< Previous20www.blmforum.netFOOD AND DRINK INDUSTRYWith artisan food and drinkproviders enjoying a bout ofsuccess over the last fewyears and with pride of local producetranslating to encouraging sales, theregion is now developing an enviablesupport structure too. In a similar wayto the University of Lincoln’s drivetowards becoming a centre forengineering, Sheffield HallamUniversity has put forward the region’sfirst food engineering-related degree.The Food and Drink Federation haschosen the city university to produceworld-class engineers, with the firststudents to start their studies inSeptember 2014. The graduates fromthe course will fill the estimated137,000 jobs the food and drinkindustry is currently need to fill by2017. The skills gap in this area wasidentified by the FDF, and kick-startedthe selection process for a university tooffer a specific course.The FDF and the National SkillsAcademy will work together with theuniversity to produce the content ofthe course, which will no doubt bringthe area’s standards up to acompetitive level.FDF Director of Human ResourcesAngela Coleshill says, “We aredelighted to be working with SheffieldHallam to design a degree course thatperfectly matches food and drinkmanufacturers’ needs. We listenedclosely to our member companies’expressions of the skills that theyrequire to continue developing thehighly regarded products that have putUK industry at the forefront ofinnovation.”Justine Fosh, Executive Director ofYoung Chefs recentlyflocked to GrimsbyInstitute for theYoung Seafood Chefof the YearGrimsby Institute, as wellas several othereducation establishmentsacross the region, offerworld class qualificationsin hospitalityAppetite for successWith Yorkshire and Lincolnshire already leading areas for food and drink, maintainingthis success and boosting the region’s profile seems to be the order of the day.Sheffield Hallam University is to offer the region’s first Food andDrink Engineering degree in 2014PHOTO: EARTHINPICTURES20-21:Layout 1 30/7/12 10:43 Page 1FOOD AND DRINK INDUSTRYwww.blmforum.net21the National Skills Academy for Food& Drink, says, “This is an importantmilestone in redressing gaps inprovision for our industry. The roleof the National Skills Academy is towork with food businesses to driveup the relevance, quality andaccessibility of training and withgreater levels of automation in theindustry we need higher levels ofskills. This activity demonstrates theimportance of the industry comingtogether to support newdevelopments to ensure asustainable future. Sheffield Hallamdemonstrated both the skills but alsothe willingness to listen to industryand develop a new partnership forthe future.”It’s not just on the manufacturingside of things that success is evident,Grimsby Institute is reflecting thetown’s fishing heritage by hostingthe annual Young Seafood Chef ofthe Year competition. Bringing innational teams and top names fromthe seafood and hospitality industry,it has put Grimsby back at theforefront of people’s minds when itcomes to fish. With processing ofseafood still a jewel in the town’scrown, it seems links to the seafoodindustry are stronger than ever. A social approachFollowing the success of Link UpLive’s last social media-geared eventearlier in the year, the next edition isbringing those attending a morefood-oriented theme. Eat, Drink and Be Social is takingplace at one of Lincoln’s newestadditions, the Doubletree by Hiltonhotel on Friday 14th September. Thefirst in a sector-specific series, it willfocus upon the food industry,specific to Lincolnshire as well ashaving international speakers.Panelists for this event include foodblogger Danny Kingston, Lincolnshirechef Rachel Green, My SecretKitchen co-owner Sue Broughton-Thomas and many more.Lincolnshire is one of the nation’sbiggest providers of fresh produce,from fruit and vegetables to milk, soit makes perfect sense that this seriesshould highlight the success andencourage innovation within thesector.Lincolnshire Chef Rachel Greenis talking at the next Link UpLive event, which aims to bringtogether businesses fromacross the industry.20-21:Layout 1 30/7/12 10:43 Page 222www.blmforum.netSECURITYWith businesscrime rates on therise, we take alook at thedifferent aspectsof security thatevery companyshould adhere to. Crime is more than just anunfortunate event to happen toany individual, it is also ahidden overhead that many businesseswill be forced to contend with at somepoint. Whether it is stolen equipment,damaged goods, destroyed stock oreven some form of online crime, noone truly expects to have it happen tothem.Crime stats are rising throughout theUK at the moment, with numerouscrime