Commenting following Prime Minister Theresa May’s meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and wider developments in the Brexit negotiations, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Business communities on both sides of the Channel have long been urging negotiators to reach a pragmatic agreement on withdrawal issues, so that we can move on swiftly to transition and trade talks.
“Yesterday’s statements enhance the prospects of finally securing a much-needed transition deal and moving on to the issues that are most important to business, investment and economic well-being on all sides.
“It is imperative to keep up the momentum, as it’s high time to answer the huge practical questions on regulation, customs, standards, tariffs and taxes that lie at the heart of what businesses need to know in order to plan for the future.”
Have a night of fun and test your general knowledge skills with the BUILD Fundraising Quiz. Taking place at the Virgin Lounge, in central Norwich, with free tea and coffee, you can bring your own booze, to help unlock your minds.
Thursday 25th September from 6.30pm. Entry is £2 per person with teams of up to 6 people.
Prizes sponsored by Quartz Healthcare and pre-booking available via stacy.morris@aviva.com
The British Chambers of Commerce, CBI, TUC, FSB and EEF have made a joint plea to guarantee the rights of EU and UK citizens before Christmas.
Four million EU and UK citizens face a second Christmas of uncertainty about their right to remain in the countries they now call home. Despite signs that negotiators have made progress on this issue, they are being treated as bargaining chips and are left unsure of their position, especially if there is no deal between the UK and the EU.
Trade unions and businesses are deeply concerned that our friends, colleagues and workers continue to be in limbo. They deserve better treatment, given their vital contribution to our communities, businesses and public services.
The right to remain of the four million must be resolved. There must be certainty whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. The UK government and EU27 should unilaterally guarantee their status and future rights before Christmas. Neither side need wait for the other to do this. If many who go home for holidays simply do not come back, this would have a damaging impact on critical public services and growth.
Adam Marshall, Director General – British Chambers of Commerce
Carolyn Fairbairn, Director General – CBI
Frances O’Grady, General Secretary – TUC
Mike Cherry, National Chairman – Federation of Small Businesses
Aim; This is the benchmark trainer skills qualification for all trainers, it is ideal for first-time trainers who need to understand the basics of training skills and practice or those looking to refine their techniques.
Objectives;
*Identify training needs and set appropriate aims and objectives.
*Understand and deploy appropriate training and learning approaches
*Be able to comprehensively plan your training
*Understand how to deliver inclusive sessions that engage, motivate and inspire learners
*Understand the use of different assessment methods and the need for record keeping
Organisation
Duration; 3 day programme
Exam/Assessment; Delegates are required to deliver a 30 minute “micro-teaching” session (which must be part of a wider programme) to the rest of the group, provide feedback to four other delegates and complete a self evaluation.
Cost; £435 plus VAT includes notes, refreshments, lunch, the assessment & certification fees
Awarding Body; Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)
Tutor; Richard Mills and Sarah Daniels
Differentiation; At least level 2 or equivalent in English, ICT skills would be advantageous.
Audience; Anyone who wants to deliver training professionally
Feedback; “I just wanted to say thanks for the course, I’ve spent 37 years trying to overcome my abject fear of standing up in front of people, and I’ve been on countless courses which have helped, but not cured the problem, yet in 3 days you managed to solve it completely!” Rachel Jarman, Hautbois
The Rt. Hon John Hayes MP, the Minister of state for Skills, Further Education & Lifelong Learning, delivered an inspirational speech at the Norfolk Chamber’s High Five Lunch held on Friday 18 May.
The Minister provided an insightful review of his hard work and successes since coming into office in 2010. He has rejuvenated the apprenticeship system and put employers back in the driving seat. There are now almost 500,000 apprenticeship starts a year and the number of apprenticeships have increased across all sectors, in all age categories and in every region in Britain since 2010. The Minister advised that the key was to make the system more demand based, and to highlight how the Apprenticeship system could provide businesses with what they need.
Speaking to an audience of West Norfolk businesses at the High Five Lunch, held in King’s Lynn Town Hall, the Minister highlighted the importance of apprenticeships to Norfolk;
“Apprenticeships should be the vehicle of choice to up-skill the existing workforce in Norfolk and 88% of businesses that take on an apprentice said that they added value to their business. I see working with the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce as a way to increase the profile and the take up of apprenticeships, so that we can create the skilled workforce needed to ensure that the Norfolk economy grows and prospers”.
The Minister was introduced to the delegates attending the lunch by Henry Bellingham MP, who highlighted that “The local economy is remarkably resilient, but the whole skills agenda is absolutely pivotal to its future. That is why today’s event is so important. It will allow the Minister to see what we are doing in West Norfolk, together with the Norfolk Chamber, to ensure that we have the right skills in place for when the economy picks up”.
The High Five Lunch is a successful series of business networking events based in West Norfolk. The event was sponsored by Lloyds TSB Commercial and the National Apprenticeship Service. The next event in the series will take place on Thursday 5 July.
Our Big annual update seminar is a not to be missed half day event (with lunch provided) at a cost of £50 plus VAT per delegate.
The last 12 months have again seen some important changes to employment law and some interesting and impactful case law developments. The Government also has plans for further change in the months ahead.
Book your place now to:
• learn about all the changes affecting flexible working and how to avoid discrimination claims when making tricky decisions about flexible working requests.
• discover how the new shared parental leave rules will work and refresh your memory on the different maternity, paternity and parental leave rights
• listen to an Employment Judge speak* on the impact of the new Tribunal rules and the introduction of Tribunal fees, the effect of the ACAS conciliation process (including tips to use it to your advantage), and how Claimants are funding their claims
• get up to speed on the latest changes affecting holiday pay and a reminder of the rights for those off sick or on maternity/paternity leave in relation to holiday
• learn some key top tips on drafting restrictive covenants in contracts of employment and hear about the process that should be followed to enforce them
• find out all you need to know about developments on the use of zero hours contracts, Apprenticeship Agreements, the new concept of caste discrimination, the right to be accompanied to hearings and much, much more
• finally, hear our review of the 10 most important cases in the last 12 months.
All delegates will receive a comprehensive pack of written materials which will serve as an indispensable practical guide to all the topics that we will cover.
This December, the Chamber have delivered Christmas breakfasts across Norfolk, offering members a chance to attend a festive networking event at a venue nearest to them. We hosted the business breakfasts with a festive spin at venues in Great Yarmouth and Norwich, with the West Norfolk breakfast taking place Wednesday 13th.
First up we had the Great Yarmouth breakfast which took place at the Town Hall where 40 members came to meet new businesses. The morning was hosted by East Coast Hospice, who guided guests through a morning of breakfast and festive networking activities, including a ‘guess the intro’ Christmas music game.
Next up, was the Norwich edition. Over 140 guests came to The Holiday Inn for a morning hosted by The Big C who encouraged the room full of chamber members, dressed up in their finest festive attire, to take part in activities such as Christmas Pictionary!
To round up the Christmas breakfasts, members from West Norfolk will come to network at Knight’s Hill Hotel in King’s Lynn. The morning will be hosted by East Anglia Children’s Hospice, who will be bringing some festive fun to the room and informing delegates about the work they are doing for young people with life-threatening conditions.
Across the breakfasts so far, guests were extremely generous and brought along gift donations for each of the charities involved with the breakfasts in order to support their causes. This is sure to continue at the last instalment in West Norfolk.
If you are interested in attending the last breakfast in the series in Kings Lynn, email events@norfolkchamber.co.uk or visit our website – https://norfolkchamber.co.uk/events.
