A specialist water engineering company in Scotland has spoken of the “transformative” affect the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board’s (ECITB) e-learning platform has on small businesses. A & L Mechanical, which has 53 employees, started using the Learning Experience Platform (LXP) at the start of the year after the ECITB created a bespoke online digital learning academy for the business based in Kilmaurs, Ayrshire. The LXP provides free-to-access online learning for all levy-paying employers from recognised e-learning providers. The platform has helped provide better access to training for all parts of the engineering construction industry, including small and micro companies,…
Author: Greg Robinson
In May 2024 HM The King and HM The Queen granted their first Royal Warrants of Appointment of the new reign. The grants were made to companies drawn from those previously holding a Royal Warrant of Appointment to His Majesty as Prince of Wales, who began granting Warrants in 1980. Companies were reviewed and 145 were granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment to HM The King. Of these, seven companies were also granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment to HM The Queen. The Made In Britain members below granted the honour of a Royal Warrant this year reflect some of…
An estimated nine in ten UK adults have experienced high or extreme stress in the last year with one in five needing to take time off work due to poor mental health. While it’s common for people to feel worried or anxious, it can spiral and impact an individual’s mental health which could lead to burnout. With a record 2.8m people in the UK currently off work as a result of ill health employers must be equipped with the right policies and benefits to support their employees. Adrian Matthews, Head of Employee Benefits at MetLife UK, shares his three top…
Rockinghorse Children’s Charity is fundraising to create a new Wellbeing Service to support thousands of children and families who currently access support through the Royal Alex. This dedicated service, developed with the help of an expert steering group, will expand on many of the wellbeing projects that the charity has funded over the last few years, such as sea swimming courses, art therapy, music therapy and woodland wellbeing days. But the crucial difference is that it will bring them all in-house and be able to offer them to a much wider group of children across more paediatric departments within the…
For many busy SME owners, researching and taking out the right insurance policy can feel like a burdensome task. Insurance can be a complex area, and with many products on the market, it can be difficult to know if you are choosing the right policy and level of coverage for your business needs. Below Mark Thomas is Founder and Director of Compare My Insurance explores some of the common mistakes SMEs make when it comes to commercial insurance, and the best practices for avoiding an insurance mishap further down the line that could leave your business liable, and you out…
Simply Asset Finance, the specialist business lending provider, has announced FY2023 profits of £5.5 million and revenues in excess of £52 million. As the business further expanded to support its small- to medium-sized business customers across the UK, its loan origination also grew to £1.3 billion to date. Founded in 2017 by a team of asset finance specialists in response to the overly-complicated SME financing process, Simply Asset Finance is streamlining access to finance for UK SMEs. Through its market-leading technology and a dedicated team of experts, it delivers a digital path to finance for small and medium sized businesses…
The glass is definitely half-full for one Sussex mum – as she prepares to take her growing fruit infusions business to a number of large food and drink shows in the South East and beyond over the rest of 2024. Michelle Pratt, a mum of two from Horsham, will be taking her brand Fruitology to the BBC Good Food Summer Show at Birmingham NEC from 13-16 June and Goodwood Good Food Festival from 16-18 August. And, alongside a number of other markets in Sussex, Michelle will also be showcasing the brand at the Surrey Gin Fest at Loseley Park on…
Responding to Office for National Statistics figures showing that GDP rose by 0.6% in Q1 2024, and by 0.4% in the month of March, Martin McTague, National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said: “The rise in GDP across Q1 brings the recession from the end of last year to a mercifully swift end, and comes alongside a notable rise in small business sentiment over the first three months of this year. “Our latest Small Business Index report for Q1 found that small firms’ overall confidence level rose into lightly positive territory after six straight quarters below zero,…
Dr Hugo De La Peña, one of the UK’s leading breast cancer consultants has raised £10,000 for Cancer Research UK after taking part in the London Marathon for the second time. Dr Hugo has worked as a cancer consultant for the NHS for over five years and has been actively supporting cancer charities throughout his medical and scientific career. He said: “The London Marathon is many things including a wonderful, unique victory lap from all the hard work, training runs and fundraising. The London Marathon will always be one of the best days of my life, but it is also a…
British job seekers don’t hear back from more than half (55%) of the jobs they apply for, according to new research from global matching and hiring platform Indeed. According to ONS data, there are 916,000 job vacancies in the UK, but with frustrations around the hiring process, these aren’t set to be filled quickly or effectively. The survey of 1,000 working people and 1,000 hiring professionals in the UK shows that the hiring process is inefficient for both job seekers and businesses, delaying the right candidate being matched with the right role. Not hearing back hurts job seeker confidence Silence is harder…