hotspots being given by thevarious police departments. With theadvent of the website ukcrimestats.comit is now even possible to look atvarious locations, and see theirrankings based on the amount of crimereported in them. Sadly Leeds is rankedas the fourth most criminal town, whilecentral Sheffield comes in eighth.Lincoln itself also ranks within the topfifty cities most prevalent in crime. With the rising figures no doubtfuelled by the difficult economy andindividuals becoming more desperatefor money, it becomes obvious thataspiring criminals will favour buildingswhere the potential gains are highest,and the potential for conflict is lowest.Businesses make the most obviouschoice to burgle in that regard. After all,they mostly close after 6pm when allthe staff leave, and offices arecommonly filled with computers andother valuable equipment. Protecting yourself from all this isobviously going to require variousdegrees of security. Generally speaking,security can be broken up into anumber of different aspects, such asphysical security, cyber security anddeterrence. What’s more, each of thesecan be broken down even further intoconcerns such as outer perimeter,building entry points and buildinginterior. Most companies will focus ondeterrence first, and physical securitysecond. The theory is that most peoplewho are considering turning towardscrime will be fully aware of theProtectingyour assetsProtectingyour assets22-23:Layout 1 30/7/12 10:45 Page 1SECURITYwww.blmforum.net23COMMERCIAL AND DOMESTIC SECURITY SOLUTIONSCall 01522 532038or visitwww.lincolnsecurity.co.ukconsequences of beingcaught, and so will almostalways focus on the lowestrisks possible. Thereforehaving fully visible cameras,fences and iron grilles overentry points can soonconvince a person that entrywill take more effort than it’sworth. Physical security isnormally focused around thethree zones of a premises,namely the outer perimeter,building and interior. Theouter will generally consist ofa wall or a fence, along with amain gate. The goal with anouter perimeter is to deterpeople, while also creating aclear sense of privateproperty. There can be noaccident when a person isfound within a walled off andlocked area, while anindividual could give an easyexcuse if caught within anopen plan car park. Clearlymarking the area as private propertywith signs will also help should thecircumstances ever lead to a court caseand a conviction.Building security will most commonlyencompass the various entry points tothe building, the protections aroundthese, and the first set of alarms. Doorsand windows are obvious entry pointsto a building, and no one outside ofHollywood is going to try and blowdown a wall to get at some computersand laptops. Grates, bars and grilles arecommon defences for these,accompanied by key code locks or cardreaders. The building’s physicalsecurity is all about denying entry tothe interior of the structure, there isvery little emphasis placed onidentifying the perpetrator or capturingthem in any way. Alarms are commonly placed at thispoint to sound if there is too muchpressure or force applied to the entrypoint in question. Though bars can besawn through with enough time andeffort, this will always take muchlonger than it would for the police toarrive to investigate an alarm. Oncehearing an alarm sound, however,research shows that over 95%of all suspects flee the sceneimmediately. It would be easyafter hearing all of this toneglect the internal security ofa building, but this should notbe skimped on. Though youno longer need bars orelaborate traps around theoffice, strong locks on doorsand further alarms are never awasted investment. The advantage of having somuch security in place notonly translates into a reducedrisk of criminal activity, andthe costs associated with it,but can also mean lowerinsurance premiums. Almostall insurance companies willdemand an adequate level ofphysical security as standardbefore they will even considerinsuring a company, and ifthere are any user mistakes,such as a door left unlocked,they will often refuse to payout should something gowrong. For companies who operate in ourregion there is the Business CrimeReduction Centre, who offers a freeassessment of a business’ securityneeds. This involves a fully trainedmember of the local police visitingyour premises and offering acomprehensive report of a business’ssecurity and vulnerabilities, as well asguidance and support on how toimprove upon it. This scheme is run bythe four police forced in the Yorkshireand Humber region, along with thecharity People United Against Crime.Key code locks and intercoms are a simple way to monitor whoenters a