Employers encouraged to take advantage of free skills training before the end of March

Tess Egginton
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Employers encouraged to take advantage of free skills training before the end of March

The Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) Programme has announced that it’s the last chance for SME employers across York, North Yorkshire and East Riding (YNYER) to take advantage of free training and support before the programme ends in March 2023.

Since the programme began in April 2019, 588 businesses and 2,030 employees have been upskilled through bespoke, flexible training designed to fill their individual skills gaps, increase productivity and encourage business growth.

Following completion of the training, 98% of employers surveyed said that they would recommend SSW to other businesses and 92% agreed that the training has resulted in improvements in key areas of their business.

Several employers also reported an increase in turnover, including one employer feeding back that they expected to see a £60k increase in year one of the business.

The training is delivered by Calderdale College working in partnership with specialist local and regional training providers and is made possible through funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

Helen Howland, head of the Skills Support for the Workforce Programme in York, North Yorkshire and East Riding, said: “No matter what sector you operate in, skills training is proven to bring a whole host of benefits to your business.

“Whether you want to boost employee morale, introduce additional revenue streams or enter into new markets, our specialist providers will work with you to identify the training solution that will best help your business to achieve its goals. Best of all, we’ll do it completely free of charge!

“We appreciate how difficult it can be for businesses at the moment, so we want to urge them not to miss out on this fantastic opportunity to build resilience, boost their reputations and ultimately support the regional economy by driving inward investment throughout York, North Yorkshire and Tees Valley.”

The Skills Support for the Workforce Programme is supported by the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

Andrew Leeming, head of strategy at York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Skills Support for the Workforce continues to be a hugely valuable service, giving local people the expertise they need to succeed and our businesses the ability to grow and create more good-quality jobs. The testimonials speak for themselves, and I’d call on any firm that has identified skills gaps to take advantage of the programme before it’s too late.”

The SSW programme is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) – an EU established fund to help local areas stimulate economic development through skills and job creation. It includes team working and vocational qualifications and technical skills support, as well as specialised courses across the region’s key priority sectors, including: Bioeconomy, Food Manufacturing, Construction, Engineering, Voluntary and Community, Visitor Economy and Health and Social Care.

Nikki joins Orb Recruitment to work in healthcare

Stuart Pearcey
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Nikki joins Orb Recruitment to work in healthcare
Nikki Farmer has joined Orb Recruitment as a consultant focused on the healthcare sector. She has previous experience working in the care industry. At ORB, she will be responsible for sourcing new candidates to work in healthcare assistant, senior carer and nursing roles, as well as liaising with care homes to help meet their staffing needs. Nikki said: “I’ve found my experience in care really helps with working on the care side of recruitment. ORB stands out from the crowd because we have a good team and the staff provided to care homes are vetted very carefully. From working in care in the past, I know how important this is. “I’ve also just started learning the business development side of things in my new role so will soon be working on bringing in new care homes to work with us. “I’m enjoying the fast pace of working and, as I’ve never worked in recruitment before, I’m enjoying the challenge and learning, which is why I wanted the change in the first place.” Vanessa Ogden, Director and Head of Care at ORB Recruitment, said: “We have a strong track record of working in the care industry and Nikki’s firsthand experience in the sector will help her find the perfect candidates for our care clients.” Headquartered in Doncaster, ORB Recruitment is a specialist, dedicated recruitment consultancy offering effective recruitment solutions to clients across the UK. The fast-growing company supports a variety of businesses within the manufacturing and production, healthcare and construction and engineering industries.

