< Previous30 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk EDUCATION AND TRAINING As headlines highlight how an acute skills and subsequent labour shortage is impeding the country’s recovery from COVID-19, the importance of investing in education, training, and upskilling, and for increased support from the Government has never been clearer. With many unable to obtain the skills they require locally, and new digital, technological, and other changes continuing to alter the workplace, access to rapid and agile training and re-skilling opportunities is essential. A report from the Workplace Training and Development Commission (WTDC), released earlier in the year, called for a root and branch reform of the UK’s training system to help businesses access the skills they need to bolster productivity following an 18-month study of what firms want from adult skills training provision in the UK. Issues of complexity, cost, and inflexibility are significant obstacles for employers using the current skills system, while the report also pinpoints a need for improved trust and co-operation between the different parties involved in skills planning and training provision – particularly at the local level. It recommends help for smaller firms to identify and invest in the skills needs of their workforce, more bite- sized, flexible learning which supports people in work to gain new skills faster, a greater say for businesses on what skills training is required at the local level, better support for people to retrain and move into higher earning roles, and a renewed focus on digital skills and innovation as workplaces rapidly evolve. The report calls on policymakers to adopt its recommendations and encourages businesses to act decisively to resolve their skills needs. Certainly skills shortages are nothing new, and have been hampering the economy for some time, leaving businesses struggling to fill job vacancies, but with changes to work accelerating, 41% of employers are planning on increasing investment in training compared with pre-COVID levels, according to the 2021 CBI/Birkbeck, University of London Education and Skills Survey. The survey further found that, over the next 3-5 years, companies expect to have greater need for people with skills at entry, intermediate and higher level, employers most expect the need for other workplace skills unattached to qualifications – such as communication and teamwork – to increase, developing workforce industry- specific technical knowledge, leadership & management and advanced digital skills are priorities, and 81% of employers are confident they will be able to support young people over the next year through training and engagement with education. Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director, said: “While four in ten firms are stepping up to the plate and boosting investment in skills already, there is still a long way to go to reach the levels of investment needed to reskill the nation. CBI/McKinsey research shows that pre- pandemic the world of work was changing, with nine in ten employees needing to gain new skills by 2030 to the Making up for skills shortages With a significant talent gap plaguing the country, investing in education and training is vital. 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:47 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 31 EDUCATION AND TRAINING © Shutterstock /Rawpixel.com tune of £13 billion a year. COVID has only accelerated this trend further.” He continued: “The Government needs to play its part too on skills and immigration. Longer-term, the Skills & Post-16 Education Bill is an opportunity to deliver on the confidence of most firms that they can meet skills needs in 3- 5 years’ time. To support individuals to gain new skills, the Government should make flexible, bitesize training more accessible before the Lifelong Learning Entitlement is introduced in 2025. Building closer local links between employers and education providers will also be key to supporting every UK region and nation to thrive and ensuring our economy can fire on all cylinders.” Indeed businesses, education institutions and government must join to ensure education and skills are fit for the future, and progress towards this can be seen in our region. Industry and education are coming together, allowing opportunities for tailor-made training for certain sectors, such as logistics and supply chain, for which a dedicated training and research facility has been developed at the heart of the ‘Golden Triangle’ at GLP’s Magna Park development in Lutterworth. The Centre for Logistics Education and Research (CLEAR) is aiming to help the sector address key challenges as the UK moves towards economic recovery and renewed growth following the coronavirus pandemic. North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) is working in collaboration with Aston University, Wincanton, supply chain partner, and investor and developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks, GLP to provide skills training and professional development at all levels across the spectrum of logistics and supply chain roles, to enable the sector to become increasingly agile, flexible, and resilient. Meanwhile, in Leicester, a project to deliver apprenticeships and accredited training for the textiles industry has been launched between the City Council, Fashion Enter Ltd, and clothing company Ethically Sourced Products Ltd. The Leicester Fashion Technology Academy (LFTA) is looking to work closely with local textiles and fashion manufacturing businesses and tackle the issue faced by many local businesses of struggling to recruit workers with the right skills, while helping local workers