building.22-23:Layout 1 30/7/12 10:45 Page 224www.blmforum.netINTERVIEW WITH…How do you think the visit by EdMiliband went? The visit went very well. Laboursupporters were pleased to see himand question him on current issuesand concerns.Were Lincoln’s residentsreceptive to the visit? Yes, as far as we could tell. Therewere a number of the former armedservices community representingvarious organisations in the citypresent and some of whom askedquestions about Government policytowards ex-service personnel andLabour’s policies in relation to this. The City Council have signed up tothe Armed Services Covenantcommitting ourselves to giving moreattention to the needs of members ofthe Armed Forces and their familiesWhat were Mr Miliband‘s keymessages when he visited theCity? The key messages were around thecontention that the currentGovernment are not getting to gripswith the need for growth and jobs andthe impact of this is all too evident inLincoln.Do you think cities like Lincolnare neglected when it comes tohigh-profile visits? I don’t think that’s the case, we havehad a series of shadow ministers andexpect more over coming months.How do you see the economicsituation in Lincoln? It’s difficult. There is very sluggishgrowth, and a large number of part-time or zero hours contracts,temporary or low paid jobs available.Unemployment is worryingly highamongst the NEET group of 18-24 yearolds.What should the government bedoing to stimulate local jobgrowth? They should recognise that publicsector investment in new infrastructureis the key to getting the economymoving again.What are you doing on a locallevel to create jobs? We published, with our CentralLincolnshire Strategic planningpartners in North Kesteven and EastLindsey, our core strategy for publicconsultation showing how muchgrowth and where this should takeplace.There has also been intensiveactivity to attract inward investors tothe city though the provision ofmanaged workspaces to help SMEsget going and sustain themselves,including facilities such as GreetwellRoad, the Terrace and the ThinkTank.We’re also looking at how we cangive further support to smallbusinesses using a new investmentfund, and looking at support for moreapprentices.Getting togrips withgrowthEd Miliband, the leader of the LabourParty, recently surprised everyone with avisit to Lincoln. Among those presentwas the leader of City of Lincoln Council,Ric Metcalfe. We asked him about thevisit, what he thinks Labour can do forthe local economy and what the Councilis doing to attract new jobs to the region.24:Layout 1 30/7/12 11:50 Page 1EUROPEAN CONNECTIONwww.blmforum.net25Benelux is a unionwithin a union, but howare they faring in thecurrent economic crisis?Taking an economic view on Beneluxis always a difficult one compared toother countries. No matter how closelytied the individual nations are, there isa marked variance in GDP between thethree. For comparison the currentaverage European GDP is around the-0.4% mark, which it reached in early2012, since then it has changed little.Comparing to that, the membercountries of Benelux are experiencinga much stronger recovery from theglobal recession. Belgium is currentlysitting at a somewhat healthy 0.3%,while the Netherlands sits in at around0.2%, while Luxembourg is sufferingthe most with a 1.5% contraction inGDP. While Luxembourg is currentlyexperiencing a trade deficit of €50million, their exports market stillremains strong. In February of 2012,exports from Luxembourg were worth€923 million, despite the fact that thepopulation of the country is just overhalf a million! The country’s deficitcomes from the large imports it faces,namely of over €1.4 billion. The nationremains dependent on energy imports,having no power companies of its own.What’s more it also regularly importsmost of its consumable goods.Belgium is a much larger countrythan Luxembourg, with over elevenmillion people living there, andtherefore imports for the country aremuch higher, at over €26 billion.Belgium imports more than justconsumable goods and foodstuffs, itsmain imports are actually machineryand equipment, chemical, diamondsand pharmaceuticals. Belgium has been better able tobalance its imports, by exporting a littleover €26.5 billion which is incrediblyimportant to its economy. In factforeign trade accounts for more than70% of all Belgium’s economy,meaning that the economic crisis hashit Belgium incredibly hard. Belgium’sbiggest exports include the automobileindustry, non-set diamonds andpharmaceuticals, which are all ofmassive demand in the United States. The Netherlands is the largestcountry in the Benelux union, with over16 million residents, and its importsand exports reflect the size of thepopulation. Imports to the Netherlandsare currently totalled at €34.9 billion,which consists mainly of foodstuffs,machinery and clothing. The exportpower of the country is very strongwith over €39 billion recorded inMarch. The Netherlands derives morethan two thirds of GDP frommerchandise trade, which again makesits success very dependent on thetrading power of their neighbour states.The Netherlands is currently the world’sfifth largest natural gas exporter, aswell as being incredibly strong inexporting food and agriculturalproducts. Because the majority of itsexport goods are necessities ratherthan luxuries, the country offers astrong stabilising factor to the strengthof Benelux as a whole. All the three countries of Benelux arestrong locations for exports from theUK, and businesses in our moreimmediate area. Though Luxembourgcurrently suffers a high trade deficit, itis still recording unemployment figuresof under 6%, much better than the UK.The other two member countries ofBenelux also record figures of less than7%, which is much stronger than theEuropean average of around 11.5%. High times for High times for the low countries25:Layout 1 30/7/12 10:46 Page 126-29:Layout 1 30/7/12 10:49 Page 1EDUCATIONwww.blmforum.net27With the rising difficulty of theeconomy, and the dangersbusinesses are facing as aresult of it, it’s becoming ever moreimportant to retain what staff a companyhas, while minimising recruitment. Statistics show that the average cost ofrecruiting an employee comes in at a littleover £7,500, which can soon rise to over£10,000 if you are looking to recruitsomeone with a particular degree and/orskill set. This figure incorporates both theadvertising costs of posting recruitmentadverts, the money and time that must bespent on training and acclimatising themto the company. This is of courseassuming that the first employee you takeon and begin to train, is the perfectcandidate for the company and does notrun into difficulties, or finds the job isn’twhat they were looking for.If they do leave, then it puts thebusiness back into the same spot theywere before, but about £10,000 poorer.What’s more, for positions within acompany such as sales, marketing or evensome engineering positions, thereputation of the company might havebeen damaged to those the newemployee dealt with.More companies in Lincolnshire andYorkshire are combating this trend byfocusing on training their own staff, andpromoting them internally within thecompany. This comes with the obviousadvantages that the staff member inquestion is already experienced in manyaspects of the company, including28 Learningsomething newOne of the bestways to get acompetitive edgeis to have highertrained staff, but ittakes so long andcosts so much. Ordoes it? 26-29:Layout 1 30/7/12 10:49 Page 228www.blmforum.netEDUCATIONprotocol, procedures and perhaps theymight even have strong contacts withclients and customers. Apart from thatthough, up skilling a workforce hasbeen shown to improve morale withina company where it takes place, andthe reasoning should be quite clear.For staff seeing a brand new personwith little experience brought into aposition above them can be frustrating.But knowing that the manager of thecompany could choose to send themon a training course, and promotethem, at any opportunity, can makethem work harder.It used to be that training a staffmember to earn a challenging degreetook either too much time, or mightcost too much money, but manycolleges and universities around thecountry now offer part time coursesthat can be flexibly tailored around thedemands of a working week. What’smore, it’s important to understand thatthe skills learned in these courses donot instantly appear at the end of thecourse, they are earned as theemployee is trained. What this means is that theemployee might be able to start gettinginvolved in the work they are beingtrained for after just a few weeks ormonths, this hands-on experience canalso help them excel further in theirstudies. In that sense a course thatmight take a year to complete does notnecessarily mean that related tasksneed wait a year. You can start seeingreturns much sooner. For those who aren’t looking fordegree level courses for their staff,there are still numerous shorter trainingcourses that can help them to gainalternative qualifications such as NVQsor just general improved knowledge.Management courses on how to handleemployee disputes, or how to leadteams, are good examples of thesekinds of courses. What’s more, thesecourses can often be completed in amatter of a few days, placing the lowestpossible burden on the company itself.In