Chamber Group
The Isle of Wight Lottery
The Isle of Wight Lottery is the first lottery in England to be developed specifically to create employment opportunities. The Lottery is promoted by The Isle of Wight Opportunity Society Limited, which is operated on a strictly "non-profit" basis. This means that all proceeds are directed into a Loan Fund, which can be accessed by island businesses.
All loans applications are assessed by an Investment Panel and if approved they are provided on an interest free basis to both start-up and expanding Island businesses, thereby enabling them to create new jobs.
The Isle of Wight Lottery is cashless, with entries being paid for by either bank standing order or payroll deduction. The cost of entry is £1 per week, with no restriction on the number of weekly entries. All entrants receive a unique personal number, which remains with them for as long as they continue to play.
There are three prizes every week with a first prize of £2,000, a second prize of £300 and a third prize of £200, the three winning numbers are selected at random by the Lottery's specially designed computer system.
The Lottery is supported by a number of the island's major employers who offer a payroll deduction scheme to employees to allow them to enter direct from their wages; however, it is just as easy to enter using the standing order option and, either way, you don't have to remember to buy a ticket every week!
More information about the Loan Fund and How To Play here: www.isleofwightlottery.com
IW Young Chamber
IW Young Chamber connects schools and local businesses through the Chamber of Commerce network. It gives young people a voice to engage with business and experience a greater understanding of the workplace, enterprise and future employment opportunities.
The incentive for business is to have input before young people enter the world of work; providing them with a real understanding of the opportunities available and the skills, aptitudes and attitudes that business needs. Employers can raise their community profile, creating a positive image amongst young people and their families.
Each school has a group of students, the Young Chamber Council, who represent their peers and meet regularly with the support of Young Chamber staff. The students devise their own plan of activities including visits to businesses, employers visiting the school or arranging their own events.
Young Chamber on the island also runs events and invites local schools. These include the Young Chamber Challenge which involves challenges set and hosted by local businesses, an annual conference and awards evening.
Young Chamber started on the island and is now being successfully developed across the UK.
Education Business Partnership
We believe that to ensure young people are equipped to join the workforce, they deserve input from businesses who want to raise the potential and aspirations of young people.
Our Education Business Partnership programme develops mutually beneficial links between business and schools, bringing a work-based dimension to the curriculum.
Our role is to raise standards in schools and improve achievement. In order to do this, we offer local employers opportunities to get involved in school and have a say in the development of tomorrow's workforce. We work with all schools on the Island, targeting students aged between 4 - 19 years. We aim to develop quality partnerships between schools and employers, supporting both through genuinely useful and inspiring projects which prepare young people for work - and prepare the workplace for young people.
International Trade
With a business economy spanning everything from manufacturing to retail, financial services to IT, the Isle of Wight is a flourishing nexus for international trade, with many local companies and entrepreneurs exploring export and import opportunities for continued business expansion and success.
To support this business growth, the IW Chamber International Trade team offers a comprehensive package of International Trade services to help companies succeed in international markets. Whether you are planning to export for the first time or you are expanding on your existing export activities, the International Trade team can offer practical advice and assistance on matters such as:
- Documentation Services
Confused by foreign contracts? Puzzled by transport paperwork? Let us demystify your export documentation with our advice and support service, discounted rates for our Chamber members. - Trade Missions
How would you like us to contribute to your next export visit, research the market and even find you some useful contacts? Eligible companies will find our subsidised visits the ideal way to evaluate new markets and share the experience with their peers. - Training Programmes
Develop a professional team of experts in International trade with our wide range of courses covering every major aspect of trading abroad. All of our training is accredited by the British Chambers of Commerce and the Institute of Export. - Translation and Interpretation Service
Worried about language barriers on export visits and during contract negotiations? Looking for a translator to produce professional foreign-language mailshots and letters? We offer language combinations to ensure your prospects always get the right message.
Cowes Marine Cluster
Cowes is unique and the name has instant commercial recognition around the world. On the Isle of Wight and in the surrounding Solent area we have a wealth of marine expertise and facilities. The driving force behind the Cowes Marine Cluster is to sustain the industry underpinning this vibrant marine market.
It makes sense to pool resources, skills and knowledge between a number of marine companies in order to set up a ‘virtual shipyard’ where companies can loan and borrow labour on agreed terms, share or rent additional space on a flexible basis, utilise key equipment and resources. The companies benefit from joint promotion and marketing and have a greater influence with suppliers. Joint projects and ventures can also be bid for, where potential contracts may have been too large or complex for a single business.
We update members on a regular basis on many money saving opportunities, including training, resource efficiency, legal implications and waste management.
The Cluster has now raised its profile with other agencies and is often consulted to speak on behalf of the marine industry on the Island.
IW Chamber Health
IW Chamber Health was founded in 2008, and is a Social Enterprise working through the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce, Tourism and Industry (IWCCTI), providing high quality primary healthcare services to working aged adults in their workplace or community.
IW Chamber Health evolved following the successful delivery of the Cardiovascular Screening service that was provided on behalf of Isle of Wight NHS PCT as an outreach element of their Cardiovascular (CVD) Prevention - Inequalities Programme, and has quickly become established as a high quality, independent healthcare provider on the Isle of Wight.
Screening is one of the best ways of early detection of the most common illnesses and ailments that can strike people of all ages - the earlier the detection of these illnesses, the better chance we have of helping you make small changes that will help you improve and maintain your health.
Our unique access to the business community on the Island has brought us continued support from the IW NHS PCT to deliver Vascular Screening as part of the national roll out of the NHS Health Check and the addition of further contracts for workplace Smoking Cessation and Cancer Prevention.
Our aim:
- To provide high quality primary health services that aim to improve the health of working aged adults, prevent disease and reduce inequalities.
- To add choice and flexibility to the services already being provided by the Islands GPs - maximising access for those with low service engagement and potential high need by delivering the service in a variety of workplace and community settings on a variety of days - including evenings and weekends, providing maximum choice and flexibility.
- Empower individuals to make informed decisions about their lifestyle enabling them to make small, sustainable, positive behaviour change to improve their health and well being.
- Improve the health of the local workforce and therefore support small and medium size businesses to prosper and contribute to local economic development.
GoWight
GoWight is the Isle of Wight Chamber’s tourism element. Under this brand we operate www.gowight.com where you can experience the beauty and the spirit of the Isle of Wight from the comfort of your own home.
We have Summer and Winter Pocket Guides which showcase all there is to see and do on the Island and the Eating Out Guide which includes over 80 establishments of places to eat island wide.
And finally the Official Accommodation Guide which includes all different types of accommodation for visitors.
