Member News

If you are a business professional with responsibility for people in your organisation then these bite sized qualifications may be just right for you. Blue Sky Professional Development are announcing the dates of their CIPD Foundation Award in Human Resources and Learning and Development Essentials. These short courses are aimed at line managers and HR professionals who want to have the opportunity to study bite size topics and gain knowledge from a range of HR areas such as recruitment and resourcing talent, delivering training, organisational change.

Beth Russell, Director and Tutor at Blue Sky says ‘ We know that a lot of HR functions are, in reality, carried out by line managers so this allows these people to gain knowledge as well as a qualification in this area. Alternatively, some first line HR staff may want to get their foot on the first rung of a career in HR and want to gain a recognised CIPD qualification to start them off.’

Who are CIPD? The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is an awarding body for HR and L&D qualifications. Over 13,000 students join their programmes each year to enhance their knowledge on the latest theory, case studies and insights into best practice HR.

Why Blue Sky Professional Development? Blue Sky’s team has vast experience in HR and L&D, and over 20 years experience of delivering CIPD programmes with Supported Distance Learning as a speciality. All workshops are delivered by professional, approachable tutors in the Norwich area. Blue Sky also offer individual tutorials should you need them.

How are the courses delivered? The CIPD Level 3 Award in Human Resources and Learning and Development Essentials consist of just one or two units from a suite of topics. For each unit, the learners receive a distance learning pack and attend one or two monthly workshops in Norwich, finalising in a marked written assignment. Add more units together and you could receive a CIPD Certificate or Diploma in HR/L&D Practice.

Course Start Dates Recruitment and Resourcing Talent August 2014 Delivering Learning and Development Activities September 2014 Undertaking a Learning Needs Analysis November 2014 Coaching Skills February 2015 Mentoring Skills March 2015Coming soon …… Supporting Change within Organisations Reward Management Employment Relations

If you want any more information about Blue Sky and these qualifications please see www.blueskypd.co.uk, email beth.russell@blueskypd.co.uk or call Beth or Kate on 01603 821177.

SSCS has completed manufacture of Frond Mats with varying Frond heights ready for the next stage of the EU funded SASMAP project.

SASMAP’s purpose is to develop new technologies and best practices in order to locate, assess and manage Europe’s underwater cultural heritage in a more effective way than is possible today.

Our Frond Mats are being used to protect the sites from the effects of strong currents by slowing the current speed in close proximity to the artefacts.

More information on the project can be found at www.sasmap.eu, and the latest report is attached to this article along with some additional photos.

Improving resource efficiency, reducing waste and driving down costs are vital for any company, large or small and most strive to achieve this, not just to ensure their continued profitability, but also to reduce any impact their activities may have on the environment.

Undoubtedly this happens quietly within many companies but one way of publicly demonstrating a company’s genuine commitment to these undertakings is with the award of an ISO standard.

And Daniel Connal Partnership is delighted to announce that we have been awarded ISO 14001.

ISO 14001, one of the ISO 14000 series of Standards related to environmental management, represents the core set of standards used to design and implement an effective environment management system.

Our ISO 14001 award, demonstrating the company’s commitment to improving its environmental impact, complements the ISO 9001, the international standard of quality management, which the Partnership has held since 2008.

And whilst blowing our trumpets ……

Daniel Connal Partnership’s has gained accreditation with Achilles, one of the world’s largest and most trusted providers of supplier information.

Achilles provides validated information about suppliers to buyers across a wide range of sectors on a global and national scale. Successful completion of its rigorous accreditation process demonstrates compliance with the highest international standards and enables buyers to select suppliers with confidence.

Achilles accreditation and our ISO awards demonstrate DCP’s continuing commitment to providing the best service possible to all of our clients, in every aspect of our business.

More DCP News

The results of a national bus passenger survey published by independent watchdog, Passenger Focus, have revealed that First’s customers in Norfolk have seen an increase in satisfaction.

89% of First’s customers in Norfolk said that they were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘fairly satisfied’ with the service in the county – a 2% increase since 2011.

