Next week Peter from Human Capital Department will be jetting off to Qatar and Dubai. “It sounds like a holiday but it’s really not” said Peter.
The purpose of his visit is to meet potential clients of Human Capital Department’s HR Consultancy and Training Serivces.
In particular Peter is working with companies looking to improve and streamline their leadership development programmes.
“Companies across the GCC region are feeling the effect of low oil price on revenue and profits and implemeting cost reduction strategies. At the same time they do not want to cut back on investement in national talent as this represents the future for the region – we can help in re-focussing existing talent mangement strategies and re-design of management and leadership programmes”.
It is a short trip but should prove productive as Peter lived and worked in the region for eight years and so has many contacts there and will be also be speaking at the Qatar HR Forum on the 23rd March. .
We are delighted to welcome a new senior member to our team as we continue to grow our leisure, tourism, food and drink expertise.
With over 15 years’ of PR and marketing experience, Angi Davies joins Reflection PR as a Senior Account Manager to deliver results-driven campaigns for clients.
Joining the agency from Robinsons Motor Group, Angi’s brand portfolio includes Volkswagen, Audi, Adnams Brewery, The Royal Norfolk Show and The RSPB.
Angi says: “I’m looking forward to working with a wide variety of clients and helping to develop the business further.”
Suzy Pettican, Managing Director of Reflection PR, is pleased to welcome Angi back to the team.
“Angi first worked with me in my spare bedroom four years ago, so I’m delighted to welcome her back at an exciting time for the business.”
Find out a little more about Angihere. And hopefully you will meet her soon.
Ateam of 10 apprentices are on track for successful new careers after being selected to join train operator Abellio Greater Anglia.
The operator has launched a bespoke scheme for 18 to 24 year-old applicants not previously in employment, education or training which will see the new recruits work in various roles across the company’s customer service department while completing a Level 2 NVQ qualification.
Recruited through skills specialist Ingeus, the new starters will be based in Norwich where their exciting journey will introduce them to a range of roles over the next 12 months including working in the ticket office, on the platforms dispatching trains and as part of the train presentation team.
The 10 successful recruits were amongst more than 150 applicants for the apprenticeships. They will receive one-to-one training while working in the company’s customer service department at Norwich, earning a wage while gaining recognised qualifications and on-the-job skills.
Bryony Bridgewater, 19, from Gorleston in Norfolk was unemployed for two years before being recruited onto the apprenticeship, which is her first ever job.
Having moved from London, Bryony found it hard to get to know anyone in the local area, and even harder to find work with no experience to offer employers. With Ingeus’s support she successfully prepared and applied for the newly launched Abellio apprenticeship scheme and along with nine other talented recruits couldn’t be more excited about getting her career back on track.
“I am keen to learn and wanted a customer service role but got nowhere applying for apprenticeships on my own. Ingeus really helped, and even if I hadn’t got the job, I thought I’d come a really long way in building my confidence and employability skills,” Bryony said.
Fellow apprentice Reece Orford, 21, from Costessey, said: “I moved back to the UK from Canada in 2010 and have since worked as a business administrator. I wanted to join Abellio Greater Anglia because the apprenticeship offers so much scope for progression.”
Ingeus is a leading employability skills provider which provides fee-free recruitment and skills services to national and regional employers. It worked closely with Abellio Greater Anglia to develop the comprehensive recruitment and apprenticeship programme as Catherine Prosser, National Employer Services Team Manager at Ingeus explains:
“Ingeus advertised the opportunity, processed the applications and organised bespoke recruitment days on behalf of Abellio Greater Anglia. We have sourced some really talented young people who just needed the right opportunity to show their skills and motivation to work. We are now supporting the induction of the new recruits and will be assessing the apprentices’ progress throughout every step of the programme.”
