CMI Management Qualifications with Distance Learning
Did you know that holding a professional Qualification can boost your earnings by an estimated £81,000 during your working lifetime?
CMI qualifications provide a progressive framework that enables you to develop and broaden your management skills. Each qualification leads on from the next, delivering professional learning that equips you with the skills, knowledge and confidence to take your career further.
Start a CMI Management Qualification today with us at TIPS for Good management and benefit from:
– Distance learning supported by a personal coach
– More cost effective than a classroom based course
– Recognised Qualifications
– fitting your learning around your work and home life
Despite the last century’s closure of the county’s iconic breweries, Norfolk has well and truly bounced back. There are now 44 breweries in the county, and a further 27 in neighbouring Suffolk.
A spate of recent awards has confirmed the status of the region as one of the nation’s top beer locales.
Brian Finnerty of the National Farmers’ Union, East Anglia said: “The best beers require the best ingredients and we are right in the heart of the best barley-growing region in the world. That’s where the beer supply chain starts.”
The inspirational Dawn Leeder won Imbibe’s Innovator of the Year. She and Phil Cutter of the Murderers co-founded Norwich City of Ale and have developed it into a leading force in the beer and pub world.
At the North Norfolk Business Awards, the maltsters Crisp scooped the award for business growth, having developed their support and service to craft brewers, making them into valued advisors as well as suppliers. By way of further testament, of the 33 winners at SIBA’s national Beer Awards, 20 of the breweries use Crisp’s malt.
At the North Norfolk Business Awards, Norfolk Brewhouse won the small business category, and a few weeks later a silver at the SIBA’s national Beer Awards. Then to add to its tally of success, the Hindringham brewery has just been named East of England Co-op’s Producer of the Year.
Lacons’ recent triumph was the winning of Champion Winter Beer of Britain for its Audit Ale. The award is from the Campaign for Real Ale.
Wolf Brewery was another winner at SIBA’s national Beer Awards, taking home a gold for ‘Sirius Dog Star’.
Green Jack Brewing also did well at SIBA’s national Beer Awards – winning a bronze medal for ‘Lurcher’.
At the International Brewing Awards Woodforde’s went for gold with ‘Volt’
“It’s widely acknowledged that cereal growers in our region produce the finest quality barley, including the celebrated Maris Otter variety,” said Brian.
“The East of England remains a centre for this crucial crop, thanks to its combination of soil composition, climate and farming expertise. This ensures that barley grown here meets the exacting standards of maltsters such as Crisp.”
Much of the barley malted by Crisp is on the company’s historic floor maltings. The malt is then used by the region’s brewers to produce exceptional beers.
Adrian Dyter, managing director of Crisp says, “The 200 plus farmers who supply us are – literally and figuratively – true experts in their fields. The quality of grain they produce allows us to create exceptional malts. In the hands of skilled craft brewers, these result in beers packed with flavour and character.
“We are so very lucky to have City of Ale to showcase the amazing beers brewed in the area. The ten-day celebration has had a big impact over the years, inspiring many other city-wide beer festivals, and earning well-deserved recognition for Dawn and Phil. They were the first to create a city-wide beer festival back in 2011 – and the event has gone from strength to strength.”
All of the recent award-winners will be at the City of Ale launch on Thursday 23rd May celebrating the excellent ales that they have – in some measure – helped to bring to pub-goers. City of Ale runs from 23rd May to 2nd June, with nearly 50 pubs taking part, running events, being part of the Ale Trails, and serving the region’s fabulous beers.
It doesn’t matter if you have 10 employees or 1000, with your team working remotely your business is more at risk.
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SpamTitan is normally £2.50 per mailbox per month. But, to help protect you in this turbulent time we’re offering SpamTitan to you for FREE for the first 3 months.
If you would like to discuss our advanced level of protection email us at quack@greenduck.co.uk or call us on 01284 700015.
We’re proud to announce that Swarm Training has been approved as a Level 1 Disability Confident employer. This marks an exciting step in our ongoing commitment to creating inclusive, supportive workplaces for everyone, regardless of their circumstances.
If you want to work, we want to help make that possible by removing barriers, fostering potential, and encouraging high performance. Inclusion isn’t just a policy for us, it’s central to our mission in apprenticeship training and embedded in everything we do.
