Skills Focus

SKILLS FOCUS SPONSORED BY THE SOURCE SKILLS ACADEMY

The Source Skills Academy in Sheffield is passionate about bringing out the best in people. It has been helping businesses to increase the talents of their teams since 2003 and is proud to sponsor Skills Focus, a monthly spotlight on training and apprenticeship news and funding to help you develop your staff.

APPRENTICE HELPS COMPANY MOTOR THROUGH LOCKDOWN

A Rotherham auto electrical company motored through lockdown by keeping key workers and the nation’s truckers on the road.

Family-run Maltby Auto Electrical Services Ltd (MAES) stayed open and ramped up its online warehouse division, Splitcharge.co.uk to ensure urgently-needed parts reached haulage and construction companies, teachers, NHS staff and other key workers.

MAES set up individual staff work stations and made PPE available to ensure a safe working environment.

The company was also able to keep its commitment to an apprentice it had planned to take on in March.

Seven weeks into lockdown, Hayley Barker, 18, joined the warehouse division as a customer service apprentice.

“We need Hayley because we are so busy. But also we strongly feel this year’s school and college-leavers deserve the chance to start careers,” said MAES finance director Ann Ogley, wife of MD Richard.

“We urge other local HAYLEY BARKER,18, JOINED THE MAIN AUTO ELECTRICAL WAREHOUSE DIVISION AS A CUSTOMER SERVICE APPRENTICE IN LOCKDOWN

businesses to take up apprentices. It takes time to train someone, but the result is a worker who does the job exactly the way you need it done.

“Finding our apprentices’ interests and strengths, and working with them, has proved to be very good for our business.”

The Source Skills Academy recruited Hayley for MAES as a Level 2 customer service practitioner and will be overseeing her workplace learning.

It’s the second chance of a career for Hayley, who had planned to be an Army veterinary technician.

But 10 months into a college course in animal management, she discovered her lifelong metabolic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) prevented her from going into the Forces.

She decided on a customer service career and contacted The Source.

Said Hayley: “They took time to understand what I was interested in and found me several apprenticeships to apply for. I jumped at a role with Maltby Auto Electrical but within days of being offered a position, the pandemic hit.

“It could have meant another career setback for me but they still took me on,” said Hayley. “I am so grateful for this opportunity.”

BUSINESS TRAINING AT THE SOURCE IS NOW ONLINE...

The Source is pleased to announce its building on Meadowhall Way will re-open to customers from July 1 - and will be fully compliant with all HSE guidance on Covid-19 and social distancing measures. We plan to recommence conferencing facilities from July 4 unless there are any further changes to Government guidelines. For conferencing facilities, contact roombookings@thesourceacademy.co.uk

STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE... The 1-2-3 Support Package For Employers

The 1-2-3 Support Package For Employers helps companies to boost their workforce by:

1Recruiting new apprentices from a talent pool of candidates developed by The Source, and accessing government cash incentives for the under 18s. Contact Kerry Cook on 07584 391445 kerry.cook@ thesourceacademy.co.uk.

2Upskilling their workers. The Source organises and tutors free accredited online training in more than 100 different subjects. Full funding is available for SMEs in the Sheffield City Region. Contact Vernon Tolson on 07793 308845 vernon.tolson@ thesourceacademy.co.uk3.

3Matching companies with unemployed job seekers up-skilled and supported by The Source’s Online Steps to Work Programme. Run by The Source’s specialist Community and Employability team, the programme gives free support to anyone unemployed and is now working with workers left jobless by the pandemic. Applicants get help with English, maths and ICT skills, CV-writing and interview techniques and can study for work-based qualifications online with supportive tutors. Call 0114 263 5691/ 0114 263 5644 or text 07584 391443.

SUCCESS STORY: INOVINK LTD

Inovink Ltd has been researching, patenting and licensing novel security technology for the banknote industry since 2004. Jill Theobaldcaught up with the pair behind the firm to talk breakthroughs, becoming an international company and Sheffield’s ‘can do, let’s get on with it’ culture

TELL ME A BIT ABOUT THE BUSINESS David Bedford: The business is me as managing director and commercial director Angus Ward, and we are based at The Innovation Centre in Sheffield – although we are currently working from home, of course, due to COVID-19.

