Business Matters Spring 2019

Business

Matters SPRING 2019 EDITION

HELPING RENFREWSHIRE GROW & PROSPER

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INSIDE: Property & Construction, B2B, Airport Economic Impact & AMIDS PLUS: Updates & news from Chamber, Council & Members

Business Matters Spring 2019

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President’s Welcome Welcome to the Spring edition of Business Matters which I hope you will find an enjoyable and informative read.

Renfrewshire is experiencing exciting times with numerous projects and initiatives planned and indeed some already underway. I am delighted that the Chamber is heavily involved in most, which over the next few years will bring thousands of new skilled jobs to the area. By way of example earlier this month we enjoyed a joint Chamber event with the Advanced Forming Research Centre at Inchinnan. Thirty of our members heard presentations from Nick Shields of Scottish Enterprise and the team from AFRC including commercial director Lynne O’Hare. The event included a tour of the facility and also highlighted the recent investment in Future Forging Technology.

Renfrewshire is fast becoming a world-renowned hub for innovation and technology with existing companies shortly to be joined by NMIS & MMIC. In fact, the first stage of NMIS, the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre is already operational in part of the Doosan Babcock factory in Renfrew. Up to 10,000 jobs are expected to be created with the development of these sites, however it is imperative that transport infrastructure is improved and in place to support this intended growth. With this in mind I met recently with Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy & Fair Work, Derek Mackay MSP to discuss this matter with particular emphasis on the delayed but much needed airport rail link and other topics such as town centre funding. I hope my points of view will be taken on board.

Still on the topic of transport, we look forward to the arrival at Glasgow Airport of the Emirates A380 service, a first for Scotland on the 16th of April.

The importance of the airport to the Renfrewshire & wider economy has been brought into sharp focus by a recent economic impact study. It reveals the airport, which welcomed 9.7 million passengers in 2018, generates in excess of £1.44 billion (GVA) annually and supports more than 30,000 jobs across Scotland.

Produced by economists York Aviation, the study also outlined that if Glasgow continues to grow as forecast in its Master Plan the airport would contribute £2.54 billion (GVA), support over 43,000 jobs and welcome 17 million passengers annually by 2040. Locally, the airport also generates more than £260 million (GVA) annually for the Renfrewshire economy

and supports almost 3,600 jobs. By 2040, it is forecasted that Glasgow Airport would generate £470 million for the Renfrewshire economy and support over 5,200 jobs.

I would like to bring to your attention a new initiative and appeal to re-fit Paisley’s world-famous Coats Memorial as an arts & culture venue. The former Church which is a jewel in the crown of Paisley’s unique urban heritage has lain empty since the autumn of 2018 and is in danger of falling into disrepair unless urgent action is taken. The recently convened steering group is aiming to raise £1.5 million in 100 days and you can read more about the campaign on page 8. To see how you can contribute please go to 100 days to save Coats Memorial on Just Giving To fundraise or donate visit: www. justgiving.com/campaign/100daystosavec oatsmemorial and for more information go to www.100daystosavecoatsmemorial. com. Please do it now, we must not lose this building!

Finally let me draw your attention to the prestigious annual Business Matters in Renfrewshire (B2B) event which will take place at the Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley on Thursday 16th of May. This is a free event and is the largest of its type in the area. The event is open to all businesses, schools and students to attend. Comprising of six informative free seminars, offering invaluable advice, learning and networking opportunities for you and your business.

This event is always well attended, and I would urge you to register as soon as possible. I look forward to welcoming you on the day!

Support your Chamber and Your Chamber Will Support you.

Tom Johnston, President Renfrewshire Chamber

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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A Warm Welcome from our Chief Executive Dear Members & readers, welcome to the Spring issue of our popular magazine Business Matters.

Thank you to everyone who has completed our annual survey, the results of which you will find on page 20. Once again, we have scored highly maintaining a consistent level of services on behalf of you our members and your feedback helps us plan for the next 12 months.

Our annual B2B event “Business Matters in Renfrewshire” is now open for registration and takes place on Thursday 16th May at the Lagoon, Paisley. Sponsored by Paisley.is there is an excellent seminar line up including sessions from Paisley.is, Zero Waste Scotland, Future Technologies with UWS and social media sessions from NSDesign & fatBuzz. Have you ever considered doing business with Renfrewshire Council? The procurement and development teams will be on hand to show you how. The day is a good opportunity to learn some new things and

network with 50 + companies in one go (40 booked so far with room for more).

I encourage you reserve your free place now at www.renfrewshirechamber.com and please share with your colleagues & customers - it is a great day out.

Finding and developing staff with the right skills is the no1. issue for many members. Our local economy is driven by skills and I recommend you explore the Graduate Apprenticeship opportunities available with UWS. Join us on the 16th April to find out how you or your staff could complete a fully funded degree in business management, engineering & software development whilst working.

Also, on the 16th April we welcome the arrival of the A380 to Glasgow Airport, a first for Scottish aviation. The team have invested over £9million to accommodate the new Emirates service and we wish them every success.

Finally, our popular Customer Service Mentoring Group returns on May 24th delivered by Colin Neill, former site

Director of Diageo and Chamber board director. Place are limited so if you could benefit from attending please contact Stuart Murray at the Chamber to find out more.

Have a great Spring and best regards

Bob Grant Chief Exec

Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce Bute Court, St Andrews Drive, Glasgow Airport, PA3 2SW t: 0141 847 5450 / f: 0141 847 5499 e: info@renfrewshirechamber.com / w: www.renfrewshirechamber.com Next issue of Business Matters is Summer 2019 Deadline for editorial and adverts is 3rd June 2019 Themes are B2B / Education, training & development / business support & finance / tourism & leisure

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Business Matters Spring 2019

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Yopa (Trading as Thistle Properties (Scotland) Ltd) Having worked in the property industry for the last 20 years, for both high street and independent sales and lettings agents, I decided it was time for a change of direction. That’s when I joined Yopa as their local estate agent in Renfrewshire.

The company ethos is centred around a great customer journey and making selling property a smooth, straightforward and stress-free process.

Their investment in digital technology a simple-to-use platform called YopaHub - enables me to have more one-on-one time with my customer and ensure their sale is as stress-free as possible. YopaHub is accessible to the customer and me 24/7, allowing us both to manage viewings and see offers and feedback at any time.

Throughout this, the customer has the personal support of myself and the whole Yopa team.

The company formed in 2015 has grown in just over three years from the 40th to

June MacKenzie

the 6th largest estate agency in the UK, based on new listings in December 2018.

Last year, over 10,000 people trusted Yopa to sell their home. We base our success on our customers having a smooth move

and going on to recommend our services to friends and family.

Give me a call on 07921666086 for more information on Yopa’s product and services.

Matheson Digby Damp Services Landscaping Matheson Damp Services are a family business who provide professional and affordable specialist damp and timber treatment services to clients across Paisley, Renfrewshire, Glasgow and throughout Central Scotland.

Be it rising damp, wet or dry rot, mould and condensation or timber infestation, you will find all our work is competitively priced and is undertaken to the highest of standards.

We undertake surveys and provide reports for clients. This service has proven to be extremely effective for those looking to buy or sell a property who suspect it has a damp or timber treatment issue.

Our customer base is estate/letting agents, property developers, commercial businesses and home owners.

For peace of mind our damp proofing and timber treatment works are guaranteed up to 30 years and underwritten by Kingfisher Building Products of whom we are an approved contractor. www.mathesondampservices.co.uk Email info@mathesondampservices.co.uk Tel. 07718997586 Alistair Matheson

We are a Renfrewshire based landscaping and ground maintenance company providing services across central Scotland. Albeit we have traded for 5 years, our experience is considerably greater than this and includes leisure and commercial groundworks across the UK and the USA exceeding a decade.

Aside from leisure and retail sectors we also undertake ground maintenance and clearance works across industrial and light industrial sites across Scotland. A focus on client expectations and timescales is a crucial factor in relation to our success, as is the attention to detail and the ability to retain satisfied, skilled and productive landscaping teams.

We would be delighted to demonstrate our capabilities and look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Stephen Macdonald, Operations Manager, Digby Landscaping mobile 079510 46649 • office 0141 847 4711

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Manufacturing Technologies with the Advanced Forming Research Centre, Inchinnan Chamber Members recently enjoyed a joint event with the AFRC at Inchinnan.

30 members attended presentations from Nick Shields of Scottish Enterprise introducing the Advanced Manufacturing & Innovation District Scotland.

Commercial director Lynne O’Hare & Stephanie Craig gave an overview of the AFRC, Sheena Mackenzie outlined how business can access founding for R&D projects and Gerry Ward gave an overview of the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre.

The AFRC is helping companies improve and grow by identifying manufacturing processes that may benefit from automation technology. Innovation is key to business development and success. When a business is setting out to innovate it usually faces a set of challenges. Some of them can be obvious such as a lack of financial resource,

some not immediately so, such as communication issues. Best practice of today's business world tells us that it is very important to take a comprehensive strategic view of innovation readiness.

For more information contact Stephanie Craig, Business Development E: stephanie.craig.100@strath.ac.uk T: 0141 534 5251 M: 07773585976

Scott Sharkey Matrix Uniforms, Craig Leslie Gordon Leslie Group, Donessa Shearer Building & Surveying Solutions

Turning ideas into a commercial reality for Renfrewshire businesses Excited by technology and obsessed with solving the toughest manufacturing problems, our talented engineers and researchers work under 5,680 m2 of world leading research space dedicated to de-risking innovation, turning ideas into a commercial reality and solving real world business issues.

For more information or to arrange a visit to the centre contact us on business@afrc.org.uk or +44 (0)141 534 5200

www.afrc.org.uk

Turning ideas into a commercial reality for Renfrewshire businesses Excited by technology and obsessed with solving the toughest manufacturing problems, our talented engineers and researchers work under 5,680 m2 of world leading research space dedicated to de-risking innovation, turning ideas into a commercial reality and solving real world business issues.

For more information or to arrange a visit to the centre contact us on business@afrc.org.uk or +44 (0)141 534 5200

www.af

Business Matters Spring 2019

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Scotland’s Leading Bathroom Retailer Wholesale Domestic Bathrooms is the leading bathroom retailer in Scotland. We provide high quality bathroom products at affordable prices. As bathroom specialists, we supply all items associated with domestic bathroom installation including wall and floor coverings to all visible fixtures and fittings. Servicing both Trade & Retail customers, we offer something for all. Based in Hillington, our flagship store is Scotland’s’ largest bathroom showroom containing 100’s of product displays. Open 7 days a week, our experienced, dedicated team are always on hand to offer guidance. You can also shop 24 hours, 7 days a week on our website.

Our unique same day service, facilitated by our 133,000sqft dispatch centre containing over 5000 products, enables instant product collection. Alternatively, we can deliver direct to your home or business. At Wholesale Domestic, we bring bathrooms to life. Visit or contact us for all your bathroom needs. www.wholesaledomestic.com • Tel: 0344 809 4249

Avoid “Hidden” Commercial Property Costs and Maximise the Value of your Business Premises Building and Surveying Solutions Ltd. Was formed in 2014 by Donessa Shearer to provide a more reactive and straightforward client focused Building Surveying, and Architectural Consultancy.

Whether leasing, managing, or owning premises, property is a huge financial commitment, and the right professional advice will save money, time, and worry.

