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Industry Forums

UON’s Northamptonshire industry forums are designed to support businesses across the board in all sectors. These forums provide peer-to-peer support for businesses from start-ups to large companies. All forums are open to those who want to share knowledge and best practice, ask for advice, and work together on challenges within their industry. At the heart of the forums is UON’s ambition to explore ways in which it can support your business in a variety of ways including:

  • Supporting Your Recruitment and connecting with the future workforce e.g., student placements and work experience, graduate recruitment, engaging with careers fairs, guest lectures
  • Knowledge Exchange and supporting innovation, e.g., Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, Academic Consultancy, Industry Projects, Research
  • Commercialisation, e.g., CPD, IP advice, UON facilities and equipment

Our industry forums provide you with the opportunity to:

Network and collaborate

Our forums bring together experts, stakeholders, and enthusiasts from across various sectors. Connect with like-minded people, potential collaborators, and potentially mentors to build relationships. Collaborate on local issues, challenges, projects, and business opportunities.

Share knowledge

These forums aim to facilitate the exchange of industry news, insights, best practices, events, and experiences among professionals. This sharing of knowledge helps members stay updated on the latest trends, technologies, regulatory changes, and strategies.

Access to UON expertise, facilities, and resources

Collaborating with us can help your organisation to grow. We can offer you a wealth of expertise, new perspectives, top-class facilities, and support to access a range of funding streams.

  • The “Midlands Golden Triangle” refers to an area in the United Kingdom known for its strategic location in logistics and distribution. It encompasses regions such as Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, and Derbyshire. Northamptonshire is a key location within this triangle due to its central position and excellent transport links, including access to major road networks like the M1 and the A14.

    The logistics industry in Northamptonshire is significant, with numerous companies operating in warehousing, distribution, and transportation. Given the importance of this sector to the local economy, the Northamptonshire Logistics Industry forum was established to facilitate collaboration, knowledge sharing, and networking among stakeholders.

    This forum brings together businesses, government representatives, educational institutions, and other relevant organisations to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the industry and to work towards common goals such as improving infrastructure, promoting innovation, and supporting workforce development.

    Its aims are:

    • To help the sector to grow further, faster and deliver increased jobs and prosperity for Northamptonshire
    • To ensure that the sector works collaboratively to identify and address industry issues in a non-competitive environment
    • To provide a sector intelligence gathering and dissemination service
    • Provide regular information updates and opportunities to meet
    • Promote the sector to young people and the range of opportunities within the sector – supporting and offering work placements, projects, industry talks and relevancy to courses
    • Support & collate themes and data to support business support and development of skills & courses for the sector
    • Provide a collective voice for the sector and its interests, ensuring that the needs of the sector are understood, communicated to key audiences such as local authority and Government and effectively responded to
    • To consider new ways forward in the face of environmental and other strategic changes

    Last year Ashley Burton became the Chair of the Northamptonshire Logistics Forum. Ashley is a Regional General Manager within GXO Logistics, the largest pure play contract logistics business globally operating in 27 countries with 94,000 colleagues. Ashley works with a number of blue-chip retail business currently managing their end-to-end supply chain and over 1000 colleagues across seven locations in the UK.

    Ashley’s Logistics career spans over 15 years, beginning in commercial finance managing the food and drink division withing GXO. He transitioned into to general operations in 2020 driven by a passion to support people, growth, and leadership, whilst competing his master’s degree at Cranfield University in 2022.

  • This forum is currently being reviewed.

  • This forum enables those in the manufacturing sector to share information and best practice on a wide range of related topics. Previous meetings have included focus on lean and innovation, productivity and culture. Our forum moves around the County and meetings often incorporate a factory tour to enable attendees to see manufacturing across industry

    Aims: 

    • To ensure that the sector works collaboratively to identify and address industry issues in collaborative non-competitive environment
    • Share information and best practice to progress the sector and organisations within the sector
    • Support innovation and knowledge exchange across the sector
    • Provide regular information updates and opportunities to meet
    • Promote the sector to young people and the range of opportunities within the sector – supporting and offering work placements, projects, industry talks and relevancy to courses
    • Helping the sector to grow further, faster and deliver increased jobs, prosperity, and social inclusion for Northamptonshire
    • Support & collate themes and data to support business support and development of skills & courses for the sector
    • Working closely with Make UK and others provide a collective voice for the sector and its interests, ensuring that the needs of the sector are understood, communicated to key audiences such as local authority and Government and effectively responded to.

    The current Chair of The Northamptonshire Manufacturing Forum is Jolene Spall. Jolene is Operations Director for Whitworths Ltd. Whitworths are a dried fruit, nut home baking and snack company based in Irthlingbrough and they employ around 300 people.

    Jolene is passionate about the sector and had supported the forum for a number of years before taking over as Chair.

  • This forum is currently being reviewed.

  • This forum is currently being reviewed.

If you would like to become a member or to find out more, please get in touch.

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