Well Connected April 2022

Well

Connected Spring 2022

Official Magazine for Liverpool Chamber

UPSKILLING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE Hugh Baird College students explore creative careers with MSP Global.

INSIDE...

• • •

New Chamber Patron Blok ‘N’ Mesh share their commitment to finding and training new talent in the Liverpool City Region Members share their experience on adapting to change and looking to a sustainable future Liverpool Chamber increase membership value with two new monthly networking experiences for members

Liverpool Chamber

Connect Support Thrive.

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Workspace | Retail | Leisure

CONTENTS

Find Inside

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4-5 7 8 9 13 15-17 19 20-21 22 23 24-25 26-27 28-30 32 34 36 38 40 42 43 44 45 46-47 48 49 50

20

26 28

36 44 Enquiries Liverpool Chamber Suite G08 – G10, Cotton Exchange Building, Bixteth Street, Liverpool, L3 9LQ t: 0151 227 1234 e: membership@liverpoolchamber.org.uk w: www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk Publisher Benham Publishing Limited, Aintree Building, Aintree Way, Aintree Business Park, Liverpool L9 5AQ t: 0151 236 4141 e: admin@benhampublishing.com w: www.benhampublishing.com

Economy Message from CEO Membership Update New Members Patron News International Trade Exporting Health and Wellbeing A day in the life of...

Skills Skills and Employability Feature Interview Cover Feature Patron News Digital Members News Regeneration Patron News Policy Transport Responsible Business Events Chamber Events Charity Staff Directory 5 minutes with...

50

Published April 2022 © Benham Publishing Media No. 1906 Editorial Content Manager Emily Hardy Emily.Hardy@liverpoolchamber.org.uk Advertising and Features Karen Hall Tel: 0151 236 4141 e: karen@benhampublishing.com Advertising Sales Catherine McCarthy e: catherine@benhampublishing.com Studio Peter Wilkinson e: peter@benhampublishing.com

Disclaimer Well Connected is mailed without charge to all Chamber members and distributed at all Chamber events. All correspondence should be addressed to the Editorat Liverpool Chamber.

Views expressed in publication are not necessarily those of Liverpool Chamber. Reprinting in whole or part is forbidden except by permission of the Editor. © 2022. 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.

Cover image: Bobby Gillespie, Hugh Baird Student

Liverpool Chamber

@LpoolChamber

@LiverpoolChamber

Liverpool Chamber

3

BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

LOOKING AHEAD

The survey of over 6,400 firms, employing more than 800,000 people, points to continued stagnation amid rising business costs and a slowing global economy. The balance of firms reporting improved cash flow – a key indicator of the health of businesses – remains very weak across both manufacturing and service sectors. Indicators for improvements across investment and business confidence also show continuing downward trends.

Firms facing pressures to raise prices due to the following factors:

0%

0% +25%

-25%

Manufacturing Sector

+25%

-25%

Service Sector

72% -50%

+50%

+35%

Prices

-75%

+75%

-50%

+50%

+29%

-75%

59% 46%

+75%

33%

28% 29%

28% 19%

+100%

-100%

...of manufacturers expect their prices to increase, unchanged from Q3 2019

+100%

-100%

...of service firms expect their prices to increase, up from +28% in Q3 2019

+25%

Raw materials Financial costs

Other overheads

Balance of firms increasing investment in training

0%

0% -25%

Pay settlements

40% +25%

-25%

Investment

30% -50%

+50%

+11%

-75%

+75%

-50%

+50%

10%

+11%

-75%

20%

+75%

0% -10%

+100%

-100%

...of manufacturers increased investment in training in Q4 2019, up from +8% in Q3 2019

+100%

-100%

...of service firms increased investment in training in Q4 2019, down from +13% in Q3 2019

+25%

QES % 2015 2017 2019 Service Sector QES

Balance of firms reporting improved cash flow

0%

0% -25%

-20%

-30% Balance 2007 2009 2011 2013 Manufacturing Sector QES

30% +25%

-25%

20%

Cash Flow

-50%

+50%

+1%

-75%

+75%

-50%

+50%

+75%

-10% -20%

+100%

-100%

...of manufacturers reported improved cash flow in Q4 2019, up from -7% in Q3 2019

+100%

-100%

...of service firms reported improved cash flow in Q4 2019, down from +5% in Q3 2019

+25%

-50%

QES % -40% Balance 2007 2009 2011 2013 Manufacturing Sector QES

+50%

+75%

-50%

-75%

80%

+25%

-25%

+27%

-75%

-30%

0%

0% -25%

Confidence

0%

+2%

-75%

10%

+50%

+32%

+75%

2015 2017 2019 Service Sector QES

UK GDP growth and QES balance of firms confident 2.0% their turnover will increase

60%

1.5%

40%

1.0%

20%

0.5%

0%

0.0%

-20%

-0.5% -1.0%

-40% -100%

+100%

...of manufacturers are confident turnover will increase in the next 12 months, up from +25% in Q3 2019

-100%

+100%

...of service firms are confident turnover will increase in the next 12 months, up from +30% in Q3 2019

-60% QES % Balance -80% 2007 2009 GDP Growth

GDP % Growth (ONS) 2011

2013

2015

Service Sector QES

2017

2019

-1.5% -2.0%

Manufacturing QES

4 www.britishchambers.org.uk | @britishchambers

ECONOMY

BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

LOOKING AHEAD

The survey of over 6,400 firms, employing more than 800,000 people, points to continued stagnation amid rising business costs and a slowing global economy. The balance of firms reporting improved cash flow – a key indicator of the health of businesses – remains very weak across both manufacturing and service sectors. Indicators for improvements across investment and business confidence also show continuing downward trends.

+25%

-25%

Firms facing pressures to raise prices due to the following factors:

0%

0%

Manufacturing Sector

+25%

-25%

Service Sector

72% -50%

+50%

+35%

Prices

-75%

+75%

-50%

+50%

+29%

-75%

59% 46%

+75%

33%

28% 29%

28% 19%

+100%

-100%

...of manufacturers expect their prices to increase, unchanged from Q3 2019

+100%

-100%

...of service firms expect their prices to increase, up from +28% in Q3 2019

+25%

Raw materials Financial costs

Other overheads

Balance of firms increasing investment in training

0%

0% -25%

Pay settlements

40% +25%

-25%

Investment

30% -50%

+50%

+11%

-75%

+75%

-50%

+50%

10%

+11%

-75%

20%

+75%

0% -10%

+100%

-100%

...of manufacturers increased investment in training in Q4 2019, up from +8% in Q3 2019

+100%

-100%

...of service firms increased investment in training in Q4 2019, down from +13% in Q3 2019

+25%

QES % 2015 2017 2019 Service Sector QES

Balance of firms reporting improved cash flow

0%

0% -25%

-20%

-30% Balance 2007 2009 2011 2013 Manufacturing Sector QES

30% +25%

-25%

20%

Cash Flow

-50%

+50%

+1%

-75%

+75%

-50%

+50%

+75%

-10% -20%

+100%

-100%

...of manufacturers reported improved cash flow in Q4 2019, up from -7% in Q3 2019

+100%

-100%

...of service firms reported improved cash flow in Q4 2019, down from +5% in Q3 2019

+25%

-50%

QES % -40% Balance 2007 2009 2011 2013 Manufacturing Sector QES

+50%

+75%

-50%

-75%

80%

+25%

-25%

+27%

-75%

-30%

0%

0% -25%

Confidence

0%

+2%

-75%

10%

+50%

+32%

+75%

2015 2017 2019 Service Sector QES

UK GDP growth and QES balance of firms confident 2.0% their turnover will increase

60%

1.5%

40%

1.0%

20%

0.5%

0%

0.0%

-20%

-0.5%

-40% -100%

+100%

...of manufacturers are confident turnover will increase in the next 12 months, up from +25% in Q3 2019

-100%

+100%

...of service firms are confident turnover will increase in the next 12 months, up from +30% in Q3 2019

-1.0%

-60% QES % Balance -80% 2007 2009 GDP Growth

GDP % Growth (ONS) 2011

2013

2015

Service Sector QES

2017

2019

-1.5% -2.0%

Manufacturing QES

5 www.britishchambers.org.uk | @britishchambers

For every br�ght �dea everywhere n n n n

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Visit us in Liverpool Central Library where you can access Weekly fire alarm testing powerful databases with the latest market and company information, discover our events programme and get expert advice on starting or growing your business.

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liverpool.gov.uk/bipc Chambers, Water Street, Liverpool L2 8TD T: 0778 559 5866 | E: acmcaretaking@outlook.com BIPCLiverpool BIPC Liverpool City Region

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PAUL CHERPEAU Welcome to the Spring edition of our Well Connected magazine, focusing on the multi-faceted theme of Responsible Business. The last two years have brought into focus the need for our business community to help create positive change and operate responsibly, and what better season to feature this in than Spring, the season of growth.

In our last edition, we were concerned that the outbreak of a new variant was about to stall the positive progress we had made to rebuild our economy post Covid, however we are pleased to see that things are now in fact returning to a level of normality. As ever, we are committed to supporting our members in their efforts to recover and grow, and we remain optimistic that the disruption we have faced is finally at an end.

Under the umbrella of Responsible Business there is a limitless list of ways in which business can create positive change whilst ensuring they meet ESG and CSR ambitions. In this edition, we take a look at the ways in which our members are doing business responsibly, whether that be through implementing responsible business practices within the workplace, creating social value within marketplaces or engaging in the local community.

We are thrilled that after three years we were finally able to return to Aintree Racecourse for our Silver Birch Garden Party. Our day at the races is a flagship event in the Chamber calendar, and to be able to finally host members of our business community at one of the greatest venues and events in our city’s history was an honor. It was fantastic to see so many of our members celebrating and toasting to the future. We hope that faces new and old will join us next year for another unforgettable day.

You can view our full events calendar on pages 46&47, including our return to the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament this summer, and our Annual Dinner in the Winter.

Responsible Business is one of the key themes being focused on by our Policy team, along with Skills, Net Zero, International Trade, Transport, Infrastructure and Finance. We have created our Expert Panels to highlight the expertise in our membership base and demystify these policy themes.

We are working with members and partners to support and collaborate to alleviate issues most affecting business. We were pleased to launch our School Business Network in February, in partnership with Liverpool City Council. The network will host three events each year, and aims to create an avenue for business and education to form relationships which will produce

meaningful outcomes for students within schools. Access to industry and employability experiences are key to ensuring our young people are best prepared for the world of work, and we hope to see many of our members get involved in the network.

Whilst the national QES results published at the beginning of April paint a negative picture for the national economy, the Liverpool City Region has managed to fare much more positively. It is encouraging to see a number of key business indicators improving, and we view this as a testament to the resilience and strength of our business community here in Liverpool. You can view the national QES result on pages 4&5.

We are grateful to our members for your continued support over the last quarter, and we hope that over the course of this Spring we can continue to collaborate to ensure new business blooms and success continues to grow. We look forward to working with you all.

Paul Cherpeau, Chief Executive, Liverpool Chamber

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

Hear about what the membership team have been up to throughout the past quarter Head of Membership and Business Growth Tom Woolley shares his thoughts on an impactful start to 2022.

Our extensive events programme has seen a fantastic start to 2022.

Since restrictions were lifted bookings have soared, to the point that our first three events of the year were declared sold out well before the event date.

Tom Woolley Head of Membership and Business Growth

To keep up with demand, we have introduced two exciting new events to our substantial programme, the first being ‘Chamber Socials’.

The Chamber Socials will see us visit a different hospitality venue each month, where members are invited to network and enjoy a few drinks whilst partaking in a range activities on offer within the venue. The second new, recurring event we have

introduced is our Executive Receptions, taking Strategic Partners and Patrons on “money can’t buy” experiences each month, offering them the opportunity to connect with their fellow executive level members in a range of interesting settings.

Other highlights of the events calendar this year have seen Liverpool Chamber host our Innovation in Business Award Winner’s Reception in February, where winners and sponsors joined us at the breathtaking 360 Sky Bar on Old Hall Street to celebrate their success at last November’s event.

Attendees enjoyed drinks and delicious canopies,

whilst taking in the views of our beautiful city.

We also kick-started the year with the launch of our School Business Network, to better connect Liverpool employers to schools. The new innovative project has seen a hugely positive response and aims to enhance the skills and employability of students in the Liverpool City Region by bringing educators and employers closer together in a central hub.

If you would like to discuss how Strategic Partnership or Patronage to Liverpool Chamber can support your business, please contact Tom Woolley via tom.woolley@ liverpoolchamber.org.uk.

Membership Executive, Jordan Rhoda, looks back on our #GrowMySME Programme and ahead to our next series of workshops.

Jordan Rhoda Membership Executive

8

Throughout 2022 we continue to support new and growing SMEs through our #GrowMySME Programme. This fully-funded programme offers an opportunity for Liverpool City Region businesses to make valuable connections with experts from within our network who can help them to grow.

In our first quarter we hosted four workshops - #GrowMyProfile on all things marketing, social media, PR, and branding, #GrowMyWorkforce on recruitment guidance and best practice HR policies, #GrowMyIncome on becoming investment ready and access to funding, and #GrowResponsibly on the future of responsible investment and why ESG matters.

A huge thank you to Alexander & Bailey Marketing, Tuesday Media, Bolland & Lowe, Morecrofts Solicitors, Glass Ceilings Change Management, Courtney Reed Recruitment, LCR Finance Hub, MSIF, Reflect Financial Ltd, and Be Ethical Training for joining us as our experts for the quarter. We are delighted to have had their support and look forward to helping SMEs to develop over the coming year.

Finally, a warm welcome to all of our new members in 2022! Since our last edition, we have been joined by two new Chamber Patrons, five Strategic Partners, 1 Liverpool Law Society Affiliate, and 30 Liverpool Chamber Members (including four Charity/ Association Members). We are delighted to welcome you into our network and look forward to working with you throughout 2022.

Our next series of #GrowMySME workshops are to set take place at the end of May 2022 and we encourage all Liverpool City Region based SMEs to engage with us to see what opportunities are available to help them grow.

If you are interested in joining the Liverpool Chamber or would like to know more about our #GrowMySME Programme, contact Jordan on Jordan.

Rhoda@liverpoolchamber. org.uk to find out how we can support your business.

