Finance professionals from across East Anglia have come together to discuss the forthcoming Apprenticeship Levy at a series of FD Breakfast Clubs organised by professional recruitment consultants Pure and accountancy firm Grant Thornton.

The four sessions, held in Chelmsford, Cambridge, Norwich and Ipswich throughout October, were the latest in a series of FD Breakfast Clubs hosted by the two organisations. The clubs were first launched in 2014 to provide regular forums where the region’s senior finance professionals could come together to discuss topical issues important to business growth and sustainability.

Tom Earl, Associate Director at Pure, said: “We chose the Apprenticeship Levy as a topic for our latest breakfast sessions as it has been the subject of much scrutiny since it was confirmed it would be implemented in April 2017. The aim was to provide practical support and information on the levy, to discuss what it means for businesses in our region and to consider how it could impact on recruitment and talent development within this sector. The events covered everything from the potential cost implications through to how the structure and content of future training programmes could assist organisations in receiving additional funding towards staff development.”

The FD Clubs were developed by Pure and Grant Thornton to help support the local business community and to grow the regional economy. Subjects covered at previous sessions have included Cyber Security and Data Protection, Risk and Reputation, International Growth and Skills and Leadership.

Pure also collaborates with Grant Thornton to run a Finance Leadership Programme which is designed to help organisations in East Anglia to develop their future finance talent. Launched in 2015, the programme is made up of a small, invite-only group of future finance leaders and is split into three interactive round table sessions held throughout the year.