Andrew Goodrum, Customer Service Director at Abellio Greater Anglia, said: “We are very pleased to welcome our new apprentices. This customised training course will offer a range of transferrable skills. The railway is a great place to work with a wealth of opportunities and fantastic benefits. We already operate a very successful engineering apprenticeship and this new scheme will help strengthen our customer service department.”
The apprentices’ appointment coincides with National Apprenticeship Week which runs from 14 to 18 March and celebrates apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
Cooper Lomaz Recruitment is pleased to announce the appointment of their new Commercial Director, Simon Brown; Simon has over 12 years of experience within recruitment throughout the United Kingdom and we are happy to welcome him to the team.
Simon started his career in recruitment in 2004, in an internal role within the Financial Services Sector, recruiting across three sites before attracting the attention of two prominent recruitment agencies who offered him the opportunity to work agency side. After careful consideration Simon took one of these opportunities based on the range of recruitment roles and development the organisation offered.
After a successful first 10 months working a permanent recruitment desk covering the Merseyside area, Simon applied and succeeded in getting a role he very much wanted as National Account Manager. In doing this role successfully for four years Simon was able to grow into the role of one of the company’s most successful Business Development Managers. During his time in the role Simon specialised in Managed Service Contracts across the UK, winning contracts from Cornwall to Strathclyde. It was during this time that Simon became familiar with East Anglia, by working on and winning the Norfolk Constabulary recruitment contract. During the 5 years he spent with the company, Simon won over 20 Managed Service Contracts, which we think is pretty good work!
Simon then took the decision to relocate and take a new opportunity with a leading Public Sector recruitment agency as Client Development Manager where he reported directly to the MD and covered all three offices – Birmingham, London and Manchester. Success within this role and organisation saw Simon embark on a wide range of business areas and opportunities which ultimately saw him get promoted to the UK Board of Directors in March 2015 as Commercial Director.
2016 sees Simon embark on his most exciting career move to date in joining Cooper Lomaz as Commercial Director, Simon said of his recent move:
“I am proud to have joined such a valued and recognised professional recruitment organisation in Cooper Lomaz. The welcome I have received from across the organisation has been amazing and something I am extremely grateful for; it’s certainly helped ease my transition into the company. I am excited to work across the Sales and Client Development teams at Cooper Lomaz, helping to build on the excellent results the organisation has delivered to clients and candidates across East Anglia over the last 25 years.”
We’re really excited to welcome Simon to the team, and the lovely region of East Anglia, as we know he’ll be a real asset and a lovely chap to work with.
Jen Little, Practice Recruitment Specialist at the Cambridge office of Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure) is about to take on the gruelling challenge of walking for a week across the Sahara desert to raise money for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity (ARHC) in Cambridgeshire.
Having spent the last six months undergoing some intensive preparation training, Jen is one of eight people who have signed up for the extreme adventure in support of the charity which is the only adult hospice in Cambridgeshire. The other members of Team ARHC include the charity’s CEO Lynn Morgan, staff at the hospice and other local business people including Steve Mitcham, CEO of Cambridge Business Society.
Team ARHC will fly out to Morocco this week, ready to start the epic walk on Thursday 17th March. They will be trekking over 70km in weather conditions which will range from a scorching 40 degrees during the day to just 0 degrees when they are camping out at night.
The idea first came about last August during discussions on how to raise money for the new 24-bed facility at the hospice, which is dedicated to providing specialist palliative care and support to adult patients and their family, friends and carers. The new building is set to be an exemplar in hospice design and will offer patients a more spacious, attractive and therapeutic environment.
The charity is extremely close to Jen’s heart and she has been an ambassador for the hospice for eight years. She said: “It really is an amazing place and supports many people during what can be a very difficult period of their lives. The staff are incredible and very caring and the volunteers who give their time are true inspirations. When the fundraising idea of walking across the desert came up I thought why not! But having committed myself, I realised I needed to do some serious training preparation. I took part in an eight-week fitness boot camp, have since lost a stone in weight and I now feel like I live at the gym.”
