Home Blog Page 779

Creative Kickstart jobs confirmed for cultural organisations across the North West

Sam Whitear
-
0

Curious Minds, the sector support organisation for creative and cultural education in North West England, is celebrating the confirmation of 70+ Kickstart jobs for the region’s creative industries.

Curious Minds is working closely with national and regional partners, including Creative & Cultural Skills (CCSkills) and Factory Academy, to support a wide range of employers as they open their doors to young people who need the opportunity the most.  Amongst the key regional employers approved so far are Storyhouse (Chester), Open Eye Gallery (Liverpool) and Northern Heart Films (Preston), with several more expected to join them in the coming weeks.

We know that young people have experienced significant disruption to their education in the past year, and that those who are in employment are amongst the group of workers hardest hit by furlough and redundancies. Now, more than ever, a joined-up approach is needed to create meaningful opportunities for these young people. Kickstart is a job creation scheme by The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that provides funding to employers to create six-month job placements for 16 to 24 year olds currently receiving Universal Credit. Funding covers 100% of the costs of a six-month placement, up to 25 hours a week, which can start anytime between now and 31 December 2021.

As the scheme is rolled out, Curious Minds looks forward to providing a bespoke wraparound package of support for the new employees, which will boost both their learning and future employment prospects.

Drawing on expertise from across the cultural and creative industries, and delivered in partnership with leading cultural institutions and innovative grass-roots organisations, this support will focus on the development of skills known to be essential for the world of work. Not only will young people develop practical employability skills, knowledge and agency – their experiences through the programme will also enable them to develop lifelong appreciation of the arts.

Commenting on the news, Holly Ball, Head of Careers & Employability at Curious Minds said:

“The response to the Kickstart scheme from employers in the North West has been incredible. Curious Minds is proud to support a wide range of employers from across the region as they open their doors to young people who need the opportunity the most. We see Kickstart as a catalyst to drive real change in the creative workforce. Providing an opportunity to level the playing field for all young people; enabling those without their own networks to grow their social capital whilst also enhancing the region’s businesses with diverse talent.”

Jane Ide, Chief Executive of CCSkills, commented:

“We are delighted to have ringfenced up to £5million to support hundreds of young people into paid employment across the UK’s cultural sector. Under the leadership of CCSkills and its partners, Creative Kickstart has the potential to transform the way the sector thinks about recruitment by practically demonstrating to employers the benefits of recruiting from a wider pool of talent and, in turn, supporting young people whose employment chances have been hardest hit by the devastating impact of Covid. We hope Creative Kickstart will provoke real and lasting positive change across our sector, at scale.”

An online event to launch the North West Creative Kickstart is being hosted by Curious Minds, CCSkills and Factory Academy on Tuesday 20th April, 15:00-16:30. This session will offer both committed and potential Kickstart employers an overview of the Kickstart programme, how and why to get involved and the training support offers available in the North West. Attendees will also hear from young people already in a Kickstart placement about why it’s important to them.

Digitl creates new site and launches app integration for Beatstream

Sam Whitear
-
0

Digitl, the eCommerce, marketplace and web design agency, has developed a new website for Beatstream – the Manchester-based revolutionary live music streaming service. Beatstream’s investors include Communicorp which also runs the XS Manchester radio station.

Beatstream was established in 2014 by Helen Fish and Matthew Walsh. It provides exclusive access to gigs, concerts, events, festivals and sessions through mobile phones and browsers. Its purpose is to make things easier for those who can’t get to events – made especially necessary during this time of venue closures and social distancing – and to be “the next best thing to actually being there.”

Since its launch, it has streamed from venues across the UK, including the world-famous Cavern Club in Liverpool. Its primary customers are musicians, promoters, music managers and record labels.

The project saw Digitl focus on developing the site’s functionality so that it fully integrates with the Beatstream app to stream live events as they happen in real time.

An eCommerce service was also added which means tickets can now be sold direct rather than through third-party agencies. It has also been made ready for international sales, with the site already achieving international sales as Beatstream starts to showcase international talent, and users now have the ability to sign up for some free events.

Darren Ratcliffe – founder of Digitl – said: “Beatstream is a fantastic platform and its service is needed now more than ever. We are all missing gigs and live events so being able to access music and culture in this way is a godsend for so many people. We’ve worked hard on the functionality of the site along with its new design, so we hope it will act as a springboard to help drive Beatstream’s reach and growth.”

