Business News

INTERNATIONAL INCLUSIVE CRICKET EDUCATION CENTRE GETS GO AHEAD FROM PLANNERS

Plans to create an international inclusive cricket education centre in Worcester, as part of a wider health and wellbeing campus, have been given the go ahead by City planners. The University of Worcester will begin developing the centre, as well as infrastructure to support the wider Severn Campus alongside the river Severn, after Worcester City Council’s planning committee gave approval in February. Professor David Green CBE DL, the University Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive said: “The University of Worcester is proud to have created the UK’s first indoor sports venue specifically designed to include wheelchair athletes, in the University of Worcester Arena, which has been such a huge success. We are delighted to now build on our commitment to providing outstanding inclusive sport and education facilities, through the creation of the International Inclusive Cricket Education Centre.” The Severn Campus for health and wellbeing will also include a state-of-the-art teaching facility for health students, which is already under construction on the site of the former Berrows House building.

www.worcester.ac.uk

PROMISING FUTURE LEADS TO BIG PLANS FOR STEATITE

Steatite ltd has recently joined the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce as a Strategic Member. The company is a provider of highly reliable technology for use in extreme environments where dust, temperature, shock and vibration would cause the rapid failure of more conventional products. Focused on three distinct technology streams – computing, power and communications, Steatite provides rugged industrial computers and imaging technologies, battery packs and portable power products, secure radio systems and high-performance antennas, all for use in critical applications from the ocean floor to the edge of space. Steatite’s Managing Director, Matthew Richards, comments: “As a Redditch headquartered business, and also with a facility in Leominster, it made perfect sense for Steatite to become a strategic member of the Hereford and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce. “Through our membership, we are keen to strengthen existing relationships in the region and also establish new ones, be they customers, suppliers or partners. The current trend towards “on-shoring”, where products are preferably sourced from other British suppliers, is a compelling reason to be involved in an organisation that aims to bring local companies together, and we look forward to working with like-minded local businesses”.

www.steatite.co.uk

IS YOUR BUSINESS RESILIENT TO CYBER-ATTACKS?

Office Tech Services are excited about the year ahead and equally positive about their Strategic partnership with the Chamber. They have started 2022 with a lot of positive developments, the main one being the big push of their software arm and partnership with the world’s leading business process automation software which brings significant value to their customers. MD Joe Carballo has been very busy meeting with many members of the Chamber and has found collaboration and partnership opportunities so please feel free to get in contact for a coffee breakfast or lunch meeting as they are aiming to connect with as many members as possible this year. Their plan for success is to collaborate, focus on process automation for customers, support local in their own supply chain and focus on environmental and charity targets for the year.

www.cybx.co.uk/cyber-essentials

NATWEST SUPPORTING SME’S IN ROAD TO NETZERO

Barry Lewis, Director of Commercial Banking at NatWest in Hereford & Worcester, explains the role SMEs have to play in tackling climate change and ways NatWest is supporting businesses in becoming more sustainable.

Climate change is the single biggest issue impacting humanity today, and whilst there is a great deal of work is underway across Herford and Worcester, there is still more to do. NatWest’s recent ‘Springboard to Sustainability’ report found that the UK’s six million SMEs could help achieve 50% of the UK’s net-zero decarbonisation goals. It also found that SMEs could create up to 130,000 new jobs, produce around 30,000 new businesses resulting in an estimated £160 billion opportunity for the UK economy. Without question this is good news for the UK economy, but at the local level, NatWest is working with businesses to help them reach their sustainable goals and ambitions. The bank’s local relationship teams have undergone extensive training through the universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh on issues relating to climate change so that they can provide customers and the wider business community specialist support on climate issues. NatWest’s Accelerators at the University of Warwick and in Birmingham have dedicated spaces for climate-focussed businesses as part of the bank’s continued support for new and emerging enterprises.

www.natwest.com

INTELLIGENCIA TRAINING ANNOUNCED AS FINALISTS IN THIS YEAR’S FE WEEK & AELP AAC APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS

Specialist apprenticeship training provider, Intelligencia Training have been announced as finalists in the forthcoming FE Week & AELP AAC Apprenticeship Awards with winners being announced at the FE Week Annual Apprenticeship Conference taking place in Birmingham on 21-22nd March.

The awards, now in their fifth year, are a celebration of the very best in apprenticeship delivery and provide well-deserved recognition for the people, teams and organisations that make excellent apprenticeships happen. A record-breaking 370 entries were received from training providers, colleges, universities and employers and we can now reveal the worthy finalists going forward to the national awards ceremony in March. Shane Mann, Managing Director of FE Week’s publisher Lsect, said: “We have once again been blown away by the quality of nominations and especially of this year’s finalists. Nick Atkinson, Commercial Director at Intelligencia Training said: “This is a huge accolade for us and testament to the fantastic work that our highly skilled teams have carried out during the last year. Intelligencia have been at the forefront of Protective Services apprenticeship provision, actively involved in supporting Trailblazer Groups developing both Intelligence Analysis and Counter Fraud Investigation apprenticeship Standards. Over the last year Intelligencia Training has not only ensured effective continuity of often intensive apprenticeships in Intelligence Analysis and Fraud Investigation, but facilitated a significant increase in the volume of apprentices on programme, adapting programmes to very specific employer needs across both public and private sector organisations. Whilst the pandemic continues to apply operational pressure to many of our investigative and intelligence services, the development of a widely adopted and respected curriculum has supported the growth of analytical and investigative capability within the UK, reducing the burden on existing systems. Our effective delivery of higher apprenticeships within the Protective Services sector has significantly increased the educational opportunities available for apprentices within a sector more traditionally associated with apprenticeships at a lower level and they continue to be very well received from within the multiple sectors in which we operate. We are very proud of our relationships with our employer clients and the support we receive, this is testament to our continued success.” You can read more about Intelligencia Training and their engaging apprenticeship standards at www.intelligenciatraining.

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