NEW MEMBERS

WELCOME

to our new Chamber Members Chamber Patrons

Awesome Tech Training Ltd

Blok ‘N’ Mesh Global Limited

KensingtonVision CIC

0771 599 2964 www.bloknmesh.com

07792854307 www.l-c-r.co.uk

City of Liverpool College

UK Motor Imports (IRL) Ltd

074166738

Quest Liverpool UK Operations Limited +44 151 318 1809 www.questapartments.com.au

Dewa Consulting 07832 615751 www.dewaconsulting.co.uk

0151 252 1515 www.liv-coll.ac.uk

07795558689

GDPR Defender

Commercial Heating Solutions

Strategic Partners

0790816355 https:/ /gdprdefender.com

(0151) 513-4363 www.commercialheatingsolutions.com

West Coast Partnership

PIB Risk Management

FACTCO Ltd

077956 16958 www.westcoastpartnership.co.uk

01777 86161 www.pib-riskmanagement.co.uk

(770) 373-5665 https:/ /factco.co.uk

2 Buy 2

Ocean Products (Liverpool) Ltd

INNSIDE Liverpool

03333 201 015 www.2buy2.com

0151 318 0650 www.oceanpl.com

Lexus Liverpool

Courtney Recruitment

0151 934 7607 www.lexus.co.uk/centres/liverpool

01516016263 www.courtneyreedgroup.co.uk/recruitment

The Guide Liverpool

Go Green Office Solutions

0151 702 0143 https:/ /theguideliverpool.com

03330035309 www.gogreenofficesolutions.co.uk

Turkish Airlines

Glass Ceilings Change Management Ltd

0161 489 5874 www.turkishairlines.com

Liverpool Chamber Member Hybrid Technical Services 0151 524 2951 www.hybridtec.co.uk

Choice Health 0151 382 7979 www.choice.health

PuzzleDuck Ltd 07545 818493 www.puzzleduck.co.uk

Hive Projects 07593454067 www.hive-projects.com

07540180154

Alexander & Bailey Marketing www.aandbmarketing.com

Knight Fire & Security Ltd 01704 552200 www.knightsystems.co.uk

Envy Maintenance & Cleaning Services Ltd 0151 245 5413 www.envycleaning.co.uk

0151 832 0960 www.melia.com

Boom Battle Bar: Liverpool 0151 832 4499 www.boombattlebar.co.uk/liverpool

The Support School 07540973794 www.thesupportschool.co.uk

Alternative Futures Group www.afgroup.org.uk

Merseyside Adventure Sailing Trust 07710998939 https:/ /mast-group.com/

Cancer Research UK 0300 123 1022 www.Cruk.org

Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants 01942 497 015

Cool Breeze Agency

www.icaew.com/northwest

(447) 910-8882 www.coolbreezeagency.com

Provenio Litigation LLP

Datatrace Consumer Services (UK) Ltd

https:/ /proveniolaw.com/

0330 094 8559

0151 207 4344 www.datatraceuk.com

9

HOW TO RETHINK YOUR BUSINESS SO YOU CAN SURVIVE AND THRIVE As UK entrepreneurs learn to live with COVID-19, they have had to cope with storms, ‘the worst since records began’, supply chain disruption, increasing inflation (now running into double figures), rising interest rates, plus geo political uncertainty caused by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The reality is that we live in an era where events continue to arise that will challenge even the most resilient of businesses and now, more than ever, it’s vital that entrepreneurs recognise and adapt to those challenges.

But our research shows that many businesses have not stopped to reflect on lessons from the last two years, and in fact there are signs of organisational stretch where leadership teams and the business are pulling apart, and many areas of good practice are being neglected.

So, what do we know and what have we learnt from recent events?

1. Many businesses have come out of COVID-19 restrictions with an appetite for ambitious growth. Many have entered new markets or found new ways of working in the last two years, but not many have considered if any old products or ways of working need to cease. This can create organisational strain as the new business is layered onto existing resources.

2. Many businesses have emerged having focused on what they know internally, with little research into competition, shifting demographic changes or exploring customer needs. This failure to understand market dynamics can lead to significant business threats.

3. High energy costs and wage inflation means eroding margins and could potentially also lead to customers rethinking their markets and suppliers. Increasing salaries and a buoyant employment market might mean the ‘Great Resignation’ is further

accelerated, and lead to employers having to award higher pay increases to protect talent unless they can be creative. The good news is many are looking for purpose in their role and not just package and therefore businesses with a strong ESG proposition can attract and retain talent.

4. There has been a shift in cash reserves in many businesses, with liquidity being maintained through COVID-19 measures such as CBILS and VAT deferral schemes.

Many of these reliefs now need repayment and cash reserves have in effect been replaced by debt. With little protection now available for businesses, this poses a significant credit risk.

5. Supply chains remain strained leading to stock outs, customer dissatisfaction, tied up working capital and quality risk. The need to near-shore or find more reliable supply sources is key but can also lead to loss of customers as they assess their options.

Zero in the short to medium term. The cost of achieving this should be considered in almost all decisions made with regards to the strategic direction of the business.

The list above, by no means exhaustive, shows the challenging environment businesses now operate in. It’s easy to say ‘good’ business will always succeed, but unfortunately that isn’t the case.

What is true is that the most important first step a business owner can take is to objectively look across the entirety of their business (i.e., their people, processes, profit, performance, productivity, place and most importantly, purpose) and identify weaknesses and barriers to growth. This 7Ps approach, designed by BDO, is a useful tool to help business owners think wider and look across all areas of their organisation.

Doing this alongside your team will help reconnect the different parts of your business, identify areas of alignment and allow you to pull together to achieve your desired goals.

BENCHMARKING YOUR BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS If your business would benefit from support on any of the areas mentioned above, our free diagnostic tool helps explore your business’ performance under these themes and help you identify gaps

TAKE THE DIAGNOSTIC

6. The Russian invasion of Ukraine adds to the above challenges with further acceleration of inflation and disruption to supplies. There is also the impact on consumer confidence and consumption as people brace themselves for what might happen.

7. The economic cost of COVID-19 measures also needs to be considered – as the government will need to find revenue to pay back the unprecedented spending on furlough, help to buy, underwritten loans, cost of care and so on. Many will question how the tax regime may be adapted to help generate tax receipts for the re-payment plan.

8. Sustainability continues to grow in importance amongst business leaders, their boards, investors, and customers – with many entrepreneurs looking to achieve Net

From our diagnostic data to date, we can see that many businesses are failing to effectively convert their vision into a strategy, and that a high number do not fully understand the risks in their business.

Entrepreneurs need to take the time now to ensure everyone in their business, from the reception to the board, are aligned and bought into the strategic direction of the business. With this, comes resilience for the future.

For more Ambitious Entrepreneur insights and success stories, visit our hub here: www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/the-ambitious-entrepreneur

MORE THAN JUST ACCOUNTANTS AND BUSINESS ADVISERS We share the passion to see ambitious entrepreneurs like you succeed.

For the latest entrepreneur insights, success stories and events, visit: www.bdo.co.uk/the-ambitious-entrepreneur Contact: MARK SYKES

Partner and Head of Entrepreneurial Business mark.sykes@bdo.co.uk

LAURA STUFFINS

Partner, Business Services and Outsourcing laura.stuffins@bdo.co.uk 5 Temple Square Temple Street Liverpool L2 5RH

APPEAL

Registered Charity No: 1099290

APPEAL

our vision ‘A Fine Liverpool Children’s Charity’

“to create an environment where all children and young people of all abilities plus their families can live, share, play, learn and socialise in an environment of collective inclusive learnedness, awareness, understanding and respect”.

-our vision-

This appeal is seeking your support as we FEEDING COMMUNITY “to create OUR an environment where all children and young people of all abilities plus their families can introduce a free breakfast lounge offering Can live, you help? share, play, learn and socialise in an environment of collective inclusive learnedness, a warm place, a meeting place and a free

HOW YOU CAN HELP?

Everybody is now well suffering the breakfast for our young people on their way consequences of the terrible impact of the awareness, understanding and respect”. to school. cumulative impact of global events over Food Donations: recent years. Costs for food, fuel and all Our breakfast lounge will also be a Team Oasis ‘Happy Days’ Activity Centre essentials spiralling out of control and all welcoming warm place for our elderly/ 121-125 Parkhill Road, Dingle economic measures heading in the wrong lonely/isolated. Each morning they will Liverpool, L8 4RN direction, inflation up! national insurance up! have a warm place, companionship and interest rates up! cost of living up! and the free hot food.

Cheque Donations to: standard of living hitting the floor.

Everybody is now well suffering the consequences of the terrible impact of the cumulative impact Team Oasis The Turner Home of global eventsleast over spiralling out of control Those in our community able recent to cope years. Costs for food, fuel and all essentials Dingle Lane areand being all hardest hit. Individuals and families heading in the wrong direction, inflation economic measures up! national insurance up!

Liverpool, L8 9RN previously in poverty have now descended interest rates CANNOT up! cost of living up! and the standard of living hitting the floor. into absolute poverty.

THEY SIMPLY Online Donations: MANAGE! FOR THEM IT IS ‘HEAT or EAT’ https://localgiving.org/donation/teamoasis Those in Team our Oasis community Established in 2003 Inclusive least able to cope are being hardest hit. Individuals and families For More Information Children’s Charity is a superb organisation previously in poverty have now descended into absolute poverty.

Please Contact: Paul Nilson delivering activities for almost 500 local 07985 534784 children every week. Go to our website at THEY SIMPLY CANNOT MANAGE! www.teamoasis.co.uk and you will see the FOR THEM IT IS ‘HEAT or EAT’ theteamoasis@hotmail.com www.teamoasis.co.uk massive range of services that we offer every day of the year. in 2003 Team Oasis Inclusive Children’s Charity is a superb organisation delivering Established

FEEDING OUR COMMUNITY Can you help?

activities for almost 500 local children every week. Go to our website at www.teamoasis.co.uk and you will see the massive range of services that we offer every day of the year.

THIS APPEAL IS SEEKING YOUR SUPPORT AS WE INTRODUCE A FREE BREAKFAST LOUNGE OFFERING A WARM PLACE, A MEETING PLACE AND A FREE BREAKFAST FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ON THEIR WAY TO SCHOOL. OUR BREAKFAST LOUNGE WILL ALSO BE A WELCOMING WARM PLACE FOR OUR ELDERLY/LONELY/ISOLATED. EACH MORNING THEY WILL HAVE A WARM PLACE, COMPANIONSHIP AND FREE HOT FOOD. HOW YOU CAN HELP? Food Donations: Team Oasis ‘Happy Days’ Activity Centre 121-125 Parkhill Rd Dingle Liverpool, L8 4RN Cheque Donations to: Team Oasis Web: inc.studio The Turner Home| Email: hello@inc.studio DingleCreative LaneStrategy | SEO | Brand Identity | Liverpool, L8 9RN 12

UX/UI Design | Web Development | App Development

Online Donations: https://localgiving.org/donation/teamoasis

PATRON NEWS

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESSES SAY THANK YOU When you contact BT for business SME solutions in Liverpool you will generally end up dealing with the BT Local Business office based near Ormskirk. They represent BT for the Liverpool area with a team of 36 advisers both field and desk based.

The BT Local Business office has been a Chamber Patron for many years now and works hard with Liverpool Chamber to help members that need support when moving, adapting and growing their business.

This chamber has also been a great way to meet businesses through networking and events and always adds value to our business. As a result, we have also built many relationships with fellow members who have become our customers and now use and trust the local office knowing there is always the same people that answer the phone and help them with what could be a challenging time.

businesses have often come to us for advice and solutions that have enabled them to work even more efficiently.

We are proud to say we have provided tech solutions to thousands of businesses since March 2020, including: •

Cloud telephones – enabling over 4,000 home workers to stay in touch

•

Mobile solutions – helping over 3,500 to work on the move

•

Dedicated Internet access provided for over for 2,100 home workers and 1,100 business premises

So, from all of us at BT and the BT Local Business office we say thank you to Liverpool Chamber and its members for using the local office and trusting us to provide you with our solutions and services.

For more information on how we can keep your business connected, visit www.bt.com/btlocalbusiness

Since March 2020, we have seen challenging times for businesses adapting to new hybrid working practices and those

AT FACE FOR BUSINESS – ARE WE RESPONSIBLE? WE CERTAINLY TRY HARD. Face for Business is committed to uphold the principles and values of a Responsible Business and here is our journey so far…

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Cleaning products sourced responsibly

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Greener energy and not using gas

During our first steps, we asked ourselves, who would own the project?

We wanted to get ownership from our employees and didn’t want to just push our views onto our people.

Lastly, we decided to look inward at our own values, and came up with the following actions:

Who would it involve? We looked and the real ‘buy-in’ was from our employees, management, suppliers and customers.

What would be our goals?

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Honesty and Transparency

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Less impact on the environment

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One common goal – for us all to get behind

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Team Welfare

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Being Charitable

Our Actions Having established what the key objectives were, we split up the ownership and set about our work.

Liverpool Chamber

From an Honesty and Transparency perspective, we wanted to make sure that our service as a Telephone Answering Service was as open and transparent as possible. In order to do this when we handle a call for a customer, they not only get the message, we also give them one simple click on an app, which enables them to listen to us, undertaking the work for them. This was a challenge and involved overcoming hurdles such as complex security, and integration using API’s. That said, none of our competitors do this, so the challenge soon became a USP that now wins us business from the competition. It’s a Win-Win. Secondly, we looked at how our teams and suppliers impact the environment, and we committed to: •

Using environmentally friendly products such as recycled paper cups and paper

One common goal – Here we used the saying “Making the Smile Bigger” as it follows our “why”, which is “to delight”. We report back to the team quarterly at our team meetings and we all get behind our values and goals.

Team Welfare – From free tea and coffee, regular fruit and cake days, team meetings, coaching and 121’s; no one is more important to us and to our customers, than the folks that do the work.

We also hold regular staff welfare surveys to check that we are on the right track.

Being Charitable – Since we started this process, we have hosted charitable events and also answer calls for our nominated charity free of charge. We have answered thousands of calls free of charge for Twinkle house in Skelmersdale, including potential donations which they would have struggled to answer without our team’s help.

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IS YOUR BUSINESS FIT FOR ISYOUR YOURBUSINESS BUSINESSFIT FITFOR FOR IS THE FUTURE? THEFUTURE? FUTURE? THE Over the past couple of years, businesses have shown ititis isiscritically critically Over the past couple of years, businesses have shown Over the past couple of years, businesses have shown critically Over the past couple of years, businesses have shown ititis critically important to be able to adapt.

Businesses are constantly pressured to important to be able to adapt.

Businesses are constantly pressured to important to be able to adapt.

