Inspire 27 July 2018

INSPIRE.27 The business magazine of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce July - August 2018

Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards 2018 Recognising human vision and endeavor from local Hertfordshire businesses - page 4

n Focus on

n BCC letter to

n New Membership

North Hertfordshire

Prime Minister:

packages

Business is good in North Hertfordshire - page 10

Time to 'fix the fundamentals' for UK growth - page 20

Membership designed around you - page 34

Harwood Park

The perfect setting to commemorate the life of your loved one

Crematorium and memorial gardens created and managed by the Austin family in the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside

01438 815555

www.crematorium.co.uk Keeping memories alive

On behalf of the Chief Executive I write this foreword on behalf of Ms Yolanda Rugg, Chief Executive of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, who has been absent from work for several months due to illness. I know am not alone in wishing her a full recovery.

The Golden Triangle Hertfordshire sits very close to the centre of the Golden Triangle between Cambridge, Oxford and London. It is also positioned nicely between Luton and Stansted Airports, it has the M25, Al, M1 running through it and borders the M11 and up to recently (although I am sure the current problems will improve) had a reliable train time table offer.

It means that Hertfordshire offers a great place to live and work. Its economy is to say the least diverse in nature, from financial and other services to high tech design, development and manufacturing with its own identity and not simply a commuter county to London. In saying this, undoubtedly many work in the City.

It also has its own University which recently received the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Gold standard, placing the University into a select few of Universities. Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce congratulates the University on this outstanding achievement.

The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce As a Chamber of Commerce, we are the BCC (British Chambers of Commerce) accredited Chamber of Commerce for Hertfordshire. The accreditation means that we are assessed every two years on aspects such as the financial health, membership support and governance.

This chamber is part of a network of 53 BCC accredited chambers throughout the UK representing some 75,000 businesses employing several million people. The chamber and its members are also, via BCC, part of the International Chamber of Commerce based in Paris and our members have access to the BCC international network of 41 countries.

An example of this might be where a business in Hertfordshire would like to export to Mexico, we can put that business in contact with the BCC representative office in Mexico City to assist.

Independent of this, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce have joined COBCOE (Confederation of British

Chambers of Commerce operating in Europe), potentially very valuable in terms of leverage to our members wanting to export to the EU after whatever our politicians conclude on Brexit.

We are also making investments to improve our services to our members but to also improve our own productivity with a new integrated CRM system. The particular system we have selected is currently in use in a number of BCC-accredited chambers in the UK. Looking at value for money (VFM) for our members, we have introduced a new membership scheme of Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum and against each of these categories there is a membership price and a corresponding value which is several times compared to the price of membership (page 34).

With our new CRM system we hope to be in a position on membership renewal to give examples of value the member has received during a year.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)... examples of what do we stand for Fixing the Fundamentals for UK growth (page 20) We will campaign tirelessly to ensure governments across the UK “get the basics right” to deliver the best possible environment for long term growth.

We will campaign for the improvements to mobile, broadband, transport, energy and water infrastructure that our business communities.

We will bring government and business together to prioritise training and skills.

Celebrating Enterprise and wealth creation We will be a strong voice for vibrant businesses of all sizes and sectors across the UK. We will celebrate the vast majority of firms who combine profit, people and place.

Achieving the ambitions of our cities, towns and counties We will ensure that the Government’s Industrial Strategy and other major policies focus on real-world business needs from bottom up.

We will remind our politicians that only thriving local business communities can deliver prosperity, social mobility, productivity and growth.

Demanding a practical, pragmatic Brexit deal We will campaign for HM Government and the European Commission to put the practical needs of business and economy first- and deliver a stable, workable Brexit deal.

We will prioritise getting answers to real-world business questions and call out unhelpful distractions of either side of the discussions.

Enhancing UK trade prospects around the world We will provide great services that support businesses’ trade facilitation needs through accredited UK Chambers of Commerce, our growing Network of International Affiliates and sister Chambers of Commerce across the world.

We will campaign for the practical needs of British firms as the UK establishes new trade policies and develops new trade arrangements across the globe.

We will be a strong voice for free and fair trade and against protectionism through our work with international organisations and with the World Chambers Federation.

Calling for a unifying vision and our pose for the UK We are relentlessly optimistic and ambitious about the future of the UK. But just as individuals and companies need a unifying vision and purpose, so does the nation.

Back to Brexit The BCC has surveyed its membership in terms of what businesses need.

The business issues People: Access to EU workforce, Business Travel, Staff transfers Funding: Horizon 2020, European Investment bank, ESIF funds UK Replacement Tax: Import VAT, Services VAT Regulation: Regulatory agencies, product testing, dispute resolution Standards: Industrial Standards Digital: Mobile roaming, customer data Trade: Tariffs, rules of origin, continuity of EU FTAS, business engagement structure, aviation Borders: Customs, inspections, declarations, trusted trader schemes, Ireland ESIF= European Structural & Investment Funds FTAS= Free Trade Agreements Inspire Hertfordshire Awards On the 7th June we held our Inspire Hertfordshire Awards at St Albans Cathedral (Pages 4-7). This is the seventh year we have run what is becoming the most special, prestigious and exclusive business awards ceremony in Hertfordshire, in my opinion. It is the second year we have used the Cathedral for this event and no one can question the atmosphere as the photographs show.

It is an evening of celebrating business and organisational success and achievement with some 320 people attending.

Chambers of Commerce throughout the UK organise annual Awards ceremonies and, when I was the President of the BCC, I attended many such events and I must say that the Inspire Hertfordshire Awards is amongst the best in class.

This year I was also pleased to present, along with the sponsor VWV solicitors, the “Outstanding Contribution to Business” award to Kristian Laskey Managing Director of Mettler Toledo Safeline X-Ray Ltd, Royston. But all winners and runners up are winners. We look forward to next year’s Inspire Hertfordshire Awards.

Forthcoming Chamber events We try hard to consider the membership geography in Hertfordshire when selecting a venue as well as the subject. Page 26-29 show the events in detail but I mention that Sir Mike Penning will give a lunch address at Shendish Manor, Hemel Hempstead and Adam Marshall, the Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, will speak at Devere Theobalds Park, Cheshunt, showing some geographical consideration. In the future we will also be introducing more breakfast meetings as well throughout as many parts of Hertfordshire as possible.

Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) I am very pleased to report that this Chamber of Commerce is working more closely with the LEP and on page 50 Mark Bretton the Chairman discusses developing a Local Industrial Strategy following from the UK Industrial Strategy.

We look forward to working with the LEP in enhancing the future of Hertfordshire.

By Neville Reyner CBE DL Hon DLitt Chairman, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce Hon. Past President of the BCC

Welcome Contents Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards 4-7 Inspirational Leader 8-9 Focus on North Hertfordshire 10-13 Hertfordshire Global 14-15 Patron Focus 16-17 Economy 20-21 Past Events 24-25 Chamber Events 26-29 Tourism 30-31 New Members 32-33 Member Benefits 34 Health & Wellbeing 35-39 Members News 40-43 24 Hours with...

45 Finance for Business 47 Skills & Development 48-49 Last Word 50 •••• Editorial and General Enquiries Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce MacLaurin Building, 4 Bishops Square, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9NE Tel: 01707 502180 Email: enquiries@hertschamber.com Web: www.hertschamber.com Chief Executive: Yolanda Rugg Publisher Ian Fletcher Benham Publishing Limited Aintree Building, Aintree Way, Aintree Business Park, Liverpool L9 5AQ Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: admin@benhampublishing.com Web: www.benhampublishing.com Published July 2018 © Benham Publishing and Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce Advertising and Features Karen Hall Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: karen@benhampublishing.com Production Manager Mark Etherington Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: mark@benhampublishing.com Media No. 1613 •••• Disclaimer Inspire is published for Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and is distributed without charge to Chamber members.

All correspondence should be addressed to Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

Views expressed in Inspire are not necessarily those of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce. Reprinting in whole or part is forbidden except by permission. ©2018 Please note that submitting an article does not guarantee publication.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in this journal, Benham Publishing and its agents can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributions in advertising or editorial content.

Benham Publishing cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in web or email links supplied to us.

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Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards

Inspiring Hertfordshire Inspiring Hertfordshire

Awards 2018

The 2018 winners

HEADLINE SPONSORS

Hillier Hopkins LLP BulletProof AWARDS SPONSORS Thank you

In the year of 1115, the St Albans Abbey, built with stone stockpiled from the old Roman town, was completed under the auspices of Abbot Richard d’Albini.

Some 903 years later it gave up its pulpit and pews to celebrate Hertfordshire’s brightest and best and the seventh year of Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards.

Congratulations to all the finalists; each year the standard of entry raises its bar.

The Awards and Winners

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COMMUNITY CHAMPION

EDUCATION IN EMPLOYMENT

FAMILY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Sponsor: Spire Harpenden Hospital

Sponsor: University of Hertfordshire

Sponsor: Ashbourne Insurance

Isabel Hospice

St Albans Girls’ School

In its 35 years it has assisted 56,000 patients, caring for those with terminal illness, supporting their families and providing palliative care. Its commitment to those they care for is evidenced in its provision of a broad range of services to those in need, and in raising significant funding and co-opting vast numbers of volunteers to deliver those services.

A whole school approach to careers education and employability, evident throughout the entry, was supported by a robust strategy and year-by-year approach to student development. It offers very impressive opportunities to different age groups of students and makes good use of its alumni and local businesses to ensure high levels of mutual engagement.

MCP Property Services The company has a clearly narrated history of family business operational success, with its core values embedded in its business. Their entry demonstrated how highly they value their reputation and the relationships they build, incorporated in its ambitious corporate social responsibility programme and the youth training scheme.

Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards

INVESTMENT IN YOUNG PEOPE Sponsor: Aubrey Park Hotel

Rothamsted Research The organisation’s policies and plans for young people’s development of employability skills singled this out as a winning entry. It gave excellent examples of diverse enterprise activities that were innovative and engaging and showed how young people are integral to its HR policies.

ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Sponsor: Mirage Health Group

FFE Ltd The company knows its sector and fully understands each of its overseas markets’ local needs. It demonstrated a strong growth, with a high percentage of export income, through its country-based pricing strategy, production process improvements for delivery time reductions and comprehensive training programme planning.

MOST PROMISING NEW BUSINESS Sponsor: Ambition Broxbourne

Big Reach Marketing The entry provided a very detailed application, with strong content and an uncomplicated approach to their business.

This digital marketing agency provides social media support based on their passion for excellent customer service and unique blend of training and education for their clients.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD Sponsor: CS Recycling

Green Building Design Consultants Ltd The consultancy demonstrated innovative steps to improve their customers’ credentials through design, build and technology.

It stays at the forefront of new technology to pass on advantages to their clients.

It offers environmentally sound and functional solutions through continual innovation and improvement.

EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE Sponsor: Austin’s Family Funeral Directors

Investment in Young People - Rothamsted Research

Lumina Technologies It was agreed this was a very impressive business with high levels of ethics and customer focus through staff training based on key performance indicators to deliver its cyber and internet security services.

MADE IN HERTS Sponsor: Barclays Bank

Mirage Health Group This category attracted very high quality entries; the passion for manufacturing and the employment of Hertfordshire citizens was deemed outstanding.

Mirage, manufacturers of high quality ear care products, demonstrated with conviction their export-ready strategies leading to flexible production team performances and impressive emphasis on stock control.

EXCELLENCE IN PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

Made in Herts - Mirage Health Group

Innovation Through Technology - 1st Line Defence

Sponsor: Tate Apprenticeships

Distinctly!

This winner is an online marketing agency supplying search engine optimisation, pay per click, content and digital PR services. Their entry produced a clear and concise business plan that included an investment in excellent people to drive superior client service, which was based on staff welfare, a healthy work culture and personal engagement.

Outstanding Contribution to Business - Kristian Laskey of Mettler Toledo Safeline X-ray Ltd (middle), Richard Phillips, Partner at VWV Solicitors (left), Neville Reyner, Chairman, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce

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Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards INNOVATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY Sponsor: Focus7 International

1st Line Defence This leading explosive ordinance disposal company assists the construction industry, insurers, local government and government agencies with risk mitigation services in the UK and around the world. In 2016, it dealt with over 7,000 unexploded devices. It has achieved sustainable growth and has clear goals and large ambitions based on investment in educating industries.

THE TOURISM AWARD Sponsor: Vibrant Partnerships

Aubrey Park Hotel This entry impressed the judges with its growth objectives, execution planning and investment in hospitality staff and in-depth training.

These activities were partnered with refurbishment and renovations programmes and the implementation of new systems. Its new green policy has also been rolled out to their suppliers.