Joining the Disability Confident programme enables us to keep learning and evolving with expert guidance in this field.
Every member of our team contributes to our culture of continuous improvement, not just through their own commitment to developing themselves professionally, but by supporting one another, our learners and our clients with empathy, understanding and the tools they need to succeed. That includes recognising neurodiversity, physical disabilities, and health conditions. It means embracing the impactful practices of flexible working, AI tools, specific hardware and software, or just enabling people to receive written communications in a different format.
That doesn’t mean we are happy to accept lower standards.On the contrary, our standards are high and we expect commitment, but we also know how much potential is unlocked through the right support which so often enables people to exceed even their own expectations. Disability Confident actually means we can enable someone to do higher quality work through making appropriate adjustments for genuine health conditions. It has such a positive effect on someone’s mental health, job satisfaction and drive when they see what they can do and not what they can’t do!
While our official Disability Confident status is new, our approach isn’t. We’ve long supported learners and clients in creating the right balance for their teams. This in turn has brought huge value to individuals and businesses. We believe in it because we have been privileged to see it happen so many times!
Big C, Norfolk and Waveney’s cancer charity, has launched a new fundraising campaign due to many of the charity’s planned events being postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Big C’s ‘Challenge 40’ is calling for local people to raise money for the charity by exercising either at home or by using their ‘once a day’ exercise outside in line with government advice.
2020 is Big C’s 40th anniversary year, so from April 1st until May 31st the charity is asking local people who are able, to complete 40 minutes of exercise or activity, every day for forty days. This could be a run, cycle, walk, an exercise routine at home or some gardening.
Carole Slaughter, Head of Fundraising at Big C, said, “We are all living in uncertain and changing times and many of our spring and summer fundraising events have had to be postponed.
We have therefore launched a new fundraising initiative which reflects the current situation and we’re asking our army of amazing supporters to raise funds for us in a different way. This is important now, more than ever, for those with a cancer diagnosis already facing enormously challenging circumstances and now experiencing increased anxiety and worry due to coronavirus.
We also hope it might be a fun focus for people spending much more time than usual at home! We do however know that times are tough for many currently and therefore we are asking for a £10 donation, with the option of also enlisting the support of friends and family to raise a little more. Any amount will make a big difference to those locally affected by cancer.”
Carole Slaughter continues, “We’d urge everyone to take part and focus on keeping fit, while supporting Big C to continue providing vital care and support for those people affected by cancer during these challenging times.” Big C is committed to everyone’s safety and health during the Coronavirus outbreak. Please follow government guidelines around social distancing and specific advice if you are in a vulnerable group. Please only go out once a day to do your 40 minutes exercise.
For the latest government advice on coronavirus please visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus
To sign up for Big C’s Challenge 40, please visit https://fundraise.big-c.co.uk/event/challenge40-for-big-c/ to pledge your support and a £10 donation.
To learn more about the work Big C does to improve the lives of those affected by cancer in Norfolk and Waveney, please visit www.big-c.co.uk
During the current Coronavirus situation, Norfolk Chamber of Commerce Strategic Partner, LV Shipping Ltd, remains operational with a mix of office and home working, throughout all their ten UK bases including their Great Yarmouth facility; given the nature of their business (freight and transport) the company comes under the government’s “key workers” system.
For more information on the services LV Shipping Ltd can offer, visit their website: https://www.lvshipping.com/
We are delighted to be working with the leading LGBT+ wedding guide: G Wedding Directory
The G Wedding Directory website, which provides the ultimate wedding guide information for same sex couples planning their big day, includes real life wedding features, wedding tips and trends, and a directory of gay friendly wedding suppliers.
The Norfolk Mead is listed under gay friendly wedding venues in East Anglia.
James Holliday, owner of the Norfolk Mead commented: “We are proud to welcome all couples to get married in our stunning Norfolk wedding venue. We can host your civil ceremony or civil partnership in our beautiful venue spaces The Georgian Room and The Garden Room. We are specialists in diversity and an inclusive approach and welcome guests from the LGBT+ community.”
G Wedding Directory also commented: “We are extremely happy to welcome; The Norfolk Mead as a diverse and inclusive venue onto our directory, and are excited to be working alongside them in order to provide a wonderful and beautiful venue for our LGBTQ+ audience in East Anglia!”
