5 minute read
Ecommerce and technology 12
Great Yarmouth Borough Council is launching the new service to enhance the town centre experience for residents and visitors alike, supporting the £4.6m Market Place redevelopment currently underway.
The wi-fi is available for free out-of-doors use by residents, visitors and market traders, and can be found on mobile devices under the name “Gt Yarmouth Free Wi-Fi” within the Market Place area. A dedicated extender to boost the signal underneath the market canopy itself will be fitted as part of the redevelopment of the market facilities.
Advertisement
Go Trade aims to support the visitor experience and offer at nine traditional markets in England and France, with 16 project partners working together, along with market traders and other town centre businesses, to develop and implement activities and projects that support town centres and visitor economies.
Cllr Carl Smith, the council leader, said: “This great free wi-fi is part of our wider work to enhance the experience of visiting the town centre and the market, supporting our improvement of the market facilities themselves and our wider aspirations to enhance digital connectivity.
“Being able to connect digitally is so important to the vibrancy of town centres and their attractiveness as places to invest, visit and shop, opening up new opportunities and ways for people to interact with local businesses and spaces. Access to free wi-fi provides another reason for people to visit the town centre and support their market traders and shops as Covid restricts ease.”
Town centre manager Jonathan Newman, of Great Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership, said: “Having free wi-fi available will give visitors to Great Yarmouth a fantastic added benefit as they shop and dwell around the Market Place and provide traders with an exciting opportunity to engage with their customers in the digital world.
“Shoppers will be able to freely access the internet for information about nearby shops, services, facilities and attractions whilst traders have the potential to post live images and information about their goods on social media. The opportunities to hold digital and livestreaming events in the Market Place can also be explored as the Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift in the coming weeks and the town can encourage public gatherings once again in the Market Place.”
Go Trade is funded with €3.8 million from the EU-funded Interreg France (Channel) England Programme, with additional support coming from local partners. Go Trade stands for Growth of the Visitor Economy through Traditional Markets, Employment and Skills. The scheme started in late 2017 and will conclude in 2022. Twitter: @GoTrade_Markets #GoTrade
Shoppers will be able to freely access the internet for information about nearby shops, services, facilities and attractions whilst traders have the potential to post live images and information about their goods on social media. The opportunities to hold digital and livestreaming events in the Market Place can also be explored as the Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift in the coming weeks and the town can encourage public gatherings once again in the Market Place.
GO TRADE
gotrade-markets.eu
£2M FUND DESIGNED TO CREATE MORE THAN 300 JOBS
Within weeks of launching, Cambridgeshire’s Growth Works fund has awarded more than £2m to 32 businesses across the county.
Nigel Parkinson, Chairman of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Business Growth Company
CAMBRIDGESHIRE GROWTH WORKS
Distributed by the recently established Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Business Growth Company, the grant funding is forecast to create 321 new jobs while stimulating £11.184 million in capital expenditure.
Grants have been awarded region-wide and across a wide range of sectors including automotive, electronics, engineering, financial services, healthcare, hospitality, leisure, manufacturing, retail and transport.
Grants awarded ranged from £20,000 to £150,000 and applications were assessed against criteria which included quantitative value for money and qualitative elements.
The quality scores were assessed on points based on geographical location, sector diversification, strategic alignment, social inclusion and apprenticeship utilisation.
All projects to received grant funding are forecast to complete by April 2022. Company chairman Nigel Parkinson said: “With the economy beginning to open up and businesses looking to the future with growing certainty, these grants are being award at a time when they will have the most impact.
“Each capital grant award will be a catalyst for growth, the funding will enable all 32 businesses to create good secure jobs right across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough at a time when we know he labour market has been challenging.”
He was particularly pleased to see Growth Works supporting a very diverse group of businesses across a multitude of sectors, giving enterprises in all areas of the economy the support they needed to build back better quickly and strongly.
“The success of this grant scheme sets the standard for Growth Works and the Growth Company will be ensuring these high levels of impact are maintained over the next three years,” he added.
Austen Adams, chairman of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Business Board, said it was now time to turn attention to helping those hardest hit (by the pandemic) to make a strong local recovery.
“The businesses supported by Growth Works have all demonstrated their potential to grow and the funding will help them enact their deliverable scale-up strategies,” he said.
“The Business Board is looking forward to working with Growth Works to ensure their investments support and complement our Local Economic Recovery Strategy.
“Together we can support SMEs and larger businesses to invest in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and improve opportunities for local people.”
TECHNOLOGY: THE PATH FROM EDUCATION TO EMPLOYMENT
By AL KINGSLEY It’s a question that is often contemplated: what will the future workplace look like by the time today’s primary school students get there? I’m a passionate believer and advocate for broadening our learning pathways and creating opportunities for all of us as “lifelong learners”.
We’ve just seen a completely unexpected seismic shift in employment operations, so we’re more aware than ever that nothing is guaranteed. What is certain though is that technology will play a large part. In the absence of a crystal ball however, schools are preparing their students with a solid digital skills base by using a range of technologies and developing their creative and problem-solving abilities as they progress through their education.
Students’ tech experience
For today’s students, technology has always been a part of their lives. It’s not something new; it’s just something that’s part of their world. Many homes have a range of devices in daily use, from smartphones and tablets, smart TVs and doorbells, to internet-connected fridges, app-connected power washers and more. Young people are growing up absorbing the technological knowledge from those around them that they will eventually put into practice themselves. Schools are supporting this by teaching the core competencies that will prepare students for every area of their future life and work: communication, information handling, transacting, problem solving and staying safe and legal online.
