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Isle of Wight success at One Life Live

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

The Isle of Wight had a fantastic presence at this year’s One Life Live exhibition at Olympia. Over 16,000 people attended to view stands offering advice and suggestions for people to make the most of their lives.
The aim was to show off the Island’s benefits and encourage people to consider it as a destination to relocate to. The Isle of Wight exhibition stand was co-ordinated by the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership and over the course of the three-day exhibition they spoke to hundreds of people who wanted to improve their work-life balance while still enjoying successful careers.
Representatives from Island companies Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare, Gully Howard, Cathy Tutton Relocations, X-Isle Sports and The Hambrough Hotel all joined the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership, to support the promotion of the Isle of Wight and to encourage recruitment for their own businesses.
Part of the objective for the Isle of Wight stand was to identify what influences peoples perceptions of a place and what influences the decision to relocate, to help shape future recruitment campaigns and marketing of the Island as a destination.
Mike King, Managing Director of the Economic Partnership, said: “One of our key aims is to improve productivity and therefore wealth for the Island and so we need to bring new skills and new investment in to the area. We believe the Isle of Wight offers a fantastic lifestyle and superb business opportunities for those who make it their home – this show offered the perfect audience”
He continued, “ Over 250,000 professionals move out of the city every year in search of a better quality of life –the research we conducted will help us find out what they want and how the Island can match their career requirements and their lifestyle interests”.
Coincidently, the One Life Live show itself was organised by a recently located Islander, James Gradwell. James had spent many years working as a recruitment agent in London and moved down to the Island with his Island-born wife and young children just 18 months ago.
James says, “I suppose I am the example that proves the rule - I live in Gurnard, I have a great lifestyle, my family love it and I can run a major exhibition event in London from right here on the Island. The fact that I live here really reduces the stress and allows me time to spend doing the things I enjoy – rather than spend two hours on the tube every night.”

Isle of Wight Economic Partnership attended the show as part of its “Inspire” programme, raising the profile of the Isle of Wight as an ideal destination for business, for pleasure and for living.