Private equity firm acquires majority stake in Nexus Vehicle Rental

Tess Egginton
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Private equity firm acquires majority stake in Nexus Vehicle Rental
Mid-market private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe has acquired a majority stake in Nexus Vehicle Rental, a B2B vehicle rental aggregator platform, from Phoenix Equity Partners. The management team, led by David Brennan, John Ellis and Alex Cook, will continue to lead the business. The financial terms of the transaction are undisclosed. Leeds-based Nexus operates an asset-light business model, providing a broad range of corporate, credit hire and leasing customers with access to the UK’s largest rental supply chain, with 550,000 vehicles across 2,000 locations through its proprietary IRIS tech platform. Since inception 22 years ago, the company’s sustained growth has spurred it on to become one of the UK’s leading tech-driven business mobility providers, having reached over 4 million rental bookings in 2022. Since Phoenix Equity Partners invested in 2018, Nexus has experienced strong growth and demonstrated its resilient business model through the pandemic. Nexus has recently diversified into the plant hire and taxi market, as well as investing further in Nexus Connect, a unique mobile application that streamlines the rental process for end-users whilst on the move. Nexus is also planning to launch several other product developments in 2023 to support the changing mobility requirements of its customer base. The Equistone investment was led by partner Andi Tomkinson, investment director Seb Leusch and investment manager Will Copeland, who will work alongside Nexus’ management team on the next stage of the journey. Equistone typically invests between €25m and €200m in mid-market companies. Andi Tomkinson, partner at Equistone, said: “Nexus operates a unique business model very effectively, and provides a great service to its customers and suppliers where the attractiveness of its proposition has been demonstrated over many years. “The business, led by an impressive management team, has navigated the challenges presented by the pandemic and the vehicle supply shortage admirably, demonstrating its resilience and its ability to provide a top-quality service to its customer base to whom vehicle supply is often ‘mission-critical’. “Equistone’s Manchester office has been tracking Nexus for a number of years and we’re excited to be partnering with the team in its next phase of growth.” David Brennan, executive chairman at Nexus, added: “Over the past four years, we have grown significantly. Phoenix has been a fantastic partner, helping us to meet our ambitions and supporting us through the pandemic. “Equistone’s investment sets us up for our next exciting chapter of growth as one of the UK’s leading tech-driven mobility providers. Not only does it demonstrate the confidence in the business, but it is testament to the outstanding performance of our senior management and wider team.” Tim Dunn, partner at Phoenix, said: “We have backed a number of technology-driven platform businesses in recent years, and the Nexus story is emblematic of what we try to achieve with them. “The business has gone from strength to strength: expanding its service offering, growing the senior executive team, winning new customers, and further developing its digital platform, IRIS. “The Nexus team has been a joy to work with over the last four years and we know that David, John, and all their colleagues will continue to prosper with their new partner, Equistone. We wish them all the best for the future.” Equistone was advised by Rothschild & Co (lead advisory), Simon Kucher (commercial due diligence), Deloitte (financial and tax due diligence), Crosslake (tech due diligence), PwC (tax structuring) and Addleshaw Goddard (legal). Nexus and its shareholders were advised by Houlihan Lokey (lead advisory), OC&C (commercial due diligence), KPMG (financial and tax due diligence), Endava (tech due diligence) and Travers Smith (legal). Management was advised by Park Place Corporate Finance, Deloitte and Squire Patton Boggs. Ares Management funds will continue to support the business as a lender, with Dechert providing counsel to Ares.

Groceries Code Adjudicator calls on suppliers to share experiences of retailer relationships

Stuart Pearcey
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Groceries Code Adjudicator calls on suppliers to share experiences of retailer relationships
The Groceries Code Adjudicator has launched its 2023 annual survey to gather key information on supplier relationships with retailers. Launched yesterday, the online survey will be open for six weeks until 26 February. With record levels of inflation, the war in Ukraine and extreme weather events, the past year has been particularly challenging for UK farmers and growers, putting additional strain on some supply chain relationships. The survey is a valuable opportunity for suppliers to tell the Groceries Code Adjudicator  about any issues they are facing, and whether retailers are treating them fairly and lawfully. This is the tenth year the survey has been conducted and Adjudicator Mark White is urging suppliers to continue their support for the annual survey by submitting their responses. He said: “Information gathered from farmer and grower feedback is vital to highlight current issues the grocery sector is facing. The data will influence and shape the GCA’s future work and priorities for the upcoming year. “For example, in last year’s survey a quarter of suppliers highlighted issues with retailer responses to cost price increase requests, making this the most raised issue in the last five years. “As a result, the GCA has focused his priorities on CPI requests, and at the start of the year launched the seven golden ruleswhich highlight how retailers should treat suppliers when processing requests. “This survey is one of the most important ways for suppliers to confidentially tell me about their experiences with the retailers. I want to hear from as many suppliers as possible so I can understand the ongoing impact of inflation and other issues affecting suppliers.” YouGov will be conducting the survey for the GCA and all information provided will be treated in strict confidence. Respondents are not identified to the GCA without having given their consent, and are never identified to retailers. Complete the 2023 GCA annual survey here.

More needs to be done to fill UK’s million-plus job vacancies, says BCC

Stuart Pearcey
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More needs to be done to fill UK’s million-plus job vacancies, says BCC
New figures about the UK’s labour market come as no surprise to business or the British Chambers of Commerce as the fight goes on to get people into job vacancies, says the organisation. Jane Gratton, Head of People Policy at the BCC, says the labour market remains tight, with the consequence that if firms can’t hire the staff to fulfil their order books, any room for growth is extremely limited. She said Government was heading in the right direction with its plans to help bring economically inactive workers back into the labour force, especially older workers who left in their droves when lockdown ended – but that wasn’t enough. “But we need to see more action. There must be carefully tailored careers advice, job seeker support and rapid re-training opportunities to help employers harness the skills and experience of older workers. “Businesses also need to play their part, by engaging with local skills and employment opportunities, adopting flexible working policies where possible and helping older workers develop their skills for the changing workforce. “Finally, Government must hear our calls to urgently reform the Shortage Occupation List to help businesses fill urgent job vacancies when they cannot recruit locally. The List should include job roles below RQF Level 3 for sectors where there is clear evidence of a national shortage. “The UK’s tight labour market is one of the top challenges preventing our businesses and economy from growing. It’s no use simply talking about growth if we are not prepared to take action on it. “With an anaemic economy and low productivity, Government must take immediate steps to ease the considerable labour pressures on businesses – we can’t afford to wait any longer.”

Name change for Doncaster law firm after acquisition

Stuart Pearcey
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Name change for Doncaster law firm after acquisition
Doncaster-based Atherton Godfrey LLP has formally changed its name, as it becomes fully integrated with the Switalskis group following an acquisition in 2021. Atherton Godfrey was acquired by the Yorkshire law firm two years ago in January, a move that took it into the Top 150 UK law firms. As part of the Switalskis group, its team also benefits from being part of a wider group with additional offices, expertise, connections and resources throughout the Yorkshire region and also in London. Sarah Naylor, Director at Switalskis Solicitors, says: “We took the decision to join the Switalskis group with a long-term aim of moving towards full integration on behalf of the firm for commercial reasons. We wanted to come under the umbrella of a larger practice to ensure that our teams could continue to offer an excellent service. The most significant change is that we now have access to a much larger team of experienced legal professionals. “Integrating the firm with Switalskis has been a very carefully planned process, with the best interests of all our clients of paramount consideration throughout, and it has now culminated after two years in the switch from Atherton Godfrey to Switalskis Solicitors on the 1st December 2022.”

Dales dairy gets grant to move milk for Wensleydale cheese making

Stuart Pearcey
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Dales dairy gets grant to move milk for Wensleydale cheese making
Leyburn-based Curlew Dairy has been given £1,000 from the Small Business Grant scheme to help buy a milk trailer to transport the raw product from farm to dairy. Based in a converted garage, the dairy turns raw milk into Wensleydale cheese – the Old Roan is created by hand in small batches and then sold locally. But to expand owner Samantha Spence needed a trailer capable of carrying 1,000 litres of milk to them daily – moving away from the borrowed equipment they had been using. Shew said: “We began making cheese in our micro dairy early last year using unpasteurised milk from a local dairy farm. Sales went really well and we quickly realised we needed to make larger batches. The grant allowed us to buy a milk trailer to transport larger quantities of milk from the farm to the dairy. “Making our process more efficient allowed us to really focus on the cheese recipe and just before Christmas we became stocked at Neal’s Yard Dairy and Paxton & Whitfield in London – two of the best artisan cheese shops in the country. We wouldn’t have achieved this without the support we received.” The Small Business Grant scheme offers up to £1,000 to small businesses under 36 months old to help start and grow. The fund can be used towards the purchase of equipment, marketing costs and adaptation to premises.