Matt Walsh – founder of Beatstream – added: “2020 was a year like no other. Millions of people across the world have lost the ability to go to events so we see this as the perfect time for Beatstream. Digitl has done a fantastic job and we are looking forward to seeing our users and customers get the benefit from our continued investment in the platform.”

Seneca hits £100m investment milestone

Sam Whitear
-
0

North West finance firm Seneca Partners is celebrating a significant milestone after investing £100m in growth capital since it launched in 2010.

The Haydock-based company specialises in supporting ambitious SMEs grow and has invested in more than 50 businesses in the last decade.

Earlier this month the company achieved a 4.2x return in its investment in Lancashire digital and communications business Mission Labs after it was acquired by Gamma Communications, in a deal worth a potential £46m.
John Davies, investment director at Seneca Partners, said investing £100m was a ‘hugely significant milestone’ but predicted the ‘best was yet to come’.

He said: “We have invested in everything from consumer businesses such as eCommerce platforms and coffee shop franchise operators, traditional manufacturing businesses, highly innovative technology businesses and we also remain active biotech and healthtech investors.

“More recently, with the UK and particularly the North West, emerging as something of a digital powerhouse, deal flow in technology driven businesses has been accelerated.”

Companies that Seneca have invested in include AIM-quoted biotech businesses OptiBiotix and SkinBioTherapeutics and car data platform Wejo.

Davies added: “Mission Labs has been a great story for us. We enjoy working with regional businesses and Mission Labs has been a roaring success, not only for our investors but for the local tech sector as a whole.

“We have also had success in the eCommerce space, with a 5x exit from our investment into Yorkshire-based Gear4Music, and we continue to be big supporters of women’s fashion platform SilkFred, who we are excited about heading into 2021.”

Seneca employs over 40 people and has made a total of 22 exits with an average multiple of 1.75x and returned in excess of £32m to investors. They currently manage a portfolio of 30+ businesses on behalf of their investors.
Matt Currie, investment manager and growth investor at Seneca Partners, said: “Cheque sizes vary from around £500k to circa £3m. We try not to stick to any hard and fast rules here as we prefer the flexibility to structure deals that work for both us as investors, but also the businesses and management teams.

“They may not want or need to take £2m or £3m of funding on day one, so we can split the funding into two or three tranches if that works better. We often support our existing portfolio businesses by reinvesting in the future investment rounds as the business continues to progress.”

Currie described Seneca as ‘sector agnostic’ but said Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and VCTs (Venture Capital Trusts) investors have traditionally been attracted to biotech deals.

“We prefer to invest at the point where the product or offering has been proven,” said Currie. “Some refer to this as ‘scale up’ or ‘Series A’ funding round, but essentially we like to see that a management team are capable of building a product, attracting customers and proving the model before we put our capital at risk.

“Naturally that may mean that we invest at a slightly higher value than earlier stage investors, so it’s all about getting that risk-reward dynamic right.”

Currie said there were no shortage of investment opportunities because of Covid.

“There are plenty of opportunities out there, arguably more so than in previous years,” he said. “The rate of change over the previous year has created significant opportunities and there are no shortage of entrepreneurs looking to tap into those.

“The challenging bit is forming a view on what businesses may look like in a post-Covid world. All have been impacted by Covid in some way, so the last 12 months and the recent trajectory these businesses have been on may not be a great indicator of the next 12 months.”

BELLWAY MAKES IT FIVE-IN-A-ROW AS FIVE-STAR STATUS IS RETAINED

Sam Whitear
-
0

Bellway Manchester is celebrating after the company retained its five-star status with the Home Builders Federation (HBF) for the fifth successive year.

Bellway was named in the HBF’s annual list of the housebuilders most highly rated by their customers, published on 18 March 2021.

The award demonstrates that more than 90 per cent of Bellway’s customers who completed the HBF’s National New Homes Customer Satisfaction Survey would recommend the housebuilder to a friend.

Bellway’s unwavering commitment to delivering a first-class customer experience has enabled the company to consistently secure five-star status since 2017.

