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Marion Plant, chair of CWLEP’s Productivity and Skills Business Group
Preparing for the world of work
About 60,000 students in Coventry and Warwickshire have been prepared for the world of work this year, a major event was told.
The Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hubs, which were launched by The Careers & Enterprise Company, have worked with 81 schools and colleges since they were established in the area in 2019.
The Careers Hubs give schools and colleges the chance to link up with employers, training organisations, colleges, universities, and career professionals so that pupils have information about all the options that are available when they leave education and the different career paths they want to pursue.
The Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hubs, which receives funding from Think Higher Coventry and Warwickshire, which is a partnership of local higher and further education providers and local authorities, are supported by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
The Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hubs organised its Celebration Event at Coventry University Technology Park to recognise the work of schools, employers and colleagues who are supporting careers education for young people in the area.
Matt Alvarez, Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hubs lead, said this had been a fantastic opportunity to highlight the impact of its work.
He said: “We had originally planned to hold our Celebration Event last year but that had to be cancelled due to the pandemic so this has been our first chance to re-arrange it.
“It was a great opportunity to hear about the progress of the Careers Hubs in Coventry and Warwickshire over the last two years as well as meet a large cross-section of employers, stakeholders and influencers that support careers education.
“Work experience has been pretty non-existent since Covid-19 began but our virtual events and the materials we have put together for careers education teachers to access to ensure students have as much high-quality information as possible has been really important in making sure young people are aware of the options available to them.
“Ensuring young people in our area are ready for the world of work in their chosen path is extremely important for their wellbeing and for employers who are looking to recruit the next generation.
“We wanted this event to act as an inspiration and motivation to continue or broaden the support for young people from those responsible for careers education in their schools and colleges in Coventry and Warwickshire so that students can make informed choices about their next steps.”
Marion Plant, chair of CWLEP’s Productivity and Skills Business Group, added: “Providing good jobs and levelling-up opportunities is one of the key aspects of CWLEP’s Strategic Reset Framework.
“To achieve this we need to make sure young people in Coventry and Warwickshire are armed with information to make informed choices about their careers and providing quality careers education is vital so that they acquire the skills which employers need.”
Chamber series helps push business towards a net zero future
The Sustainable Business Series was the first Chamber campaign focused on sustainability, delivered in partnership with Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. The campaign featured free content covering five webinars, a Business Summit, supported by blogs, podcasts and videos over four themed weeks: energy, circular economy, transport and sustainable business management.
Regional support and best practice examples were shared across the themed weeks, including the webinars.
The campaign culminated with a Business Summit, featuring keynote speakers Bim Afolami MP and Jo Gilroy, as well as engaging panel discussions on the financial case for sustainability and the role of businesses on net zero.
Businesses have been surveyed on their sustainability activity, which will feature in a report of local business sustainability across the two chambers. This will help inform next year’s sustainability activity for the Chamber, including support and lobbying activity to help businesses to navigate their net zero journey.
Key advice to businesses from the campaign was to start measuring their environmental impact, creating a strategy, engaging with stakeholders along the process, revaluating progress and taking corrective action and then finally sharing your success with stakeholders.
Aston University, Morgan Sindall, Arup and University of Birmingham have sponsored the campaign
Patricia Thornley, Director of the Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute at Aston University said, “Aston University are proud to have supported the Chamber as they help businesses move towards a more sustainable future. Our work on COP 26 is charting a path to net zero emissions using EBRI’s expertise on low carbon energy and products; but that will only be achieved if we work together with businesses towards shared climate goals”.
Helen Davis, Director at Arup commented, “We are delighted to have sponsored the Sustainable Business Series. We hope by sharing our expertise in infrastructure and climate resilience, our experiences during our own journey to net zero and our knowledge from making transformational step changes to our region’s energy systems, we have enabled our local business community to begin their own sustainability journey. Leading them to go on and produce tangible economic, environmental, and social benefits, and ultimately build long-term success”.