Since 2004 Inovink has been researching, patenting and licensing ink technology for the banknote industry. We work with universities and manufacturers to develop ink additives and licence these products to organisations and companies in the industry including central banks, highsecurity printers and security ink manufacturers.

Our core expertise is machine-readable technology for banknotes, and we have grown our product portfolio over the years to include an extensive suite of about 30 patents, the most recent of which was granted in February this year.

Angus Ward: We are not manufacturers – we are a scientific research company that patents and then licenses its technology. Our customers buy our patented products under license directly from the manufacturers we work with or directly from our licensed suppliers. It is a unique, triangular commercial arrangement, but one that allows us to concentrate on the products themselves and which ensures the products remain very competitively priced.

HOW HAS IT DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS? David: We originally did the best part of ten years research with the University of Leeds and have also worked with Liverpool and Loughborough Universities, and, of course, FaraPack Polymers Ltd extensively since 2009, who are part of Sheffield University.

Angus: Our products are innovative, relevant and secure DAVID BEDFORD

but they are not burdened by large company overheads. Central banks appreciate this.

David: Yes, with us supplying a licensed additive technology for inks, we say to customers there is no disruption to your supply chain – keep your existing suppliers, just add our feature as a component part to your existing system. So we’re not disruptors in that way, although our technology is very disruptive in terms of what it does!

Angus: It is disruptive technology in that less security pigment is required, which is therefore cleaner and more environmentally friendly and our pigments are compatible with a much wider range of printing inks and print processes which provides banknote designers with more flexibility. Ultimately, we think Inovink’s products offer central banks more choice now and increased savings in banknote printing.

David: The great thing about being based in Sheffield is this very strong culture of ‘can do, let’s get on with it’ which has helped us develop and can be very rewarding. There is a lot of support and innovation, particularly around the universities, Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Sheffield Innovation Centre. The Universities have got ANGUS WARD

great ideas, but also recognise these ideas have got to be commercial. That is where we come in to take that idea and make it a commercial product for our industry.

WHAT PROJECTS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY SUCCESSFUL? Angus: Right now, central banks use our features and obviously our intention is to grow our customer base internationally. Through working with our development partners, we have just had a new patent granted in February for an invisible machine-readable feature. We have also recently launched BioNote® Organic Banknote Protection which is our antimicrobial feature. BioNote works in an innovative and sustainable way using nature’s ability to keep surfaces clean, it is a new science for the banknote industry and very different to current antibacterial products.

David: Our new patent is an improvement to our existing technology which now produces a clear or invisible machine-readable feature, a world first. Central banks around the world are already showing interest as it is seen as a significant breakthrough in the industry, of which we are very proud. WHAT ARE THE KEY MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENTS IN RECENT YEARS? David: The fact that we have patents granted all around the world has been a major achievement. This proved Inovink was developing really innovative technology that was not pie in the sky. Our products have been taken by central banks, put through years of rigorous testing and then used on currencies. That is a big endorsement. Now our technology is used on over 25 billion banknotes worldwide.

When we started out in 2004, we had no pedigree and you cannot cold call a central bank! So you better make damn sure your technology is good. Ours is – and it is now a proven technology.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE TO DRIVE FURTHER SUCCESS?

Angus: To build on our current success with extensive R&D, engaging with our partners and product developers and keeping focussed on what makes our products better. R&D is a long, expensive and complex process – coming up with an idea, researching it and commercialising it into an industry specific product can take five years in development before a banknote security feature gets adopted.

David: Despite significant up-front development costs, the rewards for Inovink are long term contracts with our customers, commercial partners and suppliers.

Once a feature is specified on a banknote design, the specification may not change for the next ten to 15 years.

Banknote printing is a competitive and interdependent industry with significant barriers to entry, but thanks to Inovink’s innovation we have developed products that our customers want and will continue to do so.