The team, which includes a real mix of ages, has also been group training walks together, which has given them time to discuss other important preparations.
Jen said: “I’ve been testing out and considering so many different types of socks to find the ones which best protect against blisters. We’re not allowed to take much with us as our baggage will be carried by camels as we hike across the sand dunes. That makes the decisions on what we do decide to pack even more important.”
All the team at Pure are supporting Jen in her fundraising mission. The recruitment company is already a keen supporter of the hospice, and has raised more than £6k for the charity over the last few years. The directors have given Jen the time off for the challenge and kick started her fundraising with a £250 donation.
Jen added: “All my colleagues are being extremely supportive. They know I’m just as nervous as I am excited. This challenge will definitely take me out of my comfort zone. Although I’ve been to the desert before, I’ve never spent a week walking across it, or camped in it overnight. But I am doing this to raise money for the hospice and to boost the profile of the fantastic work it does. Even if I end up in a bit of discomfort as a result, it will all be worth it.”
Image: Jen Little from Pure Resourcing Solutions takes on a training walk in preparation for a week-long trek across the Sahara desert to raise money for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity.
Formed in 2002 from a single office in Cambridge, Pure Resourcing Solutions are now the professional recruitment specialists in the East of England; with offices in Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich and Chelmsford.
Pure specialises in Accountancy, Financial Services, IT, Human Resources, Marketing and Office Support recruitment solutions at all levels, including board level appointments through its specialist Executive division.
NorDevCon 2016 was yet another resounding success for Norfolk Developers. With an impressive array of speakers and workshops we had more attendees than any previous year. This year, for the first time, we had students and teachers attending from some of the local schools and academies as well as the usual range of techies and business people. It was great to see them mingling and discussing the various sessions they’d attended.
This year my 12 year old grandson, Nathan, also came along for the first time. I asked him to write about his experience and this is what he came up with:
“The conference was very good. We met Michael Feathers when having breakfast at the hotel and he was very nice and then we walked to the conference with him.
The first activity I did was the android course by Paul Lammertsma. It was very well done and easy to follow. The tutorial he made explained everything really well and when there was something that was not working or was hard to set up he helped with it and knew how to sort any issues. By the end of the 6 hour course I had learnt how to make simple android applications. After this was the pre-conference dinner where I met a nice guy called Giorgio who was talking to me through dinner.
Then the next day there was a keynote by Michael Feathers which was interesting but confusing. Then there was an OpenShift 3.1 workshop by Ed Seymour and Keith Lynch who work at Redhat. This was complicated but fun and did what it was meant to do; explained how to use OpenShift 3.1.
After this was the session ‘Fake it Until You Make it’ by Dom Davis. It was funny, interesting and easy to follow. After that was another talk by Michael Feathers called Collection Pipeline Design Techniques. I understood a lot more of this than his first talk and found it very interesting and it taught me a lot of things.
Following a tea break was a talk by Darren Cook called WebGL is Serious Fun! It was funny and made sense and was interesting to listen to. It helped people to get started with WebGL and was not hard to follow.
After this was a talk by James Taylor about making passwords safer. I learnt about a usb device you can plug into your computer for 2 factor authentication which made it impossible to get into any account you own without it, so it makes hackers jobs harder. He also talked about 2 step authentication and it was all very interesting. Then there was a sponsor’s presentation by Elizabeth Scholefield who talked about mobile phones and how they were socially acceptable and it ended with an interesting video of a man rapping about how we replace phones with human interaction.
After this presentation was a closing keynote by Jon Jagger who talked about pair programming. It explained a lot of things I did not already know and was very easy to follow.
The next day there was a talk about smart wear by Paul Lammertsma and it taught you how to make a watch face for smart wear and explained the basics of making a smart wear application. It was a good tutorial and easy to understand.”
I think this demonstrates well that when there is genuine interest there are no age barriers!
Riverbank Chinese Buffet Restaurant in Norwich helped make a significant contribution towards the ongoing work of local charity Nelson’s Journey. The proceeds of 40 meals were kindly donated to Nelson’s Journey following a Chinese buffet meal in the restaurant. Together with theraffle, the total amount raised on the evening was around £800. Simon Wright (former MP for Norwich South) will be skydiving later this month to raise more awareness and financial support for the charity, of which he is currently CEO. Nelson’s Journey offer support to children who are suffering the loss of a loved one.Pictures on the evening were taken by Joe Lenton (commercial photographer) – further images can be seen here: https://www.joelenton.com/portfolio/nelsons-journey-fundraising-dinner/
On 19th January this year Norfolk Developers ran the ‘An introduction to working with a relational database using SQL‘ workshop. We would like to know what sort of follow-up SQL workshop(s) you would be interested attending. We’re also intending to run the same beginners workshop again, so if you’re interested in attending, please join: norfolkdevelopers.com
Huw LLoyd has very kindly provided us with the following ideas for follow-up workshops:
(1) For a ‘follow up’ course/workshop (i.e. for people who attended the first and want to go further), a natural progression is to build upon the central idea of the introductory workshop which is notion of databases serving particular questions.
So we have:
i) What kinds of questions a database can support (recap and expansion). ii) The kinds of questions we are interested in for some business function, and the implications for this in terms of record structures. iii) The writing of richer queries, use of filters (where clause), functions (summation, count, average), and joins.
(2) For a separate day, people might also be interested in building sql scripts: transactions, use of temporary tables, possible use of variables.
(3) For programmers there are a number of design issues which could be highlighted with a day’s workshop and discussion, central to this is the issue of impedance mismatch with respect to object-oriented class hierarchies.
(4) To round out the offering to 5 days, a day could also be spent on design considerations for record structures with respect to entity models and normalisation.
As you can see there are plenty of options for a single or multiple follow-up days. Please read through the suggestions and let me (paul@nakedelement.co.uk) know which would be of interest to you. We’re also happy to tailor workshops, so if there are other aspects of SQL (or indeed anything else related to software) you would like to learn about please do let me know.
A new apprentice has joined the team at Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure) in Cambridge, just in time to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week [14 to 18 March].
The recruitment agency has welcomed nineteen-year-old Harry Lynch to the team as an IT apprentice, providing him with the chance to progress his career in the job he’s always wanted to do.
Harry, who lives in Arbury, said: “My first week has been everything I could have hoped for. Having finished three years studying at college I’m really keen to be able to put everything I’ve learnt into practice. My apprenticeship with Pure means I can start to gain essential work experience while still studying for higher level qualifications.”
Harry will be providing valuable IT support across all four of Pure’s offices in the region, from answering general help desk questions through to supporting the implementation of the new company website. At the same time he will continue to study with training provider QA Apprenticeships.
Pure, which was recently awarded the Gold Investors in People standard, has always been committed to creating a strong culture of learning and development. It has already supported five apprentices to develop their careers within different areas of the organisation.
Kristina Page is currently in her first year as an apprentice in Pure’s accountancy department, based at the Cambridge office. The 23-year-old is currently completing work-based learning to study for her Level 3 AAT exams. Having taken a break to go travelling after completing her level 2 AAT at college, she secured her role following a three-week temp job with the company. Knowing how keen she was to go on and complete her higher level qualifications, Pure offered her the role as an apprentice so she could learn at the same time.
Kristina lives in Bedfordshire and travels to the Histon office every day. She believes the commute is well worth it. She said: “I’ve learnt so much being able to gain real work experience as well as doing my exams. Pure has been so supportive throughout and everyone has really helped me with my studying. It’s been a fantastic opportunity. After I finish my last three exams this year I’m planning to go on and study for my Level 4 Advanced Diploma.”