Richard Kirkham, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure’s operations director for the A45 Sprint project said, “Morgan Sindall Infrastructure and the A45 Sprint Team were delighted to be involved in this great campaign. We are proud to have helped the local business community meet the net zero challenge through sharing our learnings on transport decarbonisation and emission reduction targets under our 25% reduction in carbon emissions by 2025. We aim to continue supporting the Chamber on environmental support as it aligns with our business ethos”.
Gurmit Kler, Director of Business Engagement, University of Birmingham, said, “Supporting the Chambers’ first sustainable business campaign was a fantastic opportunity to join the region’s green business renaissance. Sharing University insights, knowledge and resources in energy week from Birmingham Energy Institute and ATETA showcased the wealth of support and expertise that University of Birmingham can provide to regional businesses progressing towards net zero. The Summit event, joining together businesses and academia as a community on a shared mission, highlighted expertise from our Sustainable Financial Innovation Centre. The campaign plays an important and timely role for businesses in the lead up to COP26, boosting the spirit of sustainability for local industries”.
Bim Afolami MP
Carbon Neutral Status
A Midlands developer has achieved carbon neutral status and is targeting to be net zero by 2036.
Deeley Group, which is headquartered in Coventry, has achieved Carbon Neutral status for its reporting period of May 2020 – April 2021 and has been working in partnership with industry experts Carbon Footprint Ltd to put measures in place to achieve net zero by 2036.
The family-owned construction and development firm is now in the second year of measuring its carbon footprint.
From May 2020 to April 2021, the firm produced 12.1 tonnes of CO2 per £1 million spent and offset the CO2 produced by donating to a wind project in India.
The construction and built environment sector is one of the larger producers of emissions, but Deeley Group will be using targets supported by scientific research to drive down its emissions.
Deeley Group has already introduced sustainable measures at its headquarters as part of its commitment, including the installation of EV charging points, solar panels, rain water harvesting measures and PIR lighting.
As part of Deeley’s roadmap to net zero, created in partnership with Carbon Footprint Limited, it will be implementing a host of measures over the coming years.
This will include introducing electric vehicles across its fleet, installing LED lighting at head office, work to Future Homes standards and providing incentives for staff to use greener transport methods.
The UK Government has launched its Net Zero Carbon Procurement policy recently and this requires firms tendering to government and related bodies to annual measure their carbon footprint and reach net zero carbon by 2050.
Deeley Group is aiming to reach this target 14 years earlier and will publish its progress annually. Eleanor Deeley, deputy managing director at the Deeley Group, said: “With our targets we will be looking to go above and beyond the latest definition of net zero and will be working in partnership with Carbon Footprint Ltd to reach our objectives.
“While we continue to work toward net zero carbon status, we will continue to offset our carbon to ensure we are having a positive impact as soon as possible on the environment during the process.
“It’s important that businesses, regardless of their size, act now and take vital measures to protect the future of our planet.
“We will be working closely with our clients to ensure that sustainable practice is being followed at all of our developments and contributing to our ultimate target of being net zero carbon by the time the company celebrates its 100th year.
“The target date of 2036 is ambitious but it is a challenge we are ready to meet.”
Dr Wendy Buckley, co-founder of Carbon Footprint Ltd, added: “I’m delighted to see Deeley - as a responsible construction business - taking leading steps to achieve net zero carbon emissions way ahead of the UK’s target date of 2050. An example that I hope many other businesses in this sector will take note of and follow.”
Triple Awards win for Local Coach Operator at National Tourism Awards
From L to R: Helen Conway, Andy Day, Kyran Flynn, Nicole Smith, Lauren Davies, Rachel Knight, Rebecca Peet, John Johnson, Anne Johnson, Gary Harridence, Teresa Mallinson, Barry Cobb, Heather Allen and Chris Hollins.
Johnsons Coach Travel of Henley-in-Arden has beaten off competition from coach tour operators from across the UK to win three prestigious awards at the National Coach Tourism Awards 2021, the ‘Oscars’ of the British Coach Tourism industry.