Managing director for Bellway Manchester, Stuart Gray, said: “Retaining our five-star status is always a special moment, but this year the news carries extra weight and pride for everyone at Bellway.

“To secure a fifth consecutive HBF Five Star Builder award in a year which posed so many challenges is an incredible feat, that reflects the commitment of our staff and contractors.

“We are grateful to our customers for taking the time to complete the survey and for their co-operation over the course of the past year. Bellway is proud to place our customers first and will continue to drive improvements to the home-buying process.”

The HBF star rating has become the leading indicator for success in the new homes industry since it was introduced in 2005. Almost 4,000 people completed the survey to rate Bellway this year.

Bellway Manchester, which has its head office in Birchwood in Warrington, is currently building new homes in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire.

South West Water chooses WorkMobile to power its mobile workforce transformation

Sam Whitear
-
0

South West Water has selected Manchester-based WorkMobile’s award-winning mobile data capture solution as a key platform in its mobile workforce toolkit.

One of the leading providers of water and wastewater services across a population of 1.7 million, South West Water has adopted the WorkMobile tool to improve its methods of data collection and assist with a range of operational activities, having identified the additional capabilities the system provides.

The utilities firm initially collaborated with WorkMobile on a variety of small, specialist projects within the company, and was particularly impressed with the agility of its solution, and the resultant speed of design, development and deployment of the tailored products.

These initial projects included taking a new approach to development surveys which meant that surveyors no longer needed to go to a depot to receive work, print diagrams and create reports. All of this was completed using the WorkMobile application. Ultimately this resulted in customers receiving their reports within a few minutes of the survey being completed and in significantly improved team productivity.

These improvements in efficiency and service meant that the solution has been enthusiastically adopted by employees doing a variety of tasks, with an end user survey providing excellent feedback.

Following the success of these early projects, South West Water has decided to significantly extend the use of WorkMobile’s technology throughout its organisation, to supplement and complement its core IT systems. Applications include undertaking pollutions surveys at point of first response to provide all those who need to manage events with the detail they require, such as photos and videos as well as sound files and speech to text, and creating repair surveys for promoting contractor work, such as for customer leak repairs.

WorkMobile’s flexible application allows businesses to create mobile forms relevant to the specific job in hand, including site inspections, health and safety forms, time sheets and site surveys.

Using a digital form to capture this essential information reduces the risk of data being lost or incorrectly collected, enabling businesses to meet compliance requirements. The app, which allows data to be captured and analysed in real-time, can be accessed via users’ smartphones, tablets, laptops or PCs.

A South West Water spokesperson said “After completing some initial projects with WorkMobile, we have been really impressed with their development team. During the Covid pandemic, they have enabled us to implement remote working rapidly. We are looking forward to taking further opportunities to improve efficiency and service across the wider business.

“The WorkMobile team has made it possible for us to quickly roll out the solution across our employee devices and aided our ability to record, save and share data from site visits. We now have a solution that allows data to be captured more accurately, meaning that we can present clear and concise reports to both our internal and external clients. By rolling out the solution to additional teams across our business, more will benefit from this ease of data capture every day.”

Andrew Huntly, CEO at WorkMobile, said: “Site visits and inspections are essential in ensuring utilities services are provided to customers to meet a consistently excellent standard. Having a tool that allows you to accurately record, save and share data whilst out on site, was a clear benefit to South West Water when choosing to adopt our solution.

“Having already worked with the provider throughout 2020, the expansion of our digital tool across the South West Water network will help provide a flexible toolkit to facilitate new capabilities to enhance our data capture capability and speed up the process of getting essential information to those that need it.”

Flow creates poignant film to mark the 10-year anniversary of the war in Syria

Sam Whitear
-
0

Manchester’s Flow Creative has partnered with locally based international charity, Syria Relief, to create a powerful animated film to mark the 10-year anniversary of the conflict in Syria.

The charity is launching a fundraising appeal to coincide with the anniversary of the brutal conflict to help the millions of victims of the war.

The award-winning animation specialists were asked to tell the human story of the impact of the war by making a film that would help put the scale of the conflict in perspective, while also helping the charity in its fundraising activities.

Flow’s creative director, Karl Doran, said: “We all really wanted to show the tragedy of how long this situation has been going on, so we created a story around a central character of a 10-year-old child who has lived his whole life in war time. This approach allowed us to tell the story from his perspective to bring to life the human side of the devastating conflict.