BHP appoints new Director of People

Michael Fisher
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BHP appoints new Director of People
BHP has enhanced its HR team with the appointment of Karen Arch as Director of People. Karen joins BHP after two and a half years as Group Head of HR at a financial adviser support group in Leeds. With extensive HR experience across a range of industries including technology, financial, retail, property and manufacturing, Karen is now taking on an important new role in BHP’s HR team. She will continue to develop BHP’s industry-leading employee support plan, which has led the firm to be voted into the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work For. Karen will primarily be based in Leeds but will work across the firm’s offices in Sheffield, Chesterfield, Cleckheaton and York. She said: “I’m thrilled to be joining BHP. There’s an excellent team here and it’s a great opportunity for me to work directly with people with a focus on attracting and retaining talent, which is something I love doing. “BHP is forward thinking, and I was attracted by the prospect of being able to build further on the great things that the firm is already doing. There is clearly a well-established support structure in place, and I am keen to enhance and shape, rather than revolutionise, the valuable work that has been done so far. “I’ve been impressed by the passion and energy in everyone I’ve met and I’m keen to start collaborating with the team over the coming months.” Lisa Leighton, Joint Managing Partner at BHP, said: “As a firm, we always endeavour to do our best for our people, and we place the utmost importance on looking after our team. “I’m delighted that Karen has joined us and it’s great to see that she shares the mindset of the management team in terms of being people focused and creating a workplace where people want to stay. Karen’s experience will be invaluable as we continue to develop the support that we provide for our employees.” Louise Allen, Head of HR at BHP, said: “We’re excited to have Karen on board. Her extensive HR knowledge across a range of sectors will undoubtedly prove to be a huge asset for BHP moving forward. Karen’s appointment will bring new ideas and a fresh outlook to our team.”  

York-based Rolawn secures fourth year running environmental accreditation

Michael Fisher
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York-based Rolawn secures fourth year running environmental accreditation
Market-leading turf and topsoil producer, Rolawn Limited, has achieved continued accreditation under the Green Achiever scheme for the fourth consecutive year. Achieving the Diamond Banner Award, Rolawn secured the highest level in the scheme. Rolawn, based in the Vale of York, has secured the status under the Green Achiever scheme which offers environmental accreditation to businesses wishing to obtain independent acknowledgement of their green credentials and verification that they are actively reducing their environmental impact. Ken Brewster, Rolawn’s Marketing Director, said: “We have a robust and proactive environmental strategy, not all of which is necessarily visible to our audience, so the continuation of this accreditation is really valuable in helping us to reassure our customers that we take this seriously. “Integrity is important to us at Rolawn and that includes implementing improvements that aren’t overtly obvious, yet still make a real difference, for example the installation of onsite solar panels which has made a significant contribution to production.” To achieve Diamond Banner Award status, Rolawn had to evidence proactivity on a range of levels from day to day, ground level operations, such as energy consumption and recycling, right through to higher level operational compliance with complex environmental legislation.

New Skegness hotel gets green light

Tess Egginton
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New Skegness hotel gets green light
Plans for a new hotel in Skegness have been approved by East Lindsey District Council. Burney Property Group are behind the proposals for the former Crazy Golf site on South Parade, which has been left vacant for the past four years. The new scheme involves two units on the site; a six storey Travelodge hotel with 80 rooms, and a drive thru Starbucks restaurant. A design statement indicates that the development would create a significant number of local job opportunities, and have knock on beneficial impacts associated with the wider regeneration and investment in the local area. EV charging points would be included in the development, along with cycle parking spaces, 65 car parking spaces for the hotel and 17 spaces for the Starbucks unit. A publicly accessible food and drink outlet is also proposed on the hotel’s fifth floor, with panoramic views across Skegness beach and coastline.
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