Business News

FUNDING & ADVICE TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS AVAILABLE UNTIL MARCH

Lowering your energy bills can make a big difference to your bottom line and the Business Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP) can help. Eligible Worcestershire and Herefordshire businesses with under 250 staff can receive support to become more environmentally friendly, saving money on energy or other resource costs. The support on offer is twofold – firstly to assess your business premises (free of charge) to see what improvements can be made through energy and resource usage. Secondly, grants of up to £20,000 (or up to 40% of the project costs) for upgrades to lighting, compressors, heat systems and production equipment, that deliver energy or carbon dioxide savings either directly or indirectly. If you have a carbon saving project in mind contact BEEP now, a grant application could be fast-tracked. Other eligibility criteria apply including, turnover under £44million or balance sheet under £37million.

www.hwchamber.co.uk/support/advice/beep

MINISTER PUTS CYBER SECURITY IN RANGE WITH VISIT TO NEW CENTRE

Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), visited the Hereford Enterprise Zone recently, finishing with a tour of the new £9 million Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security at Skylon Park. The Minister officially cut the ribbon on Hereford’s Shell Store, newly refurbished into a modern business incubation and innovation centre, before taking a tour of the Cyber Centre and meeting University of Wolverhampton academics and local business leaders who are taking advantage of the services on offer at the site. The centre is a joint venture between the University of Wolverhampton and Herefordshire Council and part-funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund, via the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Welcoming them to the new building, which is due to officially open later this year, were members of the University Cyber Centre team – Professor Nazira Karodia, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Regional Engagement, Professor Amar Aggoun, Dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering, Professor Prashant Pillai, Head of the School of Mathematics and Computer Science and Digital Project Manager, Hugo Russell. Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for MHCLG, said: “If you think back a decade ago, this was a derelict brownfields site. What has been achieved here is phenomenal. “We want to make sure we build back strongly from the pandemic, and the Enterprise Zone will play a part in that because it provides really high-quality space for businesses, conference spaces, and spaces for incubation of new businesses. I think the future is very bright for Herefordshire.”

www.wlv.ac.uk

SURVIVAL OF THE FLEXIBLE – BUSINESS IN A NEW ERA

The Office for National Statistics is reporting an increase in businesses trading, from, 77% to 83%, in the last month. Meanwhile, Sage report 80% of small businesses expect profitability to return to normal in the months ahead. Despite a challenging year, this shows many businesses are thriving. Whether you are a new or established business, it is however essential to take advice in these coming months. Clare Lang, Partner at mfg Solicitors, has detailed the key areas that businesses should be considering: If you are diverging into new products, have you got supply agreements with suppliers and distributors; and is intellectual property protected? If you have entered into a new venture, have you got an agreement setting out the terms? If you are vacating property in favour of homeworking, have you taken advice to ensure that you can terminate your lease without liability? Have you got employment contracts for new recruits? These are just some key considerations businesses here in the two counties should be addressing.

www.mfgsolicitors.com

TRANSFERABLE SKILLS, MILITARY AND CIVILIAN LIFE

West Midland Reserve Forces & Cadets Association (RFCA) is a governmental ‘arm’s length body’ established by an act of Parliament.

The Association helps to promote the Reserves and cadets within the community through liaison with local authorities, employers and other influential groups. They also own, manage and maintain some 30 Reserve Centres and over 200 Cadet Centres, promote the Armed Forces Covenant and act as a bridge between Reservists and their employers. Championing the benefits of employing Reservists and the wider Armed Forces community, including veterans, military spouses and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, is a key part of their work. The Reserve Forces make up approximately one third of the UK’s Armed Forces, with men and women from all backgrounds training in their spare time, often alongside their civilian careers. Drawn from the Royal Naval Reserves, the Royal Marines Reserves, the Army Reserve and the Royal Air Force Reserves, they can be deployed anywhere in the world to support the Regular Forces. Reservists receive the same world class training as their Regular counterparts, have the opportunity to take part in adventurous training and gain new skills; which are transferable to the civilian workforce. West Midland RFCA spoke to Sub-Lieutenant Victoria Duffield-Smith, a Reservist at HMS Forward, Birmingham’s Royal Naval Reserve unit, about her experiences in the Reserve Forces. “The Royal Navy has six values at its core; courage, commitment, discipline, respect, integrity and loyalty. Whilst immediately applicable to military service, I had underestimated just how valuable and transferable those skills would be in the civilian world. “When things are tough, and they have been tough for all during the pandemic, it is these core values that I fall back on. Having the courage to make brave and effective decisions, the commitment to see those decisions through. Maintaining the discipline to preserve procedures to protect ourselves and the public. “Officer training within the Royal Navy is a hugely influential development programme. You find and nurture skills throughout the course of training that may have been inherent, but you had never really paid any great attention to previously. “Honing those organisational skills has proven particularly useful outside of the service. In the Royal Navy, ensuring that you have the right people, correctly briefed, with the right kit, in the right place, at the right time is fundamental to the success of your operation - and the same is true in my civilian life. Translating those skills across to everyday life has made me more efficient and effective. “Much of the initial training is focused on the 5% of being an Officer, which involves crisis leadership. The battle responses, the immediate actions and the emergency situation - this is important because it sharpens your abilities rapidly. “As the training develops you experience the routine 95% of the role; the people development, the parental figure, setting the example. These blended aspects have allowed me to reflect on my own personal style. I know that as a result of my Navy training, I am much more of an agile leader in my civilian life and I have a much smoother transition between incident and crisis management, and the long-term development of those in my care. “In overall reflection, much of my civilian success is thanks to the foundations and teaching of military service. I am extremely fortunate to have a very supportive employer that is engaging and welcoming of innovation. “The opportunities for personal development in military service are vast and that has only increased during my time with the Reserves.” Having recently assumed the role of Junior Officer Training Officer, she is helping to develop the leaders of the future. Victoria is part of the Amphibious Warfare branch and has experience of UK Maritime Enforcement Operations. In her civilian employment, she is an Inspector with Warwickshire Police, and is the force’s silver commander for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To find out how your organisation could benefit from supporting the Armed Forces community, please contact our Regional Employer Engagement Director, Philip Sinclair, on wm-reed2@rfca.mod.uk. Learn more about the Reserve Forces at

www.wmrfca.org/reserve-forces/