together once a year to engage, share best practice and collaborate with each other on a completely new level.

The Black Country Business Festival is run in association with Associated Events and in addition to the Black Country Chamber of Commerce and DY5, it is supported by a number of organisations which all understand its importance and relevance and want to contribute to its success. It is sponsored by Cox & Plant, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Ramada Park Hall Hotel, and it is supported by the University of Wolverhampton, Talbots Law, Wolverhampton Racecourse, Casino 36, Sandwell Council and Nachural. Business Festival media partners are Express & Star, Midlands in Business, Signal 107 and Elonex.

For information and tickets, visit www.blackcountrybusinessfestival.com, email hello@blackcountrybusinessfestival.com or call 01902 912304.

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