“Most businesses signing up to a lease on premises may be unaware of the significant financial risks of repair and dilapidations obligations.

An expert eye can identify issues and provide solutions to otherwise costly contentious, and disruptive property issues. “ In addition to Surveying Services, BSS Ltd. offer a unique mix of practical Architectural Design, Cost and Contract Management Services for refurbishment and alteration projects, including Building

Warrant and Planning Consents, in a single point of contact.

Whether saving money in repairs and contractor advice, proving practical solutions, or spotting potential to allow your business to grow and increase profits using existing premises, we bring many years of professional expertise and industry knowledge to help reduce property costs and provide innovative solutions.

At BSS we have helped many clients, large and small, to save money, improve their premises, and achieve considerable benefit to their own business.

Our ethos has always remained the same, we pay attention to our client’s needs, provide a quality professional service, delivered in a straightforward and cost effective manner.

Further information can be found at www.bssscotland.com, or contact us on info@bssscotland.com.

Donessa Shearer

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Business Matters Spring 2019

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100 Days To Save Coats Memorial Campaign Launched Plans for New Venue Unveiled - A Tapestry of Paisley Icons Created by Renowned Artist Andrew Crummy

Ian Henderson and Andrew Crummie are joined by pupils from Mossvale Primary

Ian Henderson and Andrew Crummy

One of Scotland’s most iconic structures could be saved from ruin and transformed into a modern multipurpose venue in plans unveiled today [Friday 1 February].

An official campaign has been launched today, signalled by a performance from Paisley Opera, to save Coats Memorial in Paisley. A team of committed fundraisers aim to raise £1.5million to breathe new life into the 125-year-old Gothic church in just 100 days.

Plans for Coats Memorial include the construction of a single storey ticketing/ booking office, landscaped gardens, a car park with space for 30 vehicles, a demountable performance stage, theatre seating for events and banquets, audio/ visual rigs for specialist cinema evenings and a 400kg lift to provide disabled access between the church floor and ballroom.

As part of the 100-day campaign, Coats Memorial has enlisted the talent of world-renowned tapestry artist, Andrew Crummy. Andrew has begun a Tapestry of Paisley Icons, paying homage to the town’s most famous sons and daughters.

Featured on the bespoke tapestry is Thomas Coats, the original Paisley icon, without whom Coats Memorial and many other public spaces and buildings in the town would not exist.

Also immortalised in the artwork are; Gerry Rafferty; John Byrne; Gerard Butler; Paolo Nutini; Mhairi Black; Phyllis Logan

Tapestry is being stitched using over 8000 donations of Anchor Threads that have been given by hundreds of local people.

“These threads are a direct legacy of The Coats family. The tapestry will also be a celebration of the skills and creativity of those that will stitch the tapestry.

“The icon panel is a celebration of this rich heritage and sends out a clear message to the world, that to have the tapestry in this beautiful venue we want to nurture this rich legacy and look forward to the future.”

Throughout the 100 days campaign Coats Memorial will also host performances by Paisley Opera, PACE Theatre Company, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and University of West Scotland Choir, with many more to be confirmed.

Coats Memorial will be open to the public every Saturday from 12pm until 4pm for the duration of the campaign.

To fundraise or donate visit: https:// www.justgiving.com/campaign/100daystos avecoatsmemorial For more information on plans and performances visit: www.100daystosavecoatsmemorial.com Find us on Twitter: @SaveCoats Follow us on Facebook: 100 Days to Save Coats Memorial Email: fundraising@savethomascoats. co.uk Call: 0141 886 5020

and David Tennant.

Ian Henderson, Coats Memorial Steering Group member said: “On behalf of the Steering Group, I can say that we have been truly humbled by the support of people like Andrew and those involved in the Tapestry of Renfrewshire for lending their talents to our community campaign.

“We hope this bespoke piece of artwork will attract thousands of visitors to Coats Memorial during the 100 days so that they can stitch a piece of history. Who knows, perhaps even some of our Paisley Icons will even make an appearance themselves.

“I am also thrilled to announce that Coats Memorial will be home to the Tapestry of Renfrewshire for the duration of our campaign. And if we meet our fundraising target, it will take up permanent residency here so that people from across Scotland and the rest of the world can appreciate it in all its glory in a worthy setting.”

The Tapestry of Renfrewshire was created in support of Paisley’s bid to become City of Culture 2021. Sadly, the bid was unsuccessful which saw the Tapestry without a home. Now, as part of the 100 Days to Save Coats Memorial campaign, the Tapestry lives on.

Andrew Crummy, artist said: “We are thrilled that this will be the home of the tapestry. We believe it is the perfect fit. The

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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PMA Contracts Ltd…Committed to providing an outstanding and professional Principal Contract Service What does your business do?

PMA Contracts are property experts passionate about the service we deliver, a comprehensive, professional and quality Principal Contract solution.

We specialise in commercial, industrial and residential refurbishment and building alteration, together with a personalised, creative interior design and decoration service.

Our experience is a combination of project management, planning, estimating, interior finishes and customer service across all market sectors.

We work with business owners, tenants, Facilities Managers and Building Surveyors, working on behalf of property owners.

What do you find most enjoyable in your day to day business life?

Meeting clients and working “in partnership” with them to enable them to create better and more productive environments whether they are office, hotel, industrial or retail units.

What are you most proud of?

Firstly the meticulous eye for detail we give to each project, regardless of

PMA Contracts share your passion for excellence in building refurbishment and alteration together with a personalised, creative interior design and decoration service.

For a limited period only, claim your 10% discount on any project.

Simply contact us and quote BM03.

Call Pauline on: 07867 503260 or email: info@pmacontracts.co.uk

size, our personalised service and our “solution” based approach.

Our highest priority is our exceptional level of client communication, instilling confidence and understanding throughout the project.

With our outstanding team of multi trades people we are not satisfied until each job is completed to the highest standard.

What are your ambitions for the future?

We want to be the Principal Contractor of choice for small to medium sized companies, Facilities Managers and Building Surveyors for all their property needs, throughout Renfrewshire and Central Scotland.

We want to deliver an outstanding and professional service to our clients from their initial consideration of new projects.

They should have the confidence and desire to engage us at the earliest stage with their designers and property advisors to examine the proposed buildings’ ability to be fit for the purpose they require.

This means that they know exactly how the environment can be made to work for them.

Why is Renfrewshire a great place to run a business?

Renfrewshire is a great place to run a business because it is growing and developing. It is continuing to attract substantial Pauline Calder, Director PMA Contracts investment providing significant opportunities. The support and encouragement given to businesses especially by Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce to help them grow is second to none and helps motivate and focus us.

What is the main thing you have learned since setting up your business?

Believe in what you are offering. Keep focussed and determined, no matter what happens. Surround yourself with a fabulous team.

Call Pauline on: 07867 503260 or email: info@pmacontracts.co.uk

Business Matters Spring 2019

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Construction - Carousel Carnage?

Widespread VAT fraud in the construction sector – often referred to as carousel fraud – costs the government and the economy hundreds of millions of pounds every year.

Legislation is now planned that will tackle the issue head on.

However, the new laws could also cripple many healthy and legitimate businesses.

In its simplest form, carousel fraud involves a fabricated supply chain. VAT is reclaimed from HMRC, and then the business disappears, along with the money. HMRC has a good track record of finding and prosecuting offenders but this is a hugely costly exercise.

The new legislation intends to remove VAT from the supply chain, and hence eliminate the problem.

This mechanism has been used successfully to quash fraud in other sectors, including mobile phone supplies, gas and electricity commodity trading.

HMRC introduced a “reverse charge” to tackle this problem, and this will be extended to the construction sector.

From 1 October 2019, many businesses in the construction sector will no longer be able to charge VAT on their supplies, and

the accounting for VAT will fall onto their customers, often the contracting party.

There will be changes to invoicing, accounting, and most importantly a 20% reduction in cash flow!

A subcontractor charging £1,000 plus VAT will only charge the net £1,000 from 1 October 2019.

On a positive note, the VAT changes will remove the temptation of fraud.

However, there will be a dramatic reduction in cash flow for businesses who have relied on this cash as working capital. And cash flow is crucial in the construction sector, which is notorious for long payment periods.

At Campbell Dallas, we are very concerned about the lack of awareness of the new rules across Scotland’s construction sector.

It is important that businesses likely to be affected start to plan now for the major changes. Cash management will be critical in the first 6 months, and most businesses will need time to settle into a new routine.

Those who are unprepared may need additional facilities, and if these are not offered, may turn to the lead contractors for quicker payment terms, or even

Greg McNally, VAT partner, Campbell Dallas

money in advance. Only those with the strongest foundations – cash – will cruise through the change.

The old adage – ‘Cash is King’ – remains as true as ever.

Greg McNally is a VAT partner at Campbell Dallas, and specialises in construction, property and land. If you would like to discuss this legislation and the impact to your business contact: E: Greg.McNally@campbelldallas.co.uk T: 0141 886 6644

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Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Corporate Scotland refuses to sit back and wait for Brexit Despite business uncertainty, severe political instability and a number of sectors such as retail and energy facing continuing tough challenges, the deals market across Scotland does not appear to be taking much notice. As the UK started 2019 with nervous anticipation, the corporate deals market in Scotland shows little sign of slowing down.

In the last 12 months, our Corporate Finance team has been involved in over 123 corporate deals and, so far, the first quarter is looking strong. In 2018, the deals spanned a large number of sectors and a wide range of deal values, involving both ends of the spectrum from large PLCs to some of Scotland’s most ambitious start-ups.

Despite what is going on around us politically, around 15% of these deals had an international element (typically involving international headquartered companies looking to invest in Scotland or increasing their investment in Scottish businesses). This included New Zealand based Xero (a global leader in accounting software) acquiring the Scottish based Instafile business as part of its growth plans.

This activity seems reflective of the wider market in Scotland where an appetite for Scottish firms remains strong. Large multinationals who had their sights set firmly on global expansion in 2018 did not appear to consider Brexit a deal breaker.

Indeed, Ernest and Young’s Scottish Attractiveness Survey in 2018 highlighted an unprecedented run of success for Scotland with a 7% increase in foreign direct investment projects, reinforcing the country’s reputation as the most attractive foreign investment destination in the UK after London.

Latest figures also indicate that Scotland’s economy and international exports both continued to grow last year with employment figures being the lowest on record.

Alan Kelly

Domestically, Scottish businesses are used to a steely “business as usual” stoical approach to political uncertainty – perhaps because they have experience of living through years of limbo leading up to the Scottish referendum in 2014.

This resilience has no doubt been a factor in the increase in investment and deal activity in 2018.

What can we learn then from the deals we have advised on over the last 12 months?

• Over 35% of the transactions involved our clients disposing of their business • Just under 30% involved clients acquiring businesses • 17% involved restructuring (many in preparation for a future planned sale) • 10% involved equity investment • 8% involved a range of other corporate activity.

Is there anything we can take from these statistics? At one level, it appears that many business owners are taking advantage of the availability of entrepreneur’s relief to realise the value in their business. Others are one stage behind and looking to re-structure to facilitate a tax efficient transaction in due course. Of the disposals/ acquisitions in which we were involved, over 15% involved passing the business to existing management. A healthy mix of activity.

