Brexit: challenges and opportunities for UK trade and skills

The date of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union draws nearer, yet there remains great uncertainty about what form any Brexit deal will take and what this could mean for the UK’s businesses and citizens. Many believe it will be the most important political and economic event for the UK since the Second World War. A key challenge for the economics profession will be helping our organisations and society understand and respond to the inevitable challenges and opportunities that will arise.

The Society of Professional Economists is therefore delighted that the latest in our Masterclass series will look at the potential implications of Brexit on the UK’s trade and skills sectors, both of which will be at the heart of the UK’s future outside of the EU.

The Masterclass will be led by two experts in their field:

Rain Newton-Smith is the CBI’s Chief Economist. She leads the team which provides economic analysis and their prestigious surveys. Rain was most recently head of Emerging Markets at Oxford Economics where she managed a large team of economists and was the lead expert on China. In 2010, Rain was selected as one of Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35. Rain was honoured by the World Economic Forum in 2012 as a Young Global Leader.

Professor Alan Manning is the Chair of the Government’s Migration Advisory Committee and professor of labour economics at the London School of Economics. He is Director of the Centre for Economic Performance’s research programme on Community and from 2009 to 2012 he was Head of the Economics department at LSE.

The SPE’s Annual General Meeting will be precede the event, starting at 5pm. The Masterclass will follow at 6pm. The event will close with networking drinks for those able to stay on. If you would like to register for either event, please email admin@spe.org.uk