Businesses are constantly pressured to important to be able to adapt. Businesses are constantly pressured to react to global events, to take meaningful action on climate change, react to global events, to take meaningful action on climate change, react to global events, to take meaningful action on climate change, react to global events, to take meaningful action on climate change, to offer workplaces that meet changing employee expectations and to to offer workplaces that meet changing employee expectations and to to offer workplaces that meet changing employee expectations and to to offer workplaces that meet changing employee expectations and to cater to increasingly discerning customers. cater to increasingly discerning customers. cater to increasingly discerning customers. cater to increasingly discerning customers.

Inthis thisarticle, article,we’ll we’llexplore exploresome someof ofthe thekey keychallenges challengesthat thatbusiness business In In this article, we’ll explore some the key challenges that business In this article, we’ll explore some of of the key challenges that business leaders are facing in 2022 and provide insights on what ambitious leaders are facing in 2022 and provide insights on what ambitious leaders are facing in 2022 and provide insights on what ambitious leaders areleaders facing in 2022 provide insights on what ambitious business need toand focus onin inorder order toadapt adapt forthe thefuture. future. business leaders need to focus on to for business leaders need to focus on order to adapt for the future. business leaders need to focus on in in order to adapt for the future.

Whatare are the key challenges thatthat businesses arefacing facing in2022?

2022?

What arethe the key challenges businesses are in facing in 2022?

What key challenges that businesses are

Business has has changed changed Business Business has changed Youcan canno nolonger longerwork workthe theway wayyou youused usedto. to.Workplace Workplaceflexibility, flexibility,homeworking, homeworking,and andhybrid hybridworking workingmodels modelshave havebecome becomeso sonormalised normalised You You can no longer work the way you used to.

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2022.The Theemployee employeeexperience experienceyou youare areproviding providingand andthe thecompany companyculture cultureyou youcultivate cultivateare areas asimportant important as retain retain high quality employees in 2022. The employee experience you are providing and the company culture you cultivate are as important as the actual job onon offer when it comes toto infl uencing hiring decisions. as the actual offer when it comes influencing hiring decisions. the actual jobjob on offer when it comes to infl uencing hiring decisions.

Businesses need need to to continue continue to change Businesses Businesses need to continue to change Thefirst firstfew fewmonths monthsof of2022 2022indicate indicatethat thatthere thereisisno nonew newnormal. normal.Even Evenbusinesses businessesthat thathave havedone doneaagreat greatjob jobof ofadapting adaptingto tothe theneeds needs and The The first few months of 2022 indicate that there is no new normal. Even businesses that have done a great job of adapting to the needs and and expectationsof oftoday’s today’sworld worldhave havemore morework workto todo. do.It’s It’sclear clearthat thatthe thepace paceof ofchange changewill willnot notslow slowdown, down,so sothe theway wayyou yourun runyour yourbusiness business expectations expectations of today’s world have more work to do.

It’s clear that the pace of change will not slow down, so the way you run your business nowmay maynot notbe besuitable suitablefor forfuture futureneeds needsand andexpectations. expectations.Creating Creatingbusinesses businessesthat thatcan canadapt adaptto tochanging changingemployee employeeand andcustomer customer now now may not be suitable for future needs and expectations. Creating businesses that can adapt to changing employee and customer expectationsisisessential essentialfor forlong-term long-termsurvival. survival. expectations expectations is essential for long-term survival.

Business leaders leaders have have limited time and capacity Business capacity to to change change Business leaders have limited time and capacity to change Whilstyou youmight mightrecognise recognisethe theneed needto tobecome becomeaabusiness businessthat thatcan canadapt, adapt,it’s it’saabig bigask. ask.Managing Managingbusiness businessas asusual usualisisoften oftenmore morethan thanaa full Whilst Whilst you might recognise the need to become a business that can adapt, it’s a big ask. Managing business as usual is often more than a full time jobjob – finding thethe time to focus on on change at the same time is aissignifi cant challenge.

Prioritising future needs when today’s needs are full time – finding time to focus change at the same time a significant challenge.

Prioritising future needs when today’s needs time job – finding the time to focus on change at the same time is a significant challenge. Prioritising future needs when today’s needs are taking up up all of time andand energy is hard.

And being an an expert in running your own business doesn’t make youyou an an expert at making your are taking allyour of your time energy is hard.

And being expert in running your own business doesn’t make expert at making taking up all of your time and energy is hard. And being an expert in running your own business doesn’t make you an expert at making your business change to betofibe t for your business change fitthe for future. the future. business change to be fit for the future.

Whatshould should ambitious business leaders befocusing focusing onfor forthe the future?

What ambitious business leaders be on What should ambitious business leaders be focusing on future? for the future?

Involve your people Involve your people Those businesses that can harness the full Involve your people Those businesses that can harness the full value businesses and potential of can theirharness peoplethe have Those that full value and potential of their people have the greatest chance oftheir understanding value and potential people have the greatest chanceof of understanding andgreatest adapting to changing customer the of understanding and adaptingchance to changing customer andadapting employee expectations.

Start off by and changing customer and employeeto expectations.

Start off by recognising the immense insight, wisdom and employee expectations.

Start off by recognising the immense insight, wisdom and adaptability of your people.

And recognising the immense insight, wisdom and adaptability of your people. And tap adaptability into this by involving your people and of your people.

And inin tap into this by involving your people tap into this by about involving people in conversations the your future business. conversations about the future business. conversations about the future business.

Embed continuous improvement Embed continuous improvement Create a culture of continuous improvement Embed continuous improvement Create a culture of continuous improvement and endless learning.

Make it normal for Create a culture of continuous and endless learning. Make it normal for people across your business to scrutinise improvement andbusiness endless to learning. people across your scrutinise data, understand performance, come up Make it normal for people across your data, understand performance, come up with new ideas and getdata, involved in driving business to scrutinise understand with new ideas and get involved in driving change.

Set high standards for performance performance, up with ideas and change.

Set highcome standards fornew performance and challenge yourselves to exceed these. get involved in driving change.

Setthese. high and challenge yourselves to exceed But accept too that progressand canchallenge be messy standards for that performance But accept too progress can be messy and embrace mistakes as opportunities for yourselves exceed these.

But acceptfor too and embraceto mistakes as opportunities learning. that progress can be messy and embrace learning. mistakes as opportunities for learning.

Find Findopportunities opportunitiesfor forcollaboration collaboration Review your direction Find opportunities for collaboration Review your direction Look out for opportunities to collaborate your direction Look out for opportunities to collaborate ItReview might be a good time to review your Look out for opportunities to In collaborate It It might bebe a good time toto review your both internally and externally. a rapidly might a good time your both internally and externally. In a rapidly company vision, mission andreview values.

Are these both internally and externally.

In possibly a rapidly company vision, mission and values.

Are these changing environment, you can’t company vision, mission and values. changing environment, you can’t possibly still fit for purpose? Do they refl ect theAre type changing environment, you can’t possibly still fi t for purpose?

Do they refl ect the type know need toto know about these still fit forwant purpose? they knoweverything everythingyou you need know of business you to beDo now andreflect in the know everything you need to know of business you want to be now and in the satisfying employee and customer demands, future? the type business you want to bebusiness now about satisfying employee and customer Doofthey articulate who your about satisfying employee and customer future? they articulate who your business so surround yourself withyourself people who and inDo the future?

Do they demands, so surround withhave aspires to be – and how you articulate are goingwho to demands, so surround yourself with to be – and how you are going to different skills, insights and wisdom and find aspires your business people who have different skills, insights become that? aspires to be – and how you people different skills, insights become that? ways towho workhave together good. are going to become that? and wisdom and findfor ways to work and wisdom and find ways to work together for good. together for good.

We help ambitiousbusiness businessleaders leaderscreate createhigh highperforming performing Wehelp helpambitious ambitious business leaders create high We performing workplaces in which people can excel.

Contact us forfurther further workplaces in which people can excel.

Contact us workplaces in which people can excel. Contact us for for further insights into developing your people capability and confi dence, insights into developing your people capability and confidence, insights into developing your people capability and confidence, leveraging technology and automating your processes. leveraging technology and automating your processes. leveraging technology and automating your processes.

Build strong foundations Build strong foundations Get your house in order by making best use Build strong foundations Get your house in order by making best use of your organising your processes Get yourtechnology, house in order by making of your technology, organising your processes for maximum ciency andorganising looking at how best use of youreffi technology, for maximum efficiency and looking at how you processes are spending your time. Ask yourself your for maximum efficiency you are spending your time. Ask yourself whether you concentrating on the things and looking atare how you are spending whether you are concentrating on the things thattime. reallyAsk matter and whether consider you what you your yourself are that really matter and consider what you might be ableon to the move out of thereally way to concentrating things that might be able to move out of the way to make room for you –what and your peoplebe – to matter and consider you might make room for you – and your people – to focus what really counts. able toon move out of the way to make room focus on what really counts. for you – and your people – to focus on what really counts.

Be responsible Be responsible Be responsible Recognise that responsible business Recognise that responsible business Recognise responsible business behaviour that is not optional and take Net behaviour is not optional and take Net behaviour is not optional and Net Zero seriously. People want totake work for and Zero seriously.

People want to work for and Zero People that wantare to work buy seriously. from businesses awarefor of and buy from businesses that are aware of and and buy from businesses aware managing their impacts that well,are so understand managing their impacts well, sowell, understand of and managing their impacts what these are and do whatever you can to what these are what and do whatever you to so understand and docan minimise harm and these makeare a positive difference. minimise and a positive whatever harm you can tomake minimise harm difference. and make a positive difference.

07788926679 07788926679 INFO@CECHANGE.CO.UK INFO@CECHANGE.CO.UK WWW.CECHANGE.CO.UK WWW.CECHANGE.CO.UK

DELIVERING BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION, RESPONSIBLY DELIVERINGBUSINESS BUSINESSTRANSFORMATION, TRANSFORMATION,RESPONSIBLY RESPONSIBLY DELIVERING

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

LATEST NEWS Your guide to the top news in international trade from Liverpool Chamber members, shaping our region as a global city.

CLARKE ENERGY USA AND BIOTOWN BIOGAS WORK ON FIRST PROJECT TO DIVERSIFY ENERGY PORTFOLIOS INTO RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS (RNG) Strategic Partners of the Chamber, Clarke Energy has secured a major project to design, supply and install an integrated biogas upgrading system, including power generation and heat recovery, which will process agriculture waste to convert it to RNG at BioTown Biogas.

Read more via www.clarke-energy. com/2021/first-us-rng-project-biotown

The project is a key strategic renewable energy win for Clarke Energy’s USA business after expanding their product offering with RNG solutions.

MAJOR STEP FORWARD FOR LIVERPOOL CITY REGION FREEPORT Assuming that it is approved in the spring, the new Freeport will receive funding of £25 million and be open for business in early summer, boosting the city region’s postpandemic economic recovery.

The Liverpool City Region Freeport has cleared one of the final hurdles in its development with the announcement of government approval for its outline business case.

The final stage in development is now to submit a full business case later in April.

The Liverpool City Region will be home to one of just eight Freeports in England.

The new Freeports are expected to be hubs of business and enterprise which have the potential to create thousands of jobs, help regenerate communities and establish Britain’s post-Brexit place in the world. The government says that they are central to its levelling up strategy.

Read more via www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/ major-step-forward-for-liverpool-cityregion-freeport

LIVERPOOL CHAMBER HAS LOCAL ROOTS AND A GLOBAL REACH. DON’T BELIEVE US? HERE’S WHAT CHAMBER MEMBER’S ASSOCIATES OF CAPE COD INTERNATIONAL HAD TO SAY. “We have been members of Liverpool Chamber for many years.

During this time we have been helped by the Chamber team with advice and contacts. In recent months we have been looking at

MARITIME TRANSPORT SET FOR MULTIMILLIONPOUND EXPANSION AT PORT OF LIVERPOOL Logistics firm Maritime Transport Ltd, which provides road and rail cargo services, has agreed a 30-year lease with Peel Ports Group and a major expansion of its transport depot at the Port of Liverpool.

The multi-million-pound project will see the facility increase from four acres to ten with a new storage yard for loaded containers, significantly enhancing Maritime’s operation in the North West.

The deal will extend the geographical reach of the Port of Liverpool further into the midlands by supporting both hauliers and Maritime’s rail freight activities. Another benefit will be enabling ‘off-peak loading’, which will help smooth out peaks during the busiest periods, both on-site and via routes serving the port.

Read more via www.peelports.com/news-articles/ maritime-transport-set-for-multimillion-poundexpansion-at-port-of-liverpool

moving some of our company logistics back into the EU postBrexit. Elena and the International team provided us with some key contacts in the UK including the Department for International Trade and The Netherlands Regional Development team.

The initial contacts provided by the Chamber has given us connections to other Dutch organisations and services helping us move our project forward very quickly. Without the support and assistance from the team at Liverpool Chamber, this project would have been more difficult to complete and would have taken considerably longer.”

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE

LIVERPOOL-BASED INSECTICIDE MANUFACTURER LOOKS TO REPLICATE SOCIAL IMPACT PROJECT ACROSS THE GLOBE Yanco Ltd are a manufacturer based in Liverpool, developing innovative, sustainable and affordable insecticide solutions. Supplying to over 30 markets globally, Yanco are leading providers of insecticide products that help combat disease around the world.

In 2021, Yanco launched a joint health initiative which originated following discussions with national grassroots football fan network Fans Supporting Foodbanks – founded and based in Liverpool – who introduced Yanco to Everton Football Club, concerning the use of Yanco’s insecticide paper for killing mosquitoes in humanitarian aid and corporate social responsibility programmes.

The insecticide paper protects against the threat of disease carried by mosquitoes, and is highly portable and suitable for mass distribution to vulnerable people at a very low cost – which makes it an effective product for controlling humanitarian emergencies like Malaria and Dengue.

After discussions with Everton and Fans Supporting Foodbanks, Everton FC’s South American links enabled the Yerry Mina Foundation to become involved in Mina’s native village in Colombia, where Yanco’s Colombian partner Industrias Katori distributed the product under their Katori brand.

The project and donation was formally announced at an event in the town square of Yerry Mina’s birthplace, Guachené, where the British Ambassador in Colombia and President of the Foundation attended. Yerry Mina also delivered a special video

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message which was played in the town square to local residents and beneficiaries of the donation.

The initiative was carried out with the support of the British Embassy in Colombia and the Colombian Red Cross (Cauca section) who delivered donations to thousands of families in Guachené.

The ground-breaking project provided 5,000 homes in Guachené, Cauca with an insecticide paper that protected families for up to 3 months from the threat of serious illness carried by mosquitoes, including Malaria, Zika, Dengue, Fever and Chikungunya.

