Behind the scenes: Five things the Chamber does to support Brighton’s economy

Brighton Chamber’s first aim is to support its members by building a strong, supportive and welcoming community and local economy. We’ve been doing this for over 20 years now and most of our time is spent engaging with our nearly 600 members who range from the smallest to some of the largest companies in the city and everything in between.

Businesses, charities and other organisations join Brighton Chamber to meet, collaborate and learn from one another. And those of you who are members know the Chamber team are always busy making introductions, organising events and signposting to business support and projects that can help your business.

But behind the scenes there are other things that we are working on to support the wider eco-system that we all belong to. As the Chamber of Commerce in Brighton & Hove and a not-for-profit company, we’ve had the opportunity to run, take part in and support interesting and impactful projects for the city and the region.

1. High street research

Recently we led on a small research project with high street businesses across the city to explore what specific challenges they have in Brighton & Hove and where they see opportunities. As you can imagine, these brilliant independent businesses who help make Brighton what it is, have plenty of good ideas for how to make our high streets flourish better.

The research also included some of Brighton & Hove organisations that have a cooperative business model. We asked them about the benefits of being a cooperative to learn about the advantages and opportunities they see. I am pleased that both pieces of research will help inform future Council business support services, and we hope to share more detailed insights from the research with you soon.

2. Partnering with organisations running business support programmes

As an active marketing partner for a number of excellent business support programmes available to businesses in Brighton & Hove we have helped to fill a Sales Skills Bootcamp, and a Business Launchpad day for early stages businesses, and shared information about new degree apprenticeships from the University of Sussex.

3. Helping people with English as a second language to find work or start a business

For three years we have worked with two local charities; The Launchpad Collective and Trust for Developing Communities; and together have curated a programme to help people with English as a second language and refugees to find jobs or self-employment. This has resulted in helping many people into work and starting their businesses.

4. Climate for Communities: helping people find green careers

In April 2025 we started work on a three-year Lottery funded project, Climate for Communities, with local partners. For this project we will deliver three Green Careers Fairs. We held the first in March this year with 25 local organisations having stands and over 120 attendees. I was delighted when at the end of the day the employers taking part reported a combined total of 500 connections made and 150 follow-ups.

5. Hello Future 2026

We couldn’t be prouder of our association with, and organisation of, Hello Future, a careers fair for Brighton’s 16-24 year-olds to inspire them as they make key decisions on their next steps. We do this for the Career Hub in Brighton & Hove and West Sussex County Council and lots of supporting organisations. It’s a chance for 2,000 young people to meet with 60 of Brighton’s brilliant employers to talk about future jobs, career pathways and the skills needed.

How could you get involved?

Being involved in city-wide projects can help your organisation to grow and provides development opportunities for your team. The impact on this collective activity on the city is very positive, and it feels good to bring our resources together to support these excellent initiatives.

Do you have a business support programme that we can help you market? Would you like to get involved in our next Green Careers Fair? Would you have a free stand at the Hello Future to talk with 16-24 year olds about careers in your sector?

Sarah Springford is CEO of Brighton Chamber.

If you’d like to find out more about getting involved in any of the exciting and impactful projects mentioned above, get in touch with us here.

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk