< Previous20 Business Link www.blmforum.net CORPORATE HOSPITALITY them a chance to reconnect. For some, it may have been more than six months since they’ve seen one another, so expecting instantaneous teamwork is idealistic. Perhaps, however, the plan is to do something larger – a big corporate event. This isn’t a bad idea since many businessmen and women out there are sick of being locked up, and businesses hosting big events may find more willing guests now than ever before. A successful corporate hospitality event is certainly not just an excuse to laugh and drink away the hours, it speaks volumes about your company and can be a valuable ingredient in the marketing mix. So, what should businesses consider before booking up for this summer’s hottest events? Venue First and foremost, consider what type of event will best suit your needs and those of your guests. Are they keen sporting types who’d appreciate a day watching cricket, or would summer cocktails and canapes go down better? The great thing about our region is the variety of venues available, but you need to visit these venues and talk to the managers. Organisation Next, do you really want to organise and host the event yourself or would you be better getting in a third party? If you’re not experienced at events, would you know where to find an engaging guest speaker and how much to budget? It’s important now to also look at COVID- 19 precautions and what rules will have remained in place even after lockdown has lifted. People Of course, it’s also important to get the right mix of attendees – from clients to staff and the media in attendance to ensure your event gets press coverage – so, what’s likely to draw a journalist? Just as importantly, what will your guests want to achieve from attending? Be sure to invite gregarious clients who can help keep conversation flowing. Ensure staff realise the importance of keeping business talk to a minimum too – the objective, unless it’s an award ceremony, is to create an enjoyable social event, where you can get to know clients -and they you. Think outside the box At Business Link, we regularly run awards events but we recognise that some businesses just don’t want to be out until midnight and/or paying high 19-21.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 06:58 Page 2www.blmforum.net Business Link 21 CORPORATE HOSPITALITY fees to sponsor seats or an entire table. So, instead of demanding these high prices, we run more events at 4.30 - 7.00pm and we dispense with the need for a black tie. As a result, we usually draw 120 or more people ninety-nine per cent of whom are decision makers in their businesses and those who need to get back to their families can do so while those who want to stay on and network can do that. Think outside the box, don’t be afraid of smaller events – you don’t need a budget that the Great Gatsby would be proud of! In fact, people’s expectations will probably be lower than ever considering their isolation, so any gestures to bring people together and entertain will likely be appreciated. It’s less a science and more an art form, but we at Business Link do suggest everyone whet their teeth by going out and attending a few corporate events before hosting their own. It may seem obvious and it may only be a year ago that you were hosting your own, but it doesn’t hurt to practice. There’s a lot we’ve got to get used to coming out of lockdown, but the sooner we get on it, the sooner we’ll profit. © Shutterstock /Anton Gvozdikov 19-21.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 06:58 Page 3APPRENTICESHIPS AND TRAINING O rganisations in the UK are shelling out £4.4 billion a year because of the skills shortage, with well in excess of half of employers having struggled to find staff with the required skills in the past few years. Increased recruitment costs, inflated salaries and the training required for those hired at a lower level than needed, as well as temporary staffing are all highlighted as causes for this expense. Our region is fortunate in being the host of world class training facilities and training providers. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are rife with opportunities for business and education institution collaborations in particular. For instance, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is offered by universities across the region. CPD refers to the learning activities employers and employees complete to grow, develop and enhance their skills to ensure their academic and practical qualifications do not become outdated, enabling continuous development of professional abilities and allowing employers and employees to stay at the forefront of their professions. While universities, with their specialist up to date knowledge, offer a range of readymade courses for Upskill and evolve Training and apprentices provide a talent pipeline for the future and ensure existing employees have the skills they need for success. But, in the wake of COVID-19, training providers have had to rethink how they deliver courses. www.blmforum.net © Shutterstock /Monkey Business Images 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 07:02 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 23 APPRENTICESHIPS AND TRAINING We can help in areas such as: Business planning and financial reviews Improving efficiencies within your business HR advice, reviewing contracts and GDPR audits Digital marketing and brand strengthening Access to match funding grants. DO YOU WANT TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? Fully-funded support is available for businesses in logistics, ports, renewables and those providing a service to these sectors. This project has helped hundreds of local businesses and yours could be next, all at no cost to you. Speak to one of our business advisors to access this opportunity to develop and grow your business. MODAL Training Centre, Middleplatt Rd, Immingham, DN40 1FN 01469 428449 | gainingadvantage.com individuals and organisations, from using people analytics in HR to courses in system safety engineering for those working in computer science, if there is a precise development path one needs employees to follow, bespoke education programmes can be designed in collaboration with many of the region’s universities. Custom programmes present a variety of flexible and effective education options that will inspire talent. Universities are prepared to work closely with business to understand them and the challenges they face, to meet learning needs as