The project demonstrated when businesses, charities, football organisations, governments, and NGOs work together, it can bring enormous benefits to vulnerable people and communities.

After speaking with Yanco’s Deputy Managing Director Kevin Riozzi, it was clear that Yanco are committed to replicating this project in other parts of the world that need vital support.

He said: “The success of the Yerry Mina initiative back in 2021 has only encouraged us to push even further for similar social impact projects across the globe. Our aim is for insecticide paper to become a global development aid product.”

“We have connections with embassies in multiple countries worldwide and thanks to Liverpool Chamber’s IFB embassy event back in 2014, we were introduced to representatives from the British embassy in Colombia, without whom this project would not have been possible.”

“Our insecticide paper is extremely cost-effective, each booklet contains 10 or 12 sheets of paper coated with an insecticide that can last for up to 7 hours per sheet. We set our prices depending on the market where we sell, so that it is affordable, even for the most-vulnerable.”

“Through our relationship with Ian Byrne MP and Dave Kelly at Fans Supporting Foodbanks, we are looking to connect with other football organisations

and sports clubs, and we are also looking to collaborate with local and international companies interested in similar social impact projects. We would encourage anyone interested to contact us.”

If you are looking to review your corporate social responsibility programme and would like to explore collaboration opportunities with Yanco, please email Kevin.Riozzi@yanco.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

LIVERPOOL CHAMBER WELCOMES UNITED STATES EMBASSY MISSION Inward investment & export opportunities showcased to US representatives visits, briefings and meetings with businesses and partner organisations and stakeholders.

Among those businesses visited by the delegation were Clarke Energy, Yanco, Liverpool Film Office and Sciontec in the Knowledge Quarter, while they also enjoyed a briefing meeting with representatives of Peel Ports, Liverpool Freeport and a collection of organisations who are currently exporting to the US. left to right: Gus Franklyn-Bute ( Senior Regional Investment Advisor, US Embassy) Paul Cherpeau (CEO, Liverpool Chamber), Brenda VanHorn ( Commercial Counsellor, US Embassy), Elena Enciso ( International Trade Manager, Liverpool Chamber), John Lucy ( Director of Liverpool Freeport) and Martin Olverson ( Sales Director Liverpool, Peel Ports)

The Chamber also hosted a roundtable event attended by businesses based in the city region, where delegates shared practical information and intelligence around issues such barriers to growth and trade, regional differences between individual states, city tax compliance, hiring talent and understanding how to access programs and incentives.

The US Embassy, Department for Commerce and Select USA were represented by Brenda VanHorn, Commercial Counsellor and Gus FranklynBute, Senior Investment Advisor.

Freeport director John Lucy said: “We now have established channels for any future trade enquiries from Liverpool businesses about the US market and, most importantly, the Liverpool City Region is now on the radar with US Embassy trade commissioners and we will be involved in future US trade missions held at the US Embassy, in Liverpool or indeed they can arrange visits directly to the USA for our regional businesses.”

During the visit, the Chamber promoted many of the Liverpool City Region’s exporting and inward investment opportunities through a combination of site

Giles Warburton, managing director at Shortlist Recruitment, said: “The ability to get to meet key US embassy personnel and understand the level of direct assistance

Liverpool Chamber hosted a two-day visit from a delegation of senior United States trade and investment officials.

Liverpool Chamber

open to us was a game changer. Thank you to the Chamber for organising such a useful event.

Christopher Jones, vice president of Alphasonics, said: “Alphasonics found the USA Expansion Event to be a great roundtable discussion exploring opportunities in North America. Whilst we have already embarked on our own expansion effort, we found resources previously unknown to us that we will certainly explore and made some great contacts. It was also a great opportunity to share our own experiences in this area, with the hope that we could give some ideas to help with the expansion plans of other companies from our great city.”

Paul Cherpeau, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber, said: “Demonstrating Liverpool’s proposition as both a destination for inward investment and as a global supplier of goods and services is a responsibility and privilege for local Chambers. We were delighted to work with a wide and diverse selection of our private and public sector partners to showcase the city region’s exciting opportunities and strengths in innovation, health, logistics and culture to our American trading partners.

“Liverpool has the capacity, capability and opportunity to be at the epicentre for UK trade and investment with our largest trading partner and there is no doubt this visit reinforced those credentials.”

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Making a city safe for everyone A new initiative to help businesses and venues support vulnerable communities in Liverpool has been launched.

Liverpool BID Company is supporting ‘You’re Safe Here’, part of a campaign aiming to provide venues and businesses with training to support and protect different communities, including LGBT+ people and survivors of hate crime.

Supporting business in making Liverpool more inclusive is a vital part of Liverpool BID’s work. If a member of staff is approached by someone in need of help it is important for them to feel confident they know what to do.

The training covers what a Hate Crime is and what happens when something is reported to either police or a third party. It also includes a question and answer session to help clarify different aspects of the training.

Developed by LCR Pride Foundation and working with partners including Culture Liverpool, Homotopia, Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and Liverpool BID, ‘You’re Safe Here’ is a free accreditation scheme designed to promote safe venues and locations, reassuring people that staff know what to do if someone approaches them and asks for help or advice.

For business it ensures that their staff are empowered, knowing how to both approach and best support vulnerable people who may come into the venue looking for help. It also makes Liverpool city centre more accepting and inclusive for different communities. When more people understand the potential threats and lived experience of vulnerable communities they are more invested and committed to helping make spaces safer for everyone.

After completing a one hour training session, venues and businesses can display the accreditation in public areas and staff room areas.

‘You’re Safe Here’ training can be booked via LCR Pride, please email info@lcrpride.co.uk for more information.

YOU’RE

SAFE HERE

18 Photo by Kristian Løvstad on Unsplash

EXPORTING

LIVERPOOL, HOLLYWOOD OF THE NORTH

The creation and expansion of new sound stages in Liverpool like The Depot and Littlewood Studios make it an ideal destination for the Film/TV industry. The additional assets of the city’s unique architecture and environment, perfect for filming outdoor location scenes, have given Liverpool the new handle, Hollywood of the North. Just ask Warner Bros, who spent months prepping and filming The Batman in Liverpool using the city as the backdrop to recreate Gotham City. Film equipment, gear, cameras, costumes, digital hardware/technology, sets, and other professional equipment can be flown into Liverpool’s John Lennon International Airport or shipped as cargo to Liverpool and Liverpool 2 port terminals.

The Liverpool Film Office is essential to prospective producers while serving as a central point of contact for the industry. They report at least 16 major productions coming to your screens in 2022 were made in Liverpool. The cultural and economic impact of the industry on local businesses and talent is significant while boosting Liverpool’s presence in the world as a destination for commerce and tourism.

Also essential to international film production is the ATA Carnet, a customs document that allows temporary import/export of professional equipment, commercial samples, and goods for exhibition without having to pay import duty and taxes when clearing customs.

Widely known in the industry, carnets are an essential tool to international Film/ TV production. ATA Carnets offer significant savings from the avoidance of duty and tax payment on expensive cameras and equipment.

Without these savings, most productions would not be able to afford international shoots.

Liverpool Chamber

Boomerang carnets® UK partners with the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce providing ATA Carnets for film production and other enterprises seeking to grow their businesses and expand into international markets.

Carnets make doing business internationally an affordable venture, while making customs clearance even easier. The cost-savings and convenience are benefits that news crews, filmmakers, TV producers, and independents aren’t willing to work without. Just ask the BBC, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, and any number of independent filmmakers and production companies who use Boomerang for their ATA Carnets. Carnets also act as a Certificate of Registration for equipment and goods when returning to their country of origin.

Boomerang carnets UK is minutes from major transport outlets with ATA Carnet Specialists in the Liverpool Chamber office.

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AND WELLBEING HEALTH & WELLBEING

WORK PROGRESSES ON EVERTON IN THE COMMUNITY’S THE PEOPLE’S PLACE Construction work is progressing on Everton in the Community’s purpose-built mental health hub, The People’s Place.

Close to Goodison Park, the facility is due to open in late 2022 and will promote positive mental health and suicide prevention through an extensive range of evidence-based provision.

The People’s Place will offer a first of its kind service delivered by a football club’s community foundation, providing wellbeing activities alongside educational and employment support with a layer of professional care from Health and Wellbeing Practitioners, GPs and Mental Health Professionals.

Mike Salla, Everton in the Community’s Director of Health and Sport, said: “We’re delighted that work is well underway on the People’s Place, as it will be a real beacon of hope for the local community.

“Everton in the Community has been offering comprehensive mental health provision for more than ten years and currently has 15 projects with a focus on improving mental health - but the need for The People’s Place is greater than ever and it will allow us to significantly expand on the support and services we provide.

“It’s going to make a huge contribution to our delivery and to the whole city region, as well as helping to tackle the stigma

“EMPLOYERS SHOULD BE STRIVING TO CREATE A MENTALLY HEALTHY WORKING ENVIRONMENT”

“Right now, employers should be striving to create a mentally healthy working environment and that is very different to addressing the mental health ‘issue’. One in four people will experience a mental health issue in their lifetime, but all of us experience mental health every single day of our lives and employers need to focus on this too,” he said. “The narrative around mental health in the workplace needs to shift to acknowledge this.”

Over the past two years mental health in the workplace has been described as one of the most significant issues that employers need to address. In 2020 the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially classified burnout as a medical condition and in 2020/21 stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 50 per cent of all workrelated ill-health cases.

Since 2014, Chasing the Stigma has worked to challenge the stigma around mental health, create clear and consistent pathways to support groups and services, through the Hub of Hope app (www.hubofhope.co.uk) and provide training through the Ambassador of Hope programme.

But is defining mental health solely as an ‘issue’ right for the modern workplace?

Jake Mills, CEO and Founder of national mental health charity, Chasing the Stigma, thinks not.

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Jake continued: “By acknowledging mental health as a constant and a norm and focusing on encouraging employees and ourselves to be as mentally healthy as we can be every day, we can prevent ‘mental health’ from turning into an ‘issue’, such as a mental health crisis.”

towards mental health and help normalise that conversation.

“The coronavirus pandemic has amplified many of the associated risk factors for poor mental health and suicide such as social disconnection, isolation and financial instability. The People’s Place will offer an overarching service to anyone who may need it regardless of age, gender, location or footballing colours.”

The People’s Place building will form the latest part of the Goodison Campus, which has already seen £10million invested in the regeneration of the area surrounding Everton’s stadium and includes Everton Free School, The Blue Base and The People’s Hub. “Another key aspect of The People’s Place is that it’s deliberately for everyone” Salla added. “We hear about how one in four people will experience poor mental health each year, and absolutely this is for them, but it’s also for the three in four people who are deemed to have good mental health. Everybody has mental health so it’s important that we all prioritise it.”

To achieve this, Jake believes that meaningful changes need to be made in workplaces to accommodate the understanding and presence of mental health in everyday life.

“This isn’t about marketable initiatives that sound snappy, they need to be created in consultation with staff to find out what they need. They also need to be year-round, not just to hit the headlines in awareness periods,’ he said. “Creating a mentally healthy environment isn’t about box-ticking, it’s about people and individual needs.”

For advice on creating a mentally healthy workplace and to learn more about the Ambassador of Hope training programmes, visit: www.chasingthestigma.co.uk/ news/workplace-mh/

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

HOW HEALTH BENEFITS CAN HELP YOU RECRUIT AND RETAIN STAFF

The working world has undertaken countless adaptions and changes since 2020, from home and hybrid working models becoming the norm, to a huge emphasis being placed upon wellbeing in the workplace. Due to this, both employees and employers have had to shift their priorities to fit this new post-pandemic society. approach fails to optimise employee retention or attraction. Investing in employee benefits, such as discounted gym memberships or health insurance plans, results in a much higher chance of securing job acceptances and retaining top talent.

Candidates are now looking to work for a company that clearly considers their employee’s welfare, in and out of work, such as those offering company health plans to employees at all levels, not just the most senior. As a result of this, healthcare cash plans have increased in popularity, with businesses now covering around 1.5 million employees across the UK.

Employees now desire greater flexibility with their work and are opting for jobs that can provide them with a better work-life balance.

Where salary was once the deciding factor, jobseekers are now prioritising employee benefits and a good workplace culture over higher income job offers.

In a bid to compete in an increasingly difficult market for talent, many employers have attempted to increase remuneration; however, research has shown that this

Liverpool Chamber

Medicash is an award-winning provider of health cash plans, a practical and costeffective way to look after your employee’s physical and mental wellbeing. Medicash supports over 385,000 policyholders with a range of plans starting at 95p per week, per employee, that can be tailored to suit your business, offering cashback on everything from everyday medical appointments to preventative tests and inoculations.

We spoke to Paul Gambon, Sales and Marketing Director, who discussed with us the striking increase in interest regarding

corporate health cash plans, and how many businesses have discovered the value in providing their employees with accessible healthcare options. He said: “A health cash plan is the best way to simultaneously invest in your employees and your business. Our cash plans ensure that staff feel supported and safe, whilst also helping to reduce absenteeism and increase productivity. We have seen a huge influx of interest in the last year, with 2021 being our most successful year to date, and this has continued into 2022, with over 50,000 new policies written so far this year.

A health cash plan is steadily becoming an expectancy within workplace benefits, and it’s easy to see why.”

A health cash plan gives your employees the support they need, when they need it, providing cashback on a variety of treatments from dental check-ups to complementary therapies. Costs such as new glasses or contact lenses, dental appointments and physiotherapy and can be covered for your whole workforce, all while costing a fraction of the price of a traditional health insurance plan.

Health cash plans often feature additional health and lifestyle benefits, like discount schemes and wellbeing tools. For example, Medicash provides its policyholders with access to a host of digital services, including a Virtual GP, a skin cancer screening app and digital physiotherapy, all of which can be accessed via the My Medicash app to provide employees with instant access to these healthcare solutions. These ancillary benefits can reduce absences by efficiently treating those who are ill and tending to any new symptoms before they develop with preventative care and support. You can also maintain your workforce’s mental health by offering an Employee Assistance Programme, with 24/7 telephone helplines, plus access to trained counsellors.

Now more than ever, staff are seeking employers who consistently demonstrate their dedication to great employee wellbeing. Offering health & wellbeing benefits such as health cash plans and accessible healthcare options can help your company to stand out from the crowd as an employer of choice for the latest talent, ensuring that you stay ahead of the curve in today’s talent shortage.

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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF… Head of Video Production at The Guide Liverpool

As head of video production for The Guide Liverpool, the one thing David Wright can reliably predict is that his diary will never be empty or dull.