Course Aims and Objectives:An interactive 3 hour course that considers the importance of ensuring that relationships with clients remain professional and therapeutic. It looks at best practice and issues that may occur within a social care or residential setting. The course promotes open discussion and understanding of the consequences of breaching professional boundaries.
Four key areas are covered:
1. Examining the need for professional boundaries
2. Who do they benefit?
2.Identifying the support worker’s role
3. Making the right care decision
It meets the following standards of Care Quality Commission compliance:
Staffing
Qualified competent staff must be in place ensuring that fundamental standards are met by staff and that they receive the support and training and supervision they need to help them do their job.
Good Governance
Sufficient governance and systems must be in place to monitor the quality and Safety of Care.
If you wish tobook onto the course please download and complete the booking form and send towelladmin@norwichmind.org.uk. Alternatively you can phone us on 01603 432457.
The International Trade Department will be operating slightly differently over the festive season. To ensure you get your export documents returned before our closure, see our opening hours below.
Monday 18 December – Last day for Carnets, otherwise normal service Tuesday 19 December – Normal service Wednesday 20 December – Normal service Thursday 21 December – Normal service Friday 22 December – Standard e-zCerts until 11:30am. Xpress e-zCerts until 12 noon.
We will be closed from Monday 25 December 2017 to Monday 1 January 2018, reopening on Tuesday 2 January where our normal service will resume.
Our documentation prices are changing from 1st January 2018. See our 2018 price list here.
This popular monthly networking event ‘ will now take place online to allow businesses to network and create connections in a digital space.
Join Norfolk Chambers of Commerce for an online networking session to replace this the physical event of ‘Coastal Connect’ in Great Yarmouth. We believe networking is key during difficult times to help with mental health, continuation of business and access to help and advice from peers. Enjoy from the comfort of your own home with no early starts or commute and make sure to make a coffee and bring a smile to this online video meeting.
What’s the format? We will be using Zoom to facilitate this virtual meeting of businesses. It will be introduced by Haze Carver from Norfolk Chambers of Commerce. We will then ‘Go Round The Screen’ allowing a one minute for each business to highlight anything of importance.
Who’s it for? Business owners, managers, entrepreneurs, start-ups, young businesses and anyone who wants to connect and engage with other businesses in the Great Yarmouth area. Newbies are always welcome, whether it’s to our group or to networking in general.
Can I find out more? If you’d like to talk at one of our events, please get in touch with here as we are always looking for new speakers.
The UK has had a relatively easy time in the EU, with English being the organisation’s lingua franca, but what will happen after Brexit when its traders will be expected to go out into the wider world?
The British Council has identified the languages that it claims British citizens should learn if the country is to prosper in a post-Brexit world.
It seems that it will not be leaving Europe totally behind as the top five languages listed by the Council in its report Languages for the Future are Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, French, Arabic and German.
Available at www.britishcouncil.org, this explains that the languages were selected on the basis of extensive analysis of economic, geopolitical, cultural and educational factors, including the needs of UK businesses, the UK’s overseas trade targets, diplomatic and security priorities, and prevalence on the internet.
The top five languages listed were found to be significantly ahead of the next five, which were Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese and Russian.
For the UK to succeed after Brexit, international awareness and skills – such as the ability to connect with people who do not necessarily speak English – will be more vital than ever, the report argues.
However, the UK is currently facing a languages deficit, with a worryingly low proportion of those aged 18-34 able to hold a basic conversation in the top five languages: French (14%); German (8%); Spanish (7%); Mandarin (2%) and Arabic (2%).
That lack of language skills is estimated to be holding back the country’s international trade performance at a cost of almost £50 billion a year, the report claims.
It is therefore necessary, the British Council concludes, to initiate a bold new cross-government, cross-party initiative aimed at sustaining improvement in language capacity over the medium to long term.
If you have any documents which may require translation, check out or translation service. All of our translators are fully qualified linguists and specialise in particular sectors. For more information please contact us on export@norfolkchamber.co.uk or call 01603 729712.