well as form courses that fit to a preferred time frame. With CPD talent can be retained, a team’s specialist skills developed and 24 Á © Shutterstock /David MG 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 07:02 Page 224 Business Link www.blmforum.net APPRENTICESHIPS AND TRAINING a business’s productivity enhanced. Courses on offer vary from short courses offering a combination of strategic, practical and core skills to re- enter the workplace with, to longer term leadership and management programmes for new, middle, and senior managers, business owners and entrepreneurs, to sector specific training courses designed for one’s industry, to online and distance learning so one can study flexibly from anywhere. These can be credit or non- credit earning. Building a culture that features growth and leaning opportunities is important for a plethora of reasons - not only is it good for businesses and has an impact on the bottom line, but up-skilling can impact employee satisfaction and retention. Twenty-one per cent of employees indicate the they are more likely to stay at a business that supports their development. Businesses can also collaborate with universities and other education institutions to gain access to high calibre students, for instance by developing a partnership to offer degree apprenticeships that allow students to gain work experience while getting the qualification of a degree and professional accreditation, but also opening up a talent pool with the skills needed by employers. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, online training has grown in popularity and prevalence. Although online training has existed in one form or another for decades with many people – from students right through to senior staff – taking advantage of it. Since lockdown, however, it has exploded in usage as apprentices look to maintain their learning, companies complete their employees’ training, and individuals that are now based from home, or have been made redundant in the wake of outbreak, upskill. Outside of the pandemic, the appeal and popularity of online training lies in its flexibility. From a home office or smart device, it can be worked around any schedule, fitting in with other engagements and appointments. It can also even be undertaken on-the-go, turning that daily train or bus commute into a learning opportunity. That same flexibility is what gives online training an edge, allowing an uninterrupted learning stream for all manner of individuals while they observe social distancing Since lockdown, online training has exploded in usage as apprentices look to maintain their learning, companies complete their employees’ training, and individuals that are now based from home, or have been made redundant in the wake of outbreak, upskill. 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 07:02 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 25 APPRENTICESHIPS AND TRAINING CPD COURSES Expand your skills and knowledge online For more information, visit www.kirkleescollege.ac.uk/employers regulations. Small surprise that many traditional training providers have made the transition to online learning, in part or in full. No doubt misconceptions existed around online training before the pandemic with some employers perhaps reluctant to use them over the misguided perception that they aren’t the equal of in-person training or lack the range of subjects. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Online courses cover a diversity of subjects from health & safety, administration and quality assurance right through to management and everything in between. Because of the nature of e-learning and the flexibility we’ve already touched on, it means training providers are uniquely positioned to get creative with their content and how it’s delivered. This ‘out of the box’ thinking offers a great opportunity to make courses and learning content more engaging, memorable and, thusly, more effective. It also means that content can be continually refreshed and updated with the latest research and findings in a way that traditional location-based courses simply can’t compete with. Providers also have access to analytic data from which they can see what does and doesn’t work about the courses they provide and, crucially, the way in which they’re delivered. As we look towards future, training of every kind will prove crucial to ensuring there’s a talent pipeline in place for all sectors to draw from and that the skills shortage diminishes rather than continues to widen. © Shutterstock /bleakstar 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 07:03 Page 426 Business Link www.blmforum.net RELOCATION AND INWARD INVESTMENT Y orkshire is an attractive region for investment. With excellent transport links and critical ports, new industrial and office developments underway, established business clusters and the UK’s largest Enterprise Zone in the Humber, and world-class universities, more money is being injected into Yorkshire. Meanwhile, businesses continue to join the wealth of large companies and SMEs that have expanded in and moved to the region, a cost-effective location in comparison to elsewhere in the country. In a boon for the region, providing a vote of confidence during the pandemic, businesses are choosing Yorkshire for their new headquarters. For example, TCY UK, the UK arm of Taiwan-based TCY, a manufacturer of box making machinery, has selected a modern 15,997 sq ft warehouse in Sherburn in Elmet, on Lancaster Business Park for its UK headquarters, and private equity firm, Apater Capital, has made Leeds’ Gilbanks offices on One Park Row its global headquarters, seeking to invest in advanced technology companies across the region and further afield. Commenting on the move, Ricky DeLandro, senior managing partner at Apater Capital, said: “Although we have offices opposite Google in Kings Cross London and a presence in Central Bristol, Yorkshire embodies the real can- do attitude that we look for in both our employees and the companies we invest in. We have moved our HQ to One Park Row, Leeds, to facilitate our continued expansion and are very proud of our new home. It immediately sets the right tone for our investors and target companies alike, so we gladly join the wide range of leading professional firms in the building, which ideally can support our growth.” Roger Marsh OBE, DL, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, added: “It’s great to welcome Apater Capital’s new HQ to Leeds City Region, the