Last week, our director Sarah Roads was thrilled to be invited to a business networking event with a guest delegation from Portsmouth’s sister city Halifax, Nova Scotia. Portsmouth City Council hosted this visit that featured delegates from Halifax including:
Mike Savage – Mayor
Nancy Phillips – Vice President Investment and International Partnerships, The Halifax Partnership
Gordon Gale – Ocean Technology Council of Nova Scotia
The delegation was there from Wednesday the 18th of January to Friday the 20th of January as part of an initiative to strengthen ties between the two cities.
Linking Portsmouth and Halifax
The visit commenced at The Queens Hotel on Wednesday evening with speeches from the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Hugh Mason and an address from the Mayor of Halifax, Mike Savage. He talked about the desire for Halifax to partner with a city that is committed to growth and is striving to create a healthy economy. The evening then kicked off with business networking opportunities that enabled informal networking between delegates who are already trading with Halifax or have interests in connecting with their business in Canada. The Canadian visitors have expressed a particular interest in businesses working in the delivery and supply chains for satellite, sustainability, clean tech, and the marine industry which gave SLRthe opportunity to talk to others in this sector.
SLR and Portsmouth businesses
It was wonderful to speak to Griffin Hoverworks who moved their base of operations to Portsmouth last year as they increased their production. SLR has proudly supported their projects through the supply of skilled welders. Sarah also got the chance to talk to the MD of Penta Precision about the challenge of attracting talent and thinking outside the box in recruiting good candidates. Other key local businesses were there such as BAE Systems, Airbus, Portsmouth International Port and HM Naval Base. It was also a chance to spend an evening with the Shaping Portsmouth team whose work SLR are proud to support as a partner.
Halifax and Portsmouth formally link
The visit culminated with Portsmouth and Halifax formalising their “sister city” agreement to expand on both cities’ work to develop opportunities for business. The agreement was signed last Friday by the Mayor of Halifax, Mike Savage and the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Hugh Mason. The signing of this formal agreement opens the potential to expand on both cities’ work to develop opportunities for businesses in shipbuilding, oceanology, satellite applications and maritime small businesses. The two cities are also keen to explore a partnership between naval bases and ports, visitor economy links and best practise on clean technology and sustainability as both cities are committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions.
It really was a privilege for Sarah to be invited to share a space with other progressive businesses and the connection of the cities opens incredible opportunities for development. To be recognised for the work that SLR has done in the marine sector and be part of the growth strategy for Portsmouth and its sister city Halifax is a real honour. We look forward to continuing to strengthen opportunities for our candidates in the marine sector and helping to propel both these cities in their ambitions for growth.