Combining events coverage with creating video content for businesses, he gets to capture every aspect of what’s happening in the city.

“One of the things I love most about this job is I get to keep people in touch with everything that’s going on, so we’re there for them when they can’t be.

“There’s constantly something happening somewhere in Liverpool, we’re one of those cities that never sits still for two minutes.

With our videos we’re saying either ‘here it is, you can experience it at home’ or ‘remember this, wasn’t it incredible?’”

David, who grew up in West Derby and Formby, studied Media Arts at Royal Holloway in London, specialising in cinematography.

A cancer diagnosis as he was just finishing his degree saw him return to Liverpool, and once his treatment was complete he began an internship at Bay TV where he met The Guide founder Jay Hynd.

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When The Guide expanded and launched its website in 2015, David became part of the full-time video team.

Now his diverse day-to-day diary can see him filming everything from smaller community events to large-scale spectacles like River of Light and the Grand National Festival, alongside corporate work for prominent clients including Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, the Royal Albert Dock and Culture Liverpool.

Often it’s David going solo, with a DSLR, sound recorder and tripod in his rucksack.

“I think some people expect vans with crews of 15 people, but with technology these days you don’t need all of that to make an amazing video and people like that we travel light because it gives us the flexibility to capture something different.

“I’m lucky to see the city from angles nobody else has. I once ended up on a grand tour of the interior of St George’s

Hall organ for a fundraiser video, and I was literally climbing up these little wooden ladders to the very top of the organ. How many people can say that?!”

Need video production for your business?

Email info@theguideliverpool.com

SKILLS

Liverpool John Moores University Leads the Way for Graduate Talent In every corner of the Liverpool City Region’s economy, you find Liverpool John Moores University and the ambitious leadership and innovation that remain at the institution’s core since being founded nearly 200 years ago.

There are three support packages available to help you find the best fit: •

140 hour fully funded internships allowing you to focus on a specific project or product development, generating ideas without the expense

Through student-led business clinics and consultancy projects, to development programmes for leaders, LJMU is committed to bridging specific skills gaps, improving workforce productivity, and driving growth within the heart of the business community.

•

12-month sandwich placements with a 50% contribution to salary costs which gives students the opportunity to grow with you and inject some fresh thinking before returning to complete their studies

•

12-month graduate placements with 50% contribution to salary costs ensuring flexibility when you’re ready to introduce them into your business

Every year 8,000 talented individuals graduate from LJMU with a wealth of knowledge and academic insight from 250 courses. From computer science and civil engineering to marketing, events management and accounting, our students and graduates are highly skilled, driven, and ready to make an impact on the local economy.

Supporting graduates to find rewarding careers within businesses of all sizes, such as the Chamber’s members, adds value to the region across all sectors.

For many SMEs looking at the postpandemic business landscape, collaborating with LJMU on one of its fully funded programmes, like LJMU Graduate Futures, could harness the knowledge that you need as you look towards expansion.

The £2.4m project, funded through the European Social Fund, offers one-to-one business support and consultancy that is tailored for your individual business need.

LJMU will support you through a bespoke programme of coaching and mentoring and introduce you to the benefits of recruiting higher-level skilled employees. LJMU will even manage the recruitment process, bringing an additional cost-saving to your business.

Ensuring that the skills and enthusiasm of students and graduates are successfully matched with local employers can give both groups the boost the Liverpool City Region needs as we recover from the pandemic.

Contact LJMU Graduate Futures now at graduatefutures@ljmu.ac.uk to discuss the support available or visit www.ljmu.ac.uk/graduate-futures

LJMU Graduate Futures

Connecting SMEs to Graduate Talent

Are you a Small to Medium-Sized Enterprise located in the Liverpool City Region looking to scale-up or expand your business? LJMU Graduate Futures is a £2.4m project, funded through the European Social Fund, designed to talent match businesses with student and graduate talent from 250 degrees across a range of subject areas.

Our support package provides 3 options so you can find the best fit for you:

❙ 140 hour fully funded internships allowing you to focus on a specific project or product

development, generating ideas without the expense

❙ 12 month sandwich placements with a 50% contribution to salary costs which gives our

students the opportunity to grow with you and inject some fresh thinking before returning to complete their studies ❙ 12 month graduate placements with 50% contribution to salary costs bringing flexibility in when you’re ready to introduce them into your business

Expressions of interest are open for 12 month sandwich placements - https://bit.ly/GFSandwichYear

For more information, email graduatefutures@ljmu.ac.uk or visit www.ljmu.ac.uk/graduate-futures SUPPORTED BY:

Liverpool Chamber

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SKILLS AND EMPLOYABILITY

PREPARING RESPONSIBLE FUTURE LEADERS

The climate emergency, social inequalities, and economic turmoil reveal the gravity and urgency of the sustainability challenge. At the University of Liverpool Management School (ULMS) we are acutely aware of our responsibilities to prepare our graduates to be responsible future leaders.

Embedding sustainability into the curricula The University of Liverpool has pledged that every student will learn about sustainability and our programmes embed the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). Graduates need to be ‘sustainability literate’ with the knowledge, skills, and mindsets to work in an everchanging world. As well as overhauling our curricula to align with the SDGs, we work with employers, policymakers, and communities to equip our graduates with the right skills.

Students access the latest debates through our research-led teaching. ULMS conducts diverse sustainability research, including studies of drone technologies for urban logistics, investor responses to carbon reporting, economic opportunities for refugees, supply chain responses to modern slavery legislation, ethical consumerism, and the social economy.

Extra-curricular talks showcase innovative business practices, and our research partners provide live projects for students to work on.

Developing skills for sustainability Working on real-world projects builds students’ data analysis and problemsolving skills. Small group seminars develop critical thinking by giving time and space for reflective group discussion.

Here, students delve into sustainability

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challenges to tease out the complex issues and tensions at play. With the right skills and knowledge students can take action, and ULMS’ student-led events have included initiatives on growing food, bike hire, reuse of equipment, and the Liverpool Fashion Summit, an annual programme of events tackling sustainability in the fashion industry.

internships, and student projects. ULMS is currently developing a Centre for Business Sustainability, under the Directorship of Prof. Jo Meehan, and we are keen to hear from organisations in the Liverpool City Region working on sustainability issues, particularly those who would like to work with our research teams.

How can organisations get involved?

Our extensive network of business connections support vibrant guest speaker programmes, business breakfast briefing,

For further information please email busdev@liverpool.ac.uk

SKILLS AND EMPLOYABILITY

CONNECTING SCHOOLS ACROSS THE CITY REGION.

Tell us about hi-impact and how it is helping children to embrace technology?

Headquartered on The Wirral, hi-impact was established by teachers who wanted to influence education beyond the classroom.

The team has spent more than a decade using their teaching and technological expertise to further support and improve all facets of the school curriculum.

Specialising in the delivery of creative, tech-centric workshops, few subject areas have experienced more organic growth than that of ICT – which continues to be an incredibly popular and important area of the curriculum, as well as hi-impact’s services.

Alan Thompson, managing director of hi-impact discusses how LCR Connect will deliver the connectivity schools across the Liverpool City Region have been crying out for, delivering cost effective high speed, high quality services to a sector that is facing increasing pressures on its already squeezed budgets.

In addition to curriculum work, hi-impact also specialise in technical support; using their engineers to help establish, monitor, maintain and – through a partnership with Exa Networks – enhance internet services for numerous schools across the North West.

How important is technology and connectivity to the education sector?

As the prominence of technology, computing and ICT in education has continued to increase, so has the demand for internet usage. This has resulted in many schools across the region becoming more and more reliant on the internet to deliver core components of their curriculum.

With the demand now so high, schools throughout the Liverpool City Region have experienced a variety of difficulties, including but not limited to; connectivity problems, low bandwidth, budget constraints preventing installation, and lack of accessibility due to location and/or infrastructure.

How will LCR Connect support education?

With the emergence of distance-learning as a viable alternative to physical attendance, many schools are beginning to place more strain on their connection and are quickly outgrowing their internet capabilities.

Unfortunately, when coupled with decreased budgets, an investment at this time into a leased line would be difficult.

We and our internet solutions partner, Exa Networks believe that LCR Connect is an exciting and ambitious project which will help totally reshape and enhance digital infrastructure for schools throughout the entire Liverpool City Region; not only providing a fairer market for schools who seek reliable internet provision, but also one which is affordable, suitable, and future-proofed.

To find out how schools can benefit from LCR Connect’s full fibre visit: www.lcrconnect.com/contact or email hello@lcrconnect.com

UNICOURSE REPORTS SCHOOL BUSINESS NETWORK SUCCESS Following on from attending the launch of the School Business Network with the Liverpool Chamber and Liverpool City Council, UniCourse employees who attended were shocked to hear from students at the event about the lack of work experience available to them and other young people in our city region.

As a distance learning provider, education and skills development are at the forefront of everything we do. We allow our learners to grow their skillset with a flexible approach around their lifestyles and commitments. As a business founded and operating in the heart of the Liverpool business district, we felt it essential to engage with our community to help develop skills and provide valuable opportunities to our young people.

Liverpool Chamber

Over the past couple of weeks, Unicourse employees Sadie, Aoife, and Sarah have worked closely with Liverpool City Council SEND employment support officers to create a supported internship for a student with special educational needs.

We welcomed Jack from Abbots Lea School for two weeks in our media department.

Working on a wide range of projects, Jack built up his practical skills and saw his confidence grow in an office environment.

Within the Media department, Jack was able to perform each task given to him with efficiency and to a standard that we required. His primary focus was on our TecTube project, a distance learning platform for primary school students.

Jack’s input was invaluable, and the TecTube team loved having him as part of the team.

Everyone at UniCourse thoroughly enjoyed working with Jack, and we have arranged for Jack to come back for a further five weeks to complete his full internship with us. UniCourse would highly recommend businesses in the Liverpool City Region to engage with the School Business Network, and to reach out to offer similar internships to our community’s young people, allowing them to develop essential skills to move forward in their careers.

FEATURE INTERVIEW

Blok ‘N’ Mesh has provided temporary fencing for clients and events around the world, but its heart and soul remains very much in the Liverpool City Region.

The firm, which has its operational head office in Runcorn, manufactures, supplies and installs a range of barriers, hoardings and perimeter fencing and has worked on projects as diverse as the Tokyo Olympic Games and the High Speed 2 rail development.

Its exponential growth over the past 10 years has seen it win the prestigious Queen’s Award for innovation, reach turnover in excess of £100m and develop a manufacturing and supply network that now comprises 36 distribution depots, five factories and 85 vehicles spanning the UK and Europe.

With plans for further international growth, it would be easy to assume the firm has its sights set well beyond the local area, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Blok ‘N’ Mesh employs more than 200 people in the Liverpool City Region and it is currently working with a local college to develop a training programme that will help to create pathways into a variety of career disciplines.

Simon Worsley, Chief Operating Officer, explains: “Our growth as a business means we have a very real opportunity to positively influence the lives of young people by developing their skills and giving them a meaningful insight into the potential world of work.

SIMON WORSLEY,

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, BLOK ‘N’ MESH Fencing business with global client base remains committed to finding and training new talent across Liverpool City Region.

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FEATURE INTERVIEW

I know from personal experience that high-quality initial training can set the foundations for professional success later in life, so it’s important that we return those opportunities to the next generation however we can.

“We hope to set up an apprentice model whereby college students can come to us to train in a variety of disciplines, from welding or labouring to finance administration, purchasing or transport management, effectively every part of our business.

“I know from personal experience that high-quality initial training can set the foundations for professional success later in life, so it’s important that we return those opportunities to the next generation however we can.

“In times gone by, industries like manufacturing would have been generational, with two or three family members all working together. I would really like to see us build those kinds of community and family legacies within our business.”

It is not only younger talent that is benefitting from Blok ‘N’ Mesh’s determination to find skilled labour and maximise their potential; Simon and the team have also set up a welding academy at HMP Altcourse, where eight inmates now work for the company on a regular basis.

developing skills and opportunity and making a positive impact on the future.”

Sustainability and innovation are also central to what makes Blok ‘N’ Mesh so successful on so many levels. The firm has its own dedicated recycling plant that recycles up to 50 tonnes of plastic waste each day. Much of that material is generated and then reused within the group’s operation to create new products.

Simon explains: “Our determination to maximise our sustainability comes from both within the business and also from the demands of the market. We want to do all we can to ensure our business leaves only a positive footprint for future generations.

“As our client businesses across various sectors begin to understand more about the climate emergency and the need to be more environmentally conscious, they rightly expect us to join them on that journey, which is why we try to stay ahead of the curve.

“We have also launched a new range of recyclable plastic fencing called

Simon continues: “Our staff visit Altcourse to train inmates in welding and other metalwork and manufacturing skills. We then send the necessary materials into the prison, where they have an incredible workshop facility, and the inmates make some of our products.

GOHOARD, which is proving popular

“In return, they receive a salary which is deposited into their savings accounts.

When they are released from prison, they leave with extra money to support them and help to rebuild their lives on the outside. They are also welcome to apply for jobs with us if they wish to and we do our best to make that work. For us, it’s all about

made from recycled plastic and we continue

Liverpool Chamber

among schools and other local authority locations. This is part of our strategy to manufacture highly-reusable products which can be recycled at end-of-life.

“In addition, we have also developed a low-carbon concrete block and a fence foot to look for new ways to engineer innovation and sustainability into what we do.”

Having already established itself in Europe, Blok ‘N’ Mesh has designs on expanding its footprint even further, as well as maximising its UK business.

“We’ve been working closely with the Chamber for the past four months and it has already reaped rewards in terms of business development. We’ve been able to grow our local network and we hope that by nurturing some of those new relationships we can find mutually beneficial ways to share further introductions with each other.

The Chamber’s international trade team has also introduced us to a senior contact at an overseas embassy and the potential for future growth is tangible.

“As a Patron of the Chamber, we hope to have an extra dimension of impact and responsibility, by helping the Chamber to lead the conversation on important topics such as sustainability, skills or being a responsible employer.

“We have continually invested in upskilling our staff and upgrading our technology to include semi-automated machinery and robotics, as well as a new fleet of vehicles and several new distribution depots in the UK, Ireland and France. This will continue to reflect in our approach moving forward, but underpinning our expansion remains the sense that we have the opportunity and responsibility to be a force for good in our local community.

“I am hopeful that the new training pathways will be open to students by the beginning of 2023 and that we can not only train new emerging talent, but also learn from them and use their creativity and enthusiasm to further develop our own business and build something truly special. It is great to think that today’s students could one day be our future team supporting an Olympics or Commonwealth Games halfway around the world. That is certainly our ambition.”