UK’s Digital Heartland. This addition to our tech A vote of confidence in the pandemic, businesses continue to commit to Yorkshire, investing and expanding in, as well as moving to the region, with Leeds a front runner for this. An attractive region 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 07:05 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 27 RELOCATION AND INWARD INVESTMENT © Shutterstock /Christopher Chambers ecosystem further demonstrates that we retain the confidence of new investors. It also confirms our ambition to build a sustainable economic recovery based on our sector strengths and capabilities as the right course of action.” Showcasing the variety of organisations relocating to the region, the Department for Work and Pensions is placing its second HQ in Leeds and digital agency, dxw, has moved its 28 Á © Shutterstock /Pincasso 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 07:05 Page 228 Business Link www.blmforum.net RELOCATION AND INWARD INVESTMENT national headquarters to the city, transferring their main office from London. “We have been so impressed with the collaborative digital community, access to talent and the supportive business environment in Leeds City Region, we have made the decision to move our HQ out of London and into Leeds,” said dxw MD David Mann. Remaining in Leeds, strategic communications agency, CDS, has signed a 10-year lease on a 11,000 sq ft property at Canal Wharf, which has been refurbished to accommodate the business, and auto-engineering firm SM UK recently announced it is investing £4 million in a 35,000 sq ft Leeds workshop (set to open in June), seeing it expand in the city, and plans to create 30 new jobs. The business has acquired the 1.4-acre former Winerite warehouse site on Gelderd Road for the workshop. Moreover, earlier this year, elsewhere in the region, details were revealed on SBD Apparel’s new 100,000 sq ft premises on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Catcliffe, after it was awarded a £1.5 million Business Investment Fund grant from the Sheffield City Region. The facility is expected to create 237 new jobs within three years of its completion, and it will enable the company to bring its five existing buildings together in South Yorkshire to operate from one single site, whilst quadrupling its floor space. The proposed development will include 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 07:05 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 29 RELOCATION AND INWARD INVESTMENT © Shutterstock /New Africa 52,500 sq ft of production floor space and 30,000 sq ft of offices over three floors, plus warehousing, car parking and land for expansion. In total, SBD Apparel is investing £9.38 million in land acquisition, development, and final fit out costs. SBD’s plans also involve purchasing additional space at the new premises to allow the business to expand in a second phase - an extension to the rear of the building to add a 70,000 sq ft unit. Benjamin Banks, Managing Director of SBD Apparel, said: “South Yorkshire is the ideal location for our new premises, and we are very excited to be growing our business here and creating a high number of new jobs in the area in the next 2-3 years. We chose Sheffield City Region as it is a fantastic central location with a great manufacturing infrastructure, affordable housing and a skilled local workforce.” The region is also home to major opportunities in offshore wind and industrial decarbonisation, proving to be an attractive proposition for inward investment. The area hosts the largest hub for the operations and maintenance of offshore wind in the world and the offshore wind catapult in the Port of Grimsby, and the manufacture of offshore wind blades in the Siemens Gamesa plant in Green Port Hull. Furthermore CWind Training, a provider of health and safety, offshore skills, and training courses to the offshore wind industry, recently revealed it is relocating to Grimsby from Lowestoft. There is additional interest in investing in other forms of low carbon power in the region. Equinor and SSE Thermal have unveiled plans to jointly develop two first-of-a-kind power stations in the Humber. The plans comprise one of the UK’s first power stations with carbon capture and storage technology, and the world’s first major one-hundred per cent hydrogen-fuelled power station. The plans would support the UK’s transition to net zero, accelerate the decarbonisation of the Humber, the UK’s largest and most carbon-intensive industrial cluster, and the two decarbonised power stations would form a ‘clean power hub’ near Scunthorpe. Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said this would “ensure that world-first technology is being developed in Scunthorpe and across the Humber, creating green jobs and bringing new investment which will benefit local communities and businesses – revitalising this industrial heartland as the UK builds back greener.” Set to enhance the region’s attractiveness more is the achievement of Freeport Status for the Humber, which is expected to bring thousands of jobs to the region and draw significant inward investment from blue-chip multinationals with the potential to attract and drive both supply chain and innovation ecostructures. Meanwhile developments such as the next phase of the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone - creating bespoke employment space for new businesses and SMEs specifically in the agri-tech sector - are to generate employment opportunities and investment in the area. The life sciences sector in Yorkshire is also set for a boost, with plans submitted to revitalise Drapers Yard on Marshall Street in Leeds for Labcorp, a global diagnostics and drug development company, marking further investment by Labcorp Drug Development into the local economy. The company currently operates out of two sites in Leeds and plans to consolidate the team into one building for more efficient, collaborative working, as well as having the opportunity to double in size, retaining and creating almost 300 highly skilled scientific and healthcare jobs in the city. Set to enhance the region’s attractiveness more is the achievement of Freeport Status for the Humber, which is expected to bring thousands of jobs to the region and draw significant inward investment from blue-chip multinationals with the potential to attract and drive both supply chain and innovation ecostructures. 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 30/04/2021 07:05 Page 4Next >