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR Sponsor: Stevenage Borough Council

Martin Barrett of DCS Sonovision UK Ltd This entrant has introduced a flow of fresh ideas and innovation to the operation (defence, commercial, aerospace, energy, marine, electronics, construction and consumer markets) to remain competitive and to drive change, introducing also new technologies to bolster the firm’s portfolio.

In addition to contributing to the success of the business — increasing turnover, introducing new talent, improving overall effectiveness — he instituted a family culture that supports and develops staff.

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BUSINESS OF THE YEAR; North Herts Sponsor: REED Recruitment

DCS Sonovision UK Ltd This entry exhibited the results of its strategies for business growth as well as exuberant commitment to corporate social responsibility, engaging local supply chains and investing in people.

Its solid financial data, highly impressive turnover and profit growth together with an interesting client portfolio and division of income across five sectors raised it above other entries.

Community Champion - Isabel Hospice

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR; East Herts Sponsor: Longmores LLP Solicitors

1st Line Defence

An evening for jubilation and celebration

This entry was most impressive. An uppermost local business with nationwide reach and international ambition provided strong turnover data and excellent knowledge of its niche markets. Its robust growth is served by its expansionism in overseas markets and investment in plant and equipment.

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR; South Herts Sponsor: Silver Fox

Business of the Year; North Herts - DCS Sonovision UK Ltd

Saunders Architecture and Urban Design This company is an established business with commitment to people investment and clear objectives for growth.

The judges remarked on its approach to diversity, on their understanding of and response to changes in market trends and on their faithfulness to their community.

Entrepreneur of the Year Martin Barrett of DCS Sonovision UK Ltd (right) with Councillor Ralph Raynor: Stevenage Borough Council (left)

Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR; West Herts Sponsor: Porsche Centre Hatfield

Trinity Wealth Management Ltd

Business of the Year; South Herts - Saunders Architecture and Urban Design

This is a well-established business that is succeeding with its focus on business growth. Its evident integrity and corporate ethos are demonstrably based on its core values that it holds dear.

The entry was considered to be truly praiseworthy.

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR; Small to Medium Sponsor: Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership

1st Line Defence

Business of the Year; West Herts - Trinity Wealth Management

This award recognises a superb example of a fast-growing SME that has taken advantage of a niche opportunity, and exploited it fully. It is a market leader and a clear winner in this category.

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR; Medium to Large Sponsor: SA Law

Quanta Consultancy Services Ltd

Business of the Year; Small to Medium - 1st Line Defence

This award goes to a specialist role recruitment services company that has discernible training and development commitment to its workforce and nurturing of its client base, and a global reputation that has produced its significant net profit growth.

INSPIRING BUSINESS OF THE YEAR Sponsor: Hillier Hopkins and BulletProof

Isabel Hospice Funding for the Hospice has been greatly affected by government funding reduction; with one-third of income coming from the NHS and the remainder sourced by fundraising activities, legacy donations and charity shop

income — none of which is guaranteed. The Hospice has 732 volunteers contributing more than 87,000 hours.

The judges felt that in this time of austerity, the Hospice provide wonderful commitment, dedication and volunteer support and are an extremely valuable asset to the community they serve.

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BUSINESS Sponsor: VWV Solicitors This is awarded by the Chairman of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce in recognition of a businessman or women in Hertfordshire who has over a period of time made a seismic contribution to their industry or to business at large. It was presented by Richard Phillips, Partner at VWV Solicitors which sponsored the award, to Kristian Laskey of Mettler Toledo Safeline X-ray Ltd

Making it possible The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce thanks the headline sponsors Hillier Hopkins LLP (accountants) and BulletProof (cyber security services) for their generous support of these Awards and to the category sponsors.

Don’t hide your light These Awards recognise human vision and endeavor that add up to a value far greater than the sum of their parts. It has been a pleasure for Hertfordshire Chamber to run, administrate and promote these Awards and to bring everyone together to celebrate.

By Fiona Wilkinson (Guinea Fowl Creative)

Business of the Year; Medium to Large - Quanta Consultancy Services Ltd

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Inspirational Leader

Funeral director moves with the times You might be forgiven for thinking that the world of the funeral director does not change much people die, people are buried or are cremated in the way they always were.

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Inspirational Leader

“I am the tenth generation of the family to be involved in the business and I enjoy what I do. I enjoy the challenges, one of which is the way that the nature of funeral services is changing.”

But behind that sense of tradition, things are changing and for Claire Austin, Managing Director of Hertfordshire-based Austins, that means that she and her staff must constantly move with the times.

That, in itself, can be a challenge for a business that can point to a history which stretches back more than three centuries in the county.

The company was established in 1700, in Graveley, a small village in Hertfordshire. The original firm, W. Austin & Sons Limited, traded as a builders and undertakers, using its resources from the construction trade to make coffins and provide pallbearers, before becoming funeral directors.

Three centuries later, Austin’s is still based in Hertfordshire and Claire said: “We have to be aware of the company’s long history but you cannot afford to stand still in our business. You have to be aware of changing trends and move with the times.

“I am the tenth generation of the family to be involved in the business and I enjoy what I do.

I enjoy the challenges, one of which is the way that the nature of funeral services is changing.

“Previously, everyone wanted a sombre service, the kind they had when previous relatives had died, when everyone wore black.

“That is changing and more and more people see a funeral service as a celebration of a life that has been lived rather than a mourning of the person who has died.

“Families don’t want everyone dressed in black. Instead, they often encourage mourners to wear bright colours.

“Also, they like to include features which tell the story of the person’s life such as music.

As a company, we are adapting to these changes to make sure that we provide the kind of service they require.”

You might also be forgiven for assuming that the company’s long history means that it is well enough established not to worry about getting its name known.

She said: “Although we are a well-established business with a long history, advertising and public relations are hugely important to us.

“Ask people to name a funeral directors and many people will first mention the Co –op.

We now advertise in media not traditionally used by our profession such as on roundabouts and the back of buses.

“We have expanded the business and the communities we serve by new offices. I think it is important that our offices are on the high street so they are visible and accessible.

“Subliminal advertising is the key. People might not take much notice at the time but when they need a funeral director they will remember reading the name Austin’s.

Austin’s moved to Stevenage in about 1750 and are still in the same premises as well as having opened up a range of new offices across Hertfordshire, a process that is ongoing.

“It has become a very competitive market place.

Many people move into the area for work, family and social reasons and we cannot assume that these people will be instantly familiar with Austin’s.’

However, Claire and her team know that they have to constantly promote the business.

Claire values the family-run company’s independence and is determined to preserve it.

She was brought up with the business around her but thought it was important to have a career somewhere else first.

Consequently, Claire went into the Metropolitan Police to train and worked as a Fingerprint Expert and Forensic Scene Examiner for ten years.

Claire entered the business in 1998, initially as an assistant manager at the crematorium then taking over the group when her father retired in 2000.

Claire said: “We are aware of the large national groups in the funeral profession. Many of these grow their businesses by acquiring independent funeral directors but continuing to operate them under the original family name.

“I have two children and I do not want to be the person who, after ten generations, allows the company to pass out of the family’s hands. This is a family business and, as far as I am concerned, it should remain so.”

• The company has just revamped the website for its Harwood Park crematorium and memorial gardens, which can be found at: www.crematorium.co.uk

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Focus on North Hertfordshire

Churchyard, Hitchin

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Focus on North Hertfordshire

Business is good in North Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire is home to the vibrant market towns of Hitchin, Baldock, Royston and Letchworth, the world’s first Garden City.

The district is situated in an excellent strategic location between Cambridge, one of the fastest growing economies in the UK, and London with excellent rail and road connections.

Its five railway stations provide direct services north to Peterborough, north-east to Cambridge and south to Stevenage, Hertford and London.

Also, the A1(M) and A10 bisect the district in a north - south direction and the M1 is only a couple of miles further west.

The A505 runs east - west through the district and connects Luton in the west to Royston in the east and then onto southern Cambridge.

Luton Airport is on its borders and Stansted and Heathrow are within an hour’s drive.

The district hosts a number of internationally important businesses. Wilmott Dixon, the major construction company is based in Letchworth, LV Insurance has major offices in Hitchin and Samsung has a key service presence in Letchworth Garden City. Johnson Matthey,

located in Royston, is a world leader in environmental technologies and precious metal production.

However, the majority of businesses are of a small or medium scale. This reflects a high level of entrepreneurship and makes the economy resilient and adaptable to change.

The survival rate for small and micro-businesses in North Hertfordshire is very good, thanks in part to its high resident skills base, education facilities and partnerships providing business support.

There is a high degree of interdependency between the various sectors and with similar businesses in surrounding towns like Stevenage, Luton, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Welwyn Garden City and London.

warehousing uses, with prices considerably lower than nearby London and Cambridge. The emerging Local Plan for North Hertfordshire will also include significant additional new commercial and residential development.

Economic Development a priority North Hertfordshire District Council (NHDC) is committed to supporting businesses through its economic development strategy.

The strategy can be viewed here: www.north-herts.gov.uk/home /business/economic-development/ productive-north-herts

Mixture of commercial premises available

Support and advice is available to businesses in areas such as business development, energy efficiency, raising skills levels, developing the workforce, safeguarding, as well as providing employment opportunities.

There is a diverse mix of premises in the towns and villages of North Hertfordshire, offering a wide range of quality accommodation for offices, industrial and

The Council also has an Economic Development Officer, who can be contacted on economic.development @north-herts.gov.uk

Some of the organisations offering business support include:

Business Support Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) A business-led partnership between local businesses, academia, voluntary organisations and local government, with a remit to boost the local economy and create new jobs. The Hertfordshire LEP is helping to deliver initiatives such as grants for growth and growth vouchers to provide a key source of potential funding to businesses in the area.

For more information visit: www.hertfordshirelep.com/

The Growth Hub The Hertfordshire Growth Hub provides free support to SMEs in Hertfordshire. Their specialist business advisors work closely with a business to determine where they are, where they want to be, and what they need next, helping remove barriers to growth, plan for the future and achieving sustainable success.

For more information visit: www.hertsgrowthhub.com Cont p 12

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Focus on North Hertfordshire

Broadway Gardens, Letchworth

Letchworth business community continues to grow

Annual events such as the Letchworth Food & Drink Festival help the town to increase its popularity and attractiveness. The BID is currently looking forward to a brand new event - The Vintage Festival, which takes place during the last weekend of July.

Hitchin lives up to its reputation as a busy market town With a population of about 33,500, Hitchin is highly regarded as one of the busiest and most vibrant historic market towns in the country.

The organisation deals with the day-to-day issues of town management, which allows Hitchin Initiative, an award-winning town centre partnership, to look at more strategic issues and policies such as wider transport issues, cultural events and development.

It is a key retail and market centre, has a mix of industry, services and agricultural activity and is a much sought after residential location.

Hitchin town centre retains a rich diversity of independent businesses as well as a good representation of national brands.

With more than 600 businesses in the town centre alone, Hitchin’s business community has an innovative and trail-blazing track record of working together and in partnership with community groups and NHDC.

More than 80 shops and 60 cafes/restaurants are independently owned and Hitchin Market trades on four days each week. Food and drink are an important part of the Hitchin offer with award-winning restaurants and traditional pubs catering for an increasingly discerning clientele.

Hitchin BID, an organisation supported by NHDC, has made Hitchin a particularly successful business environment, where businesses are thriving.

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For more information visit: www.hitchinherts.com/hitchin-bid

As the first Garden City in the world, Letchworth’s neatlyplanned streets, attractive cottage housing and wide green spaces offered an alternative to the squalor of urban life in early 20th century Britain.

The visionary behind Letchworth Garden City was social reformer Ebenezer Howard and what he created here became a model for town planning across the globe.

Its unique heritage embraces a wealth of architectural styles from Arts and Crafts to Art Deco, including an original cinema built in 1936, the world famous Spirella Building and an eclectic Arts Centre.

Today, Letchworth Garden City is still a place of beautiful treelined streets and first class civic amenities. For shoppers, Letchworth Garden City promises a fine mix of

independent stores, national chains and top eating places, all within an elegant pedestrianfriendly town centre.

Businesses in the town centre, extending out to the Spirella building and Nexus offices on Broadway form part of the Letchworth Business Improvement District (BID).

The BID was formed in 2014, when businesses in the town agreed to come together to help combat the recession period, stem the rapid decline of footfall and offer something new to the residents of the town and beyond.

Under the ‘Love Letchworth’ brand, the BID has delivered successful annual events such as the Food & Drink Festival and the Christmas Gala/Lights Switch on, in addition to providing training support for local businesses, lobbying for improved parking and access to the town, and providing programmes such as the BID Awards.

The Letchworth BID Awards took place throughout the month of May. Since the launch of the Programme last year, customers voting for their favourite business increased four-fold totalling 4,500 votes.