As we look to the year ahead, Scotland’s deals community appears to be thriving as businesses continue to prioritise growth and development over concerns of what may or may not happen. It will remains to be seen how the political uncertainty manifests itself but certainly, it appears that corporate Scotland is not sitting back and waiting.

Alan Kelly, Head of Corporate Finance

Business Matters Spring 2019

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Protected Conversations:

Get me out of here!

Negotiating the exit of an employee can be a difficult and often tricky situation that many employers will face at some stage. Issues of poor performance, conduct and working relationship breakdown can mean that having a frank conversation about bringing the relationship to an end is required. Fortunately, the law provides a forum for such discussions.

Without prejudice negotiations It used to be the case that employers had to wait for a dispute to emerge before they could rely upon the common law “without prejudice” rule to advance settlement proposals. “Without prejudice” means that if discussions take place with a view to trying to agree a settlement while a dispute is in existence, but this is not achieved, the contents of those discussions (and even the fact that they have taken place) cannot be disclosed and a party will not be prejudiced by any offer made as part of that discussion.

However, the reality was that often these discussions would take place long before the parties were genuinely in dispute, leaving employers exposed to allegations that such conversations breached the implied term of trust and confidence entitling the employee to resign and pursue a constructive dismissal claim or assert that their dismissal was predetermined and unfair.

In July 2013 another tool was provided to employers and employees: protected conversations.

What is a protected conversation?

A protected conversation provides a vehicle for the parties to speak “off the record” with a view to facilitating

Lesley Grant

Laura Salmond

an employee’s exit, even where a dispute is not in existence, without the conversation becoming admissible in the course of an unfair dismissal claim.

The conversation can be initiated by either the employer or employee.

Negotiation usually follows the initial discussion and if a deal is agreed, this is recorded in a binding settlement agreement. The conversation (and any evidence of these discussions) is “protected” in that it cannot be relied upon as evidence in any unfair dismissal claim.

Typically, the discussions and negotiations will usually be between the employer and employee. There is no legal requirement for the employee to be accompanied to such a meeting (albeit permitting this could potentially help in the progression of the settlement discussions). Neither party is obliged to participate in the protected conversation if they do not wish to. Equally an employee does not have to accept the terms of the settlement agreement proposed by the employer. And there may be some form of negotiation.

The protection does not apply where

there has been “improper behaviour” by either party. This includes all forms of harassment, bullying and intimidation, physical assault or the threat of such, victimisation and discrimination, putting undue pressure on a party (such as not giving proper time for consideration (ACAS suggests 10 days should be given to employees to consider matters) or saying that the employee will be dismissed unless they accept the deal. Threatening to undermine the employer’s reputation could be considered improper behaviour. If this exists, the negotiations may be something that can be relied upon.

Get it sorted!

Understanding when and how to conduct these conversations is key to ensuring that the protection applies and mitigates the risk of these negotiations later becoming admissible in evidence.

If you want to think about resolving these types of dispute, or want to chat about employment law, contact your friendly employment lawyer at BTO Solicitors LLP.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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3 Reasons to Consider Heat Mapping for your Business Website We’re all looking for our company websites to contribute more towards the business, whether it be through online sales, generating leads or pushing people through to social channels.

Despite that, many business owners can’t explain with any real certainty how users are actually interacting with pages on their site, or how that interaction is impacting the ability of the page to drive sales, leads or social channel visits.

Does that sound like you and your website? We suggest you explore Heat Mapping.

Heat Mapping is a visual technique for understanding how users interact with your site. It’s often used as part of a process of improving website performance. Even on its own it can

provide some eye opening, yet very easy to understand, reports that can lead to high impact change. All at reasonably low cost.

Scroll Tracking Businesses often have a lot of content on some of the key pages of their site, scattered with images, videos, text and calls-to-action, making for a lengthy page.

You’d be surprised at how little many users scroll on a page. Do you know how many people actually see your key calls to action further down the page? Heat Mapping will let you see exactly that!

Hover and Click Tracking The nice navigation, those lovely header images, the expandable menus on page, but are they grabbing user attention? Heat

Mapping visually reports where the users mouse has hovered, and where the user has clicked. This can prove a very quick win in understanding which areas of the page are / aren’t working. A big step towards making small effective changes.

Improvements At Reduced Cost Your site developments should be driven by what works, not simply by what looks appealing. Using heat mapping to produce a visual representation of how your website contributes to your business will allows you to move away from high cost redesigns every other year, to lower cost tests and ongoing adjustments, based on real data.

Interested in learning more? Feel free to get in touch: contactus@aillum.com

Business Matters Spring 2019

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I am Me (Scotland)

I Am Me (Scotland) have celebrated a fantastic year of achievement and recognition for the work they do, not only in Renfrewshire, but across Scotland.

Not only have they won the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, but their founder has been awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Years Honours List for services to the prevention of Disability Hate Crime.

The Charity was initially set up as a community project by founder Carol BurtWilson in 2013 to work in partnership with Police Scotland to raise awareness of Disability Hate Crime. The project consisted of two key initiatives which were designed and developed with local young people and disabled people.

Since inception, the project has been supported by Renfrewshire Council and grown to become a nationally recognised charity, with a small staff team (Carol.

Kieran, Megan and Debbie) and a fantastic volunteer base who provide Committee and Board Support.

Recognising the need for early intervention and prevention, the first initiative, I Am Me – now rebranded as #MakeaDifference, began as a screen play which was based on real life stories

of people who had been targeted because of their disabilities. The I Am Me performance, designed to be hard hitting, was initially delivered to young people in Renfrewshire before being booked to attend other local authorities.

Unable to keep up with the demand, the community group raised enough money to commission the performance into an award winning film. They then worked with partners across Education and the third sector to develop a training pack to accompany the film. Further developments have seen a primary school resource and accompanying films being developed which work with children to discuss the range of disabilities, the impact of bullying and the consequences of hate crime. The award winning resources are delivered from the Charity Cinebus and are also available free from the Charity website www.iammescotland.co.uk.

The other initiative, Keep Safe, was designed in partnership with Police Scotland to provide a support network across communities for elderly, disabled and vulnerable people to seek support if needed when participating in daily community life. Keep Safe relies on a volunteer network of local businesses and community spaces to become ‘Safe’

places. All potential Keep Safe places are approved by Police Scotland and staff are trained on the initiative. Keep Safe cards are available for anyone who needs them and has information about health concerns, communication requirements and emergency contacts.

If someone needs support, they can enter a Keep Safe place where staff can provide assistance. All Keep Safe places can be found on a free app – Keep Safe Scotland. The initiative has been so successful that it is now has over 600 Keep Safe places in 29 of the 32 local authority areas.

In addition to the Keep Safe places, there are over 500 Keep Safe Ambassadors trained. These are young people, disabled people and community members trained how to recognise incidents of hate crime and given the confidence to report these incidents safely.

If you would like to find out more about the Charity, the fantastic team and wonderful volunteers, or, would like to sponsor the Keep Safe initiative or App, or become part of the Keep Safe network, just get in touch at iammeproject@yahoo. co.uk where the team would love to hear from you.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

15

PACE Theatre Company Ltd

Obsidian Ore

PACE is a non-for-profit theatre company that specialises in working with young people aged from 3-21 years. We focus on nurturing and developing young creative talent through our varied and year-round programme of performing arts experiences. PACE Youth Theatre is the largest of its kind in the UK, with over 1,000 young people attending each week.

We also produce the annual pantomime at Paisley Arts Centre along with other professional theatre and touring productions.

We are committed to ensuring that financial circumstances are not a barrier to participation and offer both concession and bursary places, as well as family discounts. Overall, it is our aim is to create an inclusive and welcoming environment in which young people can thrive.

PACE also manages The Wynd Centre auditorium, as well as rehearsal facilities in Spires Studios. These facilities are available to the community to hire for professional and amateur productions, events and conferences.

For more information call on 0345 130 5218 or visit us at www.pacetheatre.com.

You can also find us here: Twitter: @pace_yt Facebook: www.facebook.com/paceyouththeatre Instagram: pacetheatreofficial

Include Me 2 Club SCIO works to engage, inspire and empower children, young people and adults with an additional support needs and disabilities across Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Glasgow. We provide a range of clubs, services, programmes and opportunities to break the stigma, tackle the isolation and create inclusive communities.

Obsidian Ore is a Scottish textile design company Based in the west of Scotland and specialising in high-end interior fabrics and furnishings.

Living in Paisley and Inspired by the overlooked, visual variety found in the historic buildings, the modern office blocks and the beautiful views in this world, designer Geri paints from the diverse, old and new architecture to create versatile, bold and colourful designs that create a statement and can be situated in any space, created with the aim to bring iridescence, metallic textures and the colour green into your home.

Discover Obsidian Ore’s versatile and decorative designs which are digitally printed onto high quality fabrics and are suitable for upholstery and drapery, as well as abstract giclee prints, handsewn printed cushions and handmade embroidered artworks.

See more from Obsidian Ore on our website and at the Incube Shop on Gilmour street in the heart of Paisley’s town centre.

Contact Details Name: Geraldine Donnelly Company: Obsidian Ore Website: www.obsidianore.com email: geri@obsidianore.com Stockist: The Incube shop, Gilmour Street, Paisley

Through our social enterprises approaches we provide short breaks via our Caravan Club and through our new Hub at James McGuire Building in Barrhead, are tackling the employability gulf in skills, qualifications and experience for our members in both Retail and Catering Sectors.

www.includeme2club.org.uk includeme2club@hotmail.co.uk 07525 208 738 Include Me 2 Club SCIO (SC047911)

Business Matters Spring 2019

16

AIRPORT CONTRIBUTES £260 MILLION TO RENFREWSHIRE AND SUPPORTS ALMOST 3,600 JOBS GLASGOW AIRPORT DELIVERING HUGE ECONOMIC VALUE FOR SCOTLAND

TODAY

£1.44bn GVA annually

Supports over 30,000 jobs

Strong connectivity to over 120 routes

2040

£2.54bn GVA annually

9.7m passengers

- Study underlines Glasgow Airport’s economic importance to the region A study has confirmed the valuable contribution Glasgow Airport makes More than A gateway for over Exported over £1.7bn 100 companies £3.5bn in imports and - more than any other to the Renfrewshire and national based on site exports outside of the EU* Scottish airport* economies.

The economic impact study reveals *2017 figures derived from HMRC statistics the airport, which welcomed 9.7 million passengers in 2018, generates in excess of £1.44 billion (GVA) annually and supports more than 30,000 jobs across Scotland.

Produced by economists York Aviation, the study also outlined that if Glasgow continues to grow as forecast in its Master Plan the airport would contribute £2.54 billion (GVA), support over 43,000 jobs and welcome 17 million passengers annually by 2040.

Locally, the airport also generates more than £260 million (GVA) annually for the Renfrewshire economy and supports almost 3,600 jobs. By 2040, it is forecasted that Glasgow Airport would generate £470 million for the Renfrewshire economy and support over 5,200 jobs.

Mark Johnston MD, Glasgow Airport Mark Johnston, Glasgow Airport’s address the current constraints such as Managing Director, said: “This study motorway congestion and delivering the confirms the huge economic benefits planned rail link.” the airport generates for the city and A new Advanced Manufacturing Scotland each year. With a total annual Innovation District (AMID) next to the economic impact of £1.44 billion airport is also set to create up to 10,000 supporting over 30,000 jobs nationwide, additional jobs. To date, two anchor the findings are very encouraging tenants have been confirmed – the and show that when Glasgow Airport £56-million Medical Manufacturing succeeds Scotland shares the benefit.

