member

There’s no doubt, that having a secure, fast and reliable internet connection will be towards the top of any businesses “must haves’ list. However, this can widely be the area that causes the most frustration in the workplace.

Never fear, there is a light at the end of the page loading wheel; leased lines.

First on the scene in the 1970’s, leased lines have continued to rise in popularity and have become an integral part for companies who want to protect their data and increase efficiency. Not only does this option provide a fast, reliable and secure connection, but leased lines also benefit companies that handle client data in any sector – vital with GDPR coming into play from 25th May 2018.

With our growing network of UK businesses, you’re one step closer to introducing cost-effective and reliable connectivity.

Benefits of Netmatters Leased Lines;

Dedicated bandwidth

Solely for your business use only, there’s no need to share your connection with other companies leaving scope for your business to optimise workload efficiency further.

No lag during peak times

Gone are the days of a slow internet connection, with dedicated bandwidth your business can function much more efficiently with internet ‘lag’ being a thing of the past.

Reliable

Leased lines use fibre-optic cables, which means it doesn’t suffer from electrical interference – resulting in being much more reliable in the long term, with minimal maintenance needed to be carried out.

Secure

Offering better security than alternative broadband options, a leased line data connection is controlled solely by your business, meaning your don’t share information on a public network – essential ahead of GDPR with all EU businesses having to enhance their data handling processes.

Flexible

Used to carry countless forms of communication, you have complete control to allocate bandwidth where most important to you and your business – this can be changed as your business continues to grow.

Ongoing Support

At Netmatters, as the direct provider we’re able to offer direct, one-to-one support straight away, helping solve any problems quickly.

Streamline your business activities and say goodbye to lag internet connection by getting in touch with our team of IT experts today.

Originally published on Netmatters Ltd.

Today marks the 11th National Apprenticeship Week in the UK and the theme this year is to showcase how apprenticeships work for individuals, employers, the community, and the wider economy. It seems only fitting to feature the perspectives of all four parties and to understand why apprenticeships are beneficial for all. Nu Image’s apprentice (Emily Smith) and trainer (Rhiannon Chisholm) have contributed towards this article to provide a real-life experience of becoming and employing an apprentice in a digital marketing agency.

Apprentice Perspective

My last six months as an apprentice have been eye-opening, I believe it’s one of the best ways to learn about an industry you’ve never worked in before. With a mixture of on-the-job training and academic studies, I’ve been able to become familiar with the theory and obtain the correct qualifications, whilst gaining first-hand experience in the industry. In addition to this, I’ve received terrific support on both sides; my tutor provides the appropriate resources and extra teaching for my personal studies, at the same time my Nu Image colleagues demonstrate the correct techniques to help me progress in my job role and to become a valuable asset to the team.

Nu Image has created an environment where I feel comfortable to exercise my creativity and suggest new ideas. I’m fortunate to have Rhiannon as a trainer, who has an abundance of specialist knowledge in her field and the patience of a saint; I’m able to ask questions and admit if I’m unsure about anything, knowing that I’ll be rewarded with an explanation that will answer my queries. I’ve learnt more about the online world in the last six months, than I ever did in the years I spent studying for GCSEs and A-Levels.

Employer’s Perspective

Hiring an apprentice has been one of the best decisions we’ve made. As a small business, it wasn’t a decision we took lightly, owing to the training time required and the necessary time out of work in the Academy. However, we had received excellent feedback from other businesses and as a creative business, we’ve learned from experience the potential benefits of bringing in someone with a natural passion for our work. Ultimately, we decided to meet the candidates to get an idea of their level of skill and ability before we made the final decision to take on an apprentice. We interviewed a number of young people and by far, Emily stood out as having a real drive for success and an obvious passion for our industry.

Emily has become invaluable to the business since joining us in September 2017, injecting new enthusiasm and innovation, not only to the Online Marketing team but throughout our creative studio. Emily has been able to learn quickly on-the-job alongside her guided learning with her tutor. She has been adding value to the business since she started and if anyone is considering taking on an apprentice, based on our experience we would highly recommend you do take the plunge and you maybe lucky enough to find yourselves an Emily.

