Member News

Professional recruitment specialists Pure is looking for ambitious and driven graduates to join its Graduate Training Programme at one of its four offices in Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge or Chelmsford.

The programme, which Pure has run since 2015, provides the opportunity for a self-motivated and confident graduate to develop a career in specialist recruitment as a Graduate Recruitment Consultant.

Gill Buchanan, Chief Operating Officer at Pure, said: “This challenging yet exciting role involves handling the career aspirations of people at all levels, something which not many people get to do. We are looking for a graduate with excellent interpersonal skills and a natural drive to deliver great customer service. Just as importantly, we want to find someone who is excited by the idea of being able to make a difference to people’s lives and supporting Pure in its purpose of helping businesses and candidates to flourish and ultimately contributing to the economic growth of our region.”

Pure has already supported four graduates to begin their career in recruitment through its comprehensive training programme, which offers a competitive salary and numerous benefits.

Previous graduate trainee Ellie Steinfeldt, progressed her career at Pure to become a recruitment consultant specialising in HR roles. She now works within the learning and development team and is involved in delivering training to all the team at Pure. Ellie described her time as a recruitment consultant as extremely diverse, with no two days being the same. She said: “It’s a very busy, fast paced and exciting job. You get to meet and talk to a huge range of people every day and it is really rewarding to help people find jobs and to match employers with suitable candidates. You have to be prepared to work hard and put in the effort, but I promise it is worth it.” 

Gill Buchanan added: “Pure’s culture is vibrant and flexible, and we stick to sensible hours, but everyone works hard. Not only is Pure a fantastic place to start a career in recruitment, but we are committed to supporting our trainees to achieve their goals and build long-term careers with us. Their enthusiasm and talent will be supported by our resources, training and a flexibility that encourages them to develop and succeed.”

Click to find out more about Pure’s Graduate Training Programme.

BiOrb, who produce aquariums developed by design, engineering and testing, were looking to produce a short film that highlighted the complete creative process behind their hand sculpted ornaments. As a premium product it was vital that the film produced would reinforce the premium nature synonymous with the Biorb brand, telling the story of Samuel Baker, the creator of BiOrb’s ornaments and the man who inspired Unseen. Throughout the film, we follow Samuel’s personal journey from inspiration to creation, exploring the landscapes that inspire him and capturing the finer, often missed details of the natural world that perform as integral elements of Samuel’s true-to-life final designs. Unseen highlights the link between nature in its sublime entirety and the beauty in the details on a smaller scale, as well as how BiOrb and Samuel work together to break the confines of the domestic home environment by bringing these outside features in.

Here is the trailer, the full film will be available when it is launched in a few weeks time.

In support of the firm’s continual expansion throughout Norfolk, Spire Solicitors LLP is delighted to announce the promotion of three key members of staff.

Craig Ward has been promoted to Senior Associate. He joined GHP (the forerunner to Spire Solicitors LLP) in 2006 as a Trainee Solicitor and qualified in 2007. Craig is based in the Dereham office and specialises in all areas of property including residential, commercial and business related property activities. He has formed a solid reputation in the local area and is able to provide excellent advice to clients.

Emma Trick has been promoted to Associate level. She joined Spire Solicitors LLP in 2015 and now plays a key role within the Private Client team. Emma divides her time between the firms Diss and Long Stratton offices and specialises in Wills, Estates, Powers of Attorney and Trusts. She is a full member of STEP and the Law Society Private Client Section.

Rebecca Johnstone has been promoted to Associate level. She started as a paralegal in child care and domestic violence and started her training contract with Spire Solicitors LLP in 2014. Rebecca now specialises in Private Client and Property matters and works in the Attleborough office.

James Knight, CEO of Spire Solicitors LLP said:

‘I am delighted to congratulate Craig, Emma and Rebecca on their well-deserved promotions, all three team members are loyal and committed and they are thoroughly deserving of these promotions. This is a very exciting time for the firm which is experiencing strong growth across all areas and it is vital to recognise and reward our members of staff for their hard work.’

What did the trowel say to the spade?

No – it’s not a joke. It’s actually our latest set of 24 sponsorship bumpers for trustatrader.com now broadcasting throughout programmes during afternoons on ITV3.

This was one shoot where our crew was frequently caught lying about! That’s because our concept involved using tools as puppets, and so it was a case of getting down on the floor and waving those arms about!