Passenger Focus’ National Bus Survey is considered the bus industry’s definitive gauge of passenger satisfaction. The survey was carried out between 8 September and 1 December 2013.

The survey also noted improvements in punctuality, the cleanliness and appearance of the buses and drivers’ attitudes.

Managing Director of First Eastern Counties, David Squire, said: “We are thrilled with our score which reflects the hard work and commitment of all my colleagues. We’ve got excellent teams in place at our depots who are improving our services and helping encourage more people to travel with First.” Laurie Egan, Norfolk County Council’s Travel Network Manager added; “We work very closely with bus operators in Norfolk and these are encouraging results which show that initiatives like our Quality Bus Partnership is helping them deliver higher quality, more reliable services which their passengers want.

First Eastern Counties operates out of three locations in Norfolk – Norwich, Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn. A restructure took place in 2013 which gave greater autonomy to the local teams, which is helping the company deliver better services for customers and contributing to the improved Passenger Focus score.

Specialised Management Services Ltd (SMS), a subsidiary of Alderley plc, announces today three new appointments to its Board of Directors. These appointments have been created to provide additional strategic direction to the company’s infrastructure and growth; ultimately ensuring the continual delivery of technical excellence for all products and services for the oil and gas industry.

First appointed was Dave Howlett as Managing Director, former General Manager of SMS. Dave has over 20 years of combined Project Engineering and Management experience in both electrical and hydraulic disciplines and has served almost 10 years with the company. His broad knowledge of the business and the oil and gas industry provides Dave with the fundamental tools to drive SMS to achieve future accomplishments and continual success.

Liz Culyer has been made Operations Director after serving six and a half years as Proposals Manager for SMS. Liz was instrumental to the growth of the proposals and sales department and played an integral role in the execution and delivery of SMS products. As Operations Director, Liz will oversee all projects, production, operations and supply chain activities. Her influence is expected to reinforce the structure and streamline business activities ready for the next phase of development.

Gary Morrow, former Sales Manager for SMS has been appointed Business Development Director. Gary will focus on business opportunities worldwide across all SMS products and services and will also concentrate on marketing activities to ensure alignment with the company’s strategic and business objectives.

Tony Mansfield, Director of Alderley plc and Chairman of SMS comments, “I look forward to capitalising on the collective knowledge and experience of Dave, Liz and Gary. Alderley expect SMS to continue to meet profit and growth targets. The Board will be essential in shaping the strategic objectives to meet these.”

SMS recently celebrated its 15th year in business as a leading specialist in the manufacture and maintenance/installation services of hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical control systems. SMS has seen a high rate of business growth and has more than doubled its turnover in the last three years.

SSCS supplied a number of our Frond Mats to the GMS Endeavour whilst moored up at the Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour prior to sailing to the Valiant Field to provide scour protection for the jack-up legs whilst on site.

Our Operations Manager, Alan Hall, provided product and installation training on deck to prepare the crew for installation which was carried out using a crane with no additional subsea intervention eliminating the cost of divers or an ROV resulting in a cost saving of over 70%.

The Eighth in the East are working with Norwich International Airport and Firside Junior School tobring a war memorial back to life following recent vandalism. The memorial to commemoratethose based at RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norfolk, during the Second World War stands near theentrance of Norwich Airport which now occupies the site.

During the war the airfield was home to the 8th US Army Air Force and the RAF. The memorialstands as a lasting recognition to the sacrifice of those men, including those from the 319th &458th Bombardment Group and the 56th Fighter Group of the 8th USAAF.

The restoration work will take place with pupils from nearby Firside school, situated a wing’s tipaway from the memorial site. In the run up to the event the Eighth in the East’s learning officer,Annie Sommazzi, will work with pupils to share the story of the men stationed there and thesignificance of remembrance and memorials. They’ll then join forces with Norwich InternationalAirport over the 3rd & 4th July ( American Independence day) to establish a fitting memorial to all who were based here.