David's book shop and café won the 'Community Spirit' award.

Pictured is Chris Gerard, Chair of Letchworth BID Board and the shop owner Paul Wallace and his wife Liz with Patricia Saunders, BID Manager.

Focus on North Hertfordshire In November, businesses will vote whether to continue with the services of the BID for another five years, re-starting in April 2019 with a new business plan.

Consideration is also being given to providing businesses outside of the BID District the opportunity to become voluntary members, contributing to the overall BID levy and receiving similar benefits.

For more information visit: www.loveletchworth.com/bid NHDC also works with the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation to promote business support.

The Heritage Foundation is a major landlord in the town with a range of properties across the office, retail and industrial sectors. They are also key supporters of the Letchworth BID. For more information on the Heritage Foundation business support offer visit: www.letchworth.com/ our-property/commercial

Independent businesses a key feature for Baldock Baldock is the smallest of the four towns in North Hertfordshire, located to the east of Letchworth Garden City, separated by the A1(M).

The local economy offers a mix of independent specialist retailers, business and leisure activities.

Baldock town centre has a strong local identity with its wide High Street and many attractive historic buildings within a small area, making it a unique gem of a historic market town.

The annual town festival, which extends for a fortnight in May, is one of the highlights of the social calendar.

Back in 2009, NHDC completed a multi-million pound refurbishment of Baldock town centre, a project which won national awards.

This transformed the town and brought a fresh vibrancy to the historical centre of the town.

Baldock is also set to be the location of a major new

Baldock Town Centre

business area designated under North Hertfordshire’s emerging Local Plan.

What makes St Christopher School stand out as truly independent St Christopher School in Letchworth Garden City is a distinctive school that has favoured a modern approach to education for over 100 years, confident that their forward-thinking methods and excellent results have stood the test of time.

An independent day and boarding school for girls and boys aged from 3 to 18, St Chris is set on a large, leafy 25-acre campus just a short train ride from London and Cambridge.

The School has long been known for its progressive approach to education where students are valued as individuals.

Head Richard Palmer sums up the St Chris approach as “promoting independence, creativity and happiness as a means of supporting students to become self-disciplined, successful and able to make informed choices.”

St Chris believes in the benefits of an informal approach – there is no

uniform and everyone is called by their first name.

There is a strong emphasis on promoting democracy and removing hierarchy at all levels of the School underpinned by the belief that all voices, from the youngest member of the nursery to the chair of governors, should be listened to and treated respectfully.

St Chris prides itself on the happiness of its students, and on each one of them reaching their own personal goals not a standardised notion of success – which can be a difficult value to uphold in a world of league tables and education reforms – however it’s this belief in its pupils and the School’s support of them that can see pupils fly.

Travelling to St Christopher Located only five minutes from A1M Junction 9, the School’s campus is located in Letchworth Garden City, with daily bus services and fast train links to London and Cambridge.

Open Days & Contact Information Saturday 22 September 2018 To find out more call 01462 650947 or email admissions@stchris.co.uk www.stchris.co.uk

St Christopher School

Hitchin move reaps rewards for CIPS Ltd CIPS Ltd, a Development, Project and Cost Consultancy firm, has been located in Hitchin for approximately 2 1/2 years and has experienced steady growth throughout this time, working in both the public and private, property and construction sectors.

MD Francis McPeake was previously based in Central London for more than 30 years, where he ran a much larger practice, but decided it was time for a strategic change and set up CIPS Ltd in Hitchin and hasn’t looked back since.

Francis had come to realise that the world does not revolve around SW1 and London based businesses. Being based in London was becoming unnecessarily expensive and not without infrastructure headaches.

It was certainly non-essential to the development of CIPS and Francis wanted to be closer to his clients; a large proportion of whom are based across the Three Counties in Herts, Beds and Bucks but also further afield in Oxford.

Francis and his team are regularly out of the office, visiting their clients and their sites and, with Hitchin’s superb infrastructure and proximity to London, they have found it to be a convenient location for work.

Equally, if not more importantly, according to Francis, Hitchin is also a cyclist’s Mecca.

A small market town, it is able to support three independent bike shops and that is due to the fabulous cycling opportunities in the countryside that surrounds the town.

As a keen cyclist himself, Francis has networked with the local community through cycling and, recently, CIPS entered a corporate team into the London Dulux Revolution, a 2 day 300km endurance ride around London which strengthened these ties even further.

CIPS is planning to create a networking group of local like-minded businesses and individuals who are interested in developing mutual opportunities in the property and construction sectors whilst out enjoying their bikes.

Francis says that there is already a strong network of property and construction consultants in Hitchin and the surrounding towns who are more openminded and engaging than some of the more established practices in London, who he says have tended to become a bit more conservative and less outward-looking over recent years.

Being Hitchin based allows his business, he says, to make the most of the personalised service that they offer at CIPS and they can only see this continuing into the future.

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Herts Global

Trading with Russia Let’s face it, relationships between the UK and Russia are at an all time low but over time bridges can be built and the diplomatic rifts can be healed, even the most venomous denunciations can be smoothed over and forgotten about, look at Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, no more “rocket man” for now.

With that thought in mind project yourself to a year or two in the future when relationships are not so prickly, Theresa May and Vladimir Putin are sending Christmas cards to each other once again, Brexit is out of the way and trade agreements are buoyant, I am forever the optimist.

So, why should you not be trading with Russia? it has the same needs that every other country has and can give a lot in return. In the south of the country there are some excellent vineyards that produce wine that would be difficult to tell from its counterparts in France or Italy, including Methode Champenoise, I can personally vouch for that.

The Russo-British Chamber of Commerce are our link here in the UK to that market and the 180 chambers of commerce scattered throughout Russia, Alf Torrents, the Executive Director of the Russo-British Chamber appreciates that the current climate has been a challenge but is pushing ahead with events to forge links and trade.

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HRH Prince Michael of Kent has been a patron of the chamber for many years and often appears at such events including the most recent one in June at BMA House in London, with keynote speakers such as the Russian Ambassador to the UK, Dr Alexander Yakovenko, and companies such as Ford, Nord Stream and Kaspersky Lab. On this occasion I was accompanied by two members of the Hertfordshire Chamber, Robert Bobroff from Symphony

Environmental, along with Toni Fenton and Victoria Barca from Bowman Ingredients as they both currently trade with Russia on a regular basis. Symphony Environmental produce additives to plastic products which makes them bio-degradable which is such a relevant topic at the moment, Bowman Ingredients provide specialist food coatings to restaurants, supermarkets and retail outlets around the globe. Both of the companies were interested in meeting new

contacts to enhance there current trading arrangements, the main person I wanted to introduce them to was Sergei Averin who is based within the Russo-British Chamber and the UK Representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation who is happy to help any of our members with contacts or trading issues.

Like most of these events you are never quite sure who will be attending but this one is always well attended and it may lead to your next export.

If you would like to contact any of the companies mentioned in this article please use the following links; Symphony Environmental Ltd www.symphonyenvironmental.com

Bowmans Ingredients www.bowmaningredients.co.uk Russo-British Chamber of Commerce http://www.rbcc.com Keith Moore International Trade Manager

Herts Global

The International Business Festival I have come to the conclusion the life of a politician is very unpredictable, you may think you know where you are going and what you are doing but then you may be hit with a three line whip and boom, all change.

The International Business Festival in Liverpool is an excellent opportunity to meet with global market specialists, companies and politicians but with the first two days coinciding with the Brexit debate in Parliament there were no MP’s in sight, I was also too early to see Prince William who was attending the following week as Patron of the festival, but that did not detract from the buzz,

atmosphere and truly international feel of the whole event with every continent represented.

There were many of my colleagues from the overseas British Chamber of Commerce whom I had never met in person before from Italy, Belgium, Lithuania, Finland, Latvia, Israel, Croatia, Bulgaria and Nigeria to name but a few and most being members of the COBCOE family (Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe).

There were also many other organisations who are also keen to trade with the UK now and post Brexit. Trade will go on regardless and lots of deals still to be made, especially in Liverpool.

It was a pleasant surprise to meet up with Andrew Harfoot and Dagmar Wulknitz, and their CEO Petra Wassner from NRW.INVEST, an economic development agency from the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany which has many excellent connections with their international airports, roadlinks

and containers ships down the Rhine. NRW have now opened up an office in the UK with a reception being held at the German Embassy that coincided with a parliamentarian delegation coming over from the German Bundestag’s Committee for economic affairs and energy.

The reception was being hosted by the current Charge d’Affaire Tania Freiin von Uslar-Gleichen who is the acting Ambassador of the German Embassy in the UK, and in her speech was keen to promote the close ties, friendship and the trading opportunities between our two nations, and to win over the British attendees on the night a television was installed as England were playing in the World Cup that night (we won).

It was really difficult to concentrate on her speech whilst looking at the match behind her at the same time, grateful that England did not score during it causing jumping and whooping to break out in the room as it may have caused a diplomatic row for being disrespectful on German soil.

At every event I have attended since the referendum on Brexit so many people have accepted the situation for what it is and made the best of it, UK goods and services are still the most sort after globally and the opportunities are there to be had if you want them, make the most of it.

Keith Moore International Trade Manager

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Patron Focus

Tate Finance – adding value in the Accountancy recruitment market For years, the perceived wisdom when it came to recruitment was that companies could have their pick of talent.

Applicants had to demonstrate that they were the right candidate for the vacancy; they were the ones selling themselves.

However, low unemployment rates means that has all changed, according to Steve Elliott, Regional Manager of Tate Finance.

Now, he says, it is companies that are having to sell themselves to candidates when it comes to recruitment.

With Tate Finance now becoming established in the market, Steve has the responsibility of overseeing the company’s activities for the Hertfordshire region, meaning he helps to introduce the new accountancy recruitment service, from transactional level through to senior qualified appointments

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across the region, to both clients and candidates.

do not want to move to just any business.

receive an honest and upfront approach from the company.

Steve said: “Our consultants are hungry and ready to solve recruitment needs with vigour and determination in a candidate-centric and truly consultative way.

“We have become a society of ‘reviewers’ – Trip Advisor, Reevoo, Amazon Reviews, Glassdoor and Google Reviews – we are checking items out before we buy a service or product so it makes perfect sense that candidates are turning into mini-private investigators.

“Tate consultants are trained in being a truly consultative partner in this, often consulting with businesses on not just salaries in the region but benefit packages as a whole.

We offer information on salary surveys and benefits packages through our immersion in the market place.

“Tate Finance was introduced into an established network of 30 regional offices to satisfy the market requirements.

“It’s not new news to say that the UK’s unemployment rate is at a 44-year low, but what is interesting in how all levels of candidates are coming to us with a decisive wish list for their next move.

“This is a career move that is not taken lightly in a pre-Brexit economy where they certainly know their value and equally

“They are investigating their potential future employers too so, as partnership recruiters Tate has to be one step ahead and have that information to hand.

“The days are long gone when a job spec is the only element a candidate has to decide on whether to join a company.

“We need to know the good, bad and ugly of a business and

“We need to find out all the best bits that a company has to offer, what its plans for Brexit are and what their future entails.

It’s a competition for talent – and we want the companies we work with to be the winners.”

You can contact Steve at Steve.Elliott@tate.co.uk Tel. 07824 846178

Patron Focus

Family company where core values drive growth Hertfordshire wall and flooring specialist Altro has embarked on an ambitious drive that aims to make it a truly global operation.

Based in Letchworth Garden City, the company has set itself a target of going from sales that are currently split 50-50 between the UK and the rest of the world to one where 75 per cent of sales come from abroad by the year 2035.

A key part of the process for CEO Richard Kahn and Organisational Development Director Tonia Millson has been the purchase two years ago of a manufacturing company in Germany.

Along with the UK and the Americas, Germany is the company’s third major target for increased sales performance and the German plant brought with it the promise of increased market share.

Richard, a third-generation member of the family that owns Altro, which was created by his grandfather, said: “The board took the decision that we wanted to be a global company and increase the proportion of our overseas sales without diminishing those in the UK. “We had been working with the German company for a number of years and bringing it to the Altro family fitted in well with

our strategy, particularly because Germany is one of our main target markets.

“It helped that it was also a family company whose values were similar to ours. Although we are a growing company with 130 staff in Germany and 700 in the rest of the world, we retain the values of a family business.

“We have a strategy that is based on respect for our customers and our staff. One of the things we do is invite at least 150 customers to look round our Letchworth plant every year and meet the people who work there.

“We have set ourselves the target of making a minimum of 50 business decisions based on what people say during those visits.

Indeed, listening to customers has long been crucial to the business and this has helped it become the first to produce safety flooring in 1954 and develop the world’s first wholly usable, reusable and recyclable flooring and the only fully integrated hygienic wall sheet and flooring system.