Across two long days we filmed a series of scenes featuring talking spades, paintbrushes, hammers, chainsaws and …well the whole tool cupboard really!

It was then up to our talented post-production team to bring the characters to life. Our Senior Motion Graphics Designer Hugh South gave each tool a pair of expressive, animated eyes and our Senior Sound Producer Keith Lindsay gave the tools character voices.

This project demanded a complex but enormously enjoyable crossover of live action and animation – and was proof once again that whatever visual style your TV commercial calls for, the JMS team has all the tools to make it happen!

A founding director of Norfolk-based The Recruit Venture Group has expressed relief after choosing MIGSOLV’s The Gatehouse data centre in Norwich to house and protect their crucial IT and data.

“With responsibility for over 7,000 UK workers and 300 staff, our IT is critical. Downtime could cost millions.” says Danny Parr, Business Launch and IT Director for the £140 million turnover group. “It’s such a relief migrating our computer systems to MIGSOLV. Now we can sleep at night knowing the physical protection we’re receiving is second to none.”

Established in 1996, the group has become a hugely successful name in UK recruitment. In 2016, The Recruit Ventures Group underwent a significant restructure to focus on establishing new joint ventures with budding recruitment entrepreneurs. It has now launched and supported over 43 partner recruitment businesses all over the UK.

“Our IT is critical to thousands of people. Our partners need to know they can get on with finding the right employees for their clients whilst we take care of the rest” adds Danny. “With GDPR looming, it was great to discover MIGSOLV’s world-class data centre right here on our doorstep. They made the move simple and are on hand 24/7 to help with anything our team needs.”

MIGSOLV own The Gatehouse in Norwich, the region’s only purpose-built data centre. It houses business’s computer servers and IT equipment, protecting data from threats including theft, extreme weather, power cuts and terrorism.

“The Recruit Venture Group is an amazing success,” says David Manning, MIGSOLV’s Managing Director. “It’s been fantastic helping Danny and his fellow directors relax knowing we’re keeping their IT secure. With GDPR legislation taking effect in May, we’re keen to be part of the solution for the East’s best and brightest businesses.”

Inside The Gatehouse data centre, The Recruit Venture Group’s IT equipment is now housed within air-conditioned and humidity control racks. Access is heavily guarded, whilst 8 days power generation and some of the fastest connectivity in the region, keep their IT online and accessible whatever happens.

“Like so many companies, The Recruit Venture Group are heavily dependent on IT despite it not being what they do” concludes David. “We’re always delighted when we can help businesses large and small to make their data security one less thing to worry about.”

More information on The Recruit Ventures Group can be found at www.recruitventures.com. For more details of the data centre services MIGSOLV provide, visit www.migsolv.com.

Local Businessman wins top national award.

Peter Lawrence from Human Capital Department was awarded Enterprise Nation’s Top HR Advisor Award at a Ceremony in the City of London on Monday night.

The top 50 advisors across ten business categories were invited to the ceremony.     Peter picked up the award as Enterprise Nation’s Best HR advisor from a field of over 500. 

Emma Jones from Enterprise Nation and Ian Graham of sponsor, Experian, presented the certificate.   

“Larger organisations and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development have been telling people for years that “people make the difference” and “people are our organisations greatest asset” – it’s great to work with smaller businesses and help them translate this sentiment – helping them put the right HR Policies, Procedures, and Processes – to recruit and retain the best talent – and to get the best from their people”. 

“I’d like to thank everyone who vote for me and Human Capital Department which is very gratifying and humbling – and yes with the prize money I will be buying a tie!”         

In a first for the housing association, Flagship Group is working together with Norfolk Community College and Norwich City Football Club to help its customers to gain new skills and find employment.

The Norfolk Community College Project is funded by the European Social Fund and National Lottery, through the Big Lottery Fund, to help unemployed adults in Norfolk back into training and employment.

The partnership kicks off this Wednesday (14 March), when Norwich City Footballer Matt Jarvis will be visiting Bowthorpe Main Centre on the College’s Information Bus. Between 10am and 3pm the Norfolk Community College team will be offering advice on building self-esteem, preparing for interviews, and accessing courses, training, volunteering and work experience.

Matt Jarvis will be visiting from 11am to 11.30am to meet football fans. People wanting access to specialist support overcoming barriers to employment, including housing problems, debt and mental health are also invited to come along and find out more about the project.

Flagship Group Estates Officer Anthony Yallop and Flagship Corporate Social Responsibility Manager Callum James will be at the event to answer questions.