View our listing on G Wedding Directory or find out more about our wedding venue The Garden Room on our dedicated Weddings page. Call Francesca and Victoria on 01603 737 531 to book a tour or request our Wedding brochure.
Norfolk and Waveney cancer charity, Big C, has launched a range of services designed to support those affected by cancer during the Coronavirus outbreak.
The charity will be providing support packs for local people affected by cancer in isolation due to Coronavirus. They will include home comfort items along with advice and signposting to Big C’s free telephone helpline and online Virtual Centre.
Director of Charitable Operations at Big C, Dr Melanie Pascale, said, “Those in our community affected by cancer are already facing challenging circumstances and are now experiencing added worry and anxiety due to the Coronavirus outbreak. In addition, some people with specific cancers who are considered to be extremely vulnerable are now being asked to take extra shielding measures. We want to do everything we can to help them at this time. Big C has been providing support in Norfolk for the past 40 years and we will continue to do so.”
Alongside the Support and Wellbeing packs, starting from Tuesday 24th March, Big C is launching a ‘live chat’ facility via their website, where local people affected by cancer will be able to access support from 11am to 3pm Monday to Friday.
Telephone counselling sessions and telephone appointments in partnership with the Citizens Advice Bureau will also be available. The Big C Virtual Centre will offer ‘Keep Moving’ physical activity and mental wellbeing videos, wellbeing and ‘checking in’ videos, interactive ‘Ask the Nurse’ support and video link to Big C support team members. An emergency delivery service is also available for those most in need to help with small amounts of shopping or delivering prescriptions.
Dr Melanie Pascale added, “I would like to thank our wonderful staff for their amazing efforts as a team to deliver this support and continue the care they are so passionate about.”
Anyone wishing to access support can call the Big C Support Team on 0800 092 7640. The line is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. All calls are free of charge.
Group Commercial Director Daren Moore has written to Rishi Sunak requesting he reconsider key elements of the government’s support and intervention packages.
Following the flurry of recent announcements from the Government on new initiatives to support small businesses and the self-employed, the TaxAssist Accountants Support Centre team has been working flat out to offer help and guidance to its network of accountants and their 76,000 clients.
While many clients will welcome the measures announced so far, large sections of the business community have been overlooked, without the help and funding they need.
In order to address this, Daren Moore has written a letter to the Chancellor to request that he reconsider a number of key issues missing from the recent announcements.
“Whilst we support many of the measures announced to date, we are concerned that large sections of the business community are suffering and that these measures will not provide the help and funding they need,” explained Daren. “We are already seeing our clients under stress and we risk seeing many thousands of small businesses fail without prompt action.”
Daren outlined four key issues that TaxAssist’s clients and its franchisees would like to see urgently addressed including:
Sole/small company directors and their ineligibility to be furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The proposal to look at three years for averaging purposes, leaving those who commenced trading since 5th April 2019 financially stranded
The unfairness of the £50,000 trading profit threshold
The need for emergency funding to speed up the flow of money
Daren added: “As a proud and ethical franchisor we will take every available opportunity to use our voice to highlight the needs and concerns of our core clients – small businesses – the ‘lifeblood’ of the UK economy. In these difficult times, we need to support and protect them in any way we can, now, to ensure that the sector remains intact and fully functioning when the recovery does come.”
A copy of the letter that was sent to Rishi Sunak can be viewed here.
One of the world’s top portrait photographers Rankin was in Sheringham, Cromer and Norwich this week filming a documentary for the BBC and Mustard TV. He’s presenting a programme about the Sheringham’s famous photographer Olive Edis. As part of the film Rankin was shooting scenes in Edis’s old studio in South Street where he was using her original camera to take pictures of Lord of the Rings star Bernard Hill.
“Olive took photographs in her studio using only natural light and it’s quite a challenge using her camera that’s over a century old to emulate her style,” said Rankin. “Olive was a pioneer of portrait photography and one of only a handful of female photographers making their mark in a male world. Her work is hugely inspiring for what I do today.”
Olive’s photography spanned the social spectrum but her work is largely forgotten today.
“She was equally at home taking portraits of Princes as she was recording ordinary working people like her evocative studies of fishermen. She had an innate ability to put anybody who sat for her at their ease. Her fame a hundred years ago was second to none and our film aims to bring her story to a wider audience,” said director Clive Dunn.