“We developed an illustration style and colour palette that would feel accessible and easy to watch while being authentic to the region and sensitive to the seriousness of the subject matter. Combining this look and feel with a moving script, delivered beautifully by a child actor, and bespoke sound design the end result is a moving film and one we’re really proud of.”

Jessica Adams, Marketing and Media manager at Syria Relief, said: “The animation that Flow created far exceeded our expectations. They managed to create a thought-provoking and elegant piece that captured this decade of brutality through the innocent eyes of a child.
Throughout the process, they worked with dignity and respect for the cause and handled the sensitive subject matter with ease. The team communicated with us every step of the way. They ensured authenticity with voiceover selection and imagery to create a polished and compelling final product.”

Doran continued: “Being the father of a 10-year-old boy myself, this project felt quite personal to me. Telling this story from the point of view of a child the same age, who has only known war, made the scale of the tragedy really hit home. We work with lots of amazing charities doing inspiring and really valuable work. It’s great to be able to put our skills to good use and see the work we do make a positive difference in the world.”

HOST appoints Director of Innovation to lead on Cyber, Data Science and AI

Sam Whitear
-
0

Innovation hub HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology, has strengthened its team with the appointment of a new director of innovation for cyber, data science and AI.

Saskia Coplans will lead on the development of HOST’s open innovation blueprint, where partner organisations from across Greater Manchester will converge at HOST to work together to champion and support innovation in the region.

She will help to establish and lead HOST’s Cyber Innovation Exchange (CIX) with an innovation and start-up incubation stream, as well as contribute to HOST’s Skills City talent development activities, which includes supporting employers with achieving their diversity and inclusion ambitions.

Based at HOST in MediaCityUK, Saskia will ensure the incubation of the best-in-class cyber, data science and AI start-ups and scale-ups, and support the rapid development and commercialisation of industry-leading disruptive innovations.

Working with HOST’s new Security Operations Centre (SOC), with partners Salford City Council, Saskia and the team will develop a unique Cyber Sandbox where sector-specific problem books and challenges can be tackled by HOST’s incubated start-ups with a clear commercial pathway upon success.

As co-founder of Digital Interruption and REXscan in Manchester, Saskia works with a diverse team of consultants who specialise in all areas of cyber security, leading the product and innovation side of the business. She heads two projects, REX, an android security scanner and RAPTOR, an AI-enabled malware classifier that both won Innovate UK grant funding in 2020/21.

Saskia has over a decade’s experience in information security and governance, along with standards and policy development. She has worked across Europe and Central Asia for governments, NGO’s, regulators and the private sector.

Mo Isap, CEO of IN4.0 Group, operators of HOST, said: “We are delighted to have Saskia in the team, she has achieved great success already in her entrepreneurial career, her experiences and knowledge will ensure our support is relevant, accessible and leads to long term success. We are not just about a programme or new IP, we are about supporting the entrepreneur’s journey which is as exciting and fulfilling as the eventual destination.

Saskia said: “I’m committed to community, sharing and collaboration so I’m really looking forward to working with the team at HOST as the director of innovation. The future of cyber security sits with intelligent tool development, to achieve this we need to work together to better share skills, information and knowledge across the technology sector.

“By working in partnership with established government, academic and commercial security organisations we can push the boundaries of cyber security, drive experimental development of these solutions and support the growth of small businesses through the rapid commercialisation of their products.”

Business owners offered helping hand to get doors back open as restrictions ease

Sam Whitear
-
0

Unify, a facilities management venture launched by the Bruntwood Group, has launched a dedicated support programme to help businesses in Manchester and Liverpool to safely reopen their offices after lockdown restrictions are lifted.

For businesses that wish to reopen in the summer, but that don’t have sufficient internal resources available to ensure they meet Covid-secure obligations, Unify has created a Return to Work ‘toolkit’ to support businesses in developing an action plan to reopen their buildings and offices.

Unify will offer guidance to businesses on planning communications to be shared with staff, suppliers and customers; introduce cleaning schedules to maintain outstanding hygiene standards and help companies assess and manage any potential risks to future closure presented by poor maintenance of their facilities.