Callum said: “With over 450 residents in the Norwich area, it seemed like a really good place to hold our first partnership event of this kind.

“We are passionate about giving back to the community, so we thought this would be a great way of doing that. We hope lots of people will come along to seek advice or just have a general chat.”

Stuart Jennings, Norfolk Community College’s Project Lead, said: “The Norfolk Community College project is delighted to have joined forces with Flagship Group and Norwich City Football club for this event. By bringing the mobile training bus to Bowthorpe, we are really pleased to help more adults in our community access advice and develop the skills they need to find employment.”

Norwich City’s Head of Partnership Activation Sam Jeffery said: “As an official partner of the Football Club we are delighted to support Flagship’s community initiative and be represented at their Bowthorpe event, which we wish every success.”

You can find the College’s Information Bus at Bowthorpe Main Centre this Wednesday (14 March) from 10am until 3pm.

We are thrilled and proud to announce that we are working with Cedar Dean Group across their entire online presence, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and online lead generation. Our SEO and website teams are working very closely with the in-house marketing team at Cedar Dean across a number of their websites including their Cedar Dean Commercial website and Cedar Dean Leisure.

The Cedar Dean group of companies is a rapidly expanding business which already boasts Central London offices and a large, growing team of property and lease experts. Cedar Dean also work with some of the largest brands in the UK as well as those new to the UK, helping them with commercial, leisure and other potentially complex lease deals and negotiations.

With the Tudor Lodge team possessing swathes of experience in the mortgage, property and financial markets both on and offline, Cedar Dean Group have brought us in to help their business at this exciting time of expansion and development.

What we are doing for Cedar Dean

Working across a number of sites under a single brand umbrella has meant that we have had look carefully at each website in its own right whilst always keeping the brand identity and values at the forefront of our mind throughout the process. The Cedar Dean Group of websites are built on both WordPress and Silverstripe content management systems (CMS), both of which have their strengths yet throw up their own challenges.

We have started this process by assessing each website’s CMS, looking at what each website needs for its specific position in the property industry and we have also been carefully working to enable the necessary SEO-related updates and amendments across their websites. Updates and crawling factors that we have fixed include:

Meta Data – With the meta data being one of the first and most fundamental ranking factors for both Google and other search engines, this has been one of the first things we have started to work on updating. Properly optimised meta data can be the difference between ranking on page 2 or page 1, as it is this data that users see in Google search as well as what Google pays some of the most attention to.

Error Fixes and Clean Ups – Including broken links and website crawl errors, these can have devastating effects on both rankings and user experiences, with Google rewarding websites that offer the cleanest and most streamlined user experiences. Moreover, each website under the Cedar Dean umbrella has its own targets to pursue online and therefore very different meta data requirements.

Backlink Profiles and PR – As with most other SEO campaigns, having a strong backlink profile (the links that point towards a website from third party websites) remains very important. We have therefore been working with some of our partners to secure Cedar Dean online PR which has naturally lent itself to some backlinks to strengthen the online as well as the brand positioning of the Cedar Dean websites.

Content and Targeting – We are continually ensuring that Cedar Dean are able to target the ideal people; prospective clients and customers via unique and SEO-friendly content. This has meant creating landing pages and formulating a solid content plan which will take their websites to the next level online.

Results so Far

Whilst we are still in the very early stages of our exciting work with the team at Cedar Dean Group, there have already been a few positive movements online with regards to some of their current target keywords, with many of their preferred search terms starting to show movement as Google re-ranks them. We look forward to continuing our progress online with Cedar Dean Group and we look forward to helping the company reap the rewards of the ongoing works throughout 2018.

Paris, Amstelveen, Norwich – March 2018 – AFI KLM E&M subsidiary is delighted to announce the signing of an extension to its line maintenance agreement with BA CityFlyer.

Market leaders in the best total value for money in regional and narrow body aircraft maintenance on the Boeing 737, Embraer 170/190, BAe146/Avro RJ, Fokker 70/100 & Airbus A320 Family, KLM UK Engineering is delighted to confirm its contract with BA CityFlyer and pleased to announce they have reached agreement to increase the level of line maintenance support they are providing BA CityFlyer on their ERJ170/190 aircraft.

Alan Lawson, Line Maintenance Manager – ‘KLM UKE is delighted to continue its working relationship with BA CityFlyer at its Edinburgh line station and look forward to many more years of working together’.