The firm scooped up the awards for ‘Coach Tour Operator of the Year’ (Large Fleet), ‘Coach Tour Operator Social Media Campaign’ and ‘Coach Tourism Professional of the Year’ for their Tours Manager, Barry Cobb. After being postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the awards were held on Wednesday 22nd September 2021 at The British Motor Museum. The awards recognise excellence and innovation across the industry from coach tour operators, tourist destinations, attractions and industry suppliers.
In giving the ‘Coach Tour Operator of the year’ award, the presenter said “Johnsons continue to recognise their marketplace, having introduced the sell-out Luxury Traveller brand in 2020 which enhances their already popular programme. The judges felt that the innovative way of utilizing local TV hubs an developing their customer feedback questionnaires show how this company are the deserved winner of Coach Tour Operator of the Year 2020.”
John Johnson, Commercial Director of Johnsons Coach Travel, collected the award with his team in front of a large audience of tourism industry professionals and presented by TV personality and Strictly sensation, Chris Hollins.
Commenting on the company’s success, he says: “We are delighted with these awards which are a fantastic accolade for our great team here. I am especially pleased for our Tours Manager Barry Cobb; his award demonstrates industry-wide recognition and respect for his many years of excellent work.”
This is Johnsons second consecutive win for the Large Coach Tour Operator category. The judges were looking for a company with more than 15 tour coaches that demonstrated a commitment to quality, innovation, training, and customer service, with an excellent industry reputation, but also examples of how it has developed and enhanced its product. After a difficult 18 months for all in the industry, these awards are a welcomed success and are a testament to the hard work, innovation and perseverance for all the staff at Johnsons.
For more information, visit www.johnsonscoaches.co.uk
Darren Astbury, Chief Technician at National Express West Midlands, was named Road Transport Engineer of the Year at a national award ceremony held in Birmingham last week.
The 41-year-old, from Kings Norton in Birmingham, has been recognised for his diligent work in protecting customers and staff and for consistently producing excellent results.
The Society of Operations Engineers’ Safety and Sustainability Awards took place on 7th October 2021, recognising excellence in safety and sustainability across the road transport, plant, environment and surveying sectors.
Adam Fraser-Hitchen, SOE President, said “The SOE Safety and Sustainability Awards recognise special achievements of members who have demonstrated professionalism, expertise, teamwork and integrity over the past year in their engineering roles.
“We are delighted to be able to acknowledge these exceptional individuals and celebrate their success.”
Among other pieces of great work, Darren was nominated for the SOE Road Transport Engineer of the Year award due to his interrogation of vehicle breakdowns. His dogged determination ultimately led to a 47% reduction across National Express West Midlands’ 1,600-strong bus fleet. Through detailed root cause analysis he was able to develop and implement preventative long-term fixes, ensuring vehicles remain out on the road serving customers.
During the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of customers relied on National Express West Midlands bus services to make essential journeys, including key workers needing to get to work in schools and hospitals. Darren developed a seating map to support social distancing, ensuring customers and drivers could continue to travel safely. This seating map was held up as an example of good practice by others within the bus industry.
Commenting on his award, Darren said “I was a little surprised and am extremely grateful to the SOE for this award and recognition. I’ll be the first to admit that as engineers we tend to just get on with the job that we love, but this serves as a timely reminder of the important role that we play in the bus and coach industry - and that it should be celebrated.
“If I think about where I started 24 years ago and where I am now, it’s been quite the ride with all of the projects and challenges I’ve worked on and the knowledge and skills I’ve gained.
“There are so many brilliant opportunities for engineers to make a difference in public transport. With the introduction of zeroemission vehicles and the advancements in technology that are becoming increasingly important, it really is such an exciting time to be an engineer.”
Darren started his career with National Express 24 years ago as an Apprentice Diesel Fitter before moving to the company’s central engineering team as a Technical Assistant in 2001.
Mike Curran (UK National Account Manager for FCL), Darren Astbury (NX Bus Chief Technician) and Sir John Parker (SOE Patron)
Prof Andy Hardy, CEO of University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, speaking at the Medici event
‘Connect, create and collaborate’ were the key themes from the third annual Medici event to encourage innovation in the healthcare sector in Coventry and Warwickshire.