From 29th March 2021, support will be made available through a free to download guide, while on 8th April Unify will host a free webinar, delivered in partnership with Bruntwood Works and as part of the Spark business support programme. Meanwhile, a number of businesses in the region can also benefit from direct, 30 minute consultation sessions provided by Unify’s cleaning specialists.

Headquartered in Manchester, Unify was launched by the Bruntwood Group in 2020 to offer a fresh approach to facilities management. Since the pandemic began, it has delivered over 100 sanitisation and fogging services to customers, and cleans over 1,000,000 sq ft of commercial and public sector offices, retail, healthcare, industrial and logistical environments every day.

Having secured 30 new contracts worth over £8m in revenue in its first 12 months of trading, Unify’s 400-strong in house team now delivers cleaning, window cleaning, specialist and technical services across a complete portfolio of over 5,000,000 sq ft. By maintaining spaces for people and business to thrive, it provides customers with flexible, exceptional, ethical services.

Simon Durbin, Soft Services Director at Unify, said: “Over the last 12 months, building and business owners have had a lot to think about – adhering to new regulations, maintaining contact with their teams from afar, perhaps even pivoting their usual services to maintain an income. And once offices and workspaces begin to open again, it’ll be all hands on deck to get back up and running as soon as possible.

“But while the transition of returning to work will be different for everyone, one thing is certain – not a single workplace will operate in the same way as before Coronavirus became part of our lives.

“Returning to work after something as seismic as the pandemic will require careful management of lots of processes, so to make this as smooth and simple a time as possible for business owners that want to navigate a path back to the office, we’ve launched our Return to the Workplace campaign.

“Using our team’s many years of expertise in cleaning and facilities management, we can take care of a building and its workspaces, helping with maintenance regimes to ensure everyone within it is safe, hygienic and as healthy as possible, while business owners focus on what really matters – their colleagues and customers, and creating a thriving future after such adversity.”

AER LINGUS LAUNCHES FOUR NEW DIRECT, NON-STOP TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHTS FROM MANCHESTER CREATING UP TO 120 JOBS

Sam Whitear
-
0

Aer Lingus is to launch its first ever transatlantic services direct from Manchester to the US and the Caribbean, which will create up to 120 new jobs.

Aer Lingus will commence four new routes from Manchester Airport flying to New York JFK and Orlando from 29 July, to Barbados from 20 October and to Boston from summer 2022.

Two of the four new routes, New York JFK and Boston, will be operated by the new single-aisle Airbus A321LR, making Aer Lingus the first airline to operate the aircraft on regular scheduled services between the UK and the US.

Services to holiday hotspots such as Orlando and Barbados will be operated by a larger Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

Aer Lingus offers highly competitive fares in both Business Class and Economy Class on its transatlantic services operating from Manchester with summer fares starting from £199 each-way, as part of a return journey.

As part of its significant expansion into Manchester, Aer Lingus will create up to 120 job opportunities in the North of England. Recruitment will be predominantly for cabin crew roles, together with additional positions within Maintenance and Engineering, and Ground Operations.

The New York JFK and Boston services will serve 58 onward destinations, with a schedule designed to maximise onward connectivity to exciting destinations such as Las Vegas, Nashville, and Jamaica, and for the first time from Manchester to San Jose, Bermuda and Dallas.

David Shepherd, Aer Lingus Chief Commercial Officer, said:
“We are delighted to offer high-quality, direct, non-stop, business and leisure travel options, at very reasonable prices for travellers and holidaymakers across the North of England.

“Aer Lingus has been flying to North America for more than 60 years and we also have a proud history with Manchester Airport.

“With so many people missing out on travel due to Covid-19 over the past year, Aer Lingus is delighted to be sharing this positive news today, announcing a great choice for customers and creating up to 120 jobs in the North of England.

“We believe our transatlantic offering is one of the best in the marketplace comprising both business and economy cabins.

“Equally our operation of the new and innovative Airbus A321LR aircraft marks a further milestone as Aer Lingus will be one of the first carriers to fly the aircraft between the UK and the US. We look forward to commencing our transatlantic services this summer.”

The airline is one of Manchester’s longest serving carriers, currently flying to Dublin and Belfast, with flights to Cork set to resume in the summer.