Innovation Centre (MMIC) and the “These findings are hugely significant £65-million National Manufacturing and we want to continue to grow in a Institute for Scotland (NMIS). sustainable and responsible manner. We The study has been produced to have invested more than £130 million inform Glasgow Airport’s 2040 Master in our facilities since 2011 and have a Plan, which will be published for public strategy in place through our Master consultation later this year.

Plan to put us on the path to becoming a Bob Grant, Renfrewshire Chamber of 17-million passenger airport by 2040. By Commerce Chief Executive, said: “This this point the airport would also support report brings into sharp focus the value of a further 13,000 jobs and generate an Glasgow Airport as a key infrastructure additional £1.1 billion annually. asset to the Scottish economy. There is “We can’t do this on our own and it huge potential to increase GVA to 2040 via is imperative that through the ongoing the Master Plan. support of our national and city “Government, along with public and partners such as Renfrewshire Chamber private sector partners can support that of Commerce, we ensure Glasgow growth by understanding the challenges Airport continues to thrive and deliver of competing in a global marketplace. for Scotland. To do this we also need to

Supports over 43,000 jobs

Increased connectivity worldwide with growing net work

17m passengers

In today’s economic climate growth is never guaranteed.

“Thousands of jobs are coming to Renfrewshire and the City Region with the development of innovation hubs such as AMID. An enhanced transport infrastructure is required to facilitate this expansion.

“Delivery of the planned rail-link is an essential component of that strategy and will support Glasgow Airport as they continue to invest many millions for the benefit of our economy.”

The study also confirms Glasgow’s critical role as a gateway for global exports and imports, with the airport handling more than £3.5bn in goods in 2017.

In December last year it was announced that Emirates would introduce the iconic A380 aircraft to the airline’s Dubai service – a first in Scottish aviation history. Glasgow Airport is currently investing more than £8 million to upgrade its facilities in preparation for the arrival of the world’s largest commercial aircraft in April this year.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

17

GLASGOW AIRPORT DELIVERING HUGE ECONOMIC VALUE FOR SCOTLAND

TODAY

£1.44bn GVA annually

Supports over 30,000 jobs

A gateway for over £3.5bn in imports and exports outside of the EU*

Strong connectivity to over 120 routes

Exported over £1.7bn - more than any other Scottish airport*

2040

£2.54bn GVA annually

9.7m passengers

More than 100 companies based on site

Supports over 43,000 jobs

Increased connectivity worldwide with growing net work

*2017 figures derived from HMRC statistics

NEW! FRANKFURT, MUNICH & VENICE

17m passengers

Business Matters Spring 2019

18

Customer Service Mentoring Group “The Disney Way” with Colin Neill Colin Neill is ex Supply Chain Director with Diageo, formerly a Director at Renfrewshire Chamber, Renfrewshire Leisure and Past President of Cricket Scotland.

You will learn from these sessions what is world class customer service and how to apply the principles to your business.

If your business deals with customers then these sessions are for you. Using his experience of implementing world class customer service across Diageo and his experience of learning all about how Disney manage their customer service – Colin will make these group sessions informative, value adding, fun & memorable for all the right reasons.

The group will meet 3 times starting on the morning of Friday 24th May at the Chambers offices in Paisley at Glasgow Airport. You must aim to attend all sessions.

Organisations must have been in business for 1 year and have aspirations to grow turnover.

• Places limited to 12 max • Session 1) Friday 24th May 8.30am – 11am Arrival and Breakfast from 8am • Session 2) Friday 31st May 8.30am – 11am • Session 3) Friday 7th June 8.30am -11am These sessions are delivered under the Business Mentoring Programme – a partnership between Scottish Chambers and Scottish Enterprise.

These sessions are open to members & non-members from Renfrewshire, East Ren, Inverclyde, Dunbartonshire & Helensburgh.

To book a place please contact Mentoring Executive Stuart Murray on smurray@renfrewshirechamber.com Tel 0141 847 5458 or Bob Grant on bgrant@ renfrewshirechamber.com Spaces limited on a first come first served basis.

Business Busine Get your Business Matters ss M a t s ters r e t t a M message out to the Renfrewshire ROCCO 2018 business HELLO THA380 E WINNERS community SPRING 2019 EDITION

& EWSHIRE GROW HELPING RENFR

HELPING RENFREWSHIRE GROW & PROSPER

PROSPER

WINTER 2018 EDITION

EDITION AUTUMN 2018

ROCCO 20T18 SHORTLIS ED ANNOUNC

#HELLOA380

HELPING RENFR EWSHIRE GROW &

INSIDE: Rocco Winners, Annual . ers new re..

Review in picture Me mb updates & mo s, Council upd s, s, Chamb&erConstruction, ates, You ers NewProperty INSIDE: B2B, Airport Economic Impact & AMIDS ng people and rtlist, Memb Sho lots more…..

O CC RO INSIDE: PLUS: Updates & news from Chamber, Council & Members

Business Matters is the magazine of Renfrewshire Chamber and is sent to all members, hotels, business centres, receptions and quality coffee shops across Renfrewshire.

Inform readers about: Your new product or service; awards; new office; new member of staff etc…

2,000 copies distributed every quarter, shared online and at all Chamber Events.

Contact Jill Carrino, Development Manager at the Chamber for more info: 0141 847 5450 or JCarrino@renfrewshirechamber.com

PROSPER

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

19

Business Matters Spring 2019

20

Annual Member Survey 2019 Thank you to all Chamber members who completed our Annual membership survey. We received close to eighty responses and your feedback will help the chamber team plan for the coming year.

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Don’t % Good / % Good / % Good / % Good / % Good / % Good / % Good / % Good / % Good / use / not Poor Satisf. Good Excell’t excell’t excell’t excell’t excell’t excell’t excell’t excell’t excell’t excell’t relev.

Our events (networking lunches / seminars etc..)

8

1

2

24

40

96%

96%

93%

96%

98%

99%

91%

90%

90%

The ROCCO Awards

19

0

5

10

36

90%

91%

94%

97%

99%

98%

95%

91%

92%

Our Services (HR, Legal, Health, Merchant etc..)

44

0

4

16

11

87%

87%

87%

78%

87%

86%

76%

74%

81%

Export Documentation

58

1

1

6

11

88%

89%

94%

93%

100%

81%

82%

80%

100%

Business Mentoring

36

1

4

10

24

87%

84%

97%

87%

93%

94%

89%

85%

83%

Business Centre / Meeting Rooms

53

0

3

11

8

86%

74%

72%

62%

83%

82%

85%

63%

71%

Business Matters magazine

4

0

8

34

29

89%

90%

93%

93%

96%

97%

86%

84%

87%

eNews (email bulletin)

8

0

6

40

21

91%

86%

89%

86%

90%

93%

85%

87%

84%

Website

10

0

8

40

17

88%

83%

90%

89%

88%

83%

79%

81%

80%

Social media (facebook / twitter / Linkedin etc..)

23

0

9

22

21

83%

80%

80%

92%

94%

96%

83%

84%

75%

iPhone / Android app

61

1

2

6

5

79%

56%

82%

74%

85%

77%

68%

74%

71%

Access to lobbying support

59

0

2

9

5

88%

82%

94%

60%

67%

77%

80%

64%

-

Our connections via SCC / BCC

47

0

4

17

7

86%

80%

86%

75%

79%

88%

89%

68%

-

The Chamber team

3

0

0

12

60

100%

98%

97%

96%

100%

97%

93%

96%

-

The Chamber Board

18

0

3

18

36

95%

91%

86%

86%

98%

88%

84%

82%

-

Opportunities to network, learn and promote biz

7

1

6

19

42

90%

85%

85%

85%

91%

87%

85%

83%

-

Our customer service

3

0

4

18

50

94%

94%

97%

96%

97%

97%

88%

92%

91%

Membership price

6

0

9

32

28

87%

75%

77%

70%

83%

83%

75%

77%

71%

Overall how do you rate the Chamber

0

0

2

23

50

97%

94%

96%

94%

98%

99%

86%

91%

85%

90%

85%

89%

85%

91%

85%

84%

81%

83%

Average across all: Response count

2011 = 80 • 2012 = 102 • 2013 = 88 • 2014 = 75 • 2015 = 98 • 2016 = 88 • 2017 = 76 • 2018 = 84 • 2019 = 75

highlighted = highest score

Chamber Business Awards 2019 - Open for Entry until midnight 28th June Recognising and rewarding excellence in British business, the Chamber Business Awards is one of the UK’s most contested and prestigious business awards programmes. Each year, from Aberdeen to Cornwall, organisations of all sizes and from all sectors compete for the coveted titles and national recognition they bring.

Key Dates • 7th March – Awards launch • 28th June – Closing date for entries • 23rd September – Regional winners announced • 28th November – Gala Dinner, national winners announced!

Our 2019 Chamber Business Award categories • Small Business of the Year • Export Business of the Year • Best Use of Technology • Employer of the Year • Workplace Wellbeing Award • Customer Commitment Award • High Growth Business of the Year • Family Business of the Year • E-Commerce Business of the Year Follow us on @chamber_awards #ChamberAwards The entry process couldn’t be simpler, with full category details and submissions made online at www. chamberawards.co.uk

This year, only fully paid members of Accredited Chambers of Commerce can enter 8 of the 9 categories for the 2019 Chamber Business Awards programme. However, the E-Commerce Business of the Year award is open to nonmembers, should a non-member win the national award for this category, they will not be eligible to win Business of the Year.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

Chamber Pictures

21

Up and Coming Events See our events section on our website: www.renfrewshirechamber.com • 0141 847 5450 events@renfrewshirechamber.com Graduate Apprenticeship opportunities with UWS Tuesday 16th April. 8.am to 9.30am. Atrium, Paisley Campus. Free to attend, breakfast included

AGM 2018

Burns Speaker Martin Cassidy & Piper Samuel Riis St Columbas School

Time called on Property & Construction subcontractors applying VAT charges with Campbell Dallas Wed 24th April 8am-9.30am • Free to attend for members. Titanium 1, Kings Inch Pl “Pitch & Roll” Breakfast Networking with Abbey Mill Business Centre Wed 1st May, 8am to 9-15am Free to attend for members & Abbeymill Tenants B2B 2019 The Lagoon Paisley Thurs 16th May 10am-4pm Exhibitors: £150+vat Members £250+vat non-Members

Pitch & Roll Abbeymill

Business Matters in Renfrewshire your local B2B event

ALL FREE TO ATTEND

Thurs 16th May 10am-4pm. The Lagoon, Paisley

50 + Exhibitors & 6 Seminars

Burns Singer Claire Hastings

10 Steps to Being Successful with RBS & Basics & Beyond Ltd Tues 21st May 12pm-2pm Glasgow Airport Business Centre • Free to attend

St Benedicts High School, Burns Lunch

Park Mains HS Feb Lunch

Customer Service Mentoring Group “The Disney Way” with Colin Neill Session 1 Friday 24th May 8.30am-11am Fri 31st May & Fri 7th June Contact Stuart Murray Smurray@renfrewshirechamber.com Chamber Golf Challenge 2019 Friday 14th June. Ranfurly Castle GC 8am-3pm Shotgun Start £280 per fourball 18 teams includes breakfast & lunch

Trinity High School, Christmas Lunch

Michell Ferguson, Scotland’s Bravest Manufac Co

Negotiating Skills with RBS & Basics & Beyond Ltd Thurs 20th June 12pm-2pm Glasgow Airport Business Centre Free to attend Rocco Awards 2019 Friday 15th November 2019 at the Normandy with host Fred MacAulay facebook.com/renfrewshirechamberofcommerce

Christmas Entertainment with Diane Mitchell School of Music

Follow the chamber:

Christmas Lunch

twitter.com/renfrewshirecoc

Business Matters Spring 2019

22

BOOK NOW FOR B2B 2019 Business Matters in Renfrewshire returns on Thursday 16th May. Taking place at the Lagoon, Paisley 10am4pm the area’s largest free business event is sponsored by Paisley.is

SEMINAR 1 10.15am-11am: Paisley.is – as the area’s destination brand marks its first anniversary, find out more about ongoing plans to attract both visitors and investors to Renfrewshire; the exciting ‘Future Paisley’ commitment to cultural regeneration; and the gamechanging City Deal developments at Glasgow Airport and the emerging innovation district for advanced manufacturing.