develop their skills to progress within the industry. Richard Olley, owner and Managing Director of Ethically Sourced Products Ltd, said: “The launch of the Leicester training centre will give real practical help not only to manufacturers looking to recruit new, or upskill existing employees, but to members of the community wishing to 32 Á 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:47 Page 232 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk EDUCATION AND TRAINING enter the industry.” Moreover Loughborough University, the University of Derby, Loughborough College, and the Derby College Group (DCG) joined forces this year on a £13 million plan to train the advanced workforce needed for the digital revolution. The East Midlands Institute of Technology (IoT) would level up the critical engineering, manufacturing and digital skills needed by employers to address the engineering challenges of clean growth by embracing the advanced skills required for AI and a data-driven economy. It would support students by specialising in programmes such as engineering and manufacturing technologies, information and communication technology, science and mathematics, and construction, planning and the built environment, and work closely with employers like Rolls- Royce, Toyota, National Grid ESO, Alstom, Fujitsu, Uniper and Bloc Digital, to ensure programmes level up the workforce with the right skills. A new IoT centre in Loughborough would be created, with students able to access all four sites, including world class training environments in Derby at the University of Derby’s Enterprise Centre and DCG’s Roundhouse technical and professional skills college. Whether this exciting bid has been successful in the institutes of technology wave 2 competition, with £120 million capital funding available, is yet to be announced by the Government (at time of writing). Aside from these new developments, our region is already the host to leading educational establishments and training facilities presenting a variety of options for businesses looking to enhance the skills of their workforce. Continuing Professional Development for example is offered by universities across the region to advance employees’ knowledge and skills, and there are a plethora of programmes supporting skill building, while businesses can collaborate with universities and other education institutions to offer degree apprenticeships that allow students to gain work experience while getting the qualification of a degree and professional accreditation. Of course apprenticeships generally have been put in the spotlight recently as an important component to providing the skills businesses need, and with cash incentives for hiring new apprentices (bonuses of £3,000 for every apprentice a business hires) extended until the end of January (2022) this may well be an attractive option for businesses. Similarly employers can claim a £1,000 cash boost for every T Level student they host on a high-quality industry placement between 27 May 2021 and July 2022. The new T Levels, which were introduced in September 2020, are a technical programme for 16 to 19-year-olds, that are the equivalent to three A Levels involving an industry placement of at least 315 hours, or approximately 45 days where students will build the knowledge and skills and develop the confidence they need in a workplace environment. As we move away from the pandemic, training in its many forms, for future and current demands, will be vital to creating the talent required across all sectors, or else the skills shortage will only intensify, hindering economic recovery and long- term growth. © Shutterstock /Roman Samborskyi 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:47 Page 3www.oms.uk.com 01530 833 533 info@oms.uk.com Helping you to perform at the highest level OMS have delivered consultancy and training services throughout the Midlands and UK for over 22 years. We are a leading authority in health and safety, employment, quality, environmental and business continuity management systems and training. Our tailored solutions support organisations throughout the UK. Could we help you too? Some of the benefits of using OMS 3 5 star Trustpilot rating. 3 Trusted by many major and local organisations to deliver consultancy and training. 3 Certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 & ISO 45001 for “The provision of Consultancy and Training Services” giving you the assurance that we have management controls in place to provide a quality offering safely, with minimal impact on the environment. 3 Easy access to our training centre, with free car parking, centrally located just a few minutes from Junction 22 of the M1. 3 Covid Secure training centre and head office. 3 Approved CITB touch screen (ITC) test centre, which allows you to attend a Site Safety Plus Health & Safety Awareness course and your touch screen test on the same day. 3 Wide range of health and safety e-learning courses. 3 Accredited to run a wide variety of courses at our training centre at Bardon Hill. 3 NEBOSH Gold training provider. Visit www.oms.uk.com, call us on 01530 833 533 or email info@oms.uk.com to learn more about us and how we can enhance your organisation. 