Community Perspective

By employing apprentices, businesses are able to teach more people about their industry and provide apprentices with a new set of skills which they may not have otherwise been given the opportunity to learn. This enriches community knowledge and increases the variety of skills within that community. A large majority of apprenticeships are filled by young people who bring a fresh outlook to the business, as well as everything they’ve learnt in college that may not be practiced by the company already – helping them to advance services and products that the business supplies to the community which, in turn, improves customer experience with that company.

The Wider Economy Perspective

One of the biggest positive impacts that apprenticeships have on our economy is that many are considerably cheaper than university courses. Due to this, there will be more taxpayer money available to go towards other areas in the public sector. Furthermore, to enrol as an apprentice, you need to be employed in a full-time position; meaning more people will have money to spend, increasing the growth of our economy and helping to keep it stable.

For many reasons, apprentices add value to businesses, communities and the local economy. Furthermore, the commitment and willingness to learn that we have found in our apprentice has made Emily’s place in the business unquestionably valuable.

Seeing as it’s been National Apprenticeship Week this week, we thought we would shine a light on our apprentices, past and present. Naked Element would be a duller place without them and the valuable work they do! We’ve had three apprentices in total, Lewis, Rain and Jack and they’ve all been invaluable to our business. Lewis spent his year-long software development apprenticeship with us, before staying on a while longer as a full-time employee. He headed User Story workshops, held meetings with clients and even managed to join in with some of the social sides of Naked Element too! Lewis got a lot out of his time with us, saying “an apprenticeship is a great way to get your foot in the door of an industry, gain some excellent skills and first-hand experience in a job you may want to turn into a career”. Lewis decided to be an apprentice because he felt that a more hands-on approach to learning would suit him better than studying full time. At the time he hoped he would be working in the US in the near future, but he has since decided to settle down at university and is due to begin a Computer Science degree at the UEA later this year to bolster his industry experience with a formal qualification. Rain joined us as an administrative apprentice for just over a year, keeping us organised and the company running smoothly. Rain was an asset to Naked Element, as a natural networker and often the first face to greet clients, she helped start the conversation about software and business. From the professional presentation in her initial interview to managing conferences, she impressed us all. She took her experience with Naked Element and became the executive PA to the CEO of Apple Helicopters! Our current apprentice is Jack, who is part-way through his software apprenticeship. We’ve been so impressed with Jack that we’re hoping he will stay on after his course has finished to be a software developer full time! He’s a good problem solver, helping Naked Element deliver projects more cost effectively and equally enthusiastic at tech events when he represents the company. Our CEO Paul says “I believe that apprentices are an excellent way for the predominantly small tech companies in the TechEast region to grow and a way to help fill the skills gap we have here. They are also a great way to support young people in our region to get industry experience.” Naked Element has found all three apprentices invaluable to supporting and growing our business and we’re very proud of how far they’ve come!

When a woman announces her pregnancy, the first response of the manager is often to refer to the policy relating to maternity. But whilst a clear and accessible procedure is essential, at the heart of supporting a woman during maternity and beyond is open conversation. Throughout the pregnancy, maternity and on return, the manager needs to be talking to the mother, giving choices and options, understanding and recognising that the individual needs and priorities will change through pregnancy, birth and beyond. The type of contact during maternity, the support required, needs to be led by the mother.

Coaching is a powerful tool and one that can give a woman choices and empower her to find her own solutions at a time when she may be feeling a little uncertain and confusing. 121 coaching support before, during and on return can help the woman to identify what she wants to do, what form she wants her maternity leave to take, and indeed, how and when she wants to return.