“We encourage a culture of openness and honesty amongst our staff. We want them to feel empowered and be fully engaged in an environment where mutual respect and integrity are paramount. We work hard to nurture this climate and to ensure that role model behaviours are instilled into the organisation. Our core values are “valuing our customers, valuing each other” and we strongly believe that bringing these to life is what differentiates us as a business.”

Ensuring that the open approach is replicated in the company’s operations abroad as the company expands its global reach is given high priority, according to Tonia.

She said: “There are challenges in acquiring a business overseas, as we did with the plant in Germany, one of which is ensuring that the values in which you believe are in place across our global businesses.

“There are other challenges such as language. Although we still think the acquisition was the right decision, it has taken a bit longer to get everything in place than we expected.”

Richard said: “Major challenges this year have revolved around the foreign exchange rate. We buy our materials using euros so our costs have gone up quite dramatically.”

Another challenge has been the slowdown in the UK economy for a company which sells heavily into the healthcare and education sectors, although it also supplies into areas including leisure, retail, social housing and transport (buses and trains).

Richard said: “Education and healthcare were sectors that were hit hard by the recession when the crash happened but we have been able to compensate by moving into other areas.

“We have also found that other countries are still investing in sectors like education and healthcare which has made the board’s decision to increase our global markets feel ever more like the right one.

“There is no doubt about the fact that the UK market is fragile and construction is having a difficult time but we are confident about the future.”

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DCS Sonovision UK, Inspiring Herts Awards DCS Sonovision UK has been a Herts Chamber of Commerce member for many years, but this year was our first year entering the Inspiring Herts Awards.

You can imagine our excitement when we found out that we were nominated finalists in all 4 of the categories we applied for. Coming in as finalists in Achievement in International Business, Business of the Year North Herts, Business of the Year M-L and our MD Martin Barrett was a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year.

For over 30 years we have been a leading supplier of support services to technical industries, providing Technical Publications, E-Learning, Graphic Design, Marketing and 3D Animation.

Because of the nature of our work, there is very little room for error and we work to an incredibly high quality standard, to exceed our customers’ high expectations of quality, delivery and service.

Our Quality Management System

is accredited every year and continual improvement is a big part of maintaining that accreditation.

When Martin and his new management team took over in 2016 Martin became an activist for transformation, there has been a marked change in turnover, with an increase of 44% in just 2 years. This and other company success led to our achievements being recognised by our parent group and we were awarded the ‘Ortec D’or’ (Gold) Award by our Ultimate Parent Company in both 2016 and 2017 for outstanding performance. This was also the first time in Sonovision history, that a subsidiary has won this prestigious award in consecutive years.

Because our customer relationships and satisfaction is strong we are rewarded with high levels of repeat business (some of our working relationships have been ongoing for over 31 years). We always knew we were a reputable company and while all this was fantastic, we wanted to take it to the next level and see if we could get official recognition externally, which is what drove us to apply for the Herts chamber awards.

We are immensely proud to have been announced the winners of the Herts Chamber of Commerce

‘Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards’ for Business of the Year North Herts AND for our Managing Director Martin Barrett to be awarded Entrepreneur of the Year.

It has been an incredible journey and we are so pleased to see our hard work and dedication being recognised in this way.

You can find out more about us online at: dcs-sonovision.co.uk

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Economy

BCC to Prime Minister: Time to 'fix the fundamentals' for UK growth Chamber business leaders from across the United Kingdom have written to the Prime Minister calling for a renewed focus on tackling the barriers to growth and investment in the United Kingdom - and a radical plan for action.

From a recent gathering in Manchester Chamber business leaders have called on the Prime Minister to balance the importance of securing the best possible deal with the EU with the urgent need to set out a compelling vision for UK growth and a bold set of domestic policies to fix the fundamentals at home.

Business communities throughout the UK are concerned about perceived inaction in Westminster and Whitehall on key domestic economic matters where attention and swift action are needed for the UK to succeed after it leaves the EU. Writing on behalf of the 53 accredited Chambers of Commerce from every region and nation of the UK, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), says: “Our future success depends not just on Brexit negotiations, but also on the big economic decisions that must be made here in the UK. It is time, Prime Minister, for you to set out a compelling, pro-enterprise and pro-growth vision for the future, and a bold set of domestic policies to make it happen.

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“It is time for you to tell business communities across the UK how your government will act – fast – to stabilise the faltering training and apprenticeship system and give clarity on migration rules, as businesses face unprecedented labour and skills shortages all across the country.

“It is time for visible action to rebuild our rutted and potholed roads, to use the resources of the state to build more homes, and to speed up the delivery of airport, rail and energy upgrades.

“It is time to eliminate the significant gaps in mobile and digital connectivity that continue to strangle business productivity and UK competitiveness – the central theme of our ‘No More Not Spots’ campaign.

“It is time to set a new mandate for HMRC and economic regulators to support, rather than pursue and punish, the small and medium-sized firms that can drive future growth and focus their enforcement activities on the small number of companies pursuing questionable practices that are ultimately paid for by the rest.

“After decades of delay and incremental change, it is time to tackle the huge costs and

complexities of the UK tax system, which actively discourage investment, risktaking, and the stronger export performance we all want to see.

“And it is time for your government to deliver a far more explicit blueprint to support economic growth in all regions and nations – including greater local decision-making, away from the centralising instincts of Westminster and the devolved administrations.

“Prime Minister, the many thousands of firms we collectively represent are clear: business as usual is not good enough at a time of significant uncertainty. A concerted drive to ‘fix the fundamentals’ would unlock business confidence and investment – and set the UK on a path to long-term growth, alongside a comprehensive settlement between the UK and EU.”

Economy

Southern businesses more confident about Brexit impact, survey finds Middle market companies across the South are more confident about the impact of Brexit on their company's performance than at any other time in the past year, according to the latest YouGov survey commissioned by leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM. RSM’s quarterly Brexit Monitor index, in which any reading above 100 indicates that businesses are more optimistic than pessimistic, found that businesses in the South recorded a score of 111 when asked about the impact of Brexit on their business over the next two years and 116 over a five-year period.

Both were the highest scores for the South since the Brexit Monitor began in June 2017.

The survey was conducted 18 May and 11 June. Respondents were asking to rate their confidence in the UK’s prospects of securing a good deal on a 0-10 scale, where 0 is ‘very unconfident’ and 10 is ‘very confident’.

A total of 348 interviews with respondents from mid-market firms (with turnovers between £30-£300m) across manufacturing (54), financial services (63), technology, media and telecoms (53), construction (60), consumer (66) and other markets (52) were completed.

Business from across the region are also confident about the UK government’s ability in securing a ‘good deal’; 47 per cent of businesses said they were confident about the UK

achieving a good deal, just over three times the number of those who weren’t (15 per cent).

Nationally, the survey found that optimism about the long term economic impact of Brexit has increased over three consecutive quarters.

John Taylor, RSM’s regional managing partner for the South, said: “Overall, middle market business sentiment appears to contradict rising fears that the UK government is losing ground in its bid to secure a deal that is in the best interests of the UK. “'Brexit will undoubtedly present many challenges, but our survey found that the region's businesses are feeling more confident in their own ability to offset these challenges. “'These findings perhaps underline the agility and entrepreneurial spirit which are hallmarks of the UK's middle market.

“'Put simply, many companies just want to get on with it, but the uncertainty means they are unable to make adequate preparations and to adjust their balance sheet and structures appropriately.”

RSM is a leading audit, tax and consulting firm to the middle market with nearly 3,500 partners and staff operating from 35 locations throughout the UK.

“However, as we have seen, there remains a real frustration among business over the lack of clarity over the UK’s future trading relationships.

“Nationally, the survey found that optimism about the long term economic impact of Brexit has increased over three consecutive quarters.”

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The University of Hertfordshire boasts two beautiful and modern campuses along with a bespoke day conferencing centre; The Fielder Centre. Our focus on becoming the UK’s leading business-facing university has led to the development of: • Large green areas • Modern meeting spaces • Learning focussed facilities • A 440 seat auditorium • Mock Crown Court • State of the art gym with Olympic size pool • Over 3000 en-suite bedrooms

In a constantly changing business world we can successfully deliver a variety of conferences and events all year round.

Please get in touch with a member of our team today to discuss your event needs.

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Past Events June Chamber Lunch:

The Benefits of Employing Ex Armed Forces, Reservists and Cadet Volunteers To Celebrate Armed Forces Day, we welcomed guest speaker Lieutenant Colonel Leona Barr-Jones who discussed how you can tap in to the rich talent pool of those leaving the Armed Forces, those currently working in the Reserves or with the Cadets and the National Awards that are available for businesses who support the Armed Forces.

May PA Club Guest Speaker, Rebecca Mitchell, House of Colour, discussed with our PA’s VA’s and EA’s how to best present yourself and stand out from the crowd in the work place, to translate their confidence from the inside to the outside. the topic of ‘Do too many school leavers go to university?’

Tour of Newsprinters The world’s largest Newspaper plant, based here in Hertfordshire, opened its doors to our members once again. in partnership with Ambition Broxbourne, members gained an insight in to the Newsprinters - a whollyowned subsidiary of News UK, who spoke upon its ambition of building the biggest and greenest newspaper plant while overcoming the challenges of declining print sales.

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Past Events Business Information Modelling Seminar Dr. Noha Saleeb, Associate Professor in Constructive and Creative Technologies, Middlesex University UK, spoke about the advantages versus challenges of adopting BIM within the whole lifecycle, as well as demonstrating Key Performance Indicators from previous case studies.

May Chamber Lunch With Research showing that 5% of your workforce produces 26% of the output, our guest speaker, Russell Beck, Head of Consulting, Impellam Group Plc, provided information on the tools needed to help increase the number of good hire in businesses.

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ChamberEvents

Forthcoming Business Events July Chamber Lunch: Address by The Rt Hon Sir Mike Penning MP Date: 25 July 2018 Venue: Shendish Manor, Hemel Hempstead Time: 12:00 – 14:00 Price: £30.00 members £39.00 non-members For our July Chamber Lunch, we are delighted to announce that The Rt Hon Sir Mike Penning MP will deliver an address covering a range of topics including the current political climate, the economy and local growth.

Mike Penning was first elected to serve the people of Hemel Hempstead in May 2005.

From July 2016 until June 2017 he served as Minister of State for the Armed Forces at the Ministry of Defence. He has previously served as a Minister in the Department for Transport, Northern Ireland Office and the Department for Work and Pensions, Home Office and Ministry of Justice. Mike was appointed a Privy Counsellor in March 2014.

This event should be of interest to anyone based in west Hertfordshire.

Porsche and Prosecco Date:

9 August 2018

Venue: Porsche Centre Hatfield Time:

18:30 – 20:30

Price:

£10.00 members £10.00 non-members

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If you love luxury cars and fine wine why not come along to this Chamber networking event and enjoy a wine tasting experience, courtesy of Wine2Trade, while studying all the stunning cars on display at the Porsche Centre Hatfield showrooms.

INSPIRE

All Price quotes include VAT at 20% unless otherwise stated

Use this great opportunity to meet with members and non-members alike, make new business contacts and enjoy a glass or two of Prosecco, together with a number of other fine wines.

ChamberEvents For more information on any event: 01707 502180, bookings@hertschamber.com or www.hertschamber.com

August Chamber Lunch: With British Chambers of Commerce Director General Date: Venue:

16 August 2018 DeVere Theobalds Park, Cheshunt Time: 12:00 – 14:00 Price: £30.00 members £39.00 non-members We are delighted to announce our guest speaker for this event is Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of British Chambers of Commerce, who will provide an overview of the economy and the current status with

regard to Brexit and its impact on business.

Adam Marshall was appointed Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce in October 2016. His principal role is to represent and champion the interests of accredited Chambers of Commerce and their tens of thousands of business members – covering every size and sector of business and employing over five million people in the UK.

Herts Chamber Summer Social at Watford Football Club

Previously, Adam served as the BCC’s Executive Director for Policy and External Affairs (July 2009 – March 2016), and as Acting Director General (March – October 2016)

Date: 23 August 2018 Venue: Watford Football Club, Vicarage Road Stadium, Watford Time: 12:00 – 14:30 Price: £30.00 Join us on Thursday 23 August for our Summer Social event, this year being held at Watford Football Club. This event will offer the opportunity to view the stunning new hospitality entrance, which also includes Watford’s first private champagne lounge, ‘The CARBON’, and provide an excellent chance to network with friends and colleagues over a delicious two-course lunch.