“Olive’s place in the history of photography has been overlooked but thanks to a recent exhibition of her work at Norwich Castle and the forthcoming TV film, this renewed attention will help reinforce her reputation,” added the film’s producer Charlie Gauvain.
Being made by Norwich production company Eye Film, Fishermen to Kings – the forgotten photographs of Olive Edis will be shown on BBC 1 and Mustard TV later in the year and you’ll have to wait until then to discover how Rankin’s portrait of Bernard Hill turned out.
For further information please contact: Producer, charlie@eyefilm.co.uk
After a rapid adjustment following the government’s advice we have been able to set up all staff to work from home and arranged full access to all facilities to continue operating every aspect of our business throughout this continuing health crisis. We have also recently invested in various areas to strengthen our service departments (in particular our trade marks division) before these developments occurred as outlined below. First, in July of last year we acquired the well-known established trade marks practice of Oakleigh IP Services Limited together with its international client base and wider legal contacts – they are now fully integrated into ip21’s operations worldwide. Next, we have expanded our UK operational base to incorporate new client contact facilities in Cambridge and Ipswich with the first of these, in particular, bringing in a rapid take-up of new business from the scientific and academic community. Finally, we have in the last month been trialling a system in which we offer to supply, free of charge:
An up-to-date schedule of a client’s IP holdings and pending contentious matters including a ‘next due date’ list
A review of a client’s portfolio and a report identifying any gaps in protection, e.g. geographically and/or in terms of specification, logos, colours etc; or
A brief IP holdings report identifying the pending and registered trade mark and/or patent rights of up to three of a client’s principal competitors.
I hope this has given you a snapshot of how we view the current situation and what we are doing to service our clients’ needs and ensure we all emerge stronger from it.
May I please end with the sincere wish that you and those closest to you will come safely through this challenging period, and if you would like to discuss any of the services mentioned above, or any other IP topics, please do get in touch.
Richard Jones, Operations Manager for ip21 Ltd – info@ip21.com – 01603 457008
This case study shows how a situation as difficult as the death of a colleague can be a catalyst for positive change. Import Export Support (IES) have been working with Johnson Controls in Great Yarmouth for a couple of years and I hope other Norfolk businesses will find their story useful. Johnson Controls are a global leader in automated control systems and their Great Yarmouth facility designs and builds fire suppression systems. This means managing imports of components and chemicals from the EU, US and China and exporting systems around the globe.
1. What was the issue? For many years, all the firm’s imports and exports at Great Yarmouth were the sole responsibility of one employee. However in 2016 his untimely passing at a young age not only had a devastating impact on his fellow colleagues but created a huge problem for the business, as no-one else knew his systems 2. What’s the solution? IES were recommended to step in to fill the gap left by this tragedy, and our first job was to keep the company’s imports and exports moving. Next, IES MD Tracey Renshaw set about identifying ways to improve processes and strategy. With the appointment of John Huxtable as Manufacturing Operations Director in 2017 things began to change. John says “I could see straight away that if the company didn’t make changes, the financial impact could be very great”. Working with Tracey, the company have drawn up a long-term plan which includes new staff responsibilities and applying for customs authorisations including Inward Processing, Customs Warehouse, Customs Freight Simplified Procedures (CFSP) and Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status. Tracey recommended appointing a Customs Controller to be the link between HMRC, management, internal departments and external companies. Reporting in to the Controller are the teams from purchasing, warehousing, engineering, shipping and sales who now have fully documented supply chain processes. John says “We needed a customs structure in place, not just one person” John and Tracey have also worked on plans for Brexit. Britain’s place in world trade is still unknown, but as John says “We’re well ahead of many other companies – we’ve got Tracey to thank for that”. 3. Did it work? New processes to accurately classify products can potentially save a business hundreds of thousands of pounds and the opportunity to cut costs has been seized. John Huxtable says there are “Significant improvements in efficiency for the business. Tracey has done a really good job in this respect”. The risk associated with having one person running all Johnson Controls imports and exports has been mitigated. The company now has documented processes and the structure is embedded into the daily business activities, bringing clarity to the supply chain, streamlining processes, improving efficiency and reducing costs. For more case studies, visit the Import Export Support site If you have question for Tracey Renshaw, click here