Exhibitors...

Mark and Alison Hazell Jaw Brew

SEMINAR 2

GET YOUR BUSINESS INTO GEAR

11.15am-12pm “Social Now to Social Wow!” delivering first class service through social media - A fun and engaging workshop discussing what “great social service» looks like with examples from a variety of companies asking if we really deliver quality customer service, or do we focus on the numbers. Do we look for opportunities to wow customers or do we just react to complaints? With Gary Ennis from NS Design.

Entrepreneurs in Renfrewshire can access tailored advice to help them realise their potential whether it’s for a young business looking to expand or a wellestablished company that’s ready to grow.

The local team of advisers know exactly how it feels to launch and grow a successful venture, because they’ve done it themselves. By accessing the advice and practical support of the team, you will gain the knowledge and the skills required to achieve your long term goals.

SEMINAR 3

Business Gateway’s fully funded services including one-to-one business advice, a programme of workshops and expert help surgeries, will give anyone interested in or already running a business, the confidence and ability to ultimately succeed.

Launching Jaw Brew (www.jawbrew.co.uk) in 2014, the couple produces seven beers from their base at Hillington Park and employ five members of staff.

Mark said: “We felt there was a gap in the market and with the support of Business Gateway we put our plan in place. Business Gateway gave us varied support, from helping us with our business plan to referring us to the Invest in Renfrewshire programme where we were able to access some growth funding.

We also attended free workshops and we are now receiving assistance in creating a detailed marketing and action plan in order to continue our growth.”

To find out how Business Gateway Renfrewshire can help you, visit www.bgateway.com/renfrewshire or call 0141 530 2406.

When Mark and Alison Hazell decided to turn their hobby of home-brewing into a business they sought support from Business Gateway.

“ I’d like to update my professional qualifications ” West College Scotland offers a range of professional training and development courses to help you update your skills.

THE ROYAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

INSTITUTE OF SCOTLAND

First Aid

Clydebank Campus 0141 951 7555 Greenock Campus 01475 553 044 Paisley Campus 0141 581 2121

t

0300 600 6060

w www.westcollegescotland.ac.uk

12.15pm-1pm: Doing Business with Renfrewshire Council - Renfrewshire Councils’ Procurement team will talk about the opportunities to bid for Council contracts and how best to position your business for this. The Councils Business Development team will be available to support and advise on the next steps.

Download our free business support app.

SEMINAR 4 1.15pm-2pm:How to win business using LinkedIn. Why LinkedIn is an essential tool for business owners and employees. With Gordon White from fatBuzz.

SEMINAR 5 2.15pm-3pm: How to grow a greener business with Resource Efficient Scotland - a programme of Zero Waste Scotland SEMINAR 6 3.15pm-4pm: Business Futures: Accelerating Digital, Social & Transformational Technologies.

With Dr Matt Frew, Senior Lecturer in Enterprise from the School of Business and Enterprise UWS.

The day is free to attend and open to all businesses, schools, pupils & students.

There is a charge to exhibit – please contact the Chamber (£150 + vat members, £250 + vat non-members)

To book your free place to attend please go to www.renfrewshirechamber.com Twitter hashtag is #b2bpaisley

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

23

New Members On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Chamber staff we would like to welcome onboard the following new members.

Aspray (Paisley) Ltd

Greenlaw Graphics Ltd

The Focus Group

Insurance /Contracting Works Nicky Moncur 07786 628 259 paisley@aspray.com

Printers Helena Brown 01505 800482 w_brown@btconnect.com

Training Consultants Lynn Hunter 0141 473 0660 lynn@focus-hs.co.uk

Balfour Engineering Consultancy Ltd

Hutton Creative Design

Westway Park Renfrew

Branding Design/Digital Media Mark Hutton 07939 211222 huttoncreative@me.com

Industrial, Warehousing, Distribution & Office Space Fiona Riddell 0141 886 6373 Fiona@frpr.co.uk

Engineering Consultancy Iain Balfour 07734 059061 iain@balfourengineering.co.uk

Bespoke Financial

Include Me 2 Club SCIO (SC047911) Community Services Paul McIlvenny 07525 208 738 includeme2club@hotmail.co.uk

Wholesale Domestic

Financial Services Paul Kelly 0793 1867141 p.kelly@bespokefinancialglasgow.co.uk

BrightSkye

JGBA Ltd

Yellow Slate Design

IT support solutions Kenny Dalzell 0141 212 2240 kenny.dalzell@brightskye.uk

Accountants Gillian Crawford / Johana McLachlan 0141 636 6400 admin@jgbaltd.co.uk

Branding Xander Campbell 0782 4397775 xander@yellowslatedesign.com

Clan Engineering (SCOTLAND) Ltd

Paisley Drinks Company

Building & Surveying Solutions

Engineering Services Kevin Ryan 0141 266 0005 service@clanengineers.co.uk

CW Mortgages Financial Services Claire Walsh 0785 5452368 claire@cwmortgages.co.uk

Eclipse Digital Digital media marketing Greig McKean 07415 365755 info@eclipsedigitalmarketing.com

Drinks Trade / Retail Brian O’Shea 07951692992 brian@paisleydrinkscompany.com

Priority Scotland Insurance Claims Specialist Leo Bolland 0141 488 0022 claims@priorityscotland.co.uk

Shore Wraps Ltd Vehicle Wrap/Graphics Company Chris Williams / Scott McConnell 0141 370 6114 info@shorewraps.com

Bathroom Retailer Brian Toward 0344 809 4249 brian.toward@wholesaledomestic.com

Building & Surveying Donessa Shearer 07841 043 636 donessa@bssscotland.com

Thistle Properties (Scotland) Ltd “YOPA” Estate Agency June MacKenzie 07921 666 086 june.mackenzie@yopa.co.uk

Business Matters Spring 2019

24

First Minister and Business Groups Launch New Partnership for Female Entrepreneurs The Future Female Business Leaders Programme launches nationwide today (26th February 2019) with some of the most recognisable and successful Scottish businesswomen leading the way to developing and growing women-led businesses and women in leadership positions.

This new partnership, supported by the First Minister, will specifically work to tackle the key challenges that face women when it comes to growing their business or advancing their professional careers.

The programme will provide participants with an unparalleled network of experienced women in business who will mentor, guide and support the growth of women-led businesses and senior women in the corporate and public sector.

Future Female Business Leaders brings together two of Scotland’s most influential organisations; the programme will be led and delivered by Scottish Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with the Association of Scottish Businesswomen.

Commenting on the launch of the Future Female Business Leaders programme, Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Director & Chief Executive, Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘’This is a perfect example of playing to the strengths and connectivity of both the public and private sector. It is an economic priority to ensure that we create an infrastructure which will unlock the outstanding opportunities which exist for females in the workplace enabling more of us to progress to the very top. It will also be a beacon for others to follow, and at the same time, increase the number of successful businesses run by women to grow and expand.

Mentoring will be integral to our focus, but it will be wider in terms of

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

bringing together business leaders and other organisations who want to play a role in this development. We are also excited at bringing in an international dimension, identifying potential new connections and new orders”.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, said: “Helping more women to set up and succeed in business is both an economic and a moral imperative. By encouraging and supporting women to create and grow businesses, we can create greater equality which in turn builds a stronger and fairer economy.

The Scottish Chambers represent more than 11,000 companies across the country with a pool of over 1,000 mentors dispersed widely across Scotland. We have invested nearly £400,000 this year on projects to support female entrepreneurship, which includes the Chambers’ Future Female Business Leaders programme.

It is a scheme which will help some of

the next generation of women business leaders as they start their careers. And it will also – if my experiences are anything to go by - provide enlightenment and inspiration for the mentors.’’

Lyndsey Greer-Phillips, President, Association of Scottish Businesswomen, said: “Our approach is innovative and modern and is all about tapping into the talents and experience of successful women entrepreneurs and matching them with ambitious, driven and aspiring women in business. This partnership is all about collaboration, unlocking ideas and talents that add value to your business and to your life.

For many women in business, these talents and ideas can often be overlooked, holding them back and limiting their contributions to our economy. That’s why this partnership is so appealing. It’s led by women in business and is for women in business.’’

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

25

The Rose Review of female entrepreneurship The government-commissioned Rose Review examines the barriers women in business face and what can be done to overcome them.

Highlights • The advancement of female entrepreneurs is a £250bn opportunity for the UK economy • Currently, female entrepreneurs are underrepresented in the manufacturing, IT, financial services and transportation sectors • The Rose Review recommends increasing funding for women who want to start a business, and providing greater family care support so they can reach their goals The UK is the start-up capital of Europe, attracting more venture capital than any other European country, yet only one in three UK entrepreneurs is female.

In comparison with 15% of women in Canada, almost 11% of women in the US, and over 9% of women in Australia and the Netherlands, only 5.6% of UK women run their own companies.

But without more women in business, the UK is losing out. According to a new government-backed review by Alison Rose, CEO of commercial and private banking at RBS Group, boosting female entrepreneurship could add £250bn to the economy.

“We need the creativity and innovation that comes from diversity to keep up with the rapidly changing world around us” Rose was appointed by Robert Jenrick, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, to identify the entrepreneurial gender gap and what could be done to reduce it. Her findings, published to coincide with International Women’s Day, reveal that female entrepreneurs are underrepresented in high-value sectors such as manufacturing, IT and communications, and financial services.

What’s holding women back? Rose’s review says access to funding, risk aversion, primary care responsibilities and perception of skills are among the barriers female entrepreneurs need to overcome. And in order to do that, she recommends eight initiatives the private sector (and parts of the public

Award-winning businesswoman and chef, Asma Khan, spoke to Alison Rose about starting up.

sector) can take forward, including: increased funding; support from private investors; the expansion of mentoring and networking opportunities; and accelerating the rollout of entrepreneurial courses to schools and colleges.

Rose says: “Business has a big part to play in making the UK the best place to start and scale a business, regardless of gender. It’s clear that tailored support from specialists who understand the different challenges that female business owners face, as well as the way they think and run their business, makes a real difference to success rates.