Choice and influence is important too when the manager is looking at how maternity leave is covered. By engaging the woman in the process, and helping her to identify ways cover can be provided, can help the woman to feel valued and have ownership. This can also extend to the woman meeting the person providing cover and helping them to learn the role. The whole issue of maternity cover can be very unsettling for a woman and it often leads to concerns such as not being wanted back. This too is why the manager needs to be mindful of the sensitivities around this – for example, using the term ‘replacement’ can indeed make the woman feel as if they are being evicted from their job.

The way that a manager and indeed a company engages around maternity and parenthood is also key. Companies which celebrate family, where the internal dialogue is positive around women who take time out to have babies, will create a sense of security and belonging for women at a time when they may well be feeling vulnerable.

Flexibility is essential too. During pregnancy, when the mother may need time out for appointments, during maternity leave when a planned keeping in touch day be scuppered by a poorly child, and on return, when the woman may want to consider how and when she returns. And a company needs to ensure that its commitment to flexibility means that women do not feel ostracised if they return at reduced hours; a mother working a part-time role should not feel any less valued for the contribution she is making than her colleagues.

A robust policy and procedure is important but one that is not too rigid that it does not give space for choice, options and flexibility.  The company too needs to make the woman aware of what the procedure is, what support is available, and what she needs to do.

And when a woman returns from maternity leave, it is also essential that the manager is sensitive to the personal struggle she may be facing in being separated from her child. The manager also needs to be aware of her wellbeing and look out for signs that support is needed.

But the most important thing of all is for the manager to keep talking – and listening – to the woman so that she feels empowered and valued.

Are you struggling to recruit suitable staff locally or could your business benefit from an injection of fresh energy and enthusiasm? Perhaps you have a long list of essential tasks – but no time to start them – let alone get them finished? Fortunately, it’s never been easier to connect with East Anglia’s smartest, most diverse talent pool – the students and graduates of UEA.

We also offer the UEA Internship Programme – an agency-style service which makes the process of taking on an intern as simple as possible. Our dedicated team take care of the advertising, contracts and payroll for interns, effectively employing them for you. All of our advertised internship opportunities are paid, however, our flexible programme means that you can recruit for up to a year meaning that the internships can last in line with your budget. There are often subsidies for SMEs who qualify to help with the costs.

MyCareerCentral is your free online gateway to this wealth of highly-qualified, motivated and bright local talent, with the ability to reach around 15,000 current UEA students and more than 10,000 graduates. The site is a fast, user-friendly resource for promoting part-time and seasonal jobs, summer and Year in Industry student placements, volunteering opportunities and graduate vacancies and internships directly to UEA students and graduates.

Using MyCareerCentral is more efficient than using traditional job sites as you can:

• Save time when inputting vacancies – your company information is stored in the system
• Edit and close the vacancies you have listed
• View a history of all the previous vacancies you have listed
•  Add to and manage your contacts

Online at MyCareerCentral you can work with the UEA Careers Service to:

• Promote your opportunities
• Advertise student jobs and internships, full or part-time seasonal jobs, graduate vacancies and internships and postgraduate vacancies
• Host an intern
• Offer a Year in Industry placement
• Recruit volunteers
• Raise your profile – attend fairs, deliver workshops or speak to us about developing specific activities
• Share your knowledge – mentor a student, support a student entrepreneur or speak at an event.
• Access UEA expertise & facilities – consultancy, licensing opportunities, CPD & training

How to make the most of your vacancy advert on MyCareerCentral

The information that you include in your advertisement plays a key role in attracting the right candidates for your vacancies. Competition for the best applicants is keen, so it is vital that you sell your vacancy – and your company – to potential job seekers.

Unlike commercial jobsites, adverts on MyCareerCentral can be viewed only by UEA students and recent graduates, so tailor your offer specifically to them wherever possible. For example, if you were a student or graduate, what would attract you to the role and prompt you apply?

Completing our online vacancy form is quick and easy and by tailoring your postings to the student audience, you’ll have the best chance of attracting great applicants for your roles.

For more information contact the Opportunities Team on 01603 592527or email careers@uea.ac.uk.