Ex-Watford FC player and guest speaker, Richard Johnson, will then provide an overview of the inspiring changes that the club has seen over recent years and insights from the past. So make the most of this opportunity to meet with Chamber members and non-members in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoy a fabulous social event.

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All Price quotes include VAT at 20% unless otherwise stated

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ChamberEvents

Forthcoming Business Events Women in Leadership Lunch Date: 6 September 2018 Venue: Knebworth Barns Conference Centre, Knebworth Time: 12:00 – 14:00 Price: £30.00 members £39.00 non-members This month's Women in Leadership event will be held at Knebworth Barns and we are delighted to announce that our speaker will be Suzanne Westlake, Head of Corporate Responsibility & Corporate Affairs at Ocado, the world’s largest dedicated online grocery retailer.

Managing Ocado’s ‘2020 Vision’, Suzanne leads the strategic direction

and implementation of the company’s corporate responsibility strategic pillars – Education, Environment, Entrepreneurship and Eating Well redistributing food waste, reducing GHG emissions, and increasing opportunities for education inside and outside the business.

Prior to joining Ocado in May 2014, Suzanne was Corporate Responsibility Manager, DHL UK for 8 years and before that BAA where she was Sustainability Manager. Suzanne has a Degree and a Master’s in Food & Nutrition and graduated from Warwick Business School with an MBA in 2003.

September PA Club: Dealing with difficult people

Date: Venue: Time: Price:

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13 September 2018 Sopwell House, St Albans 12:00 – 14:00 Free members £10.00 non-members INSPIRE

All Price quotes include VAT at 20% unless otherwise stated

As a PA or EA, you will be used to juggling the needs and demands of the business, or clients you work for. That’s part of the job, right - as well as a cool head, amazing organisational skills, multitasking, the ability to mindread who you work for and turn brief notes and ideas into a work of art. Does this sound familiar?

Are you highly professional and customer-orientated,

but often come across challenging situations?

Then this talk is for you.

Our speaker, Sarah Jones started her career in London as a PA on a busy trading floor in the square mile – and dealt with her fair share of interesting characters! Sarah will be sharing the tips she has learnt and a few anecdotes along the way.

ChamberEvents For more information on any event: 01707 502180, bookings@hertschamber.com or www.hertschamber.com

September Chamber Lunch Date: Venue: Time: Price:

20 September 2018 Beales Hotel, Hatfield 12:00 – 14:00 £30.00 members £39.00 non-members

Join us on 20 September 2018 for our monthly networking lunch at Beales Hotel, Hatfield. These events are intended to provide an opportunity for business networking and each month we invite a guest speaker to inspire and motivate you.

The speakers for our September Lunch will be Giles Ellerton, Giles Ellerton,

BT Regions Director and Javid Bhatti, BT Local Business Managing Director, who will provide an overview of the latest developments within British Telecom which will affect SMEs and the local economy. This will include an update on the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) contract.

Maximising Your Professional Impact Date: 16 October 2018 Venue: The Maylands Building, Hemel Hempstead Time: 08:30 – 10:30 Price: £10.00 members £120.00 non-members This event is delivered by Glow Training and is designed to harness the ‘secret’ theatre skills actors use to have charisma and presence on stage and applies them in the real world to help professional people be more confident, impactful and successful in the

situations they face day to day, helping you to unlock your "Glow".

Glow’s mission is to provide world class communication and impact skills to those companies and individuals that need them and to charities and third sector organisations whose important messages deserve them. The sessions are fun, experiential and engaging and the skills are easy to learn and easy to apply back at work and have been embraced successfully by hundreds of clients throughout the UK and across Europe over the last 11 years.

INSPIRE All Price quotes include VAT at 20% unless otherwise stated

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Tourism

Hertfordshire’s Hidden Gem Never before has North Mymms Park been available for private conferences, weddings and events, which means that whatever you are planning, it will truly be the first of its kind!

Now under new ownership, from 2018 onwards North Mymms Park will be opening its gates for the first time to host a variety of events – from film shoots, conferences and team building days to exclusive Weddings and Great Gatsby Christmas Party Nights in their Mansion House!

With a long-standing history dating back from the 16th century, North Mymms Park is one of Britain's finest Elizabethan Homes set in the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside. It is easily accessible and conveniently located, only 30 minutes from London and has excellent transport links nearby. It

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provides a comprehensive range of facilities to encompass all your corporate needs. There are over 15 conference and function rooms of varying sizes, holding up to 150 guests in the largest.

In the heart of the estate lies a Grade I listed Mansion House with stunning function and meeting rooms as well as exclusive bridal suites on the first floor. The oak panelled rooms within The Mansion House are soaked in history and it boasts several manicured gardens including The Rose Garden, Walled Garden, Blue Garden and Italian Garden.

All of this coupled with a picturesque country backdrop

makes it perfect for memorable photos that will last a lifetime.

Their main Conference Centre, The Stables, a Grade II listed refurbished stable block provides an idyllic, secluded location and can accommodate up to 100 delegates in its largest meeting room, The Walsingham Suite.

With 28 en-suite double bedrooms just across the courtyard it really does provide an ideal space for learning, development and communication.

“We are so delighted to have the opportunity to showcase this historic venue and its grounds,” said Sarah Organ, Conference

and Wedding Coordinator at North Mymms Park. “By offering two versatile venues for small and larger numbers, as well as our Great Gatsby Christmas Party Nights, we hope to be able to share a little bit of magic with the world.”

Its Day Delegate rate starts from £89 per person and they will be providing bespoke quotes for weddings and events. They will of course be offering discounts throughout 2018 for its first cherished customers!

To book a tour or meet our corporate event team please email info@northmymms.co.uk or call 01707 629 777.

Tourism

Game ~ Set ~ Match Sopwell House Wimbledon Afternoon Tea One of the highlights of the UK’s summer season is Wimbledon. To celebrate Sopwell House will launch a grand slam Wimbledon Afternoon Tea, available until 15 July 2018.

The Wimbledon Afternoon Tea will feature an array of British treats including gorgeous Wimbledon themed cakes, as well as a classic Pimms & cucumber jelly and strawberries and cream. The tea will be complete with warm baked scones and freshly made sandwiches, accompanied by a chilled glass of Taittinger Rosé Champagne.

Available from 12.30pm until 5pm, the Wimbledon Afternoon Tea will be served in the Cocktail Lounge and Conservatory, priced at £44.95. The tea will be half price for children under the age of 14 years old.

Wimbledon Afternoon Tea Menu Cakes Pimm’s & Cucumber Jelly Sopwell Battenberg Pistachio and Lemon Macaroon

Sopwell House is a stunning 18th Century Georgian house located in the city of St. Albans deep within the Hertfordshire countryside. Located only 20 minutes from London St. Pancras, the hotel is the idyllic getaway just outside of the hustle and bustle of the capital. The hotel is the perfect place to dine boasting a 2AA Rosette restaurant, a vibrant Brasserie, an elegant cocktail lounge, and conservatory bar, all of which look out on 12-acres of beautiful gardens.

Fresh Strawberry Tart Chocolate Opera Lemon Drizzle Cake and Mango Truffle Praline Éclair

Plain & Fruit Scones Sandwich Selection Smoked Chicken on Mediterranean Bread Cucumber & Cream Cheese on Basil Bread Smoked Salmon & Cracked Black Pepper on Brown Bread Egg & Cress on White Bread

Sopwell House, Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, AL1 2HQ For reservations, please call: 01727 864477 www.sopwellhouse.co.uk

Do you need to book a new venue in Hertfordshire?

Make sure you follow us on Twitter: @HertsCVenues Other conference venues in Hertfordshire interested in the Hertfordshire Chamber Venues website please contact Nick Fox at nickfox@hertschamber.com or visit the website www.hertschambervenues.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/HertsChamberVenues

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New Members

Welcome to new members ADC Financial Limited

Medinox

Finance Broker providing asset based lending (ABL) to SME Business Market amanda@adcfinancial.co.uk www.adcfinancial.expert/ 07921 004132 Squirrels Drey, 12 Woodfield Road, SG1 4BP

Branded & private label to wholesale & pharmacy offering orthopaedic support, medical essentials etc avnish@medinox.co.uk www.medinox.co.uk Unit 8001 - 002, The Chocolate Factory, 5 Clarendon Road, N22 6XJ

Faye Weatherhead (Solopreneur)

My Energy Consultants Ltd

Empowering Consumers regarding self, family, home & lifestyle through local community education faye@yrconsumerfairy.co.uk www.yrconsumerfairy.co.uk 07906 456841 8 Meadow Road, Bushey, WD23 3PW

Energy Consultant, green energy, connections, installations, any related to supply khaled@myenergyconsultants.co.uk http://myenergyconsultants.co.uk 0203 4883000 Great North Business Centre, North Place, 82 Great North Road, AL9 5BL

MCP Property Services Ltd

Pelican Print & Design Ltd

Repairs and Maintenance Services for the social housing sector mattc@mcp.community http://mcp.community/ 01920 465111 Unit 9, Gentlemans Field, Westmill Road, SG12 0EF

Litho, Digital & Large Format commercial printing richard@pelicanprint.co.uk www.pelicanprint.co.uk 01296 422100 Unit 14 Stocklake Park, Farmbrough Close, Aylesbury, HP20 1DQ

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Sapientior Ltd (Business Information Risk Management Consulting) Specialists in business information risk management consulting@businessinforisk.co.uk http://businessinforisk.co.uk 0845 4631624 6 Maple Green, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 3PY

The Gifted Organisation Limited Supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged young people info@thegifted.org.uk www.thegifted.org.uk 01992 623 888

Vantage Computing Service management & billing software, designed for the MPS, managed service & office tech. markets _VantageLtd info@vantagecomputing.co.uk www.vantagecomputing.co.uk 01462 791120 Meadow Barn, Fairclough Hall Farm, Halls Green, Weston, SG4 7DP

New Members

Personal relationships are always the key to good business. You can buy net working; you can't buy friendships.

Worldpay Merchant payment services, card payments, contactless card machines.

Cost effective, fast & secure dave.wareham@worldpay.com www.worldpay.com 0808 2532132 The Walbrook Building, 25 Walbrook, EC4N 8AF

All our members have several things in common; a desire to expand their local network, meet likeminded people, and most importantly to have fun while they are doing it.

Come and join us and see for yourself

www.hertschamber.com For more information or to discuss how we can help you, please contact us at:

Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce T: 01707 502180 E: enquiries@hertschamber.com INSPIRE

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Chamber Benefit

Herts Chamber Membership

Membership designed around you For more than 90 years, we have been supporting Hertfordshire Businesses, over that time we have gained a wealth of knowledge and are proud of the wide range of businesses within the community.

Over time, we have noticed the needs of our membership community change. As your local accredited chamber we have improved our membership packages, so you can gain the best possible value for money as well as making the most out of the Herts Chamber of Commerce business benefits.

From multi-nationals to newly established small start-ups, we have a level of membership that will deliver

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N E W Chamber Packages Our new membership structure brings you four different packages: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

Each with a specific set of benefits to support businesses in connecting, collaborating and growing.

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excellent value. The packages support a range of company needs, be it networking and meeting new contacts, export services or HR and Legal advice.

As part of the new membership offerings we will be providing every member a “value statement” annually, so you can have evidence of the value of being a member of Herts Chamber of Commerce.

As the accredited Chamber of Commerce for Hertfordshire, we can also offer a wider range of benefits to support your business needs and full information can be found on the chamber website:

If you are already a member of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce we will be contacting you prior to your renewal, but if you would like to know more in advance please contact Amy Rich on 01707 501 188 or email amyrich@hertschamber.com

www.hertschamber.com/business-benefits

• Bronze: The Bronze package is recommended for sole traders or businesses with less than five employees who are looking for support with marketing, promotion and growing their network.

• Silver: The Silver Package includes everything in our Bronze package with the added benefits of export support, advice and discounts on European Certificate of Origin documentation. At this level there is also access to free Chamber HR + Legal support via Consulting with over 750 downloadable documents and 24hr advice lines.

• Platinum: The Platinum Package includes several benefits to support your business. Make use of Peer-2-Peer introductions via your account manager and a free place at the British Chamber of Commerce Annual Conference in London.

In addition, receive a free place at one of our black-tie dinners (Excluding our awards) with this package as well as everything in all our other packages. As a platinum member, you may also have the opportunity to become a benefit partner.

For full details on all our packages, please visit www.hertschamber.com/join-us If you would prefer to speak to one of our knowledgeable representatives, please contact the chamber 01707 502 180 or enquiries@hertschamber.com

We are delighted to announce we have launched a new benefit for our members, E- Learning via E Careers.

This is a great way to boost your knowledge or upskill your workforce.

As a chamber member you will be entitled to a 10% discount on all courses.