Gill Buchanan, Director at Pure, added: “Our people are the core of our business and we’re committed to ensuring Pure is a rewarding and positive place to work. Providing career progression opportunities is just one of the many ways we aim to achieve this.
“Harry is our first IT apprentice and he will be a real asset to the team. Innovation is at the forefront of all our growth plans, increasing the amount of technology we use. We need to ensure we are building a team of knowledgeable experts in this field. Apprenticeships are an excellent way for us to do this and to also provide fantastic development opportunities for people in our local community.”
For more media information please contact Dawn Humphreys or Amy Larman at FOUR agency on 01603 627294 or email dawn@fouragency.co.uk or amy@fouragency.uk
Notes to editors:
About Pure Resourcing Solutions
Formed in 2002 from a single office in Cambridge, Pure Resourcing Solutions are now the professional recruitment specialists in the East of England; with offices in Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich and Chelmsford.
Pure specialises in Accountancy, Financial Services, IT, Human Resources, Marketing and Office Support recruitment solutions at all levels, including board level appointments through its specialist Executive division.
Breakwater IT, EBS and Swains Plc, leading technology providers within the region, would like to announce the launch of the Eastern Technology Alliance – a means of simplifying and enhancing the way businesses manage their IT, print services and telecommunications and data networks.
The three independent companies have formed this alliance based on a mutual resolve to align their products and services, delivering both the choice of technology and level of innovation demanded by the ever-evolving corporate world. Founded on years’ working along-side each other within the industry and a shared trust in the capabilities and efficiencies offered as individual companies, there is confidence that the alliance will not only deliver a straightforward route to outsourcing and procuring business technologies, but will also provide an excellent quality of customer-focused service.
Working together, Breakwater, EBS and Swains Plc have the capacity to deliver a wide range of solutions and continuous level of service; be it fully managed IT support, a new wide-format printer or a Fibre Ethernet internet connection. The alliance eliminates the need to approach a number of different providers to manage a business’s IT, print and telecoms needs; instead all office technologies can be sourced, maintained and upgraded through three companies operating seamlessly together.
Breakwater IT offers professional support, consultancy and technology solutions to organisations throughout the UK, including managed services, project work, online back-up and disaster recovery, site surveys, hardware procurement, software licensing advice, business telecoms and other related services.
Peter Davies, Chairman of Breakwater commented: ‘I am delighted that Breakwater has joined up with Swains Plc and EBS to form this alliance. We already know both companies well, both as existing clients and suppliers, and feel that because we all share the same commitment to customer service and strategic planning, we will have a unique offering in the East Anglian Region and beyond.’
EBS is a specialist print-provider, delivering high quality print, copy and scan solutions to businesses. Working with the very best print and copier providers, including Konica Minolta, Sharp, Samsung, Olivetti and Kip, EBS has a range of machines to suit varying business needs; together with a knowledgeable team that are committed to keeping businesses on trend with changing technologies.
Kevin Francis, Managing Director of EBS commented: ‘It was very clear from the start that Breakwater IT & Swains Plc share the same values as EBS when it comes to delivering on customer expectation. Our businesses fit perfectly when it comes to complementing each other’s strengths in this converging market place; therefore, if it’s IT, communications or print, our alliance has the vision and energy to provide an affordable solution to any business work flow you might have.’
Swains Plc is a prominent communications provider, supplying a wide range of voice and data services to corporate and government organisations. Solutions are designed and tailored to the requirements of individual clients and include carrier grade telecoms, broadband, VoIP business and mobile products.
Charles Wilson, CEO of Swains Plc commented: ‘Swains are proud to be supplying the voice and data networks supporting the services provided by this unique customer-focused alliance. We know Breakwater IT and EBS very well and have always been impressed by their expertise and excellent service, both of which were major factors in our decision to join the alliance. The most important element for us though was theshared approach to our business cultures and aspirations,instigatingthe vision of an alliance – a fully integrated, one-stop technology shop. We hope to bringclarity to an environment where converging technologies often blur the lines of supplier responsibility.’