Andrew Bell, CEO of Norwich International commented “As part of our commitment to engagewith the local community we are pleased to be working with The Eighth in the East on thisheritage lottery funded project to restore the war memorial which dedicated to thoseservicemen based at the airport during the Second World War. It is tremendous that local schoolchildren of Firside Junior School will be involved with the restoration and will be able to learnabout the airport’s role in the war and the servicemen who ! were based here”

David Cain, project manager, said: ” We are thrilled to be taking part in this project. It’s reallyimportant that local people keep this history alive and working with Firside Junior School willenable us to do this in a special way”Stephen Keer Year 6 Teacher: We are really excited about finding out about the Americanairmen who were stationed in our local area, as well as working on restoring an important localmemorial site as part of our World War 2 topic.

Photographs of the site’s current state are available.For more information about the Eighth in theEast, a 3 year heritage lottery fund programme of Education, Community Archaeology, MuseumDevelopment and Oral History, please go to our website www. 8theast.org

Abellio Greater Anglia is working with Norfolk County Council to encourage more people to explore the Norfolk and Suffolk countryside and help boost local rural economies.

The train operator is supporting the County Council’s bid to increase sustainable tourism around the Norfolk Trails – a 1200-mile network of countryside footpaths looked after by the Council – by helping to promote one of the trails – the Angles Way – with posters at five stations along the route.

The new signage, which is now in place at Great Yarmouth, Diss, Beccles, Somerleyton and Oulton Broad North tells rail passengers about the beautiful countryside walks that can be discovered in the vicinity of the rail stations, and right along the Angles Way trail which runs through the Waveney Valley for 93 miles between Thetford and Great Yarmouth.

Great Yarmouth station’s new signage will be officially unveiled at on Thursday 26th June at midday by Mick Castle, Norfolk County Councillor for Yarmouth North and Central, and Alan Boagey, Abellio Greater Anglia’s Area Customer Service Manager.

Aimed at daytrippers, tourists and local people, the Angles Way promotion is designed to encourage more people to explore the Norfolk / Suffolk countryside on foot using the Angles Way and its associated short circular walks, and to drive more customers to the many small local businesses which provide services to walkers along the route and vital local jobs.

The signage at rail stations that are located along the Angles Way trail will help to promote the walks to travellers, but also highlight the opportunities to use rail travel to access the walks in a sustainable way.

The signs were provided by Norfolk County Council with Rural Development Programme for England funding and the advertising space was provided free of charge by Abellio Greater Anglia.

Each end of the footpath can be accessed by rail at Thetford, Great Yarmouth, Diss, Beccles, Somerleyton and Oulton Broad North and a regular bus service runs along the A143, enabling walkers to make use of public transport links.

The Angles Way connects with the Peddars Way and Icknield Way Path at Knettishall Heath, and the St Edmund’s Way near Thetford, allowing longer walks to be undertaken. Great Yarmouth is also a hub for walking and cycling as it already has 3 long-distance trails – Weavers Way, Wherryman’s Way and Angles Way and will also host the new English Coast Path in the future.

Abellio Greater Anglia’s Area Customer Service Manager, Alan Boagey, said, “Several of our rail stations offer convenient and direct access to the Angles Way so we were delighted to become involved with the project to promote sustainable tourism opportunities and encourage more people to explore the beautiful countryside of Norfolk and Suffolk.”

Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Environment Committee, Cllr Toby Coke said: “The Angles Way passes through miles of wonderful countryside and is part of a Norfolk-wide network of countryside footpaths, called the Norfolk Trails, which are worth millions of pounds to our county’s economy. We are really pleased that Abellio has joined with us to support the Norfolk Trails. This campaign will help attract more walkers to our county, particularly out of season. These are people who will use the services provided by thousands of local businesses, which in turn generate vital local jobs in our communities across the county.”

County Councillor for Yarmouth North and Central, Mick Castle, added: “This campaign is a great way of showing residents and visitors how easy it can be to get out for a day in the Norfolk countryside by taking the train to Great Yarmouth to walk along the Angles Way.

“Great Yarmouth is also really well placed to benefit from our project to get more people to use the Norfolk Trails, because our town is not only a hub for three of these flagship walking routes, with The Weavers Way, Wherryman’s Way and Angles Way all meeting so close to our railway station, but we also have so many businesses that can offer really fantastic services to these walkers.”

