A new localised strategy to arm people with the skills Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire’s businesses most urgently need to meet economic, technological, climate and social challenges has been published. The Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) is a UK Government Department for Education (DfE) project designed to place local employers at the heart of a specific region’s skills system. This means consulting with employers of all sizes and sectors to understand what skills, capabilities, qualifications, and attributes local companies need from their staff to meet growing productivity, tech, environmental and economic issues, and working with training providers to deliver the right range and calibre of courses. The LSIP for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire has been led and delivered by the local branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), due to their close but independent connections to local employers, stakeholders and training professionals. Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire’s new skills plan has found that while the area has enormous economic potential in manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, tourism, and technology, there are a range of skills and labour vulnerabilities in the counties that could threaten growth and productivity if not addressed. Work readiness, digital capabilities and navigating Net Zero opportunities were all found to be of concern among employers, while growing occupational gaps in construction, information and communication technologies, engineering and conservation particularly must be closed to maximise opportunities in service industries, infrastructure, energy security and industrial decarbonisation. The LSIP report outlines the needs of local businesses, especially in light of recent shifts in the workforce such as the impact of Covid lockdowns, remote working and changes to how young people gain exposure to the workplace. Local problems in recruiting skilled tutors in certain sectors has been highlighted as an urgent need to be tackled. Understanding how the area’s vast size – as well as having several areas of deprivation – create challenges for people accessing education and work factor into the plan. Evolutions in Artificial Intelligence, automation, and the pressures of adapting to climate change also shape the LSIP’s recommendations. The LSIP has put forward 18 actionable priorities that require local training providers, councils, trade bodies and other regional stakeholders to make changes before June 2025. The plan has been formally approved by the Secretary of State for Education The Rt Hon Gillian Keegan MP. Local lead for the LSIP and author of the approved report, Natalie Gasson-McKinley MBE, development manager for FSB, said: “I’m delighted that Government has granted approval and officially unveiled our strategy aimed at providing the local community with the precise skills required by businesses in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. “The LSIP encompasses both a structured methodology and a comprehensive blueprint, focusing on active engagement with employers. This approach ensures a thorough grasp of their critical skill deficiencies, challenges, and prospects, while aligning these requirements with local skills provision. It represents a bold stride towards the future, with the welfare of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire’s people and businesses at its core. “We are instigating reforms tailored to a workforce spanning generations. The task of catering to diverse generational needs and expectations across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire is undeniably challenging, yet it’s a challenge that we, alongside local training providers and stakeholders are eager to embrace. “A robust skills foundation in any locality is intimately tied to business efficiency and the well-being of individual employees. The opportunity to play a role in enhancing these vital facets has been truly rewarding. With the official release of the plan, I eagerly anticipate collaborating with our local educational institutions, independent training providers, governing bodies, skill development entities, and industry leaders to transform this vision into reality.” Following approval and publication of the LSIP, the Federation of Small Businesses can now continue to work with these stakeholders – as well as monitor and report progress – over the next two years.

With only a short time remaining until nominations close on Thursday 31 August for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023, submit your entries NOW! Reward the hard work of your team and showcase your successes. The annual East Midlands Bricks Awards celebrate the region’s property and construction industry, its people, and outstanding developments. Award categories include: most active estate agent, commercial development of the year, responsible business of the year, residential development of the year, developer of the year, deal of the year, architects of the year, excellence in design, sustainable development of the year, contractor of the year, and overall winner. Winners will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday 28 September, at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground – an evening that will also provide plenty of opportunities to forge new contacts with property and construction professionals from across the region. To enter your (or another) business/development for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023, please click on a category link below or visit this page:

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Tickets can now be booked for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023 – click here to secure yours. The special awards evening and networking event will be held on Thursday 28 September 2023 in the Derek Randall Suite at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground from 4:30pm – 7:30pm. Connect with local decision makers over canapés and complimentary drinks while applauding the outstanding companies and projects in our region, and hear from Mike Denby, Director of Inward Investment and Place Marketing at Leicester City Council, our keynote speaker. Dress code is standard business attire. Thanks to our sponsors:                                                             To be held at:

Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR, reflects on the Coutts/Farage situation and the impact of taking a political stance as a business.  Imagine carefully building a global brand over three centuries that is essentially based on discretion and then it is all undone in a matter of moments after the very modern “cancel culture” card is waived. The irony of course being that this stellar reputation has just been annihilated by none other than its own Reputation Committee. That’s what has happened to Coutts after a certain N Farage was put onto a “glide path” from his Coutts accounts to a generic NatWest account because he no longer met the criteria to qualify for Coutts’ exclusive services. In an internal document it transpired that the bank views Nigel as a “disingenuous grifter” who promoted “xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views.” Now, that may well be the opinion of the bank and perhaps many readers of this column. It may well be the absolute opposite. The problem is, the banking brand that is built on discretion has been found wanting for that exact corporate value and it probably couldn’t have happened with a worse client in mind given Nigel’s skill in riding the media waves when the tide turns his way. Never one to let personal embarrassment get in the way of an opportunity, Farage has skillfully turned the topic into a wider debate about “cancel culture” recognising that this will strike chords with folk who follow him or perhaps had forgotten about him post-Brexit. “If they can cancel me, they can cancel you,” Nigel warned. Dame Alison Rose (the head of parent company NatWest) issued a public statement on Thursday and even wrote a letter to Farage apologising for the way Coutts had handled its decision to cut ties with the Brexit campaigner. This came after a series of interventions by the prime minister and senior members of his cabinet, and more than two weeks after Farage went public about Coutts no longer wanting him as a client. Rose said the comments, prepared for Coutts’ wealth reputation risk committee, “do not reflect the view of the bank,” adding: “No individual should have to read such comments and I apologise to Mr. Farage for this.” However, she stopped short of reinstating Farage as a Coutts client, instead reiterating an offer to open a basic account for him at NatWest. Ouch! Farage then accused Rose of being forced into an apology: “…so thank you Dame Alison for apologising. What I’ve actually been told quietly, privately, is that you were forced into doing this by the Treasury. “But at least you’ve done it, I suppose. But the whole letter smacks of ‘not me, guv, I mean I’m just the chief executive, I mean, don’t blame me for what the banks under my direct control are doing’.” Here’s the clever bit from Nigel. He turns the debate away from himself and shines the spotlight back onto the average person, suggesting there were thousands in the same position as him, as he vowed to battle on: “I’m afraid I can’t just walk away from this. I’ve started this, and I’ve got to continue. So thank you for the apology. It’s a start, but it’s no more than that.” Rose had said it was not the bank’s policy “to exit a customer on the basis of legally held political and personal views.” However, the problem here is twofold. Coutts is being dragged into an unseemly public debate which is all very much “poor form” and not what one would expect of a brand that has banked every royal family since way back. It is also in danger of “virtue signalling” as it tries to attract a younger clientele that is distinctly not Nigel but yet was happy enough to bank former Chilean dictator Pinochet and many more, less than savoury characters. Now, some might argue that Coutts is making a good start and that they should take a stand. Maybe it will attract a new generation of clientele to Coutts who will be delighted by this booting out of Nigel. “No such thing as bad publicity” etc. etc. etc. Nonsense. If one banks with Coutts, darling, one expects a tad more decorum and discretion. Whoever one is. A former business journalist, Greg Simpson is the author of The Small Business Guide to PR and has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 5 PR consultants, having set up Press for Attention PR in 2008. He has worked for FTSE 100 firms, charities and start-ups and conducted press conferences with Sir Richard Branson and James Caan. His background ensures a deep understanding of every facet of a successful PR campaign – from a journalist’s, client’s, and consultant’s perspective.   See this column in the August edition of East Midlands Business Link Magazine here.