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MSP GLOBAL PARTNERS WITH HUGH BAIRD COLLEGE TO LIGHT PATHWAY TO CREATIVE FUTURES Chamber members come together to close skills gap and broaden opportunities for local students 28

For many young people pondering their future careers, there can be a ‘light bulb moment’ where they suddenly realise what they want to do.

For a talented group of Media Production students at Hugh Baird College, that figurative moment has been quite literal as they get hands-on with lighting, AV, production, photography and events technology as part of their work experience with technical production company MSP Global.

Headquartered in Bootle, MSP Global is a market leader in virtual, hybrid and live event production, working on behalf of clients across the UK and Internationally.

Over the past 22 years, it has employed and trained hundreds of locally-based staff and now the firm is partnering with Hugh Baird College to help find the next generation of skilled technicians and creative minds.

This partnership was born out of their mutual connection as members of Liverpool Chamber and has now developed a number of key strands.

The most visible of these strands is the opportunity for dozens of Hugh Baird College students to get first-hand experience of working at the cutting-edge of digital production.

“The advantage of this approach is that we got to train young, local people ‘our way’, versing them in how we wanted things to be done, from the smallest detail such as how to coil a Cable, to senior client relations. Learning some of that nuance and balance can take many years, but the shape of the business allowed people to grow with us.

The first intake of students arrived last month and they have already been hard at work, learning the ropes from highlyexperienced staff and looking for ways to showcase their own emerging talents.

“Over this time, we have seen numerous staff develop a skill in one area, such as sound engineering, and then find an interest in another discipline, such as vision and graphic design. This creates multi-skilled individuals and teams who can work nimbly on live events to always find a solution and this is the blueprint we’d like to follow with students from Hugh Baird College.

Speaking from the firm’s head office in Bridle Road, 16-year-old Tasha explains: “I’m studying a Level 3 Media Production course, which is a two-year course incorporating topics such as photography, video editing and audio technology. My ambition is to be either a film director or work in forensics recording crime scenes, so I want to learn more about how to handle various pieces of technology and use it to create my vision or fulfil a specific purpose.”

Tom, also 16, dreams of becoming a commercial photographer: “Over the last few years, I’ve developed a passion for photography and I like to go to various locations such as the beach and shoot creative pieces with help from my friends.

Hopefully my work experience with MSP Global will give me an opportunity to use different types of cameras in different settings and gain a clearer understanding of what it takes to be a commercial photographer, either as a freelancer or working for a company.”

David, a Hugh Baird College student from Kirkdale, hopes his experience with MSP Global will help his future career opportunities. He says: “I really enjoy editing and learning how to use different pieces of equipment. My end of year project is a music video using clips of famous computer games and I find it fascinating to watch professionals like MSP at work. Hopefully being here opens up doors for me later on and shows I can work in this type of environment.”

Joe, 16, comments that the opportunities being afforded to Hugh Baird College students are relatively rare: “I have friends taking similar courses at other colleges and none of them are being given opportunities like this. I believe this is quite a rare partnership so it’s great for us and other students at Hugh Baird College to be able to work alongside talented professionals and be mentored by them.”

Liverpool Chamber

“We want to help them identify and develop their passions without applying limits to their potential and encourage them to bring their own ideas to the table.

As a business that is regularly talking to new or existing clients about upcoming projects, we want to remain ahead of the curve and always be creative in our approach, so the opportunity for fresh minds is always welcome.

Aside from providing work experience to students, MSP Global is working with Hugh Baird College in other ways, such as sponsoring the college’s recent event ‘Level Up: Education to Industry’.

The marketplace style event aimed to encourage greater collaboration between industry and education providers and MSP also provided a range of lighting and other technical support on the day.

The Chamber is also delivering skillsfocussed work alongside the college as part of this growing relationship. Indeed, Hugh Baird College students have created the spread of photographs and artboard in the following pages, responding directly to a brief issued by the Chamber’s marketing team.

Explaining MSP Global‘s ambitions for the partnership, company director Lisa Richards says: “When Colin and I returned to the UK from South Africa and set up the business in 2000, we were very clear that we wanted to bring through a new group of highly-skilled, forward-thinking technicians.

The business took off very quickly, so we were able to recruit and train a lot of people in a short space of time.

“My first real contact with Hugh Baird College was through a Chamber online consultation event to discuss skills gaps in the region and after a few separate conversations we discovered that we could help each other in various ways. I would certainly encourage other Chamber members to explore opportunities for mutual benefit with fellow members and develop new partnerships.

Rachael Hennigan, Principal at Hugh Baird College, says the partnership is reaping rewards for the college and its students: “The partnership with MSP Global allows our students to gain crucial high-quality industry experience from a market leader in the sector and will further equip them with the skills, knowledge and behaviours that the industry expects.”

“Our goal as a college is to ensure our curriculum reflects what is needed by businesses and, in turn, provides our students and community with the opportunities to thrive and be successful in a rewarding career. The connections that we make through the Chamber and our partnerships with employers such as MSP Global are helping us achieve this outcome.”

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Upskill your workforce Do you want to upskill your employees, improve productivity and enhance retention?

Our professional short courses can be delivered at your workplace, remotely or on our campus and, depending on your employees’ circumstances, they could study these courses for FREE. Accounting and Finance 4 AAT Access Award in Accounting Software (SAGE) - Level 1 4 AAT Foundation Award in Accounting Software (SAGE) - Level 2 4 AAT Award in Bookkeeping - Level 1

Leadership, Management and Teaching 4 Coaching and Mentoring - Level 3 4 Principles of Management and Leadership - CMI - Level 3 4 Assessing Vocational Achievement (Teaching) - Level 3

Healthcare and Wellbeing 4 Awareness of Dementia - Level 2

Skills for the Workplace

4 End of Life Care - Level 2

4 Customer Service - Level 2

4 Health and Social Care (Adults) - Level 3

4 GCSE English or Maths

4 Mental Health Awareness - Level 1

4 IT User Skills - Level 1

4 Mental Health Awareness - Level 2 4 Youth Work Practice - Level 3

Ready to find out more?

Call our Business Development Team on 0151 353 4444 or email enquiries-bdc@hughbaird.ac.uk www.hughbaird.ac.uk Are you able to offer a young person a work experience placement? If so, contact us today.

PATRON NEWS

ESG FOR EVERY BUSINESS ESG is fast becoming business critical and a license to operate for all businesses with Leadership Responsibility at its heart.

Our diagram explains some of the key concepts of ESG that will help you to join the “discussion”.

At its most simple, ESG refers to three core pillars of business conduct: •

“E” - How a business interacts with and impacts the environment

•

“S” - How a business interacts with society creating value generation

•

“G” - How an organisation is governed

Stakeholders Putting sustainable and responsible practices at the heart of your business is fast becoming a requirement and expectation for customers, clients, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders.

Customers, both B2B and B2C, may actively choose not to engage with businesses with poor practices (e.g., human rights in supply chain), or a perception of unsustainable/unsafe products. On the flip side, customers will look favourably on those who are able to demonstrate their commitment to action.

ESG extends past an organisation’s direct impact and considers where the environmental and social issues are across the whole value chain.

Some financial services organisations have started to offer ESG products to the market.

For example, providing discounted lending rates in return for performance against ESG targets, such as greenhouse gas reductions.

Investors are increasing ESG reporting requirements across the ownership cycle.

As part of this, many private equity investors are signed up to the ‘Principles of Responsible Investment’ and this is leading

to downward pressure for their portfolio businesses to develop their own targets and track performance.

Businesses are also coming under increasing pressure from their own workforces to implement ESG strategies. Failure to act runs the risk of disenchantment and increased attrition as employees increasingly vote with their feet over this issue.

Key focus for SMEs The sheer breadth of ESG as a subject can make it a difficult subject to begin to grapple with. Businesses often ask us, “Where do we start”? Understanding the key topics that are most important to your business can help direct efforts to the areas you can have the most impact.

Top tips 1.

Baseline assessment - really understand what your organisation already does in this area, you may be surprised by what you find out about your organisation.

2.

Consider what makes for a sensible strategy and policy approach given the context of your business.

3.

Identify the gaps – assess what is missing in your current approach versus where you want to get to.

4. Develop a continuous improvement mindset – it is a “journey” not a tick box exercise.

The soon you start on your Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) journey, the sooner you will be well placed to take the related opportunities with your customers, your team and other stakeholders in your business.

For further information about how RSM UK can help your business contact Associate Director, Paul Callum at Paul.callum@rsmuk.com

Glass Ceilings

®

Glass Ceilings® provides Business and HR consultancy services, specialising in inclusion and culture throughout the employee lifecycle to prepare businesses for The Future of Work.

•

adjusting start and finish times or increasing number of breaks

•

implementing an agile / hybrid working model (where a role enables it)

How and where people work is changing.

Businesses are facing a combination of unprecedented crises as they adjust to the Future of Work whilst emerging from the Coronavirus pandemic and in a post-Brexit era. Business that aren’t alert or adaptable to trends will lose people who find their needs met elsewhere.

Glass Ceilings® is therefore more than a Business and HR consultancy. We believe work should be a place in which people can grow and thrive so that businesses grow and thrive.

Strategic Workforce Planning

In times of change, often the same people are left behind. We will point out barriers to growth and support businesses to remove them, without judgement, ensuring that nobody is left behind. We do this by working with senior leaders to develop inclusive people strategies aligned to organisational culture and values.

Our key strategic priorities for 2022-23 are:

Businesses can mitigate risks and reduce the impact of labour shortages, in turn improving attendance, productivity, and profits in the medium to longer term, by rethinking organisational strategy and policy in the following areas:

There may be adverse impacts on certain groups of employees who all share a characteristic that makes them more likely to live with long term effects of Covid when compared to employees who do not share the same characteristic.

Reviewing people policies to reduce the risks of discriminating on any grounds, is important to reduce potential discrimination and to support employee wellbeing.

Assessing workforce data on Covid could help HR and Senior Leadership Teams to do strategic workforce and contingency planning.

It may also highlight policy areas that need to be updated. Assessing how many positive Covid cases, Covid-related sickness absences, and isolations within their employee population offers a useful indication of the potential number of employees who may go on to develop longer term effects. Employers should also consider risk assessing roles and functions across the organisation to consider if any may be at higher risk from the symptoms or effects of Long Covid, for example driving, operating machinery, or supervising vulnerable people.

Attendance and Leave

Risk Assessment

Reviewing Attendance and Leave policies to ensure they are fit for purpose in the Covid world we now operate in, and update them to reflect new requirements.

Although the legal requirement to risk assess Covid has been removed in many sectors, the general health and safety duty to reduce workplace risks as far as reasonably practicable applies. Employees who are older, disabled or living with long term health conditions, or carrying out duties that expose them to the general public, all fall into higher risk categories. Increasing numbers of employees are falling into these categories as a result of previous Covid infections.

Employers should consider risk assessments for higher risk groups, to protect them as far as reasonably practicable from catching Covid in the workplace or through work activity.

Preventing Discrimination

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Socio-economic Issues in the Workplace

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Agile and Hybrid working

Proactive measures could include:

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Reproductive System Health in the Workplace

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•

Covid recovery

Paid time off to undergo tests or treatment, or accompany dependents

•

And we look forward to sharing our thought leadership through publications, public speaking, and the launch of our website in May 2022.

Disability Leave entitlements extended to Long Covid

•

Occupational Health Assessments, on a case by case basis

Covid Recovery

Reasonable Adjustments

One of our key areas of focus right now is supporting businesses with Covid recovery.

As we all learn to live with Covid and legal restrictions are lifted, many businesses face labour shortages from rising infections amongst the workforce, and the effects of Long Covid. Many employees are taking time off, or require flexible working arrangements, to manage increased caring responsibilities.

enquiries@glassceilings.co.uk

Employers may need to agree reasonable adjustments or temporary adjustments to role, working pattern, or work environment to support and manage employees living with Long Covid.

This could include: •

flexing the amount of time spent on higher risk activities, for example driving, operating machinery, supervising activities, etc.

Laura Evans, Founder & Managing Director I created Glass Ceilings® because I enjoy growing inclusive organisations that thrive because their people thrive. I combine over 10 years’ delivery in Operations, Policy, and HR across public, private, and not-forprofit sectors to align people and culture to organisational strategy and business planning. I am a Chartered Member of the CIPD, Australian HR Institute, Chartered Management Institute, and the Institute of Directors.

Glass Ceilings® is a member of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. Alongside, I’m also proud to serve as Vice Chair of Governors for a Primary School and a non-executive board member of Sefton Citizens Advice, alongside a proportion of pro bono consultancy work.

DIGITAL

WHAT DOES RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS MEAN TO CGI? Over the last ten years the concept of Responsible business and associated terminology have evolved significantly: CSR, Ethical Business, Citizenship, Purpose. It can be hard to know which term is most appropriate or even what it really means.

Whatever the term, each has a fundamental commitment at its heart to the role of business in making the world a better place.

impact on local Communities. The work we do as a signatory of the UN Global Compact is just as important to us as local volunteering and charitable contributions.

At CGI, we use the term Responsible Business. This is an approach we are extremely proud of and that sees us absolutely committed to an inclusive and sustainable world. All businesses have an obligation to act responsibly.

Responsible Business is embedded in all of our operating practices, in the innovative solutions we provide to our clients, in the partnerships we build, and in the role we play in the communities we live and work in.

Our Responsible Business strategy is built on three distinct pillars: Climate, People and Communities, and underpinned by the foundation of our commitment to Responsible Operations, the supporting of responsible business practices. We want to make a difference to both society and the environment whilst having a real

Responsible business commitments provide business benefits too, with organisations that engage effectively, performing significantly better than those who do not.

According to the Business in the Community 2021 report Purpose Beyond Profit, companies with a social purpose would add 30% to their value and reported 30% higher innovation than their competitors.

CGI’s new Sustainability and Climate Change Advisory practice works in partnership with our clients to turn sustainability into a core business advantage.

Our aim is to bring to life what being a Responsible business means to us to inspire partners, suppliers and clients to join us in achieving ambitious Responsible business goals for the future.

This article is based on a blog by Tara McGeehan, CGI UK President To find out more, visit www.cgi.com/uk/ en-gb/responsible-business

CHAMBER OFFER: DIGITAL DIAGNOSIS PROGRAMME Software development consultancy Mashbo has set up a new partnership programme offering Liverpool Chamber members a complimentary digital diagnosis session to allow them to explore the viability of current or planned tech projects or digital transformation strategies being applied to their business services or internal operations.