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• Gold: The Gold Package helps to support members with everything in the Silver and Bronze Packages, as well as receiving extra benefits such as: The British Chamber of Commerce weekly updates including Economic outlooks, policy work and latest business stories. Gold level membership also allows members to submit top tips to our membership community via our website.

With the Gold Package, members will also receive a visit once per year from a dedicated account manager.

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“In a time of uncertainty, we understand the need for clarity, consistency and value for money (VFM). We have developed new membership packages, designed specifically to enhance our members experience, giving them a VFM statement against each membership category, support through networking, their future growth and success” Neville Reyner, CBE DL Hon. DLitt, Chairman, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce

Don’t take a chance with your healthcare 1983, the year Spire Harpenden Hospital opened it’s doors. It’s been 35 years and we remain the experts in private healthcare.

With appointments available within 48 hours, specialist consultants, fixed prices and a team of experts to look after you, it’s no wonder that we have had thousands of satisfied patients.

Spire Harpenden Hospital covers a wide range of services including orthopaedic surgery, physiotherapy, urology, men and women’s health and diagnostic imaging including X-Ray, MRI, and CT. You can choose to use your medical insurance or self-pay for your treatment.

01582 787 005 ‘Spire Harpenden 35 years’ www.spireharpenden.com

Health & Wellbeing

Give yourself the advantage with Spire Harpenden Hospital What is tennis elbow?

Tennis elbow is a degenerative disease caused by a strain to tendons in the forearm.

Pain is caused as the tendons attached to the outside of the elbow become inflamed.

This type of strain is a result of activities that involve gripping and twisting of the forearm and despite the name, many cases are unrelated to the sport tennis.

Although the repetitive strain of tennis sometimes causes tennis elbow to occur in players, it’s not always the case.

What can I do to manage tennis elbow?

Avoiding the activities that aggravate the pain is the best first step, as well as taking anti-inflammatory medication and wearing a tennis elbow brace. Self-management of early

symptoms can be very effective and in many cases of tennis elbow, simple self-help treatments can clear up the symptoms within two weeks. However, if symptoms don’t improve within a reasonable time, our team of specialist physiotherapists are on hand to help you.

What can Spire Harpenden do to help?

The best proven treatment for tennis elbow is physiotherapy.

Although exercises and sessions with a physiotherapist may be slightly uncomfortable, the long term effect is huge. Physiotherapy will help manage the pain as well as improving your strength and flexibility, in turn reducing the risk of a recurring injury.

Rob Westney, Spire Harpenden’s Physiotherapy Manager said, “Tennis elbow is classified as a tendinopathy, not tendonitis

as was previously thought, as it is rarely inflammatory in nature.

It is a condition associated with over use of the tendon, causing the tissue to break down, and then repair itself again, but in an immature way, before breaking down again. This leads to a weakness in the structure creating pain and discomfort.

Physiotherapists may try to address the balance of any tissues and make functional changes to offload the tendon using stretches, strengthening exercises for the tendon, taping and acupuncture.”

What if physiotherapy doesn’t work for me?

If physiotherapy doesn’t solve your aching pain, we have a great team of specialist orthopaedic consultants who regularly treat such problems.

The consultant would examine the elbow, sometimes using

investigations such as X-rays, or MRI scans to confirm the diagnosis and rule out any other causes of pain. Surgery may be suggested in some cases, usually if the pain is causing the patient disability and hugely affecting their everyday life.

About Spire Harpenden Hospital Spire Harpenden Hospital is here to support you whether you need orthopaedic surgery, physiotherapy or any other treatment. With a choice of consultant, no waiting lists and expert private healthcare, you can get back to the swing of things in no time.

Visit our website: www.spireharpenden.com or call us today on 01582 787 005

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Health & Wellbeing

Variety Act While your employees can certainly benefit from the more traditional facilities Everyone Active has to offer, we’re so much more than sports halls, swimming pools and gyms.

Discover precisely what else your employees can enjoy thanks to your corporate partnership with Everyone Active.

We all know the benefits to linking up with a leisure operator and offering discounted membership to employees as part of their employment packages. Not only will a happy and motivated workforce be more productive and profitable, but healthier employees will also take fewer sick days, further upping productivity, while saving the business cash at the same time.

But with discounted gym and leisure centre memberships such a common employee benefit at the moment, what can you do to ensure you attract the best new staff and help retain your best employees at the same time?

Well, Everyone Active isn’t the average leisure operator. Beyond the standard offerings like gyms, swimming pools and sports halls, it offers a huge variety of activities for your employees to enjoy, with several such centres found within Hertfordshire.

For example, Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre in St Albans includes a luxurious spa alongside all the other facilities, such as a gym and swimming pool, while the Jarman Park athletics track has everything the budding athlete could want or need. Meanwhile, Everyone Active is taking over the management of the Rickmansworth Golf Course as of 1 July this year, further adding to the variety of activities at your employees’ disposal.

Should any of your employees wish to soak away the stresses and strains of the working day, the Verulamium Spa is the perfect place to relax and unwind, enabling them to recharge their batteries and refresh themselves ready to work.

There’s a whole host of treatments available in five luxurious treatment rooms, including a couple’s suite, alongside heat and water facilities, including a pool, steam rooms and a sauna.

Jarman Park is the ideal place for any athletics-obsessed employees to hone their art – whatever discipline they may enjoy the most – while any that may wish to take up athletics can do so for a reduced price. The eight-lane, 400m running track is ideal for sprinters, middle-distance and long-distance runners alike to hone their skills and fitness levels, while the jumping pits are ideal for both triple-and long jumpers. The centre also boasts a shot put ring hammer and discus cage, as well as high jump and pole vault facilities, meaning we cater for just about every athletic discipline.

Also, for those employees who like to take to the fairways every now and then, Everyone Active will shortly be taking over Rickmansworth Golf Course. Set in the stunning Moor Park estate, this challenging, yet fun course is ideal for beginners and experienced players alike and will be perfect for team away days or for employees to enjoy away from the working environment.

Not only will these make fantastic corporate days out, or team-building sessions with you and your employees), but with a corporate discount deal with Everyone Active, all your employees will be able to enjoy these fantastic facilities at their leisure as part of your deal with Everyone Active.

To find out more about corporate membership packages with Everyone Active, why it can benefit your business and how our fantastic variety of available facilities can help both you and your employees get active, have fun and get healthier, please visit us at

www.everyoneactive.com/corporatemembership 38

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Our Hertfordshire private medical Clinic

Why wait to see a hip or knee Consultant

Specialists in hip, knee, ankle, wrist and shoulders Same day MRI and X-Ray appointments Pay monthly with 0% credit or use medical insurance We’re open 7 days a week, including evenings and weekends

Your care starts here 5 minutes from Junction 8 M1 10 minutes from Junction 21 M25 Free parking

01442 331 900 onestopdoctors.co.uk Boundary Way, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 7YU

Members News

Ashbourne sponsor of Charity Fundraiser ‘Ambition 2018 Sales & Marketing Conference’ For the fourth year running independent and family-run broker Ashbourne Insurance are sponsors of this year’s “Ambition 2018 Boost your Sales & Marketing” Conference, an inspirational charity fundraising event.

All the Sponsors and partners together with representatives from the chosen charities, The Muscle Healp Foundation and Tamba Bereavement Group… in a Muscle Warrior salute!

A ordable health cover that puts my sta rst and works harder to keep them healthy...

Works for me. west eldhealth.com

Your membership of The British Chambers of Commerce gives you access to innovative, a ordable health cover with an exclusive range of bene ts.

Together, we’ve developed the Chamber Primary Health Plan that will work harder to make your sta feel more valued and motivated, and encourage them to be more proactive about their health.

The plan helps policyholders to access essential healthcare, diagnosis and treatment, provides money back towards selected medical expenses, and can be combined with our hospital treatment insurance to provide truly continuous cover.

As a leading provider of corporate health insurance, nobody works harder to keep your employees at their t and healthy best than West eld Health.

To discover the full bene ts of harder working health cover, contact us now.

0345 602 1629 west eldhealth.com/chamber

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It takes place on Wednesday 14th November 2018 between 930am and 4pm at The Spotlight Theatre, Hoddesdon. Over the past three years profits raised for charity has reached more than £10,000 in total.

This year Ambition 2018 is aiming to raise more than £4000 to be split between two worthy charities, namely The Muscle Help Foundation and The Tamba Bereavement Support Group.

Last year’s event was attended by approximately 100 delegates from various sectors including manufacturing, law, finance, local government, start-ups and others from across the county.

Ambition 2018’s line up of professional speakers includes: David Thomas: He is a published author, his life story being turned into a Sunday Times #1 bestselling book. Along with his other two books, he has had a worldwide readership of more than one million people.

Julie Creffield: Julie is the plus size marathon runner turned life coach behind the Too Fat to Run global fitness brand. From the stage at Ambition she is going to show attendees how to use their personal quirks and flaws to find their tribe and build their profile, using common sense advice, humour and provocation as she goes.

Bryony Thomas: She is the author of “the book on marketing that makes sense of the rest” – Watertight Marketing. This brings together her extensive experience and many perspectives on marketing. A career she loves but fell into by accident.

Alan Stephens: He will provide insights and actionable advice that can be applied immediately to boost a company’s reputation. He is a media coach, journalist, PR expert, and author. He is also Past President of the Global Speakers Federation.

The event will, for the first time, include a specialist guest speaking panel of Social Media experts made up of representatives from Cariad Marketing, Rubber Cheese and Mahon Digital.

Ambition 2018 is a collaborative event organised by a volunteer committee from the following businesses: Andy Lopata, Ashbourne Insurance, Cariad Marketing, HB Accountants, and Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce. Sponsors and Partners include: Ambition Broxbourne, Ashbourne Insurance, Austins Family Funeral Directors, Cariad Marketing, Curwens Solicitors, The Hertfordshire Business Independent, The Mercury Newspaper, IT Builder, Mobile Stationery, RiskEye, Via Properties and SWCO Financial Planning.

The conference will be moderated by former West Ham tannoy announcer Jeremy Nicholas, an award-winning TV and radio broadcaster who’s best known for his sports reports, BBC regional news reports and for being the voice for FIFA 16.

Sarah Smits, Ashbourne’s Finance Director, said: “We are delighted to continue our support for Ambition 2018 as both a founder and fourth year sponsor. We have some excellent speakers who represent digital as well as traditional marketing together with successful business owners who will inspire delegates with their true-life stories.

“Ambition is an event that is a ‘must attend’ for any business seeking to improve and grow their Sales and Marketing strategies.

100% of the ticket sales go to two outstanding charities and Ashbourne are extremely proud to participate in Ambition.”

Tickets cost £95 and are available on www.ambition.events and www.eventbrite.co.uk. There are a limited number of early bird tickets selling at £75 if purchased and paid for online before 31st July 2018. All profits are shared with the two charities again this year.

Follow on twitter @AmbitionBrox18 Award-winning Ashbourne Insurance has been offering a wide range of business and personal insurances for the past 37 years along with a claims advisory service. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Members News

Investing in the Heart of Maylands The Hemel Hempstead Business Ambassadors gathered at the Henkel HQ in Hemel Hempstead to hear the latest developments within Dacorum and, specifically, a detailed presentation on Maylands Plaza and Viking House.

David Bogle, Chief Executive for Hightown Housing Association, introduced the two new housing developments located in Hemel Hempstead designed as part of the wider regeneration programme within the area.

Maylands Plaza, which consists of 130 flats; a church; ten shops including a Tesco Express, Starbucks and Greggs; a public square for events; 77 flats for affordable rent and 53 flats for intermediate rent, is almost complete. The new shops have already brought life to the industrial area in the evenings and at weekends.

Viking House, an attractive development at Swallowdale Lane, will be ready for Autumn 2019 and is made up of four blocks – the highest being nine storeys. In comparison to Maylands Plaza, it will host 87 flats – 40 one-bed for intermediate rent and 47 twobed flats for affordable rent.

The total cost of the development will be £19m with grant funding from Dacorum Borough Council and Homes England.

David Bogle, Chief Executive for Hightown Housing Association said: “We were formed in Hemel Hempstead

50 years ago but now own 6,000 homes around Herts, Beds and Bucks – yet of our 850 staff, most are engaged in care and supported housing.”

At the end of the event, Ambassadors were treated to a tour of the Henkel premises by Global Technology Champion Richard Boyle. Henkel is the world’s number one producer of adhesives and employs more than 50,000 employees worldwide yet remains a family-owned business.

Henkel was the second organisation to move into the Maylands Industrial Estate – under the previous name of Multicore - back in the 1950s.

It is the head office for the UK and Ireland and the corporate hub for northern Europe and is one of three premises in the UK. Gary also introduced the latest Ambassadors to the group including EcoService, food waste solutions; JGK Financial Management and Stringer Mann Financial Planners.