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:47 Page 434 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk MEN’S HEALTH You’d be forgiven for thinking Movember was a bit twee, a lark that comes around each year giving men the excuse to unapologetically grow out their facial hair. There’s no denying the quaint side, but Movember is first and foremost a charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. This has become even more vital in the age of COVID, with caner sufferers more vulnerable to infection, and the pandemic having taken a toll on many men’s mental health. Typically, men don’t talk about their health and wellbeing with others. Toxic masculinity means they’re reluctant to bother anyone else with their issues, don’t want to feel demasculinised, or seem weak in other people’s eyes. Instead, they put up with pain, discomfort, and poor mental health, opting to stay silent. But it’s no exaggeration to say that this silence and inaction leads to death. How many suicides could have been prevented if that person had help? How many deaths could have been averted if men came forward as soon as they noticed a strange lump? How many men would still be here if they sought help as soon as they felt unwell? We need a cultural shift, one in which men don’t have to worry about losing their masculinity for seeking help, where men aren’t teased for having “man flu” when they’re ill, where we all support one another. Fortunately, Movember is leading the charge, changing perceptions and attitudes around masculinity whilst also helping to safeguard men’s health. The charity is nothing short of ambitious. By 2030, it aims to reduce the number of men dying prematurely from suicide, testicular cancer, and prostate cancer by twenty-five per cent. But, in order to achieve this, your support and donations are indispensable. It’s a sad fact of life that not every man can grow a moustache. For those who can, it’s a time to literally let their hair down – whether that’s with a carefully groomed tache, or a full-on beard. Don’t feel you can’t get involved if you’re moustache has never made it past bumfluff, though, as there’s a myriad of other ways to raise funds. Promoting men’s health Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men’s physical and mental health, but they can’t do it alone. 34-37.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:50 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 35 MEN’S HEALTH ‘Move for Movember’ sees participants running or walking sixty miles over the course of the month – a figure symbolic of the sixty men we lose to suicide each hour, every hour around the world. ‘MoRunning’, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary, is a © Shutterstock /fizkes 36 Á If you’d like to make a donation direct to Movember, visit uk.movember.com/donate 34-37.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:50 Page 236 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk MEN’S HEALTH We Are Cawarden The Destruction To Construction Specialists cawarden.com A family-owned and operated specialist contractor with over 35 years’ experience in delivering exemplary projects. We Are Cawarden The Destruction To Construction Specialists Showing our support with men’s health issues National Federation of Demolition Contractors Voice of the Global Demolition Industry WE’RE HERE TO help 01623 782 789 www.hopkins-solicitors.co.uk Do you need Legal Advice? Appointments by video-call or in-person in Manseld, Kirkby, Sutton or Nottingham Asbestos management surveys and reports, including demolition and refurbishment surveys. • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL • CONSTRUCTION • DOMESTIC • PASS (UK) LTD ASBESTOS SAMPLE TESTING KITS FROM £24.90 +VAT T: 01949 843055 E: info@passukltd.co.uk W: www.passukltd.co.uk series of 1.5k, 5k and 10k runs taking place across the country during November (you can find your nearest one here: www.mo- running.com/locations). Owing to the pandemic, the event went virtual last year, with people participating from their own homes, and this continues again for 2021 alongside in-person events. Not everyone is comfortable running in front of others, or are precluded from doing so because of mental or physical health issues; but this way, people can take part at their own pace alongside thousands of others around the world. You can also ‘Mo Your Own Way’ and choose an epic adventure challenge, whether that’s physical endurance or your own wildcard ideas, it’s a great way to use your physical strength, stamina, and good health to help others (and offer an encouraging example of positive masculinity in the process). For something a little less intensive, you can host a ‘Mo-ment’. Here you can put your own spin on things by organising an event, virtual or otherwise. This option is particularly suited to corporate environments to get the whole team involved (not just the ones growing moustaches). Whether it’s a simple get- together, a coffee morning, or even a teambuilding weekend, there’s a plethora of ways to host a shindig to raise money. Of course, you can just donate direct to the charity, be that a one-off or an ongoing monthly basis. With the money raised, the charity funds ground-breaking projects across mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. © Shutterstock /MS_studio 34-37.