On his last day as Chief Executive of  Isle of Man Department of Trade and Industry, Chris Corlett gave the Isle of Man JCC on update on the Economy 2014 Project, which was initiated in 2004 with the goal of predicting what the Isle of Man economy would look like in 10 years.

Richard Davies, Chris Corlett

The sold out event heard how after only six years into the strategy, achievement against the plan has exceeded all expectation.  “We have the kind of growth that most economies in the west would kill for,” said Chris Corlett. “The Isle of Man economy is stronger and more diverse than it’s ever been.”

JCC Chairman Richard Davies said, “We are very pleased to have Chris Corlett speak to us on his very last day at the DTI; I’m sure he had a very full diary for the day. That the event was a sell out shows the respect our members feel for Chris’ excellent record of success at the DTI.  I’m sure they join me in wishing him well in his new role in government.”

Mr Corlett touched upon four key drivers of success

• focus on marketing
• reform of legislative and regulatory frameworks
• focus on improving labour skills
• Manx lifestyle upgrades

He concluded: “Many Isle of Man businesses are small but by pulling together with cooperative public and private sector initiatives we’ve had some major successes. Continuing this will be the key to further growth for the Island.”

The slides from the presentation are available below: