Project Manager, Quantity Surveyors and Building Surveyors, Allman Woodcock Ltd based in Tombland, Norwich welcomes Wesley May to their team. Having graduated in 2012 with a BA Honours in Construction Management, Wesley is currently studying for his Masters in Construction Management and has, for the past 6 years gained extensive experience delivering a variety of roles such as Site Management and Estimating for local contractors.
The practice looks forward to working with Wesley and is confident that his skills and expertise will enhance their growing reputation of delivering a varied portfolio of projects to a consistently high standard within both the public and private sectors.
To meet the rest of the team at Allman Woodock Ltd. please visit www.allmanwoodcock.com.
The race is on to secure your place in the third annual West Norfolk Fit4Work Games!
Registration is now open for all businesses ready to take on the challenge of the Fit4Work Games, which will be held from 6-10pm on Wednesday 18th March at Alive Lynnsport.
Businesses will be competing in a fun and supportive environment for the title of “Best in the West” in four competitions: Football, Badminton, Netball and Fitness Triathlon, which includes cycling, rowing, and treadmill.
Last year’s men’s badminton winners Cooper Roller Bearings were just one of the many businesses to take on the challenge, and have signed up to the 2015 Games with an eye on retaining their title. Gary Hellard from Cooper Roller Bearings said “We’ve taken part the last two years and it’s always an enjoyable evening. It’s a nice mix of competition and fun.”
The Games have become a popular fixture in West Norfolk business calendars, with over 400 people taking part over the last two years. Workplaces can enter any number of teams for each of the events and the cost of entry is just £10 per team, per sport.
Alive Leisure Board Member Councillor Elizabeth Nockolds said: “The Fit4Work Games is an event organised jointly by Alive Leisure and Active Norfolk. The Games encourages employers to get their staff to take part in activities that will improve their physical health and therefore their productivity, motivation and attendance at work. It’s also a brilliant way to meet people and make new friends.”
Fit4Work is a free workplace health scheme that provides employers access to a wide range of opportunities to engage, inspire and help improve employees’ overall health and physical activity levels.
Katie Tierney, Fit4Work Project Officer, said: “I’m really excited about this year’s event. The Games is a great opportunity for local businesses to enjoy some team bonding and networking whilst getting active”.
Teams are men only and women only, and trophies are up for grabs in each of the sports. The winning teams will be entered into a draw to win free entry to the county-wide Fit4Work Corporate Games, which will take place on Friday 12th June at UEA Sportspark in Norwich.
As 2024 draws to a close, it’s a great opportunity to reflect on our last year at Leading Business Services. From supporting vital community causes to expanding our professional connections and celebrating team achievements, this year has been one of growth, collaboration, and giving back.
Fundraising: Supporting Our Community
At Leading Business Services, we are deeply committed to making a positive impact in our local community. This year, our fundraising efforts have raised over £1,000 for various charities, thanks to our team’s enthusiasm and the generous support of local businesses and individuals.
‘Wear it Green Day’ for Mental Health Awareness: In support of the Mental Health Foundation, we raised over £350 through quizzes, sweepstakes, and a lively day of green-themed fun at the office.
Bake Sale for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH): Our bake sale at Lawrence House in Norwich showcased the culinary skills of our team while raising over £500 for EACH, a charity that provides care for children with life-threatening conditions.
Norwich Duck Race: For the first time, we participated in the Norwich Duck Race to support Break, a charity assisting vulnerable children and families. It was a fantastic day at Fye Bridge, with our team joining other local businesses for this creative and fun community event.
Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraising events this year—your generosity is truly appreciated.
Networking and Strengthening Community Ties
Staying connected with our local business community is essential to our work. This year, we attended numerous events to share insights, learn from industry experts, and expand our professional network.
FIG Annual Conference: Claire and Dulcie represented Leading at our first FIG Annual Conference, held at Aviva’s historic Marble Hall in Norwich. The event was a fantastic opportunity to engage with the region’s financial and business leaders and gain insights into the sector’s future.
Business Breakfasts at Howes Percival Solicitors: Claire, our Business Manager, regularly attended these informative events, exploring topics ranging from workplace flexibility to fostering health and motivation.
Welcoming Liam to the Team: Our new Partnership Manager, Liam, brought over 20 years of experience in finance and business relationship-building. This year, Liam has attended numerous networking events, contributing fresh expertise to our growing team.
Celebrating Team Growth and Achievements
2024 has been a year of growth for Leading. We welcomed over 15 new members to the team, celebrated well-deserved promotions, and provided professional development opportunities, including additional training and conference attendance.
We also made time to celebrate these successes and get our team all together at regular team socials and events at venues within the local community.
Looking Ahead to 2025
As we reflect on 2024, we are proud of all we’ve accomplished. From fundraising milestones to building stronger connections within the business community, this year has been a testament to our team’s dedication.
We are excited to continue growing in 2025 and look forward to even more opportunities to help support our clients, our community, and our team.
Thank you to everyone who has supported Leading Business Services this year. We’re proud to be part of such a vibrant and collaborative local business community.
The Norfolk LSIP team was delighted to attend the official opening of the brand-new Construction Skills Hub at City College Norwich today. The event was marked by a special visit from The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern, Minister of State for Skills, who conducted the official opening.
Jerry White, Principal and CEO of City College Norwich, welcomed guests for an exclusive tour of the state-of-the-art facilities. Attendees had the opportunity to see students in action, showcasing their skills in plumbing, heating, and electrical installation.
Speaking with students, it was clear that this specialist hub is a much-needed and highly valued addition to the college’s facilities, helping to bridge the skills gap and support the next generation of construction professionals.
A fantastic investment in the future of Norfolk’s workforce!
David Sanderson and Lisa Webb of Sky Media joined JMS Group at The Forum in Norwich to explain the benefits of Sky’s AdSmart TV advertisingplatform to local advertisers, and its accessibility for brands of all sizes.
This half-hour presentation is a must-watch for any brands considering advertising on television, especially those considering TV for the first time. For more information on Sky AdSmart – skymedia.co.uk/sky-adsmart or contact Lisa Webb on 0207 032 2835.
To find out more about commercial production for advertisers of all sizes contact Francesca de Lacey at JMS Group on 01603 811855.
The West Norfolk based housing and community organisation, which debuted at number 55 on the list in 2014, has once again made the list for 2015.
Freebridge has also been rated a One Star accreditation meaning the organisation is ‘very good’ at employee engagement’
Through the Best Companies process, Freebridge employees were able to share their thoughts on the organisation through a confidential survey. In addition, Freebridge also completed an extensive questionnaire which provided an overview of its working practices and culture.
The process assesses companies on themes such as Leadership, My Team, Wellbeing, Personal Growth, Giving Something Back and My Manager.
Freebridge will find out exactly where it is placed on the ‘Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For’ list in early 2015. Tony Hall, Chief Executive said: “I am so pleased to learn that we have, once again, made the Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For list for the second year in a row.
“Our placing on the list is very much down to our employees, who make Freebridge such a great place to work. I would like to thank our employees for their ongoing support and all that they are doing to meet the needs of our customers, which is our most important business priority.”
“We have found that there are real business benefits from being part of the Best Companies process. Being one of the Best Companies to work for has helped us to recruit new employees, improve employee engagement and ultimately deliver customer satisfaction.
“It is great to have one of the best companies to work for here in West Norfolk as it supports our vision of A Better West Norfolk. I look forward to working with our fantastic team of employees in 2015.”
Freebridge will now use the feedback from the Best Companies process to improve employee satisfaction and continue to make Freebridge a place where people want to work
polkadotfrog, is urging for action as many out-of-date CV’s are sitting online, leading to countless numbers of missed opportunities for candidates in the current buoyant market.
polkadotfrog recruitment specialists, with offices in Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich, see hundreds of CV’s posted online which haven’t been updated in months, with some even more than 3 years out of date.
Many people upload their CV to job sites, such as Reed or Monster and forget they are there, so when recruitment firms search to find a candidate for a specific role, more people ‘appear’ to be available, than there are in reality. This is what’s known in the industry as the ‘ghost cv’.
Emma Cotton, Director at polkadotfrog believes that thousands of candidates could be missing out on a dream job which will pay them better and provide a step up the career ladder.
She said: “What some people might not realise is that our recruitment team don’t just respond to people who submit their CV’s to us for a particular role. Every day, we are proactively researching and sifting through CV’s on internet recruitment portals to find the right match for a particular role.
Keeping your CV up to date with details of any new experience, qualifications and job changesis extremely important. The same applies to your CV and job details on other portals such as LinkedIn which are increasingly used by businesses and agencies as recruitment channels. In order for us to place the skilled candidates in to the increasing number of vacancies arising, we are urging the ‘passive workforce’ to ensure their CV is kept up to date and not just left online as a ‘ghost CV’.”
Many economists and commentators are now saying the UK is officially out of recession. In the three months to the end of November unemployment fell by 58,000 to 1.91 million and the jobless rate was 5.8 per cent*. With forecasters predicting further falls in the coming months, it’s a great time to look for a new job. Emma says that the buoyancy of the jobs market reflects the statistics.
She continues: “It certainly feels as if the green shoots of recovery are rapidly maturing! There are plenty of jobs out there with businesses having the confidence and requirement to bolster their teams and take on new staff. It’s never been a better time to have an updated CV online. The tables have turned since the recession and it’s a candidate’s market, particularly if you’re skilled in IT/Computing, Accountancy/Finance or Secretarial/Clerical work where we’re seeing a shortage of people. So if you’ve got experience and/or qualifications in these areas and you want to move up, it’s vital to make sure you’re being seen online and that all your information is correct.”
Fendercare Marine sign contract with BAE Systems to support the River Class Batch 2 programme
Contract signed with BAE Systems Naval Ships for supply of rudder, deck and mooring equipment
New OPVs seen as an important step in the Royal Navy’s forward strategy
World leading marine products and services supplier, Fendercare Marine, is proud to announce the signing of a new significant contract with BAE Systems Naval Ships. The contract is for the provision of rudder blades, rudder stocks, sleeves/liners for rudder stock, anchors, chain and deck equipment for three new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the UK Royal Navy.
“The selection of Fendercare Marine by BAE Systems to support them in this important programme for the Royal Navy, further underlines the industry’s recognition in our abilities to provide a quality and value for money service and approach to defence contracts.” said Brett Ward, Defence Project Sales Manager, Fendercare Marine.
Production of the new Offshore Patrol Vessels commenced in October 2014 at BAE Systems’ facility in Govan, Glasgow. The 90 metre OPV is based on a proven BAE Systems design which is already in service with the Brazilian Navy and Royal Thai Navy. Engineers at BAE Systems have modified the design, ensuring it meets the requirements of the Royal Navy in support of UK interests both at home and abroad.
Fendercare Marine was chosen for this contract based on their past experience working with BAE Systems and track record of working on the Amazonas class vessels.
Fendercare Marine has been a supplier of fenders and marine hardware to the MoD since 1999 and also supports navies throughout the world, winning a $29 million contract with the US Navy in 2012. Fendercare Marine also recently received praise for their fendering support to a flotilla of NATO warships in the Port of Cardiff during the NATO summit.
From a base in the Devonport Royal Dockyard in Plymouth, their Naval Solutions division provides fabrication, welding and coating services for the MoD, having worked on nuclear submarines, warships and naval support vessels.
The new OPVs will include a modified flight deck capable of operating the latest Merlin helicopters, larger stores and more accommodation for embarked troops. The first of class is expected to be delivered to the Royal Navy in 2017, with Fendercare Marine due to complete their elements by the end of 2015.
Are you recruiting at the moment and aren’t sure what the going rate is? Want to know what’s most important to candidates at the moment? Let us help you attract and retain the very best talent on the market.
Every year Cooper Lomaz carries out a survey to find out average salaries and day rates for the industries we recruit in. This year we heard from 1,500 people through an online survey and combined that data with information from 15,000 candidate interviews. The survey produced some interesting insights into the local recruitment market.
A good example is web development. A mid-level Mobile Developer working in Norfolk receives an average salary of £30k-40k per annum. However, if you hop across the border to Suffolk it increases to £38k-45k, and goes up to £45k-55k in Cambridgeshire. That’s a big difference.
In the current market, skilled candidates are at a premium. Use our Salary Survey to make sure you havethe edge when it comes to securing the best talent.
Specialised Management Services Ltd (SMS), a leading service provider and manufacturer of hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical control systems, will be exhibiting at the EEEGR event “SNS 2015: The Sea of Opportunity” held at the Royal Norfolk Showground, Norwich.
The event is held over two days, 4th& 5thMarch 2015. With 77 exhibitors and an anticipated footfall of over 500 people, the event has been deemed as the most important conference for the offshore energy industry in the East of England.
SMS will be promoting its range of offshore and onshore services as well as showcasing their products to local customers. SMS will also demonstrate its full project and multi-disciplined engineering capabilities which have enabled the SMS team to successfully secure a high number of orders in the region.
In recent years SMS’s operations department have seen an increase in the requirement for offshore labour. SMS are fully equipped to service this demand and can provide comprehensive and cost effective operations that will be delivered by fully trained, highly skilled and experienced technicians.
Gary Morrow, Business Development Director, comments, “SMS has a good reputation of delivering quality solutions and services that meet the specific requirements of our customers both internationally and within the southern North Sea. We are pleased to be attending SNS again as it is a highly targeted event which allows us the opportunity to speak to attendees more intimately than bigger oil and gas tradeshows.”
Gary continues by saying, “We look forward to discussing with our existing and potential customers how we can support them locally now and into the future”.
For more information on SMS and its products and services you can visit the sales team at stand B15 at the SNS2015 event, Norwich from 4th-5thMarch 2015.
In attendance are: Phil Turner (Sales Manager, Hose and Components), Joe Carter (Sales Manager, Operations) and Emily Phillips (Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Projects).
Do you have acorporate partnership with a charity? That’s fantastic! We’re sure you’ve got lots of exciting plans to make the partnership a roaring success.
Whether it’s pink wigs and bucket collections, crocodile costumes and marathons, or wet-weather gear and hiking, you can’t raise money without some very important people – your staff.
The fundraising is only part of the challenge. Staff are usually keen to get involved, but getting large numbers engaged can be difficult, and getting a diversity of people involved is also tricky. Especially when many are busy with work, they may find it difficult to leave their desks for lunch, let alone to raise money.
Understandably the job comes first, and even if people want to help, it’s not always do-able. Instead of expecting people to automatically support your charity, you need to create a culture that enables them to get involved. So we recommend trying out these tried and tested methods…
1. Communicate with everyone One of the reasons that charity partnerships may not always hit the fundraising target, is because staff may not know that the partnership is actually happening. And if they do, they often don’t know why it’s there and how they can help! This is pretty easy to remedy. When you agree on the charity, plan a fundraising strategy with internal communications to match. Plan an all-staff launch, and follow up with frequent emails, desk-drops and posters to keep the partnership in the forefront of people’s minds.
2. Recruit charity champions Charity champions are volunteer staff responsible for jollying along colleagues to come to events, buy raffle tickets, dress up (or down), etc. Using skills in diplomacy and persuasion, they drive the charity partnership among the workforce, encouraging their engagement.
3. Arrange a charity visit (or talk) Inspire your staff by bringing the cause to life for them. Depending on the kind of organisation you’re supporting, you could arrange a staff visit to see the charity’s work first hand. Since some places work with sensitive cases, such as people with severe health issues and vulnerable children, visits aren’t always possible. But you can still invite a guest speaker from the charity to give a talk and thank everyone for their support. Establishing an emotional connection between staff and charity can make all the difference to support levels.
4. Give people time off We’re sure lots of people would love to take time off to raise money, but with work to do, it’s not always possible. Why not look at your budget to see if you can give staff a day off each year to dedicate to charity support?
5. Put the appeal in fundraising Look at your staff profile, and ask yourself: How many people are likely to do the Ben Nevis climb or white water rafting? Who’s more suited to cake bakes and fun runs? This helps you set achievable goals for all of your staff. Not everyone wants to abseil down the tallest building in town. And baking isn’t everyone’s idea of fun either! Getting the balance right encourages more involvement.
6. Mention it in your job ads Start building a culture of giving by highlighting your charity activity in your job ads. Not many companies do this so you’ll stand out from other employers. And you’ll attract the kind of employee that wants to get involved in such work.
7. Get in the paper The local press are always keen to hear what the business community is doing to give something back. It publicises the charity, your own organisation and we’re pretty sure that staff will love seeing themselves on the pages of the local rag! If you’re doing something very visual and unusual, why not get the local TV reporter along to an event too? 8. Set targets There’s nothing like firing up a bit of friendly competition among fundraisers! By setting targets people have a goal to aim for. You can team people up, giving them their own targets to hit. You can tally up the totals each month, quarter, six months or at the end of the year and hand out prizes for those who have raised the most.
Although successful charity partnerships do require a bit of organising, once you develop a culture that makes it possible, your staff should jump at the chance to be part of the action.
We would also like to give our own charity partners a mention; do check out their amazing work:EACH,The J’s Hospice,Maggie’s Wallace,Suffolk Mind,Arthur Rank Hospice CharityandTalk to Stars.
When new magazine OMG! needed a set of TV commercials to promote the launch of their weekly magazine for women, they turned to JMS to make it happen.
Being new to TV they wanted a company that could guide them through any potential pitfalls with Clearcast (the body responsible for approving commercials for broadcast) and produce a series of commercials very cost-effectively using a simple sonic ident and a strong call to action. The commercials needed to echo the brand, bring a smile to the viewers face and create a strong recall when it came to seeing the magazine in stores.
Incorporating images from the magazine and some eye-catching headlines, the 6 commercials will be playing out across the UK on a variety of terrestrial and satellite channels.
You can pick up your copy at all good newsagents Nationwide – OMG!