About BA CityFlyer

Launched on 5th March 2007, BA CityFlyer is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways operating a network of UK domestic and European services from London City airport. We have expanded our aircraft fleet and route network at London City Airport where we are now officially the largest operator with the highest number of destinations and customers. This year British Airways serves 26 destinations from London City Airport, and are perfect options for both business and leisure travel. BA CityFlyer currently operate a fleet of twenty-one aircraft comprising 76-seat Embraer 170s and 98-seat Embraer 190SR’ following extensive recent fleet expansion. BA CityFlyer also operates a variety of charter services from airports around the UK on behalf of other airlines, tour operators and private clients.

Every day the East Anglian Air Ambulance saves lives across the region.

Being a charity it relies on the support of the public. One way of bringing in donations is through a weekly lottery and it was decided to try and increase participation with a TV campaign on Sky Adsmart.

As the region’s foremost producer of TV commercials JMS was invited to work on the campaign. The advert concept involved an ordinary couple going about their daily lives. Even though they may not work for the emergency services, in their own way they are lifesavers – just by playing the EAAA lottery.

Our shoots always throw up some unexpected challenges. On this occasion we needed to film the air ambulance taking off. However, the EAAA can’t be seen to be wasting fuel so were unable to stage the shot for us. Our crew had to wait for a genuine emergency callout before springing in to action!

On the day of our pre-production recce our chosen residential street location was bathed in warm sunshine. But inevitably come the day of the shoot the street was covered in snow! Did we panic? No! We just enlisted our Production Manager Anna Eastick to clear the bushes with a broom! As for our actors and extras – we had to wrap them in coats between takes to stop them from freezing!

But then, making TV commercials on location is always a bit of a lottery!

Businesses have been sharing their own activities to help drive the delivery of the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk.

Nearly 300 businesses attended the events, taking the opportunity to feed their activities and ideas into the delivery plans for the strategy, which was launched in the autumn.

The sessions, including events run with Norfolk Chamber of Commerce in King’s Lynn, Norwich and Great Yarmouth, followed a series of workshops during the development of the strategy last year which saw a further 1,000 businesses, public sector partners and organisations take part.

For each event, businesses shared the ways in which they are already working to support the three key themes in the strategy: ‘Our Offer to The World’, ‘Driving Inclusion and Skills’ and ‘Driving Business Growth and Productivity’.

Hayley Mace, Head of Communications at New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We’ve been delighted with the turnout and engagement at our events. The strategy has been a collaborative project since the start so it was great to see so many people joining us to share what they currently do in their organisations and the interventions they’d like to see to be able to make more change.

“All of the activities shared at the events will be fed into the delivery plans along with inputs from local authorities, our sector groups and education leaders. We’ll be looking for fantastic ideas and investigating how we can roll those out across a wider area. We’ll also see where there’s duplication of activity and where there are gaps which need filling. The strategy sets ambitious targets – including 88,000 new jobs and 30,000 new businesses – so if we’re going to achieve those, it’s vital that we get the delivery plan in place so we can start taking the actions we need.”

The delivery plan will be completed late in the spring.

To find out more about the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk, visit newanglia.co.uk/our-economic-strategy

AFI KLM E&M subsidiary is delighted to announce the signing of a Commercial Goods Consignment Contract with Monks & Crane.

A European leader in the regional jets & narrow body aircraft market and having an internationally acknowledged expertise on the Boeing 737, Embraer 170/190, BAe146/Avro RJ, Fokker 70/100 & Airbus A320 Family, KLM UK Engineering is delighted to confirm its contract with Monks & Crane.

KLM UK Engineering has been working in partnership with Monks & Crane for a number of years already.

Alan Sumption, Supply Chain Manager commented “We are delighted to continue our relationship with Monks & Crane and now have an opportunity to move forward with solutions that will improve our supply chain efficiiency. We have always appreciated the way Monks & Crane work with us to help improve our business”.

Andy Smith, Account Manager at Monks & Crane – “Having been an existing supplier to KLM UK Engineering over the years, we are delighted to reach a further long-term agreement regarding the supply of aid to production materials. Monks & Crane and KLM UK Engineering work very closely together to achieve a shared vision of driving cost down, and to continually improve our supply chain solution. On behalf of Monks & Crane I would like to thank the KLM UK Engineering team for their continued support, and also for creating a wonderful partnership”