THE COUNTY's first ever 'flexible skills index' event takes place this week.

The event, jointly hosted by Worcestershire LEP and Hewett Recruitment, will take place from 1:30pm on Friday 22 March at the View Room, Worcestershire County Cricket Club.

The Flexible Jobs Index, compiled by Timewise, examines the gap between the supply of flexible jobs and the demand for flexible work and how this may be locking groups of people out of work.

Attendees will be able to learn more about the findings which encourage both employers and intermediaries to take action to adopt flexible hiring to support inclusive growth.

Louise Hewett, MD of Hewett Recruitment and founder member of the Future of Jobs Commission, said: “The world of work is constantly changing and we are seeing some very clear trends in Worcestershire’s flexible working landscape.

"The county’s employment percentage figures continue to outperform the national statistics.

"There is however, scope for improving the quality of flexible jobs available and the opportunity to change perceptions towards the importance of flexible working in order to meet the needs of local businesses and help secure the talent they need for future growth.”

Gary Woodman, chief executive of Worcestershire LEP, added: “We know that the subject of flexible working really drew in the interest of local businesses at our Annual Conference last year, so we’re looking forward to exploring this topic in greater detail.

"We’re confident that establishing improvements to flexible working can really help to modernise Worcestershire’s economy both now and in the future.”

In addition, Worcestershire LEP has also appointed three new business representatives to its main board with Sue Jordan, Nicola Whiting and John Dillon joining.

Also, Cllr Marc Bayliss of Worcester City Council has replaced Cllr Linda Robinson from Wychavon District Council.