“We need the creativity and

innovation that comes from diversity to keep up with the rapidly changing world around us. The goal of this report is to help build a stronger, more productive economy by making the UK the best country in the world for women to start and grow new businesses.”

For more information please contact Samantha Swift MIOEE CCBI, Business Growth Enabler, Business Banking, The Royal Bank of Scotland, email: Samantha.Swift@rbs.co.uk Mobile: 07752 260371 LinkedIn: www.linkedin/in/samanthamswift twitter @samantha_swift1

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Graduate Coms Intern 3rd year Student Matthew McCaw marketing internship Courtney Norris joins team The chamber recently welcomed student Matthew McCaw for a 2-week marketing internship. Matthew hails from Northern Ireland and is in 3rd year of a Business Degree at Strathclyde University.

Matthew said “I am very appreciative of the opportunity to contribute to the important work of the chamber and I learnt a great deal as well as having fun doing it. The chamber team were very helpful and welcoming for the short time I was there, and I enjoyed the experience immensely.”

The chamber has recently welcomed new team member Courtney Norris. Courtney joined in January for a six-month placement in the role of Graduate Communications Intern.

She has an MSc in Professional Communication with First Class Distinction from The University of Aberdeen and an MA in English Literature. Courtney’s role includes refreshing the chamber social media channels and generating informative content If you have any good news or company updates you wish to share please contact Courtney on 0141 847 5450 email cnorris@renfrewshirechamber.com

Russell Campbell Export Documentation Did you know we certify 15,000 export documents a year for 70 clients?

Members receive a significant discount.

Contact Laura Connor at the Chamber for more info lconnor@renfrewshirechamber.com / 0141 847 5465

The Chamber staff & directors wish to acknowledge the sad passing in January of our Rocco Piper Russell Campbell. Russell was a great friend to the chamber and regularly performed at our Rocco Awards and Burns lunch welcoming guests with great skill on the pipes creating a real sense of occasion. Chamber members who met Russell will remember his easy smile and warm nature.

Our thoughts are with Anne and the family at this time.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Flexible Workforce Development Fund

Last year, West College Scotland delivered courses to its Flexible Workforce Development Fund clients in…

 Office365  Management  Digital literacy  Cyber Security  Process Technology  Health & Social Care  British Sign Language  Project Management  Welding & Electrical  Health and Safety  Customer Service  Mindfulness  Social Media  Coaching

With our ability to educate & train across such a wide variety of topics, there’s more than one reason why it’s called ‘flexible’.

Like us on Facebook

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Follow us on twitter

0800 052 9612

w www.westcollegescotland.ac.uk/business

Business Matters Spring 2019

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YouTube marketing: How to embed video in your social media strategy The popularity of YouTube marketing has grown massively among brands in recent years.

With over 1.9bn monthly users and a greater reach than many TV networks, that’s hardly a surprise.

In this article, we’ll discuss how SME owners can make YouTube marketing a valuable part of their overall strategy.

The basics of effective YouTube marketing Here’s how you can get started with YouTube marketing: 1) Creating videos First, decide on the type of videos you want to produce by thinking about why the customers you’re targeting might want to watch a video relating to your product/ service.

The most effective types of YouTube marketing video are: • YouTube Live Event videos • Explainer/product description/Q&A videos • Trailer or launch videos for new products • Un-boxing videos (a new and hugely popular alternative to product reviews) • Stats videos (highly shareable – especially for younger folks) • Testimonials/case studies • Behind-the-scenes manufacturing/ employment videos • Blooper videos (think SpaceX) Next, create a style guide for composing your videos. Unlike other platforms, YouTube has no maximum video length.

Although Google rates longer videos as more relevant, research suggests the sweet spot for audiences is around two minutes.

Whatever length you choose, set out to capture the audience’s attention within five seconds or less.

In terms of branding, you might want to consider adding your logo and keeping a consistent colour palette (both in the thumbnail and throughout the video itself).

But, be careful about being overly aggressive when it comes to promoting

your brand. If it looks like you’re just trying to get your logo or company name seen and heard as many times as possible without saying anything of substance, your audience might see your video as insincere and quickly move on.

Another advantage of YouTube marketing is the quality of video you can upload.

There’s nothing wrong with filming on your phone or basic camera; it’ll save cash up-front and help the video look authentic. But it might also be worth investing in some decent video equipment – even something as simple as a GoPro can produce amazing results!

That said, as a general rule of thumb, it’s the quality of your content and message that counts, so don’t spend big unless you really want to!

Pair your video up with an audio track to add an extra layer of interest.

Don’t have one to hand? Check out the YouTube audio library for free stock examples, or take a look at the options on www.bensound.com (a favourite of ours). Just remember to credit them!

2) Promoting videos The key to promoting YouTube marketing videos is to make them as accessible and interconnected as possible.

So, make sure your YouTube channel name matches up with your company name and website URL as far as possible.

Also, add some promotional copy for the channel in your company’s preferred tone, and include links to related resources (e.g. product/service page).

Link your YouTube videos to your company website via the YouTube Partner Programme. That way, viewers can click right through, and your company site’s SEO will receive a boost.

Google can’t scan videos in the same way as text, so you’ll need to optimise the video’s title, description and tags to ensure it ranks well, and can appear as a ‘related video’ at the end of other clips on a similar theme.

Embed the video in one or more locations on your company website. And,

Gary Ennis, Founder and Managing Director of NSDesign Ltd

be sure to share widely on social media – videos come into their own on these platforms. You might also want to upload some of your videos direct to the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn, as this approach is likely to give them a broader reach.

3) Analysing/improving campaigns With YouTube, the obvious key metric to look for is the total number of views.

However, you should also track the associated actions viewers have taken (e.g. how long they watched the video for/where they went afterwards), and the eventual impact on your sales rates.

If you want to go all-in, look out for comments on social media that might indicate how the video has been received.

Posting regularly should improve your reach and ROI. So, if you’ve got the resources to invest, use your understanding of these metrics to decide how best to approach your next video.

These are just the basics of YouTube marketing, but there’s so much more to learn…

Get the expert advice you need to perfect your online marketing; join us at our next ‘Embrace The Space’ social media training workshop.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Grow your business with a free business mentor Our Business Mentoring service can help business owners like you realise your personal and business growth ambitions, giving you the ability to take your company to new heights.

We can put you in touch with highly experienced entrepreneurs who are ready to share the secrets of their success. Using this service will not just give you the confidence to develop your business it will also introduce you to a great network of contacts who can open doors and inspire new thinking. Support can be on a one-to-one or group basis to suit you and your business needs.

With a large and diverse pool of mentors across all sectors, you will be matched with someone who has the right skills and

experience to add value to their business. Example of where business mentoring can help are: • Business strategy • International business knowledge • Team development • Creating business opportunities • Innovation • Leadership skills

If you are a Scottish business already generating a steady turnover but want to increase it by £200,000 or more over a three-year period you can access the service at no cost to you.

Contact Stuart on smurray@ renfrewshirechamber.com and tel 07525 323500 / 0141 847 5458

Stuart Murray Business Mentoring Executive

INSIGHT magazine “The Experience” in Hillington Park Friday 3rd May 2019: 9.30am – 4.30pm £150 per person (+ VAT)

INSIGHT is a glossy lifestyle magazine delivered free to over 14,500 homes across Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

Published quarterly, it is an elegantly designed, eye catching magazine supported by our well established sister magazine, The Gryffe Advertizer. With interviews, reviews and aspirational, informed content, it’s a classy coffee table must have.

We are lucky to live in such a beautiful area with diverse talent, many different businesses and loads of cool stuff to do. We can showcase this, find the hidden gems and give an insight into local businesses, people and places. We will provide clients with a stylish uncluttered space to promote themselves to a readership of over 40,000. We reveal the people behind the brand and bring the brands consumers want directly to them.

For more information or to advertise, please contact info@ advertizer.co.uk, or call Anna or Rona on 01505 613340.

EMBRACE THE SPACE

NS DESIGN helps businesses do things better online.

Our next social media masterclass takes place on Friday 3rd May at “The Experience” in Hillington Park. We believe every business can get what they want from Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and the rest in less than 20 minutes a day. ‘Embrace The Space’ will show you how.

More details at www.embracethespace.co.uk

Business Matters Spring 2019

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NEW BOARD ANNOUNCED FOR PAISLEY COMMUNITY TRUST

Paisley’s leading community focused regeneration charity, Paisley Community Trust has announced the appointment of 6 new Trustees to its board. The organisation behind the ambitious Performing Arts and Film Theatre Project, ‘Baker Street Paisley’, has made the appointments ahead of unveiling its Outline Business Case, due to be publicly revealed in March.

It will outline the demand, viability and requirements to deliver the Baker Street Project.

The new Board brings together a broad range of professionals and students from a variety of sectors and international backgrounds. Joining the existing Trustees – Gary Kerr, Andy Campbell and George Gibson are: • Lisa Sinclair - Senior Legal Counsel, Chivas Brothers Limited • Shannan Flockhart – Design Student, Glasgow School of Art • Marc Frossman – Head of Marketing, Monteleone • Rebecca Kowalski - Compliance Manager, Cornerstone Asset Management LLP • Paul McGrath – Director, Consilium

Contracting Services • Helena Lim – Director, HL4 Education Insights Chairman of Paisley Community Trust, Gary Kerr said “Our Community Trust has been going from strength to strength.

We are at a pivotal phase of producing the outline business case for the Baker Street project. We knew it was vitally important to expand the knowledge, skill set, experience and diversity of our Board. We advertised and we were overwhelmed with the high number of quality applications.”

“We met with many applicants and wanted to understand their motivations, what value they could add and most importantly their passion for improving Paisley and providing opportunity to our communities.”

“We are delighted to announce the six new additions to our Board taking the total number to 9. Our board now covers a broad spectrum of backgrounds, skills and experience and all will play a vital role in delivering the Baker Street Project. Over the next few weeks we will be introducing our new board through our social media channels and to our

members. Please do join us in welcoming them to Paisley Community Trust.”

New trustee Shannan Flockhart said “I am a born and raised Paisley buddie and I’m passionate about the future of the town. Most importantly I am really interested in involving the youth in the growth and development of the town centre. I’m only out of High School a couple of years and studying design at the Glasgow School of Art and I want to do my bit to improve our communities and town for all. Excited to be part of Paisley Community Trust!”

For additional information, Contact: Contact details: Gary Kerr Email: gary@epmsolutions.co.uk Telephone: 07947 673 482 About Paisley Community Trust As Registered Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Paisley Community Trust is focused on creating, building and operating Paisley’s first Performing Arts and Film Theatre venue as part.

Twitter: @paisleytrust Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ paisleytrust/ Web: www.paisleytrust.org

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

www.paisley.is � ��

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Business Matters Spring 2019

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Develop the Talent Pipeline your Business Needs

University of the West of Scotland is delighted to be partnering with Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce to help local businesses to benefit from innovative degree programmes which will support your employees to gain the skills and qualifications you need.

With 3 out of 4 employers in Scotland reporting critical skills shortages which are impacting on growth and productivity, fully-funded Graduate Apprenticeships are changing the way employers invest in supporting their workforce to develop the skills their business needs.

UWS works closely with Skills Development Scotland to deliver high quality, flexible Graduate Apprenticeship programmes which enable employees to combine studying for their degree alongside developing their professional practice in the workplace.