This programme is focused on businesses looking to change the ways that they work and that are open to explore what is possible through digitalisation.

Mashbo MD, Gavin Sherratt, said: “There really has never been a better time to explore the opportunities that digitalisation of business processes and operations can bring. Not only can it completely transform businesses, but really innovative projects can bring tax benefits too. In the spring

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statement the chancellor announced the reform of the R&D tax credits scheme and extended it to include cloud computing, data and pure maths, so more projects will soon be eligible.”

During the last 12 months, using an expanded version of this programme, Mashbo has delivered a series of exciting and transformational projects for its clients. These have included: •

Business and financial management systems

•

Directory and database applications

•

Staff management appraisal software

•

Business and digital infrastructure consultancy

•

Digital partnership and commissioning consultancy

The digital diagnosis sessions will be carried out via Zoom with up to four key stakeholders from your business. The Mashbo team will listen, take stock of your requirements and ask some questions that may challenge your existing views, before providing you with a brief summary of what is possible from a technological viewpoint.

The summary will include next steps and estimated budget requirements.

To apply for this programme, you will need to complete the following survey. This will allow Mashbo to build up an understanding of your business and the challenge that you want to address through digital transformation.

Places are limited and successful participants will be contacted by Mashbo.

Contact studio@mashbo.com for more information or apply today at mashbo.com/diagnosis

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MEMBERS NEWS

LEVELLING UP: PROVIDING WORLD CLASS SKILLS FOR BUSINESS Elaine Bowker Principal and CEO at The City of Liverpool College In today’s climate, there is no doubt that those who are leaving education need to be equipped with the skills, experience and knowledge that will let them hit the ground running when they enter the world of work.

I’m a firm believer that curriculum must be designed with industry in mind, to ensure we’re able to provide businesses with the skilled workers they need to help them grow, and to allow those who are just starting out in their careers to thrive and have the best possible chance of success.

The new T Level qualification aims to do just that. T Levels have been created to provide young people with the skills they need to enter the world of work and develop talent to support the economy’s recovery. They will support our economy to address the skills gap, to drive up productivity, raise aspirations and, as a result, support social mobility.

They have been created in collaboration with industry experts so that they are genuinely relevant to the needs of industry, and businesses know that T Level students have been trained in the specific skills needed to grow their workforces. They are a key part of the Government’s reforms to revolutionise skills and technical education, generating the skilled workforce that businesses need for the future and giving students the experience they need to progress into well-paid jobs or further study.

At The City of Liverpool College, we will be delivering 18 T Levels, a unique element of which will be the completion of a high-quality industry placement – of at least 315 hours, or approximately 45 days – where students will build knowledge and skills and develop confidence within the workplace environment, helping to kickstart their careers.

They offer local businesses an excellent chance to nurture and build a skilled

talent pipeline for the future, while helping to level up opportunities as we recover from the pandemic. Students gain vital hands-on experience and invaluable insight of the world of work, setting them up for success in the next steps of their career. What’s more, employers will be able to claim a £1,000 cash boost for every T Level student they host on a highquality industry placement.

There is understandably a huge amount of confusion and uncertainty for young people who are looking at their next steps, so it’s fantastic that we’re able to provide more options for them to find a path that is right for them.

If you would like to find out how your business could benefit from partnering with The City of Liverpool College, or to find out more about how you can get involved with T Levels, contact workforceskills@liv-coll.ac.uk.

I’m a firm believer that curriculum must be designed with industry in mind, to ensure we’re able to provide businesses with the skilled workers they need to help them grow, and to allow those who are just starting out in their careers to thrive and have the best possible chance of success.

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REGENERATION

THE DEMAND FOR SOCIAL HOUSING HAS ‘NEVER BEEN GREATER’ SAYS SEAN KEYES, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SUTCLIFFE, CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING FIRM Working and building on over £1 billion pounds worth of homes throughout Merseyside over the last 35 years, Sutcliffe is no stranger to providing the very best civil and structural engineering services on social housing projects.

With a responsibility to continue to build affordable homes throughout the Liverpool City Region and beyond, having worked on a number of schemes that provide much-needed new homes for

families in their local communities, Sutcliffe is playing its own small part in easing the housing crisis throughout the UK. The latest news that 50 housing associations will receive £179m worth of funding to retrofit their homes under wave one of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is also well received in our sector, and thankfully from what the company is seeing throughout the Liverpool City Region, social housing projects are on the rise. In recent years, Sutcliffe has personally worked on over 7,600 (and counting) homes, including houses, low storey apartments and extra care facilities and with a true social conscience, the company is continuing to consider the environment and its green credentials on every site that it works upon.

increase, with the environment at the forefront of many building projects now.

“Social housing developers are considerably ethical in their developments, considering the likes of flooding and wastage throughout their build, meaning they take a much more considered view when building. The social housing market is very buoyant at the moment and with a high quality of work, I predict the demand for these properties to stay high, especially as we move closer towards meeting the net zero agenda in 2030.”

Discussing social housing solutions and how he sees the construction sector evolving and meeting the needs of its clients throughout the months and years to come, Sutcliffe’s managing director Sean Keyes believes the demand for social housing has never been greater.

“Having worked on relatively small scale social housing units, right up to massive hundred million pound projects, Sutcliffe is continuing to meet the demand for social housing and thankfully over the years, I have seen the standard of social housing

A BROWNFIELD SITE BROUGHT BACK INTO THE FOLD OF LIFE ArchiPhonic celebrates the completion of Smithdown Road development.

A new luxury development located on Smithdown Road, designed by ArchiPhonic, has been completed 18 months after planning permission for the scheme was approved.

The Liverpool-based architectural design firm was appointed by a local developer in 2020 to secure planning permission and approval on a design and access proposal for the redevelopment of a vacant and overgrown brownfield site located between Penny Lane Emporium and Pablinos Bar and Grill. Now, flats in the 34unit scheme are now available to rent and buy in the sought-after South Liverpool area. Set across two blocks and four floors, each of the modern two bedroom apartments make best use of their 70 square foot, with compact, functional bathrooms and a wider living/dining space for flexible everyday usage.

38 38

The scheme features an undercroft car park and bays set within an open communal courtyard, cycle storage areas, communal bin stores and a generous resident’s gym space.

Speaking about the project, ArchiPhonic Director, David Banister, said: “This project allowed us to fill a significant gap in Smithdown Road’s urban frontage and bring an unused brownfield site back into the fold of life in the area, after many years of being left vacant.The new development serves to diversify

local housing stock and also improves the safety of a previously overgrown and unlit adjacent pedestrian footpath for individuals who live, work in or use the area.

“The materials used for the project were informed by those found in neighbouring buildings, so that the new development blends into the existing fabric of the street.”

The 34 two-bedroom flats are expected to yield £850 - £895 pcm in rent, with 21 already occupied.

David continued: “As a project that was progressed steadily during a global pandemic, thanks to an excellent working relationship between our team and our client and plenty of persistence, we’re extremely pleased to see this development completed and we look forward to seeing its residents becoming an intrinsic part of the Smithdown Road community.” www.archiphonic.co.uk

NATURE SOOTHES IN NEW OFFERING FROM STRAWBERRY FIELD

Sue Harvey of the Salvation Army, which operates Strawberry Field, took part in one of the first walks.

She describes it as a “powerful experience”, but also tranquil. “I found the Shinrin Yuko experience so interesting and enlightening. The activity made you think about what nature gives us and what we can take with us to strengthen our team dynamic.

It switches on your senses.”

Batorijs says: “Now more than ever people are looking for new ways to reconnect with nature. I look forward to guiding teams as they ‘Reimagine Monday’ to experience the extraordinary restorative health benefits of connecting with the peace and quiet of the natural environment.”

“Our ethos is about creating experiences that have a lasting impact and lead to healthier and more sustainable ways of being and working in the workplace,” says Yates.

Research which tested the effects of forestbathing on stress levels has supported the claims for the benefits of the practice.

Medical News Today, a British publication, reported in 2019 on a study which found that levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, were significantly lower in people who had done a forest walk than a control group. The benefits are not fully understood, but, as the report noted, “planning to visit a forest seems to positively influence cortisol levels, even before physical interacting with it”.

Other research (Kaplan & Kaplan) has led to the theory of “attention restoration”, a benefit of the forest atmosphere on the mind.

For young John Lennon, the grounds of Strawberry Field were a refuge, a place of inspiration, joy, calm and enjoyment. Now the atmosphere of the lovely gardens that John knew so well can again soothe the spirit of frazzled contemporary visitors through the practice of Shinrin Yoku.

Field. A specially-tailored programme of projects in a lovely setting can include ukulele-making and playing, art sessions, and wood-turning. The initiative is aimed at groups and corporate clients, looking for a healthy and non-clichéd way to build team spirit and develop employees’ strengths, positivity and creativity.

Shinrin Yoku is a Japanese term translated as “forest-bathing”, and it means experiencing and absorbing nature in a relaxed unhurried manner. It’s been “big in Japan” since the late 1980s and is now spreading around the globe as people increasingly seek sanctuaries from the always-on 21st century lifestyle. Strawberry Field, with its ethos of reflection, renewal and happiness, is one of the first centres in the UK to offer organised Shinrin Yoku experiences, especially for work teams.

Shinrin Yoku is led by Stefan Bajortis and Louise Yates. What it means in practice is that a small group moves around local woodland. Their minds, cleared of everyday concerns and stress, are engaging with the natural world via their five senses - savouring sounds, smells and sights of nature in all its forms. Bajortis founded his company, Nature & Therapy UK, in 2017, responding to what he saw as a vital need to bring nature back into people’s daily lives. Yates, a systems coach and Shinrin Yoku guide, counts more than 30 years of helping organisations to get the best out of themselves and their teams, through interactions with each other and the natural world.

A campaign to “ReImagine Mondays” has been launched, offering the forest walks and other engaging but calming activities at Strawberry

Part of the bespoke programme is a visit to the permanent inter-active exhibition at Strawberry Field - a chance to discover its history, the history of The Salvation Army and fascinating insights into John Lennon’s early life and the writing/recording of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.

One of the highlights is the actual piano on which the musician composed and recorded the peace anthem “Imagine” in early 1971.

Strawberry Field was purchased by the Salvation Army in 1934, and housed a children’s home until 2005. Since re-opening as a visitor attraction in September 2019 the gardens have been emphasised as places for reflection, peace, and an escape from the hustle of daily life.

Major Kathy Versfeld, Mission Director for Strawberry Field, says: “With wellbeing and community central to everything that we do – we can’t wait to welcome colleagues through the famous red gates to reconnect, reimagine and see the transformative power of nature first-hand.”

The venue, in Woolton, Liverpool, now offers a select range of activities

For more information and to book tickets visit: to form a whole day of team-building and /StrawberryFieldLiverpool tranquility-inducing exercises For more information and toforbook tickets visit: /StrawberryFieldLiverpool businesspeople or common-interest groups.

Contact our travel trade @strawberryfield www.strawberryfieldliverpool.com consultant, Ginette Goulston-Lincoln, at ginette@goulston-lincoln.com @strawberryfield www.strawberryfieldliverpool.com @strawberryfieldliverpooluk +44(0)7958 448 002 www.strawberryfieldliverpool.com #GatesOpenForGood

#GatesOpenForGood

@strawberryfieldliverpooluk

The Salvation Army is a Church and registered Charity in England (214779), Wales (214779), Scotland (SC009359) and the Republic of Ireland (CHY6399)

PATRON NEWS

OPENING DOORS, KICKSTARTING CAREERS

Unlocking practical employment and skills building opportunities across Liverpool not only provides sustainable pathways for local communities to recover from the tremors of Covid-19; they represent a critical strand of responsible business and – most important of all – really change lives.

For growth and regeneration group Torus, the North West’s largest provider of affordable homes, 2021/22 was a milestone financial year for jobs and job-ready training.

One is the Government’s Kickstart Scheme, which targets 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit. With young people facing severe work challenges through Covid-19, Torus Foundation signed up as a ‘gateway’ organisation in 2020 to help deliver the six-month (25 hours a week) placements, as well as free additional skills and CV-building support.

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In addition to currently hosting 37 apprenticeships, HMS has 24 Kickstart trainees: 10 are part of its ‘green space team’ – grounds maintenance teams that revamp community green spaces and vulnerable tenants’ gardens; four are Business Administrators and 10 are General Construction operatives learning multiple trade skills, including their Fork Lift Truck License.

Whether it’s Kickstart, Women in Construction or another employment initiative, participants generally improve massively as they work closely with Torus Foundation and group mentors – typical outcomes include new skills, significantly improved communication abilities and increased confidence.

Take Molly, for example.

Molly went from Women in Construction into an Apprentice Electrician role with HMS. “HMS and Torus Foundation gave me the confidence to try new things and explore my options in construction,” she explains. “I would recommend the programme to anyone as it really has opened doors I didn’t know were available to me and put my career on a path I never expected, but love!”

Having helped almost 500 people into work in 2020/21 (many of whom faced significant employment barriers), financial year-end results for 2021/22 confirm that the group’s charity, Torus Foundation, more than doubled its impacts, with over 1,000 people engaged making a successful step into the job market.

Numbers tell only part of the story. Torus Foundation is not an employment agency; it provides practical, tailored packages of support for Torus tenants and wider communities – a personfocused approach that responds to individual issues and aspirations, and covers a spectrum of initiatives, including employment.

Liverpool and North West communities, making impacts that extend beyond housing.

To date, the Foundation has enabled 64 Kickstart placements with organisations including HMS, Torus and Raise.

Out of the 25 placements that have ended, 22 have gone straight into employment and the other 3 are being supported into other positions.

And the breadth of the Torus family means that a placement or apprenticeship enabled by Torus Foundation can become the catalyst

for a successful career in construction at the group’s contracting entity, HMS. One of the city’s largest commercial contractors (annual turnover: £100m), HMS has been delivering quality, community-focused activities across Liverpool for over a decade – and generated over £20m for reinvestment into meaningful social projects.

Torus’ operating model is a ‘virtuous circle’, anchored to

Fellow Apprentice Mia adds, “I have enjoyed learning new things and pushing myself to overcome new challenges.

I have also really enjoyed meeting new people and feel privileged to be learning from professionals and to be delivering an excellent service to the community we serve.”

For Torus, responsible business means collaborating closely with localities to create the homes, communities and workforce of the future. On a human level, outcomes inspire on a daily basis. As one Torus Foundation mentor put it, “Give a person with not much experience a chance, as it can have amazing outcomes for them and enable them to grow and develop so much.”