The Eastern Technology Alliance represents the resolve of Breakwater, EBS and Swains Plc to continue to develop the service they offer and, simultaneously, open up a simpler, more inclusive route to innovative business technologies.
As we move into an era where it will be increasingly common to find up to five different generations of people working alongside each other, we’ve compiled some tips to help employers successfully integrate new recruits into a multigenerational workforce.
The latest people to be entering the workforce, known as ‘Generation Z’, are the most tech-savvy of generations. Born after 1995, this generation will add another element to an already varied workforce made up of Millennials (born 1977-1994), Generation X (born 1965-1976), the Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) and the Traditionalists (born 1925-1945), many of whom are choosing to stay on beyond retirement age.
Each generation brings a different set of values, attitudes and behaviours. They also have their own expectations, priorities, approaches and communication styles. Most importantly they all have extremely valuable skills which, if successfully combined, will provide businesses with a very powerful workforce to really boost business performance.
One of the most challenging aspects of managing multiple generations in the workplace is getting each group to respect the unique talents of the other. So how can employers help encourage a sense of teamwork which spans the generations?
Build collaborative relationships, starting with the induction
Adapting the induction process to immediately create a more inclusive approach could be one way to help manage generational differences from the outset. Try to get different generations working together from the start. Is it possible to pair the new recruit up with a highly experienced colleague who can act as an induction mentor? This will immediately help to inspire a knowledge transfer between those who know the industry, inside and out, with those entering their chosen career with fresh enthusiasm and a potentially new perspective.
Create opportunities for cross-generational mentoring
Managers should actively try to get mixed generation teams working together on projects, making the most of the varying skills each generation can bring. Studies show that people learn more from working with each other than from external training. To do this a culture needs to be created where new ideas can be expressed and a collaborative approach is adopted to fuel discussion and engagement. Without compromising on what has made the business special and successful to date, embrace the creativity and different perspectives a new generation can bring.
Invite new ideas
We are also hearing from senior directors who are actively seeking younger mentors to gain a different perspective. By inviting new ideas, even if a suggestion put forward is something which has previously been explored, or already tried, don’t immediately dismiss it. A new generation could be looking at it from a completely new angle and their enthusiasm should be encouraged, but also channelled. Older generations within the team are likely to have the experience and perspective to understand all the costs and risks associated with the opportunities they want to pursue.
Don’t assume you know what motivates employees from different generations.
While there have been many studies into the different working styles and preferences of different generations, sometimes generational stereotypes can be just that, a stereotype. Don’t assume that people from certain generations will all want the same thing. Ask them what they want from their professional lives. What motivates them? How do they like to communicate? Remember it’s almost impossible to create a one size fits all recognition and reward programme. You need to understand what motivates people as individuals. Including some considered questions within an employee survey can be a good way to track and manage the varying needs within the organisation.
Promote open communication
The aim is to create a company where everyone’s contribution is recognised and celebrated, irrespective of age. To do this you will need to be clear with everyone in the organisation about what you are trying to achieve so that all the generations remain open minded enough to make this work. If you are clear on the intention, and the potential benefits, then more people are likely to get behind you.
Steeles Law will be opening the doors to its new Norwich city centre based offices in spring 2016.
This will follow a planned move from the solicitors’ existing headquarters at The Norwich Business Park, Whiting Road, where the company has been based for more than two decades.
Steeles will occupy the ground floor of Lawrence House, St Andrews Hill, a modern building set in the picturesque surrounds of the oldest lane in Norwich.
Commenting on the move, Managing Director Stephen Drake said: “We are eagerly anticipating our relocation into the heart of Norwich, where we will be best placed to continue to service the needs of personal and business clients alike.”
Steeles Law is working with award winning interior designer Lanassir Lawes of Swank Interiors, who has recently opened a showroom on St Giles Street, on the refurbishment of the office space.