This year’s event — Unlocking Innovation Together — was organised by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust and held at its Innovation Hub in the Clinical Sciences Building at University Hospital in Coventry.
Among the 80 delegates who attended were businesses in the healthcare sector that have received help and advice from the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub, including medical
Connect, create and collaborate
software specialists Optimed and medical delivery drone start-up Skyfarer.
Professor Andy Hardy, Chief Executive Officer of UHCW NHS Trust, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to see so many colleagues and partners from across Coventry and Warwickshire coming together to celebrate and discuss innovation.
“At UHCW NHS Trust we have ambitions to be a leader in the creation and adoption of innovation. We are very proud of our commitment to this and our Innovation Hub space which is designed to bring people together to solve problems creatively.
“We are also committed to supporting our communities and local economy, as demonstrated by our work with CWLEP to support businesses to develop their health-related innovations.”
Craig Humphrey, Managing Director of the CWLEP Growth Hub, added that the Medici event had been an excellent evening of networking and an opportunity to celebrate innovation in the healthcare sector.
“During the pandemic, the Growth Hub helped so many businesses across Coventry and Warwickshire to diversify,” he said.
“Our area has always been renowned for its innovation and the Growth Hub is working with UHCW NHS Trust to help identify businesses with innovative ideas that could help the healthcare sector and to signpost them to the expertise they need.
“This is a really exciting collaboration which will have long-term benefits for our economy.”
Sarah Windrum, CWLEP Chair, who gave a keynote speech at the event, spoke about the potential of digital transformation and the power of local collaboration.
She said: “Technology is only part of the importance of Unlocking Innovation Together because we also need to focus on infrastructure, investment and inclusion.
“CWLEP has been working closely with UHCW NHS Trust to form stronger relationships as part of our Strategic Reset Framework, with innovation being at the core.
“Innovation thrives when we create opportunities, develop blended skills and embrace new ways of thinking. It was really interesting to hear about all the ideas staff at UHCW NHS Trust have to further improve healthcare for patients and those working in the sector, and this event was an excellent platform to move those ideas forward.”
An award-winning Warwickshire hotel is launching a new artisan produce shop and 50s-inspired dessert diner later this month to coincide with a spectacular illuminated winter light trail.
Coombe Abbey Hotel, just outside Coventry, is set to showcase local food and drink at The Abbey Artisan Market in the remodelled former Visitor Centre ranging from craft beers to handcrafted chocolate, baked goods, handmade pies, preserves and pickles from across the region.
It will stock highly-acclaimed sausages, bacon and assorted hampers from the award-winning Warwickshire-based top UK butcher and deli, Aubrey Allen in Leamington Spa.
Other suppliers will include Warwickshire’s Windmill Hill Brewing Company, a bespoke chocolatier in Warwick, speciality fine food from Cotswolds Fayre and chutney, relishes and pickles made by The Bay Tree Food Company, as well as outdoor wear by Regatta Clothing.
Milkshakes, crepes, waffles and desserts will be on the menu at a brand-new retro American style diner, The Sundae Club Dessert Diner, as part of the ambitious new plans.
The mid-November opening is planned to coincide with Coombe Abbey’s winter light trail, Luminate Coombe, a stunning mile long trail, set to ambient music, which will run from Thursday November 18 until Christmas Eve. The hotel, which has a country park, woodlands, and Go Ape treetop experience within the grounds, has around 450,000 visitors a year.
Ron Terry, Operations Director at Coombe Abbey Park Limited, said: “This is a first for Coombe Abbey Hotel. Quality local food is at the forefront of our vision for The Abbey Artisan Market. "This is something we really value as a business. We are really excited to be working with so many local and regional producers.
“We are also pleased to welcome The Sundae Club Dessert Diner to Coombe Abbey, another first. It will offer a range of good value desserts, waffles, ice-creams in a fun 1950s inspired environment and really helps to support our aim to deliver a vibrant retail-led environment for local residents and visitors in the park.”