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:50 Page 3forget trans men in all of this. They may not biologically possess prostates or testes but deserve mental health support as much as any other man. They therefore have every right to participate in every kind of fundraising, especially growing a moustache for those taking testosterone who are able. From humble beginnings in Australia when two mates met up for a beer in 2003 and came up with the idea for the movement, to becoming the foremost men’s health charity in the world, Movember is an important institution, one with major industry and media backing, but one which needs your help. How are you going to help? www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 37 MEN’S HEALTH Since 2003, it has raised £598 million and funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world. Last year, to help address some of the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, it announced funding for thirty-four projects supporting the mental health and wellbeing of men and boys. A mass media behaviour change campaign aimed at encouraging millions of young men to talk about their mental health was also successfully launched. Despite the emphasis on men’s health, Movember is all about inclusivity. In 2016, for example, it partnered with Australia’s National Breast Cancer Foundation to fund research to transform the lives of both men and women. And women, dubbed ‘Mo Sisters’, are invited to take part in fundraising activities to support the charity and, by extension, their male relatives and men all around the world. However, it’s important not to How to help someone who’s struggling Helping a friend is easy when you know how. Follow these four steps from Movember to let the conversation flow. When in doubt just remember: ALEC. 1. Ask Start by mentioning anything different you’ve noticed. Maybe he’s spending more time at the bar, coming into work late, or missing social events. Trust your instinct. Remember, we often say “I’m fine” when we’re not. So, if you think something’s wrong, don’t be afraid to ask twice. 2. Listen Try to give him your full attention, without interruptions. Don’t feel you have to diagnose problems, offer solutions, or give advice. Just let him know you’re all ears, judgement- free. Follow-up questions are good too, they help let him know you’re listening. 3. Encourage action Help him focus on simple things that might improve his wellbeing: is he getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and eating properly? Maybe there’s something that’s helped before. Suggest he tells other people he trusts how he’s feeling. This will make things easier for both of you. And if he’s felt low for more than two weeks, suggest he sees his doctor. 4. Check-in Suggest you catch up soon – in person if you can. If you can’t manage a meet-up, make time for a call, or drop him a message. This will show you care. If you’re worried that someone’s life is in immediate danger, go directly to emergency services. © Shutterstock /Jacob Lund 34-37.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:50 Page 438 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk PUBLIC RELATIONS In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. Thank you Mr Tolkien for your kind introduction to my latest column on marketing! You see, the problem with MOST marketing is that it is all a bit, well, meh. It doesn’t make you feel comfortable like the legendary opening to The Hobbit, nor does it make you feel UNCOMFORTABLE. In fact, it rarely makes you FEEL anything at all. The reason? You aren’t telling stories. Thinking about it, you are probably not even consciously trying to but guess what, you really should! Try this: “It was just after I bundled Richard Branson through a security door that I knew I loved my job!” Or perhaps: “I started the day fibbing about the whereabouts of the former prime minister’s wife.” I’ve used these lines many times in my marketing career because they are the beginning of a story. The story of my career and how I help people with their PR. They lead onto how the dickens I got myself into that situation and they create we pulled onto the disused wasteland…” is a far more promising start to a case study about groundworks than the usual Client, Location, Size format! I know that writing does not come easily to many people but we don’t need War and Peace, in fact we need anything but that. We need something that breaks the monotony, that speaks to the target audience, that resonates with them. Ultimately, we need stories. So next time you start working on some copy for your ‘About Us’ page of your website, or an award submission or a case study, see if you can become a storyteller, even if just for a little while. Remember, you don’t need to be Tolkien to write a white paper on ‘Elf and Safety’! 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. Are you sitting comfortably? By Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR and the PR and Communications Ambassador for the IoD in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire intrigue. They entertain AND they inform. The problem is, far too much marketing that I see just focuses on the latter and honestly, it often fails to even do that. Just as the last edition of this magazine came out, I found myself face- to-face with David Walliams and if you’ve met me in person, that will give you an idea of how tall he is (see, I’m telling a story again). After some polite chit-chat and the obligatory photo-opp (David insisted) I made a note to write about this encounter for this latest edition. You see, David is not only the co- creator of Little Britain, a channel swimming charity hero, and panellist of Britain’s Got Talent, he is also one of the best-selling children’s authors of all time! We’re approaching J.K. Rowling levels! He has done this because he creates memorable and often outrageous characters - as we know now, some are no longer so well received! I’m not suggesting you have to go out there and start creating Gangsta Grannies or Billionaire Boys but it might help if you started to inject some more colour into your case studies at least. A lot of the case studies I read feel as if they’ve been written simply because a marketing expert like me told them it would help. They will, but only if they are something that will be read! “It was a crisp February morning when 38-39.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:53 Page 1PUBLIC RELATIONS 38-39.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 11:53 Page 2Next >