Accolade for forum The Middlesex University LGBT+

Everyone Else Staff Forum won the 2018 Award for ‘Contribution to the wider community’ at the recent One Middlesex staff awards.

The Forum was shortlisted against five other nominees and was presented with their award by Professor Tim Blackman, Vice-Chancellor and Sophie Bowen, Chief Operating Officer at Middlesex University.

The LGBT + Everyone Else Staff Forum is one of the equality forums initiated by

Middlesex University where staff can join as members.

Recognised for creating a positive, safe and open working environment for staff the Forum was praised for setting up an LGBT+ network open to any staff member regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity

and their contribution in Middlesex University climbing 86 places since their first entry for Stonewalls Workplace Equality Index.

This now places Middlesex University in the top half of all employers who participated, ranking them 178th.

New CEO of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst to join Local Enterprise Partnership Board Dr Sally Ann Forsyth has joined the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership Board as business representative. Dr Forsyth took up her post as CEO of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst in March.

Mark Bretton, Chair, Hertfordshire LEP, said: “Sally Ann’s wealth of business acumen and depth of knowledge of the life sciences sector will bring valuable insight to the LEP Board.”

Dr Forsyth has a proven track record in establishing and developing leading edge science parks.

Essential to their success is the ability to build coalitions between academic, commercial and government organisations.

As part of this work she has achieved substantial public and private sector financing to support innovation and development.

Prior to taking up her role as CEO at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, Dr Forsyth was CEO for Norwich Research Park and the first Director of both Harwell Oxford and Colworth Science Park where she was responsible for leading their development as national science parks.

Dr Forsyth said: “I am honoured to help shape the strategic economic priorities for the county, particularly as we prepare for both Brexit and the development of a Local Industrial Strategy. I look forward to working closely with my fellow LEP Board Members to help take the LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan forward and ensure that our investments make a real impact locally.”

LEP Board Members are elected to serve for a three-year period. This can be extended to a maximum of six years in order to refresh the membership of the Board on a regular basis.

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Members News

Lumina Technologies inspire Excellence in Customer Service Excellent customer service is key to any company’s success, which is why every business would love to have recognition for fostering great relationships with their clients and customers.

This is why, at the Inspiring Herts Awards last week, Chamber member Lumina Technologies were thrilled to win the much coveted Excellence in Customer Service Award.

Lumina puts great emphasis on not only providing the best technical service, but thinks of itself as a ‘customer service first, technology second’ company.

Their customer service training

also includes getting staff member to empathise with their clients in order to better understand why first rate customer service is so important.

To say thank you to front line staff, Paige Nicklin and Jamie Messer who both work on the Support Desk were invited to the ceremony and collect the award.

They were accompanied by Service Delivery Manager Ash Vekaria, as well as Director Helen McBarnet and MD Richard McBarnet.

Page said: “Customer Service is so important because that’s how our clients see and interact with us every day, and is largely what forms their opinion of Lumina.

I’m proud to be in a position where, not only has the Service Desk team been invited to a prestigious awards ceremony, but also that the Managing Director was kind enough to say the award

Inspiring Hertfordshire

Awards 2018

WINNER

Excellence in Customer Service

was wholly due to the hard work and dedication of the Service Desk team. Having such a confident lead and working with motivational and inspiring managers is what drives us to be the best version of ourselves and we wouldn’t have won if it wasn’t for the constant and consistent hard work of Richard and the management team.”

MD Richard McBarnet is understandably very proud of the win and of his team. “Winning this award has given such a positive strong message to the team and is one of my proudest achievements as MD because it is an award at a team level, reflecting the pinnacle of what our business is all about. This is especially the case given that we were up against strong competition from companies in the hospitality sector, which is historically very strong on customer service.”

Legends of Las Vegas Gala raises £4,895 for Hospice Rayden Solicitors hosted a Las Vegas-themed evening of dining and entertainment at The Gatsby in Berkhamsted, raising nearly £5,000 for The Hospice of St Francis.

Gary Williams, star of the West End’s Rat Pack, entertained the audience with his Las Vegas show covering artists from Nat King Cole to Dean Martin and Perry Como.

He ended the evening with an emotional rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way. Berkhamsted Partner Paula Butterworth said “We are delighted to have raised nearly £5,000 for the vital work of the

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Hospice of St Francis. We could not have done so without the support of the Berkhamsted business community and the Berkhamsted and District Chamber of Commerce.”

Local companies supporting the event include Solario Racing, Haines Watts, Chamberlain Stean & West, Rumball Sedgwick, Traveltime World and The Diamond Trust.

The Hospice of St Francis is Rayden Solicitors’ charity of the year for 2018 providing free, expert care for people living with life-limiting illnesses in West Herts and South Bucks.

They also support their families, carers and those close to them.

Rayden Solicitors opened in Berkhamsted in May 2016, winning Family Law Firm of the Year, South in 2017.

Members News

FREE Butterfly Drop-In Workshops in Waltham Cross Please share this news with any of your young people who may benefit from “dropping in”!

Summer Holiday Workshops The Gifted are delighted to announce that Butterfly Workshops are now running as drop in sessions every Thursday from 3.30 pm – 6.00 pm at the CVS Community Hub in Waltham Cross.

FREE workshops and programmes are available for young females aged 13 – 21 to develop their creative skills while

improving their self-esteem, gaining confidence to help get into employment or further education and also providing support and advice to overcome any personal issues they may face.

Time & Place Every Thursday from 3.30 pm – 6.00 pm CVSBEH Community Skills Hub, Waltham Cross (59 High Street, Waltham Cross EN8 7BZ)

This project is being run in partnership with CVSBEH (Community Voluntary Services for Broxbourne and East Herts).

Festival to celebrate summer fun A festival celebrating English summer fun will see revellers rocking to the sounds of the Rolling Stones while enjoying local beers and having a flutter on live camel racing, all set in the stunning Hertfordshire countryside.

The ‘Todd in the Hole’ music festival will take place in Todd’s Green, Stevenage on the weekend of July 21 and 22, championing traditional English fun while giving partygoers the chance to let their hair down in style.

Featuring live music from the band Mick Jagger describes as the very best Stones tribute, traditional ‘village green’ games such as tug of war, classic cars and real ales, the event will offer something for everyone.

David Nye, director of The Great British Sausage company and cofounder of Todd in the Hole, said:

“Todd in the Hole was born out of our love of the Hertfordshire countryside, our love of good food, country shows, live music and a jug of ale.

Entertainment will include headline performances from The Counterfeit Stones, The Fifth Wheel and an ABBA tribute band.

A huge pop-up pub and prosecco bar will be open throughout the event, with roaring fire pits keeping revellers warm at night.

“We want our festival to be more than a music festival – we want it to be a family friendly, countryside, food and drink extravaganza. The event will be personal and welcoming to everyone. We want to get the local community together to enjoy some old-fashioned fun.

It will be a feel-good throwback.

We’ve also planned a free bus service to the main line station to ease traffic on the local lanes.”

Jazz and folk sessions will be a highlight of the weekend, while local rugby clubs go head-tohead in a tug of war challenge to raise money for mental health charity JOCA.

Single day tickets are available in advance priced at £18.50 for adults, £15 for children aged 12 to 17, £10 for juniors aged four to 11 while under threes are free.

Tasty treats will be available as part of the ‘Feast in the Field’ – featuring local brands, The Great British Sausage company and The Crispy Duck Rotisserie, alongside street food from South Africa, India and Greece.

Advance weekend tickets are £35 for adults, £27 for children, £18 for juniors and free for anyone under three.

For further information, visit https://www.toddinthehole.co.uk

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24 Hours with ...

Bringing the personal touch to business banking In a world of increasingly-automated banking, Ian Taylor is a man who believes in the human touch and his daily routine with Barclays involves meeting as many people as he can.

Ian is Regional Director, Hertfordshire and North West London Business Banking for Barclays, which has restructured its operations in Hertfordshire to become much more able to meet local needs and provide a more personal approach.

That means that Ian, who is based in St Albans, tends to get into his office at

7am to check his emails but as soon as possible heads out to attend meetings.

He said: “I like to begin work early to get ahead with the emails because they are pretty much a 24-7 thing and then I tend to be out and about, either meeting clients or prospective clients, our Relationship Managers or local business associates.

“My job is to promote Barclays wherever and whenever I can which means I am fortunate enough to meet many different people in the business community.

“Today, many of our competitors are moving solely towards online or telephone banking and, although, we do offer those services, we know that many clients value the chance to meet people from Barclays face to face.

“We know that every client is different and we

accommodate those that like online banking or using apps, or those that like telephone banking, but we also know that some may want a meeting with one of our team four or five times a year, others just a couple of times.

“The feedback we are receiving suggests that they do like being able to sit down with someone and talk through their plans and requirements.”

To achieve that move towards a more personalised service, the bank’s reorganisation has seen Hertfordshire broken down into small geographical areas, each of which has its own dedicated teams with in-depth knowledge not just of the needs of each area but also some of the specialist sectors within it.

Ian said: “My role is to oversee what we are doing and that means being out of the office a lot of the time, so on a typical day I may be in St Albans or another of the towns in the area or perhaps heading into London for a meeting.

“Our clients are telling us that they like the way we operate and also that in addition to our services for smaller businesses

they appreciate the fact that for business with £400,000 turnover and above they have a dedicated Relationship Manager.

“At least one of our rivals only starts that service at two million pounds turnover but we like to offer a personalised service to support smaller growing businesses.”

A key part of the approach is educating businesses for the challenges of the years ahead.

Ian said: “We do a lot of work to help businesses prepare for the future. There are big changes on the way with the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence and changes in the way companies use and manage data, especially with the introduction of legislation like GDPR. Barclays has a history of innovation and is embracing this completely to further help our clients to grow.”

It all makes for a demanding working day but Ian tries to be home by 6pm unless he has evening events which are a frequent weekly occurence.

“Our clients are telling us that they like the way we operate and also that in addition to our services for smaller businesses they appreciate the fact that for business with £400,000 turnover and above they have a dedicated Relationship Manager.”

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Creating Financial Freedom Investment Advice Financial Planning Inheritance Tax Planning Retirement & Pension Advice Charitable Giving Goal Planning trinitywealthmanagement.co.uk Trinity Wealth Management Ltd is an appointed representative of ValidPath Ltd which is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the firm reference number 197107. Trinity Wealth Management’s FCA number is 206188.

Integrated accounting stock software and website systems

Mike Munnelly, Chairman

Sharp-aX was first established 18 years ago by Mike Munnelly a veteran of the wholesale market and a visionary business leader.

(CRM) implementation, an enterprise class stock and warehouse management function and a fully integrated website.

Sharp-aX understand that not all businesses are created equal but that there are a large number of high-level business functions common to all customers that fit into this category.

These include as standard core components a GAAP conformant accounting practice, a fully functional Customer Relationship Management

You can then create and manage multiple supply chains through the purchase order management function; Support a comprehensive client sales order management process; Seamlessly pick, pack, ship and track all orders through to fulfi lment using the enhanced stock and warehouse management solution; Account for all transactions that flow through the system in real-time and finally reconcile

Sharp-aX is a secure, scalable and standards-based software distribution that comprises a complete ‘business in a box’ solution for the visionary wholesaler, merchant and stocking distributor with a focus on building and plumbing merchants, electrical factors and fixings and fastener suppliers.

A Sharp-aX implementation, therefore, allows your business to source, find and track new prospects then convert them to customers using out of the box CRM function.

your bank statement, management accounts, tax and VAT.

In addition, the integrated website provides two distinct benefits to the modern wholesale or merchant operation – the fi rst being that your business is now operating 24/7 and this will always equate to additional revenue, the second benefit is that you can use your new integrated web presence as a customer portal where existing account customers can make payments, track orders, query shipments and maintain a constant connection with the wholesaler as a true business partner. Sharp-aX can also be extended to integrate seamlessly with eBay while Amazon and other e-commerce channels are being worked on currently.

For further information or general enquiries, please visit the Sharp-aX website.

Alternatively, please contact Adam Smith the Sharp-aX Sales Director.

T: +44 (0)1442 505961 asmith@sharp-ax.com

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M: +44 (0)7711 372694 www.sharp-ax.com

With a flexible rules base and an open approach to configuration and development Sharp-aX provides a role-based system where you deliver only data relevant to each role within your organisation. You can also introduce your own specific business process or work-flow in order to customise the SharpaX system to your own unique needs.

The benefits delivered by the fully integrated core solution include cost savings created by having a permanent link between invoice and purchase order, time savings created by speeding up trade counter transaction times and cost/time/efficiency savings by going paperless and having real-time access to all data. In addition, the company’s integrated website provides distinct benefits to the modern wholesaler.