Karen Smart, Manchester Airport Managing Director, said:

“These routes will be a great addition to the departure boards here at Manchester as we look forward to restarting international travel.

“Pre-pandemic there were more than 5.5 million passengers who crossed the Atlantic each year via Manchester and so to be able to offer these services with a new carrier is great news. In addition, Aer Lingus’s commitment to the U.K’s northern gateway results in the creation of 120 much-needed jobs.

“Aer Lingus’ commitment to these new services will be a real boost for those passengers we know are keen to start travelling as soon as the current restrictions can be lifted. This demonstration of pent-up demand is another reason why it is more important than ever that the Government develops proposals to restart travel that are clear, uncomplicated and affordable. We eagerly await the findings of the Global Travel Taskforce in April.”

Flying transatlantic with Aer Lingus, UK travellers will benefit from the airline’s ‘Book with Confidence’ offer which has been extended to 31 December 2021 allowing customers to change their flights up to two hours before they are due to depart with no change fee*. The Aer Lingus ‘Book with Confidence’ offer is available on all fare types and customers can change their bookings as many times as they like.

The Skytrax-rated 4-Star airline’s award-winning Business Class boasts a fully lie-flat 6.5ft long bed, complimentary Wi-Fi and complimentary access to more than 7,000 digital newspapers/magazines via the PressReader app. Business Class customers can also experience the very best of local cuisine thanks to carefully created dishes to enjoy onboard during their flight. Economy Class customers will enjoy complimentary meals and soft drinks on board and will too be able to access both Wi-Fi and the PressReader app as a paid-for service on board. Aer Lingus offers all customers free access to a world of entertainment, thanks to its inflight entertainment service, featuring the latest blockbuster movies, box sets, games and much more.

The A321LR promises customers a more innovative and sustainable travel experience as the aircraft boasts greater fuel-efficiency and a 50% reduction in noise footprint compared to previous generation aircraft.

Aer Lingus is delighted to confirm that all flights will soon be available for purchase through British Airways and British Airways Holidays.

Manchester-based design agency Buffalo 7 announces three new client wins

Sam Whitear
-
0

Manchester-based presentation design agency, Buffalo 7, who has previously worked with brands such as UEFA, Team GB and JD Sports, has announced three new client wins following six months of remarkable growth.

Despite the challenges of the last year, Buffalo 7 has taken on 104 new projects since September, with half of these coming from new clients. This growth continues with projects for Barrington Hibbert Associates, Robsim, and UBS.

Barrington Hibbert Associates is an executive search and advisory firm specialising in financial sector recruitment and retention, that also specialises in promoting diversity and equal opportunity awareness in business. But their current presentation material wasn’t representing them. Buffalo 7 have partnered with Barrington Hibbert Associates to create a new intro which tells the story of the company and highlights its key messages alongside a contemporary design. Since completing the deck, Buffalo 7 has continued to work with Barrington Hibbert Associates to help modernise older training pieces, which require a different style to the general company presentations.

Robsim is a technological development company specialising in several fields, including automation, industrial robots, automobile applications and collaborative robotics, who primarily develop electronic tools and cutting-edge software for a wide variety of robots. Whilst they were clear on the brand message when it came to automotive fields, and seeing great success in these areas, they needed Buffalo 7 to help highlight the work they were doing and able to do, in fields such as pharma and cosmetics, which naturally need a different tone to automobiles. As they are at the forefront of their field, Buffalo 7 sought to incorporate some highly-technical elements into their deck, strengthening the feel of the brand.

UBS is a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company, who has recently come to Buffalo 7 with a new project. UBS has recently developed a new identity for ESG (environmental, social and governance) and needed Buffalo 7 to help it create the look and feel for a series of decks highlighting this priority topic. Buffalo 7 created a template and then a user-friendly set of example slides and style guide.

Felicity Chivers, Client Services Director at Buffalo 7, said:

“The fantastic run of client wins we’ve seen over the last six months goes to show that even though there’s been no live events and no-in person pitches, people still need presentations to communicate effectively. It’s just the medium that’s changed. Perhaps high-quality, visual presentations are even more important now that they’re being delivered remotely, as now all eyes are on the slides as opposed to the presenter.”

“We hope to continue to grow and take on new clients and projects throughout 2021.”

1...778779780...1,095Page 779 of 1,095