Jersey Business Awards for Enterprise 2015

15 May 2015

​​Mr Deputy Bailiff, Chief Minister, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 13th Enterprise Awards.

Tonight is, of course, not just an event in itself, it is the culmination of Enterprise Week: a week of events and debate about the future of enterprise in Jersey providing an important opportunity for businesses in all sectors and of all sizes to have their achievements recognised.

I would like to thank the really great team at Jersey Business, ably led by Graeme Smith, for organising such a brilliant week of events that has both challenged our thinking and shown what Jersey businesses and entrepreneurs can do.

Return to gr​​​owth

I can say with confidence tonight that Jersey is returning to growth, employment is at an all-time high and unemployment is at its lowest level for over three years, which is very welcome news.

Much is said about government’s role in stimulating enterprise, something that the Council of Ministers is totally committed to, and changes announced by the Chief Minister at the end of last year put clear focus on key sectors such as tourism, the rural economy, retail and construction, whilst giving a dedicated political lead to the financial services, digital, competition and innovation agendas.

Continued investm​​ent in business support services

We will continue to invest in the financial and the increasingly important business services sectors, invest in the traditional industries of tourism and agriculture, invest in Locate Jersey who are driving inward investment and diversifying our economy, and job creation to provide high quality career opportunities for Island residents, and we will continue to invest in the organisation which is Jersey Business, who provide tremendous support for Jersey’s small and medium-sized enterprises and business start-ups.

Of course, ultimately, it is not government that delivers growth. It is you, the people and the businesses of Jersey that will deliver the jobs and the growth that the Island needs to continue to flourish and it is vital that the increasingly effective collaboration between the public and private sector is propagated if we are to deliver and this Council of Ministers is determined to deliver.

Committed to improving produc​​tivity and profitability

We are looking long and hard at the scale of the public sector and, importantly, the extent to which the public sector delivers the public service. And whilst we continue to drive costs and bureaucracy down, we are equally committed to improving private sector productivity and profitability. This will provide many opportunities for Jersey’s business community to grow and develop and the Chief Minister and I and our fellow ministers and assistant ministers and states members look forward to working with you to that end.

But, tonight, we are here to recognise the great efforts and achievements of businesses across our small island nation and I would like to say: to all who applied, to those who were shortlisted, to the finalists and to the eventual winners: thank you. You are amongst the very best in Jersey and I congratulate you all.