Finance

Small businesses ‘missing out on interest’ Millions of small businesses are missing out on interest on their business savings, according to new research.

The research, which was produced by specialist bank Aldermore, says that the problem affects 62% of SMEs in Britain.

The research revealed that financial pressures are the main reason for businesses missing out; 40% of those not earning interest do not save a sufficient amount on a monthly basis, whilst 33% are exhausting their savings before they can gain any interest.

According to the researchers, the current low interest rate environment is an additional concern as almost two in ten of SMEs (19%) believe their bank does not offer high enough rates for noticeable interest to be earned.

For those businesses who are earning interest on savings, the majority (53%) are earning less than £300 annually, with the highest proportion (26%) earning less than £100.

When it comes to savings habits among the self-employed and SMEs, almost two thirds (65%) hold a business account with the same provider as their

private savings, regardless of the rate offered.

personal savings account with the same provider.

This mindset is more acute among firms with more employees (50+), those with higher levels of cash holdings (£100,000+) and being a limited company, according to the study.

“While this may appear to be the ‘easiest’ option, taking this approach means businesses are missing out on a number of good products on the market.

Ewan Edwards, Head of Savings at Aldermore, said: “Being a business owner comes with a whole host of challenges, so it is vital that business owners make their surplus cash work harder to provide additional financial support and to strengthen financial resilience.

“Our research shows that more than three fifths of SMEs are not earning any interest, meaning that more than three million businesses could be missing out on additional income that would be an added boost when dealing with the multiple financial pressures of running a business; such as cash flow.

“In addition, the research reveals that almost two thirds of business owners adopt the habit of having a business and

“We encourage all business owners to shop around to find the best account on offer, as this can make a positive difference in the long term.”

The research was conducted

by Toluna via an online panel during March 2018. The sample consisted of 625 UK residents, including 325 entrepreneurs, self-employed people and business owners.

Aldermore Group PLC is a specialist bank offering products to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), homeowners, landlords and individuals.

It has no branch network but serves customers online, by phone and face-to-face through its network of regional offices located around the UK. Established in 2009, Aldermore has grown significantly. At the end of December 2017, lending to customers stood at £8.6 billion.

In March 2018, Aldermore became part of FirstRand Group, one of South Africa’s largest financial services institutions.

“In addition, the research reveals that almost two thirds of business owners adopt the habit of having a business and personal savings account with the same provider.”

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Skills & Development

Apprentices: the strategic asset you didn’t know you had Anna West, HR Manager at MCP Property Services says we should think differently about the value of apprenticeship schemes for long-term business gain.

Apprenticeship schemes within facilities management and related labour sectors still suffer from the stigma of seeing apprentices as another pair of hands to just do the more minor tasks such as photocopying, making tea or moving materials. I still hear horror stories of young apprentices being treated unfairly by other employers.

Bucking an industry trend, we actually make a commitment from day one of their employment that if they work hard and continue to learn, they have a job for life. This removes the agonising wait that most apprentices endure to find out whether they have done enough to get a job at the end of their scheme.

The positive impact apprentices can have on business are significant.

They bring fresh ideas and a different level of energy that helps foster innovation, improve staff morale and ultimately increases the bottom line.

Paying over the £3.70 per hour minimum wage and investing financially in their training and development helps to further demonstrate our pledge to support them in the workplace, but what they value the most is a supportive working environment to develop.

But to really embrace the value of apprentices, industry needs to start seeing them as long-term investments and a strategic asset, not just a shortsighted tick-box exercise for CSR purposes.

At MCP, we view apprentices as our future team leaders, supervisors and directors. They are the next generation of our workforce. Many have already developed their careers with us, and we are benefitting from retaining their experience, skills and knowledge within the company.

We recognise that aspiring apprentices look for the opportunity to earn money, learn new skills in a supportive environment, and job security.

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This is epitomised by our ‘Breakfast with Matt’ sessions. Our managing director makes himself available for informal and confidential chats to understand the highlights, frustrations, challenges and ideas that apprentices and other team members come across in their daily tasks.

Insights from these sessions support our efforts to build a culture of opportunity, understanding and innovation by rewarding people for doing the right thing. This is part of our long-term business strategy which our apprentices will play a fundamental role in delivering.

Skills and Development

Apprenticeships ‘key to driving productivity of Hertfordshire, says MP Apprenticeships are a vital way to build strong, skilled workforces and grow Hertfordshire’s economy, the MP for Hitchin and Harpenden told employers at an apprenticeship conference.

About 65 employers and training providers attended Apprenticeships Work, run by Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Hertfordshire Growth Hub and the University of Hertfordshire at the Fielder Centre.

Delegates heard how in Hertfordshire, FE Colleges, private training providers and the University of Hertfordshire are working together to provide apprenticeship ‘pathways’ which provide a seamless transition from when an apprentice first joins a business through to degree level apprenticeships.

MP Bim Afolami said: “Hertfordshire is the county of opportunity and we must develop a regionalised economy outside the M25 with a highly skilled workforce. In order to increase the number of apprenticeships, businesses need to spread the word about the good quality skills apprentices can bring.

“I am MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, an affluent area, where I have found some cultural resistance to apprenticeships.

Schools can also experience this when talking to parents, their customers, and we must help shift this view.”

Hertfordshire LEP Deputy Chair Adrian Hawkins said: “Investing in people and skills is the foundation of our Strategic Economic Plan for Hertfordshire and is one of the main productivity drivers for the Local Industrial Strategy.

“The county can be justifiably proud of the apprenticeship programmes it has to offer.

We are keen to encourage more employers to invest in new talent as well as helping its existing

employees to progress and realise their full potential. This, in turn, will maximise the impact on their business.”

Cathy Strachan, HR Manager – Learning and Development, MBDA, said apprenticeships are ‘absolutely necessary’ to build and retain the skills they need and are seen as a ‘long term investment’, with apprentices ‘contributing to the business from day one’.

Another supporter is Malcolm Mackenzie, who set up Hello Flexibles, a plastic packaging supplier, in 2014. After hearing from a young couple who were struggling to start out with £70,000 of student debt, Malcolm was keen to invest in youth.

After approaching Hertfordshire Growth Hub, he was directed to the University of Hertfordshire where he found out about degree apprenticeships, leading him to taking on his first apprentice Charlie Luff.

Malcolm said: “We had six or seven highly employable young people apply for that one degree apprenticeship. My question is, what happened to the rest of them who applied? A degree apprenticeship gives young people a start, four years’ work experience, a degree and no debt.

And from an employer’s point of view, apprentices deliver business today.”

Anna Morrison, Director, Amazing Apprenticeships, encouraged employers to put social mobility on their agenda, and Charlotte Hughes, Chair, East of England Young Apprentice Ambassadors Network spoke about its mission to encourage more young people to consider apprenticeships.

Julie Newlan, Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Hertfordshire, said: “Our degree apprenticeship programme has undergone rapid expansion in the past year. We now run 13 different programmes and anticipate enrolling 200 apprentices this September. We do not work in isolation but work alongside other education providers to enable employees to progress and develop. It is this joined up approach in Hertfordshire that is paramount to its success.”

University of Hertfordshire launches new route into the legal profession From September this year, the University of Hertfordshire’s Law School will be offering a new six-year solicitor degree

apprenticeship programme, creating a new training route into the legal profession.

Additionally, from September 2019, Hertfordshire Law School plans to offer a two-year accelerated option, for apprentices who are already law graduates.

Penny Carey, Dean of Hertfordshire Law School, said: “These programmes provide an excellent opportunity for apprentices to qualify as solicitors, whilst gaining front-line practical experience and a salary for the duration of the programme.

Degree apprenticeships are an effective way for businesses to offer training to develop new and existing staff, and are known to have a positive impact on retention and productivity.”

Employers partnering with the University will be supported throughout the apprenticeship, in addition to having access to a wide range of business services and facilities.

For further information please call 01707 286406 or email be@herts.ac.uk

“Hertfordshire is the county of opportunity and we must develop a regionalised economy outside the M25 with a highly skilled workforce.”

Apprentice Charlie Luff said: “This industry experience will put me ahead of other graduates, while earning a salary and getting my degree paid for, as well as seeing first-hand how a small business grows.”

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Last Word

Developing a Local Industrial Strategy Mark Bretton is Chair of Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and a managing director at leading global professional services company Accenture.

Mark took over as Chair of the LEP Board in June 2016.

Q What is your job?

I joined the regional leadership of our Operations business five years ago.

I’m currently focusing in the utilities market where I’ve had considerable success previously. Before joining Accenture, I spent 8 years with Tata building their European outsourcing practice, 3 years with Royal Mail transforming their Customer Services operation and over 17 years with Siemens and Plessey in a variety of commercial and leadership roles including some very challenging programmes at the Home Office.

Q

Why did you volunteer to join Hertfordshire LEP? As well as my main role I sit on the Business Leaders Council for the charity Teach First, was the regional Inclusion and Diversity Lead in two companies and as an ex Reserve Army Officer more recently appointed as MD Sponsor for our UK & Ireland Military Veterans programme.

When I was approached I hadn’t heard too much about LEPs but I was keen to put something back into the county where I have lived for most of my life. I have seen many facets of the challenges that we face locally, notably in helping people improve their skills to realise their real potential and be attractive

Patrons

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to our local employers. The Strategic Economic Plan that we have is already making an impact and I was keen to help the LEP really deliver the benefits that this plan promises.

Q

What does the role of LEP Chair involve?

The past two years have been really hectic as I get to meet many of the key personalities in the region from business, local and central government and education. One of the LEP’s major successes has been the award of Government funding known as Growth Deals. This enables us to deliver the priorities set out in our Strategic Economic Plan and make a real long term impact on the economy.

One other area where as LEP Chair I have a role is in the public sector leaders’ groups.

This has exposed me to the wider challenges of healthcare and policing where I think businesses can have a real role to play, either encouraging our workforce to be fit for their work and home lives or working to help offenders adjust back into a society where having a steady job is a known contributor to stopping people reoffend.

Q

What are the biggest challenges facing the county?

Housing is always top of the agenda. We need to build around 100,000 new homes

over the next 15 years for our growing population.

Alongside this we need to ensure that we plan for future employment land space so that we do not merely become a dormitory of London. There will always be a discussion on transport and infrastructure and how we can plan for this scale of growth.

For me, however, the toughest challenge is ensuring that we have the right workforce for our businesses to thrive.

Skills is something I’ve been keen to pull up our agenda, building on the work we are doing with Skillmakers and The Careers and Enterprise Company and the priorities set out in our Skills Strategy.

Investing in people and skills is the foundation of our Strategic Economic Plan for Hertfordshire and is one of the main productivity drivers for the Local Industrial Strategy.

Q

How is the LEP making a difference?

Our role is all about helping accelerate growth in a number of ways from improving productivity by investing in skills and upgrading our transport and broadband communications to accelerating research and development and encouraging new inward investment.

In the past two years we have made considerable progress.

Construction work has begun on our new Enterprise Zone.

Almost 3 million sq.ft. of commercial space will be built over the next ten years, adhering to the highest standards of sustainability.

We have also made significant investment in training across our FE Colleges to meet the needs of the local labour market, and we are committed to regenerating our town centres in Stevenage and Hatfield to stimulate the local economy.

To date we have secured over £320m Government and EU funding to invest in our people, places and businesses which gives an indication of the scale of impact we are making.

Q

What is the biggest priority for the LEP over the next 12 months?

LEPs have been tasked by Government to develop Local Industrial Strategies for their areas and I, along with the other LEP Chairs, recently met with the Prime Minister to understand more fully how this will play out on the ground locally.

There are a number of capabilities here in Hertfordshire that are not just local for the county or the UK but are global leading, such as defence with MBDA, space, Airbus, life sciences with the Catapult and Catalyst in Stevenage. We have Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the home of

Harry Potter, and fantastic research at Rothamsted and BRE. The challenge we have set ourselves here is not to be a dormitory of London but to build something here that will have a big impact on the UK economy.

I see our role as helping to co-ordinate and create a cohesive strategic narrative and vision for Hertfordshire in partnership with both businesses and our public sector partners that will deliver real, lasting change and a way forward for some of the challenges facing the UK as a whole. These are around how we can build sustainable communities, support our ageing population and tackle our congested transport systems.

Q

How do you see the LEP and Chamber working together?

The message we want to promote is one of partnership, securing investment, strategic leadership for growth and above all being the voice of business whether that’s locally or in Whitehall as Industrial Strategy and Brexit play out.

We want to strengthen local ties so that collectively we can deliver a stronger economy for all our residents and businesses.

Find out more about how we are accelerating growth: www.hertfordshirelep.com

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