More information about the Angles Way can be found at www.norfolk.gov.uk/trails.

Cycling fever is taking over Cambridgeshire and Essex right now, as the Tour de France 2014 gets set to whoosh through our local streets in a flash of bright coloured lycra on July 7th!

With one of the world’s biggest sporting events happening on our doorstep, we wanted to grab the opportunity to inspire your teamwork techniques and nudge them up a gear or two.

You don’t have to be a Tour de France devotee to appreciate our advice, but the teamwork in the race is quite complicated. But fear not – we’re going to keep it simple! Basically, a team needs to be selfless and utterly committed to help its team leader win the Tour’s various stages, and even the overall competition.

In such a gruelling race, losing team spirit is not an option. Although it’s probably safe to say that your organisation won’t have such extreme activities in your employee engagement strategy, you can still take a few bits of advice inspired by these elite athletes.

1. Make the most of people’s strengths Just as in a team in your office, a Tour de France team will also be made up of people who have their own responsibilities and strengths. Focusing on who can contribute what talents and skills for the good of the wider team is a must in succeeding. Combining those strengths so people complement each other’s abilities and encouraging collaboration can create a powerful team.

2. Setting the pace A Tour cyclist may slow down a group of different team members (known as a peloton) to let someone catch up after a puncture or similar incident. Also, teams set the pace to help their team leaders achieve their goal. So you see, adjusting the general speed is essential to people’s motivation and to their success. Back in the office, your team members can set the pace by supporting each other in busy times. Keeping an eye on how each other is managing workload is not just good office etiquette, it’s crucial in avoiding burnout and other problems.

3. Everyone needs support Each team has a support car, which carries essentials such as water, mechanics and equipment. Other team members wait on the route to hand out bags of food, drinks and energy gels. Although somewhat in the background, this element of teamwork keeps the riders on form as they endure the three weeks of racing. Also providing a key role is your office support professional who keeps things ticking over. Whether you need help with an admin database or you need a super-organised person to arrange an event, their support is part of your firm’s lifeblood.

4. Clear communication Using communications to keep everyone focused and to find effective solutions to problems is a key element to successful teamwork. For instance, Tour de France sporting directors talk to race officials and their team members by radio. Whether it’s warning of upcoming challenges or team updates, getting ahead in cycling’s most prestigious race can depend on clear communication.

5. Adapting to change Just as Tour de France teams need to work together to overcome changing conditions such as worsening weather, your team needs to be able to deal with change without losing sight of the ultimate goal. Preparing them in advance of change can help of course, but if unexpected events impact everyone’s drive and motivation, they need to somehow carry on. But developing a supportive teamwork culture can result in people pulling together quite naturally to adjust to new circumstances.

How the Tour teams pull together to get their leader into that coveted yellow jersey is testimony to their ability to unite despite the punishing challenges of the race! In the similar way, team members in a business can pull together, contributing their unique abilities to achieve key business objectives.

Multi-million pound plans for a new children’s hospice in Norfolk have received a major boost after being granted planning permission.

East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) submitted proposals for the £10m project in March for a greenfield site at Framingham Earl to replace their hospice in Quidenham and are delighted that planning has been approved. The new Norfolk hospicewould meet the increasing demands for the charity’s services and provide even higher quality care.

EACH’s current Norfolk hospice in Quidenham has provided care and support for more than two decades and has been a home from home for many families. It is howeververy restricted in its facilities and the development of a new hospice will bring the county in line with the services EACH offer in Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk.

EACH are set to launch a major fundraising appeal later this year and if you would like tofind outmorethen please contact Mark Loades – Norfolk Partnerships Manager for EACH on 01953 666771 or mark.loades@each.org.ukor visit www.each.org.uk

Boost for bus users as Norwich International Airport is included in Park and Ride service

The airport Park and Ride service is to be changed from Monday 30 June to include Norwich International Airport.

This new connection from Airport Park and Ride on Aylsham Road, in Hellesdon will provide people with a direct service to the airport and into Norwich city centre.

The project costing just under £10,000 has been carried out as part of the £2.6m Better Bus Area Initiative. This has allowed Norfolk County Council to put a new bus shelter at the airport and make improvements to the roads to prepare for the new bus route.