UWS is investing in growing it’s GA portfolio to meet employer demand and from September 2019 will be delivering 5 GA programmes: • BA (Hons) Business Management • BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering • BEng (Hons) Engineering Design & Manufacture • BEng (Hons) IT: Software Development • BA Early Learning & Childcare* *subject to validation

Come along on Tuesday 16th April 8.30am to hear from the UWS GA Team how GAs can transform the way you recruit, develop and retain talented employees.

Employer testimonial: “At Energetics we are passionate about investing in our employees futures and by partnering with UWS we have been able to

offer excellent development opportunities across multiple business streams. The wide offering at UWS has allowed Energetics to develop staff in Commercial, Business systems and Engineering functions. I don’t know of any other partner who has such a wide offering. The innovative programme delivery has energised our Graduate Apprentices and already we can see them growing in confidence, knowledge and general business awareness. I would not hesitate to recommend the UWS GA programmes and would encourage other employers to realise their employee potential and ambition through this scheme. Moving forward I am excited that we will be continuing to work with UWS and increase our number of GAs in future years.”

Andrew Young, Training & Development Manager, Energetics

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Innovative Estate Planning Ltd Smart planning NOW for future peace of mind At Innovative Estate Planning we offer a specialist comprehensive estate planning service encompassing: • Will Writing- we specialise in drafting clear, concise and valid Wills • Powers of Attorney – governing financial, and health and welfare issues • Business Power of Attorney – allows the business owner to appoint a suitable attorney to make business decisions when they are unavailable or lacking in mental capacity. Vital for every business.

• IHT planning • Trusts – for protection of property and other assets, also Guardianship • Financial Planning – we work in close association with an FCA regulated financial adviser who provides advice

on Investments, Pensions and Life Assurance.

• Funeral Plans - we deal with a number of funeral plan providers and can guide you through their different plans before deciding on the best option for you and your family.

• Talks – Director Lorna Blain provides an informative free talk on Wills, PoA’s and Trusts to all kinds of groups.

For a FREE confidential consultation, please contact: Lorna Blain BSc. Chartered MCSI MSWW m: 07771 363170 e: info@innovativeestate.co.uk w: www.innovativeestate.co.uk

Lorna Blain, Director

Greenlaw Graphics Greenlaw Graphics Ltd. - An established printing company based in Paisley with digital copy shops called PRINT CENTRES in both Paisley and Johnstone town centres.

For over 30 years we have been providing litho, digital, wide format and promotional printing services to businesses and the public throughout the UK. On going investment in equipment, has enabled us to diversify into many different types of printing including: brochure printing, leaflet printing, menus, folders, booklet printing, NCR forms, postcards, etc from our Violet Street factory.

Digital printing, photocopying, large format printing, canvas prints and many other services are available in our Print Centres in both Paisley Gauze Street and Johnstone High Street shops.

T shirts, work wear and other garments can be printed using a variety of methods including a recently installed white toner printer allowing full colour images on dark materials.

Contact Nicky, Helena or William on 0141 887 3622.

GREENLAW GRAPHICS LTD.

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Renfrewshire Council Updates:

Backing for airport investment area full business case Development of a major innovation district bringing jobs and investment into Renfrewshire has taken a significant step forward as the Council’s Leadership Board approved the Full Business Case for the Glasgow Airport Investment Area Project.

The project – one of three in Renfrewshire funded through the Glasgow City Region City Deal – will see construction of new roads, bridges, cycling and pedestrian routes around Glasgow Airport.

Construction includes the re-alignment and upgrading of Abbotsinch Road and a two-lane bridge over the White Cart linking the investment area to Westway business park and other development sites.

There is also a 100-metre cycleway and pedestrian bridge spanning the Black Cart together with new and improved junctions, extensive active travel facilities and connections to existing cycleways and paths.

This infrastructure will improve connections between the Westway, Inchinnan and Airport business parks and enable development of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District

Scotland (AMIDS).

Thousands of jobs are anticipated to be created through development of the district, which has already attracted the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) to be located here.

Almost 60 hectares of vacant and derelict land will be brought back into use through the Glasgow Airport Investment Area project, which supports the airport’s expansion plans.

Final tenders for the project construction will be considered in March and construction is scheduled to start this summer.

Renfrewshire Council Leader Iain Nicolson said: “Renfrewshire has a proud manufacturing heritage and through this hugely important project we are cementing our position at the beating heart of Scotland’s manufacturing future. Construction of this new infrastructure will create the connections and conditions which attract major investment and brings thousands of new jobs to the region.”

And partners working on the City Deal funded project to deliver a new

transport link to Glasgow Airport are now developing plans for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) scheme, as a potential alternative to a tram train.

Councillor Nicolson added: “I recognise the critical importance of a transport link between the airport, Paisley and Glasgow city centre to the success of the city region economy and it is important we get the right solution which delivers for the whole of the city region.

“We will now consider a business case for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, which can be delivered quickly and finally make the connection between the Airport and the city that business leaders and investors are crying out for.”

You can read more about the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland at www.paisley.is/amids.

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Renfrewshire Council Updates:

Renfrewshire set for spectacular spring and summer events It’s starting to heat up in Renfrewshire with a host of spectacular events taking place this spring and summer.

The area’s bumper events calendar begins with the Paisley Food and Drink Festival, which takes place on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 April.

The two-day event in Paisley’s Abbey Close and Bridge Street will see more than 30 traders and vendors showcase the very best produce and street food from across Scotland.

This year’s festival will also see the addition of a dedicated vegan and vegetarian zone, tasting sessions with Gin 71, interactive workshops, live music and much more.

Festival organisers Renfrewshire Council are teaming up with Renfrewshire CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) to host a dedicated Beer Tent at the event with a range of craft conditioned ales and craft beers available.

Paisley has won the rights to host the British Pipe Band Championships – one of the most prestigious events in the world piping calendar – until 2021, having also hosted the event for the past three years.

Up to 130 pipe bands will compete at this year’s championships at St James playing fields in Paisley on Saturday 18 May. Thousands are expected to attend the event, which will also feature a Highland Games, family entertainment and a Food and Drink Village.

Event organisers Renfrewshire Council and the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association will also be teaming up with McGill’s Buses for a free shuttle bus service to and from the event.

Paisley’s annual Sma’ Shot Day celebration, which is one of the world’s oldest workers’ festivals in the UK, will take place on Saturday 6 July.

The holiday takes its name from the famous dispute between the local shawl weavers and manufacturers in the 19th century and is held on the first Saturday in July to mark the time of year when the weavers and their families would traditionally take their holidays.

The traditional Sma’ Shot parade will make its way from Brodie Park to Paisley town centre, with this year’s activities

taking place around Paisley Arts Centre, Witherspoon Street and Shuttle Street – where the town’s historic Sma’ Shot Cottages can be found.

Keep up to date with the latest event information on www.paisley.is or on the Paisley.is Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels.

Businesses interested in promotional opportunities related to these and other events should email hello@paisley.is.

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Renfrewshire Council Updates:

FROM PAISLEY TO PARIS… SCOTLAND’S BIGGEST TOWN TEAMS UP WITH HIGH-END FRENCH FASHION HOUSE The town of Paisley has teamed up with prestigious French fashion house Hermès – to help reconnect the town to the global design icon carrying its name.

In what is thought to be a unique collaboration, the Paris-based luxury goods manufacturer has used original Paisley Pattern designs owned by the town to create exclusive ‘Paisley from Paisley’ items for its silk and accessories 2019 spring/summer collections.

The name Paisley became known around the world in the 18th and 19th centuries when its weavers perfected the iconic patterned garments which became a fashion craze among Europe’s wealthy middle classes, with the Pattern motif remaining popular to this day.

Paisley Museum retains the world’s largest collection of Paisley shawls plus thousands of original designs – which have inspired new items now on sale in Hermes stores around the world and online.

A team from Maison Hermès last year visited Paisley’s Museum and 850-yearold Abbey, and selected designs now adapted into a cashmere chale scarf, a silk gavroche scarf, and a bangle.

Versions of the gavroche and bangle are being donated to the town, to be displayed and archived at Paisley Museum, set to reopen in 2022 after a major £42m transformation.

The Hermès collaboration is a major step forward in the wider push to transform Paisley’s future by retelling its internationally-significant heritage and cultural story.

Dan Coughlan

Paisley Museum

That includes work to commercialise the Paisley Pattern, including plans for a digital archive of original patterns – opening up the town’s unique collections to the fashion industry and consumers around the world, and boosting ongoing work to build new business based around the textiles, design and creativity which made the town’s name.

The project was born thanks to Penny Martin, editor-in-chief of The Gentlewoman magazine, who contacted Hermès after a visit to the town to view its collections as a keynote speaker for 2016’s PaisleyMake textiles and fashion conference and festival.

Christine Duvigneau, Directeur du Studio-Dessins et Création Graphique, was in charge of artistic direction and the development of this project alongside the Hermès silk department. Mme. Duvigneau said: “We were delighted to collaborate with Paisley and hope our designs will serve as an ambassador for Paisley worldwide.”

Dr Dan Coughlan, textiles curator at Paisley Museum, added: “During the 18th and 19th centuries, Paisley was one of the leading towns in Europe for the manufacture of high-quality fashion fabrics.

“The fine silk gauzes and figured muslins of the 18th century, followed by the 19th century shawl, were in demand in all the fashion circles of Europe. Much of the legacy of this great textile tradition is now preserved in Paisley Museum.

“The textile collection in the museum holds what is thought to be the largest

collection of shawls in the world, together with many pattern and sample books, including those which so inspired the incredible Hermès design team.

“This collaboration shows the extraordinarily rich and varied collection can be used by today’s designers to continue Paisley’s tradition of creating beautiful high-quality textiles with provenance, while raising awareness of the town’s internationallysignificant story.”

The collaboration with such a prestigious name in the fashion industry is a boost for Paisley’s growing reputation as one of Scotland’s top destinations for culture, heritage and events.

The flagship project is the £42million transformation of Paisley Museum and Art Galleries into an international-class visitor destination retelling the unique story of Paisley, its heritage and pattern.

The museum is currently undergoing a four-year refurbishment – led by awardwinning international architects AL_A – with the building expected to almost quadruple current visitor numbers when it reopens in 2022.

The town’s internationally-significant museum collections can be viewed at Paisley: The Secret Collection, thought to be the first-ever publicly-accessible museum store on a UK high street.

The earliest books in the collection from 1770 contain a variety of delicate silk and gauze samples produced by local weavers in the town, are now very rare and the only known survivors of this trade.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Renfrewshire Council Updates:

Managing your online reputation Did you know that the average tourist visits up to 40 websites before booking somewhere? Or that more than half won’t book a hotel without reading a review first?

Your online reputation is more crucial than ever, and Renfrewshire-based tourism businesses can learn more at a session this May. Managing Your Online Reputation is a one-hour awareness session on 1 May organised by Digital Tourism Scotland and the Renfrewshire Tourism Business Network.

You’ll get insight and practical tips on how to manage your brand – and the chance to meet and network with other local tourism businesses.