some circumstances though, acompany might be specifically lookingfor fresh talent, and although theopportunity to train their staff is there,it is not an ideal option. TheGovernment has been pushing forincreased levels of apprenticeships forthe last few years, to the point where acompany can actually gain mediacoverage for the quality of theirapprenticeship schemes. In this senseit can be possible to gain a highlymotivated new member of staff, trainthem up to do the job they have beenhired for, while also making a big PRmove to the local community. With the unemployment at a highrate it’s very easy to find people willingto take part in apprenticeship schemes,and these individuals are very unlikelyto leave the company with littlewarning. Apprenticeship schemesdon’t necessarily have to involvequalifications or difficult training, so it’spossible to have apprenticeships forjobs such as general businessadministration or jobs such as sales. A traditional advantage ofapprentices is that they do not need tobe paid as much, but it’s important notto take this too far. Although anemployer is not legally obligated to paythem as high a wage as a normalemployee, there is the acute danger ofnegative PR, similar to what occurredat the large supermarkets in Marchwith the job seekers expenses onlyplacements, which were labelled innewspapers as slave labour. For anexample on the amount of money anapprentice might normally be paid, theNorth Yorkshire County Council paytheir apprentices an average of £95 perweek, which is increased every threemonths provided that their standard ofwork is up to requirements. Obviouslywhen the full apprenticeship ends attwelve months the decision on whetherto hire them, and pay them a full wage,must be made. Whichever route a company takes inthe current difficult trading conditions itis becoming increasingly important toleverage any business advantage acompany can over their competitors. Ifyour workforce isn’t trained to thehighest standard, then think aboutwhat might happen should thecompetitions gain that advantage. Training courses, including degrees, can now be fully takenand completed online, so staff in training need not taketime away from the company26-29:Layout 1 30/7/12 10:49 Page 3The Create Studio School Goole, ajoint partnership between Goole HighSchool and Selby College will be thefirst in the region and will open inSeptember 2013.The Studio School will welcome atotal of three hundred students agedbetween fourteen and nineteen yearsold and will offer mainstreamqualifications, delivered throughenquiry based projects, and linked tothe world of work. It will focus ondeveloping employability and life skillsthrough work experience and workplacements, intensive personaldevelopment and coaching, and willhave a close connection with localemployers who will be involved in allaspects of the curriculum.Goole High School headteachersDanuta Tomasz and David Flowitt arethrilled by the announcement. MrsTomasz says, “This is probably thesingle most important thing that couldhappen to the school at this time. Withall the investment coming into theregion, it is crucially important that ouryoung people leave school not onlywith the right qualifications but withthe skills and knowledge to make themwork ready. The Studio School will doexactly that.”While at the studio school studentswill study for their key GCSEs andalongside that choose a vocationalpathway specialising in ports andlogistics, green energy and businessenterprise, the three biggest providersof employment within the Humber sub-region.Key employers and partners involvedwith the school include AssociatedBritish Ports, the Press Association,Danbrit Shipping and East Riding ofYorkshire Council.Creative Studio School Goolegets the green lightProposals to open a Studio School in Goole have been officially approved by theDepartment for EducationEDUCATIONwww.blmforum.net29Goole High School and Selby College presentThe Create Studio GooleOpens September 2013Visit our website www.createstudiogoole.co.uk for all the latest newsCreate Studio Goole will offer studentsaged 14 to 19, the ability to take a suit ofqualifications that will lead them directlyto employment or further training.The school will specialise in three employment areas of the economy;Ports and LogisticsGreen EnergyBusiness EnterpriseThe Studio School will work closely withemployers to ensure the curriculum istailored in such a way that students at theschool will be gaining hands on experience in relevant occupations.For further information on the Studio Schoolplease call 01405 768621 or email info@createstudiogoole.co.uk.26-29:Layout 1 30/7/12 10:49 Page 4Next >