Norfolk County Council secured the £2.6m of Government funding for a series of major public transport improvements that will make bus travel faster for passengers, visitors and commuters in Norwich – and deliver a boost to the city’s economy in the process.

The package of improvements has allowed the County Council to fast track a range of transport improvements previously agreed in the Norwich Area Transportation Strategy (NATS). The package will deliver around 30 projects and brings benefits to bus users, cyclists, pedestrians, coach, taxi and car users.

Toby Coke, Chairman of the Environment, Development and Transport Committee at Norfolk County Council, said: “This has been a long awaited development and will be a welcome addition to Norwich International Airport. It will make journeys for people a lot easier and provide a much needed direct service to the airport. The airport is an incredibly valuable asset to the county and the extension to this service will be a great benefit to businesses and the local economy.”

Phil Gadd, Property and Contracts Director for Norwich International said: “We are delighted to work with Norfolk County Council to enhance the connectivity for people and businesses in the region, it is hoped this new service will be ideal for commuters and airport employees living in Norwich and travelling to work in the airport and surrounding businesses in addition to providing a greater choice of onward transport options for our passengers.”

The first bus leaves the bus station at 0700 and arrives at the airport at 0720, and then is back in Norwich at 0754. The last service to the airport leaves the bus station at 1830 arrives at airport at 1907 and arrives back in Norwich at 1929.

Details of fares are available here: https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/Travel_and_transport/TravelNorfolk/Park_and_Ri…

Passengers travelling more than once per month can save money by using a holdall smartcard® www.norfolk.gov.uk/holdall

Passengers are reminded that overnight parking is not permitted at the Park and Ride site. For political comment Cllr Toby Coke (UKIP) Chairman of the Environment, Development and Transport Committee, on 07717 881289 Cllr John Timewell (Liberal Democrat) Vice Chair of the Environment, Development and Transport Committee, on 01692 535074 Cllr Martin Wilby (Conservative) on 07920 286618 or 01379 741504 Cllr Terry Jermy (Labour) on 07742 157967 Cllr Andrew Boswell (Green) on 07787 127881 Cllr Richard Bird (Independent) on 01485 532565

For further information please contact: Media Team at Norfolk County Council Tel: 01603 228888 Email: pressoffice@norfolk.gov.uk

Same sex couples will be able to convert their existing civil partnerships into marriages from 10 December 2014. This provision was included in the Marriage (Same Sex) Couples Act 2013, although the Government delayed implementation. Same sex couples have been able to marry since March 2014.

The Government announced on 26 July 2014 that civil partnerships will remain available to same sex couples only and not to opposite sex couples.

This is following a report by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport who launched a consultation regarding this issue in January. The consultation received in excess of 10,000 responses which found:

• There was no united call for change from respondents to the consultation at this stage
• Less than a third of respondents supported abolition of civil partnership;
• The majority were against closing civil partnership to new couples;
• Over three-quarters were against opening up civil partnership to opposite sex couples;
• Several important organisations thought it was too soon to consider making changes to civil partnership – this should wait until the impact of extending marriage to same sex couples is known;
• Other organisations, in contrast, put forward a case for opening up civil partnerships to opposite sex couples now, for example because civil partnership and marriage were different relationships and couples should have equal access to both.

The report concluded: “In time we will know how many same sex couples are marrying and how many entering a civil partnership, and how many couples are remaining in civil partnerships rather than converting them to marriages. At present we do not have this information, and civil partnership conversion to marriage will not be available until December 2014.”

Emma Alfieri from Steeles Law’s family team commented: “The decision has been heavily criticised, as some campaigners feel that it is unfair that same sex couples now have a legal advantage over straight couples, as they can now enter into a civil marriage or a civil partnership. In contrast, opposite sex couples only have one option which is marriage.

This is an ongoing debate but the Government’s view is that it is too soon to consider making further changes to civil partnerships at this stage and this issue should wait until the impact of extending marriage to same sex couples is known.”

The Family Law Team at Steeles Law will update on this as matters develop.

To view the full report click here.