The session will include: • An explanation of the visitor journey • A deep dive into Google My Business • Which review systems are best for your business • Monitoring your online reputation (both personal and business) • How best to gather more feedback from your customers Businesses interested in attending should register their interest with Andrew McKean, Tourism Officer for Renfrewshire Council, by sending an email to andrew. mckean@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

Invest in…

Creative Industries

Business & ICT

Childcare, Social Care and Health Care

Construction, Manufacturing, Security and Logistics

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Business Matters Spring 2019

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Ten Reasons to Contact Resource Efficient Scotland We can help you save money, and it doesn’t cost you money to get our help. These are two great reasons to get in touch with us, but for even more great reasons read on…

If you’re a small to medium sized business, then our mission is to help you use resources more efficiently.

We’re funded by the Scottish Government and European Regional Development Funds to help you minimise your waste, reduce your energy costs, save on raw materials and

1. Free support can help cut your energy bill by 24% The advice we give is free and impartial.

It’s not often you get that in business.

Plus, there’s no obligation to do anything with the information we give you. But when you see how much you could be saving, often by making simple low or no cost changes, we think you’ll be wanting to take action sooner rather than later. Did you know that by working with us most businesses are able to cut their energy bills by 24%? And we have a number of solutions for reducing your water usage and preventing waste too.

2. We guarantee we’ll find you a way to save some money Maybe you’ve already made changes to be more resource efficient. Maybe you’re a newbie. Maybe you want to go large and apply for Government grant funding or the SME Loan for a big investment on a heat pump or biomass boiler. Or maybe you want to play safe and find out about the little things you can do without

a whole lot more. Our experts can help you measure and monitor your waste, understand where you’re producing waste unnecessarily, see where your processes could be more efficient, identify new technologies that could save you money, and work out how to save energy. All of which could save you a ton of money and reduce your impact on the world.

So here, without further ado, are ten top reasons why you should call us now:

spending much. Whatever your business, whatever your needs, we can usually spy several resource (and money) saving opportunities that will cut something from your costs.

3. We have a lot of knowledge and experience under our belts We’re the leading organisation in Scotland when it comes to advising businesses on how to minimise waste, make better use of resources and improve their bottom line. Our specialist consultants know their stuff, specialising in energy, water and waste prevention. Our on-house team are resource efficiency experts, bolstered by a management team with sector experience in hospitality, food and drink, manufacturing and construction to mention just a few. They have been helping businesses identify the best opportunities for resource efficiencies for over four years.

4. We can go light or we can go deep You might know what you want to do and

are looking for reassurance or a second opinion. You might have no idea where to start. You might want us to look at one area of your business or investigate every nook and cranny for savings opportunities. We can address a wide variety of needs. Within reason and our remit, of course...

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

5. We even do full site assessments Depending on the results of our initial consultation, we can visit your business to carry out a full assessment. A thorough audit will identify all those plump and juicy savings just waiting to be picked from the tree. Then, if you want to take the next step, we can provide a full

report. This will highlight the actions you can take straight away for free, and those that will need more time and investment.

When you’re ready we can point you in the right direction for more detailed advice or financing options.

6. We think outside of the box with your business in mind

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We’ve advised breweries and distillers, eco-farms and signage makers, soup producers and spa hotels. Whatever business you’re in, whatever it is that makes you unique, we use that as a starting point to find ways to save.

7. Helping you, helps us, helps our future We like to help. Okay, it’s what we’re paid to do. But the drive to save resources is being undertaken for good reason. The planet’s resources are finite and many are running out. Our rampant energy use is keeping us hooked on fossil fuels and adding to global warming. Every time we help you save a resource we can sleep a little better knowing we’re doing our bit to help future generations. And doing a little bit is a lot better than thinking about doing a lot.

8. We’ve already helped over thousands of businesses Over the last four years we’ve been helped thousands of Scottish businesses get on the resource efficient path and save over £42 million. Read our case studies and be inspired by what other businesses have done to cut their energy, water and waste and save money.

9. 9/10 customers would recommend us to others It’s good to talk

There’s a lot of information on our website to help you save resources.

But sometimes just talking to someone for ten minutes can get to the heart of what you want to know. Our advisors can answer any questions and help you plan your next steps. That might simply be pointing you in the right direction of the information you need or coming out to visit your property and assessing your needs. But if you want to meet and greet other business owners who have done what you’re planning to do, you can do so through the Green Network for Businesses.

10. We’re nice people to chat to On the phone or with live chat on our website, we’d love to speak to you. In fact, each year around 34,000 individuals from various organisations around Scotland contact us. So, go on, pick up the phone and peek down the rabbit hole to see what wonderland of resource efficiency opportunities await….

Contact us for resource efficiency advice and support.

We can help small to medium sized businesses located in Scotland.

Call 0808 808 2268 Monday - Friday 9am-5pm. enquiries@resourceefficientscotland.com www.resourceefficientscotland.com

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SCHOOL UPDATES: Renfrewshire making ‘excellent’ progress in raising attainment

Renfrewshire Council is the first local authority in Scotland to be rated ‘excellent’ for its progress in improving learning, raising attainment and narrowing the povertyrelated attainment gap as part of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.

Education Scotland published its inspection report today (Tuesday 19 February 2019) on progress in Renfrewshire and found significant yearon-year improvements in listening, talking, reading, writing and numeracy, with the attainment gap closing across all measures.

Renfrewshire is one of nine ‘challenge authorities’ in the Scottish Government funded Scottish Attainment Challenge, to close the attainment gap between those living in Scotland’s least and most deprived areas.

The report praises the “very successful” evidence-based, universal approach which sees support extended across all 62 primary, secondary and Additional Support Needs schools in Renfrewshire, a region where 27% of pupils live in Scotland’s most deprived areas.

Citing ‘highly effective leadership’, ‘excellent governance’ and a ‘shared vision’, it praises the culture where all staff are empowered to improve outcomes for pupils, their families and communities.

As a Challenge Authority, Renfrewshire has received £10.4million in Scottish Government attainment challenge funding since June 2016 and has achieved an 11 percentage point increase in expected levels of literacy and a 5 percentage point increase in expected levels of numeracy from 2015-2018.

Over the same period, the povertyrelated attainment gap has reduced by 6 percentage points in literacy and 4 percentage points in numeracy.

Linwood High Linwood High S2 Careers Speed Network Huge thanks to our guests Police Scotland, Everwarm, Rolls Royce, SAE Institute, Clyde Marine Training, Renfrewshire Council, ATOS and SWECO who came to talk to S2 about careers. S2 were about to make their option choices and so it was an incredibly valuable experience for them.

Linwood High MP S3 Visit Huge thanks to Gavin Newlands MP who visited Linwood High to talk to S3 about the work of an MP in his constituency and in London in Parliament.

Thirteen Renfrewshire schools will go cashless this spring as the roll-out of ParentPay continues ParentPay launched in Howwood Primary, Castlehead High School, St Fillan’s Primary, Gryffe High School, Auchenlodment Primary and St James’ Primary in Renfrew in January.

The next stage of the roll-out will begin in March, with Johnstone High School, Trinity High School, Houston Primary, Bridge of Weir Primary, West Primary, Wallace Primary, St Anne’s Primary, St Catherine’s Primary, Bargarran Primary, St John Bosco Primary, Kilbarchan Primary, Lochwinnoch Primary and Thorn Primary all going cashless by early May 2019.

The new cashless system allows parents to pay for school lunches, trips, events, activities and equipment online.

The roll-out is part of a programme that will see all schools in Renfrewshire go cashless by April 2020.

ParentPay, which is already used in more than 8,500 UK schools, allows parents and carers to make online payments into their child’s account 24/7.

They will also be able to see what their child has ordered for lunch and keep

a record of all the payments they have made.

Parents and carers who don’t use online banking can put money into their child’s account at their nearest PayPoint, usually located in newsagents and other local shops.

Activation letters with step-by-step instructions on how to register for ParentPay will be sent out to parents and carers before their child’s school moves onto the new system.

Parents and carers will need to set up a MyGovScot MyAccount login to use the new payment system.

To register for MyAccount visit https:// myaccount.renfrewshire.gov.uk/

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Gleniffer High School - Believe and You Will Achieve IOSH Health & Safety Training

S5 Greenpower Challenge

As part of the Greenpower Trust Challenge, three of our S5 pupils have been going from strength to strength as they continue to develop their skills and enhance their future career prospects.

As part of the Dhu Racing team, the boys (along with pupils from other Renfrewshire schools) have been building their car and pitching to the Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce for additional sponsorship. Paula Leca from DYW West commented “The boys were absolutely amazing today – you should have seen them – you would have been so proud”.

S2 ‘I Can Do Anything!’ Day and S3 ‘Planning for Choices and Changes’ Day February is always a busy time for our S2 and S3 pupils as they embark on their subject choices for their next year. To help support them in making the right decisions, Gleniffer High School invited employers and training organisations to our two annual careers events.

Careers Carousels, Dragon’s Den and Team-building were just some of the activities on offer and all pupils also had the opportunity to register with the Skills Development Scotland My World of Work Website.

Feedback from employers and pupils has been extremely positive and our thanks to Mrs. Thompson and Miss Bowie for organising the events and

We are very proud of these three young men who have thrown themselves into the challenge.

S5 pupil Nicholas Adams says “I think the GreenPower course is really good for people like us because we are getting to build a F24 Kart and race it around a track against people from all over Scotland.” Another pupil, Jamie Calder added “We get to work in a garage environment, work on cars and learn about how things work in a garage.”

We wish the team the best of luck in their first race at the end of March.

all of our supporters on the day – particularly DYW West and the Chamber for helping with contacts.

City Gate Construction As part of a new partnership, Gleniffer will be welcoming in joiners from City Gate Construction into the school to deliver a series of lessons to our Practical Woodworking group.

Pupils will be gaining invaluable experience and skills as well as seeing their curriculum come to life.

Since the beginning of the school term, pupils within the National 5 Practical Woodworking group have had their curricular learning enricheed whilst sudying for an IOSH Health & Safety Certificate within training provided by Enable Safety.

Enable Safety kindly funded the course for the pupils and through the excellent tutalge from Fred Cullum, all the pupils passed their final tests and received their certificates in February.

This is the second time Enable Safety has provided this training to students in Gleniffer having previously done so for our S5 Lab Skills Class. This is a bespoke program developed specifically for our pupils and we are the only first school in Scotland to provide this valuable qualification which will help them move in to the world of work.

Gleniffer High School would like to thank all the organisations who have supported us this year and if anyone would like to get involved in supporting our young people, please get in contact via our twitter account @employgleniffer

Business Matters Spring 2019

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Can you

support DYW in 2019?

DYW West (covers Renfrewshire, East Ren, Inverclyde & West Dunbartonshire) are seeking employers of all sectors and sizes to help young people get more prepared for the world of work.

This could be yourself or a development opportunity for staff.

Examples include: • Give a class talk • Mentor a small group of young people • Support a careers event • Host a talk & tour at your workplace • Offer a work experience / placement

• Offer an apprenticeship • Sign up to Founders4Schools • Put an opportunity on Marketplace • Run a competition

Help bring the curriculum to life and get involved with DYW West in 2019. Together we can make a real difference.

Contact us at info@dywwest.co.uk

Business Matters Spring 2019

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BUSINESS

MENTORING

Our Business Mentoring service can help you realise your business growth ambitions.

To find out more about our free service, email mentoring@scottishchambers.org.uk or call us on 0845 609 6622. www.scottish-enterprise.com/mentor