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POLICY

POLICY IN PRACTICE

GIVING BUSINESS A VOICE: WHY POLICY MATTERS Over the past twelve months Liverpool Chamber has been reviewing how we engage with members around our campaigning and policy agenda to provide a more dynamic and interactive approach, which creates more value for our members including through our marketing and events programme.

If you have never considered getting engaged in the Chamber’s policy work here are four good reasons why you might want to change your mind: 1.

Providing your expertise and experience: we need the invaluable data and evidence you can give us to make the case for business at local, regional and national level, allowing us to campaign and challenge on your behalf. We work closely with colleagues in the British Chambers of Commerce to ensure they are representing your voice at government level as well as building relationships with local decision makers in both the city council and the Combined Authority.

2. Keeping you informed: we recognise that many businesses simply don’t have the time to read every government announcement or respond to numerous surveys and consultations so won’t always be aware of new legislation or funding opportunities which might impact on your business.

We highlight what you need to know and share the information through our media channels or directly with those businesses who will be impacted the most.

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3. Celebrating your achievements: we want to highlight all the excellent work that our members are doing across so many policy areas, including responsible business, net zero and skills and employability.

Sharing your experiences helps to inspire other businesses and supports the city region’s wider social, economic and environmental aspirations.

4. Your opinion matters: the work we do around policy informs the campaigning work we do as well as our events programme, shaping the services we offer members and providing opportunities for you to influence how best we can support your business.

There are a number of ways you can get involved including: becoming a member of one of our Expert Panels who provide expertise around key policy areas; signing up for and contributing to our Voice of Business monthly bulletin; attending our quarterly economic breakfast briefings and completing our Quarterly Economic Surveys. Contact the team at policy@liverpoolchamber.org.uk for more information.

PUTTING BUSINESS AT THE HEART OF THE TRANSPORT DEBATE Michelle Cameron, Senior Policy and Strategic Communications Advisor A recent report concluded that key cities across the North are losing out on more than £16bn in productivity because of poor public transport systems. So whilst the Government’s recent confirmation that the Liverpool City Region is to get £710m to improve public transport across the region is excellent news, the decision to curtail investment on schemes like Northern Powerhouse Rail is disappointing.

Transport has an impact on all aspects of business – economic, social and environmental, but all too often investment decisions at local and national level are taken without any real business engagement.

One of the aims of the Chamber’s Transport Expert Panel is to help us to identify and deliver transport priorities for businesses in our region, including improved access to decision makers. Liverpool Chamber currently chairs the British Chamber’s Transport Policy Group which also gives us an opportunity to shape the discussions and campaigns at national level.

Transport can seem overwhelming and of limited interest to the way you operate your business – let us help you to be part of the debate. Get involved by contacting us at policy@liverpoolchamber.org.uk “By bringing a diverse group of transport related businesses together, Liverpool Chamber’s Transport Expert Panel has helped to fill a void where we can share issues and developments relating to our business on a local and national level, whilst understanding some of the wider issues for other key transport stakeholders across the region too, instead of working in isolation.”

Robin Tudor, Liverpool John Lennon Airport

TRANSPORT

PLAY TIME FOR LJLA AS NEW CONNECTION TO ICELAND AND USA ANNOUNCED

Liverpool John Lennon Airport is delighted to announce its newest airline partner PLAY – an Icelandic low-cost carrier, which will link Liverpool to Reykjavik for the first time, with seamless connections also available to their USA services including New York, Boston, Washington and Orlando.

Flights are set to commence from Liverpool on 4th November 2022, operating on Mondays and Fridays using the carrier’s fleet of brand-new Airbus neo family aircraft. The service gives Liverpool, the wider North West and North Wales passengers the chance to book affordable flights to PLAY’s transatlantic destinations via Reykjavik from as little as £149.99. One-way tickets to Iceland will start at £59.99, bookable at www.flyPLAY.com.

Birgir Jónsson, CEO of PLAY, said: “The UK has always been a particularly important market for us, so to announce a second route within a year of launching is an exciting milestone for the company. We look forward to welcoming passengers from the North West region and beyond, to help them on their journey to Iceland or to the USA. We are a no-frills airline,

but with our reliable and affordable flights, PLAY’s passengers can spend their hard-earned money in their holiday destination, rather than on getting there.”

Paul Winfield, Director of Aviation Development for Liverpool John Lennon Airport, commented: “It is fantastic to welcome such an exciting airline brand as PLAY and Reykjavik as a new destination to the Airport’s expanding route network.

Iceland is a destination which we know will prove popular with our passengers, along with the airline’s excellent

connections to the USA. North America is one of the most popular destinations for North West consumers and it is great that passengers from across the region will soon be able to fly from Liverpool direct to Iceland and onward seamlessly to the USA, taking advantage of all the benefits of flying from the North West’s Faster, Easier and Friendlier airport of choice.

This will be another important link for the region’s visitor economy too, making it easy for Icelanders and Americans wanting to visit the Liverpool City Region, the North West and North Wales to fly to Liverpool.”

Flight times on Mondays and Fridays: Depart

Arrive

Liverpool:

10:50

Reykjavik/Keflavik:

13:40

Reykjavik/Keflavik:

07:00

Liverpool:

09:30

This will be another important link for the region’s visitor economy too, making it easy for Icelanders and Americans wanting to visit the Liverpool City Region, the North West and North Wales to fly to Liverpool.

Liverpool Chamber

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RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS IN THE WORKPLACE Kelly McNair, customer operations manager at Bruntwood Works, Liverpool Businesses are increasingly focussed on operating in a responsible way for the benefit of their staff, customers and the wider community. This ambition can be perceived in multiple ways, from an inclusive and flexible working culture to a commitment to health and wellbeing.

As we hopefully emerge from the worst effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a clear movement towards greater adoption of hybrid working, whereby employees and business owners choose to split their working week between home and their workplace.

While national UK trends suggest that staff at larger multinationals are continuing

to work from home more often, here in Liverpool the buoyant SME community is more minded to adopt this hybrid model.

Many staff and employers at smaller firms want to be in the same room as their colleagues to allow sharing of ideas, collaboration and training for junior team members. They also want the freedom to meet clients or network with peers in more relaxed social settings.

At Bruntwood Works, we work hard to create spaces that blend professional and lifestyle needs, whilst building opportunities for our customers to interact and create meaningful, vibrant communities.

Our multimillion-pound Pioneer development at The Plaza is now almost complete and has transformed the space with a new restaurant and bar, communal

lounge, fitness suite, shower facilities, gym and bike storage - creating a work address like no other in Liverpool.

We see the innovation running through this design as the future of modern-working, combining our full range of workspaces with unique events and an independent brand, Graffiti Spirits Group, operating an exciting leisure destination.

This makes it an ideal location for businesses welcoming the advent of hybrid working: a city centre environment where culture, amenity and wellbeing are paramount.

As a responsible employer, it is great to see businesses focussing on these aspects and we will continue to do all we can to support our customers by providing innovate, collaborate spaces to enjoy.

INCLUDING SOCIAL VALUE IN PROCUREMENT CHANGES LIVES Leading procurement consultancy, 2buy2, is living up to their strapline, ‘purpose driven, not profit’, with their newly formed PSBO. Their mission is to include social value into procurement to improve the lives of people in poverty around the UK. What is a PSBO? A Public Sector Buying Organisation (PSBO) is a governing body that focuses wholly on delivering top quality procurement as well as the best supply chain services.

2buy2’s PSBO, Education Buying Group Ltd, brings compliant procurement solutions to education and other organisations. Rob Kissick, founder of 2buy2 said “The PSBO focuses on generating savings, encouraging the inclusion of social value into bids by suppliers and creating opportunities to deliver efficiency and expertise for educational establishments without a procurement team.”

Claire Easun, EBG Director says, “It was important to us to create a PSBO that is not-for-profit, with surplus funds getting

passed back into education as a grant.

Profit margins are not the goal, savings are.”

How does social value in procurement change lives?

Though it is not a legal requirement to include social value criteria in tenders, the public sector is encouraged to use procurement to achieve wider financial and non-financial outcomes, including improving wellbeing, communities and the environment by making social value a decision-making criterion when awarding contracts.

The PSBO has several frameworks that have a very real social value benefit to schools and the communities they serve.

When a school signs a new contract,

they can ask prospective suppliers to consider what they would be able to offer in support of the local community; a very real example of this is with a catering supplier 2buy2 recently worked with. They ensured 95% of all cooks completed an apprenticeship so they are paid the Living Wage. There are many families living in poverty, lots have free school meals. This social value initiative has proven to greatly help children in the community.

2buy2 works with organisations to get the most out of their procurement, including adding social value to their tenders. For more information on good procurement, email Geraint.williams@2buy2.com or visit 2buy2.com.

EVENTS

LIVERPOOL CHAMBER DAY TO RETURN TO LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT

We are delighted to announce that Liverpool Chamber has once again partnered with the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament to host Liverpool Chamber Day on Thursday 16 June 2022. The event is a warm up event to Wimbledon, and over the years has welcomed stars like Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Martina Hingis to Liverpool.

Liverpool Chamber

Anders Borg, managing director of event producers Northern Vision said: “We are so pleased to announce the launch of the 2022 Liverpool International tennis Tournament, taking place from the 16th to 18th of June. The last 12 months have been devastating for most of us, but we hope and pray that we can look forward to brighter times ahead. We are looking forward to working with the Liverpool Chamber team again, and offering members the chance to join us with an exclusive discount.”

Paul Cherpeau, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber added: “The Liverpool

International Tennis Tournament has been a mainstay of the city’s sporting calendar for twenty years, and we are delighted to support this year’s event. We were pleased to start our relationship with Liverpool International Tennis Tournament last year and partner on August’s event, which was a great success in the wake of the pandemic. Once again, Chamber members will have a great opportunity to access a bespoke deal to join us on the first day of the tournament and celebrate its 20th anniversary, while enjoying an excellent day of hospitality, networking and entertainment.”

Chamber members will receive a 20% discount for tickets purchased in the corporate Legends Marquee on Thursday 16 June.

The package includes: •

Private or shared table of 10 in The Legends Marquee

•

Tea and coffee on arrival

•

Three course sit down lunch, with complimentary wine and soft drinks*

•

Afternoon Tea

•

Access to private cash bar

•

Reserved private centre court box

•

Access to practice courts

•

Player Q&A

•

*Complimentary drinks based on a table of 10 include one bottle of red wine and one bottle of white wine, four bottles of water, or proportion of if booking less than 10 seats/1 table Tickets are usually priced at £145 + VAT per person, so will only be £116 + VAT with Chamber membership discount.

To book your tickets, and to access your exclusive member discount, please contact our membership team at membership@liverpoolchamber.org.uk.

For those members who would like to use the event to make an even greater impact, there are a range of sponsorship opportunities available over the three days of tennis. For further information, please contact membership@liverpoolchamber.org.uk.

For more information on the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament, visit https:/ /liverpooltennis.co.uk/

45

CHAMBER EVENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

Join colleagues, members and friends at our Chamber events for fantastic networking opportunities and an insight into what’s happening in the Liverpool City Region…

28 APRIL

Executive Reception

17 MAY

Chamber Social

29 APRIL

QES Business Briefing

16 JUNE

International Tennis Tournament

06

Well Connected Networking

21 JUNE

BCC Accredited Training: Documentary Letter of Credit and Methods of Payment

12 MAY

Executive Reception

15 JULY

QES Business Briefing

MAY

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

The Old Hall, Cotton Exchange

PINS Social Club

Liverpool John Lennon Airport

PINS Social Club

Liverpool Cricket Club

University of Liverpool Brett Building

Not a member of Liverpool Chamber? Join today and get access to a range of events including networking coffee mornings, chamber socials, business briefings and much more.

Email membership@liverpoolchamber.org.uk Or call 0151 227 1234 46

CHAMBER EVENTS

TAKE A LOOK AT THE CHAMBER IN ACTION

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1. The official launch of the School Business Network in partnership with Liverpool City Council

2

2. February #WellConnected event hosted at Tempest on Tithebarn 3. Our Annual General Meeting followed by an executive lunch with 40+ members hosted at the Marriott Hotel

4

5

4. US Market Opportunities Roundtable with special guests from the US Embassy 5. March #WellConnected hosted at the newly refurbished Plaza building 6. #GrowMyProfile Marketing Bootcamp with expert panelists, part of our Business Growth Programme

6 Liverpool Chamber

7

7. Innovation in Business Awards 2021 winners reception held at the breath-taking 360 Sky Bar

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CHARITY

BUSINESS WORKING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT LOCAL CHARITIES

•

Age Concern Liverpool and Sefton

•

All Saints Multi Academy Trust

•

Alternative Futures Group

•

Cancer Research UK

•

Career Connect

•

City Hearts

•

Claire House

•

Clatterbridge Cancer Charity

•

Cradle Charity

•

Emmaus Merseyside

•

Everton in the Community

•

Expect Limited

•

Freshfields Animal Rescue

•

Granby Community Mental Health Group-Mary Seacole House

•

Leadership Through Sport and Business

•

Liverpool Parish Church (Our Lady & St Nicholas)

•

Liverpool Philharmonic

•

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

New wellbeing foundation partners with the Chamber to support 18 charities across the North West

•

Mary’s Meals

•

Merseyside Adventure Sailing Trust

Liverpool Chamber are delighted to announce that they have become corporate ambassadors of North West Charity Events (NWCE), a charitable foundation that will provide grant support to help charities make a positive impact on health and wellbeing in the North West region.

•

National Museums Liverpool

•

Natural Breaks Ltd

•

North West Cancer Research (NWCR)

•

Nugent

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NW RFCA

•

Resume Foundation - Aintree Hub

•

Sefton Women’s and Children’s Aid

•

South Liverpool Homes

•

Team Oasis

•

The Brain Charity

•

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

•

When You Wish Upon A Star

•

Wirral Hospice St John’s

•

Woodlands Hospice

•

Workers Educational Association

Liverpool Chamber are passionate about creating pathways for third sector organisations to engage with businesses in the region and have made a commitment to raise funds for our own partner charities, Clatterbridge Cancer Charity and Everton in the Community. fundraising efforts. We know that there are many Chamber members that have a strong corporate social responsibility and would love to support local charities, so for an initial chat regarding how you could best engage with the third sector, please email me via Tom.Woolley@ liverpoolchamber.org.uk.”

Laura’s Zip Slide for Everton in the Community Liverpool Chamber’s events manager Laura Edwards joined over 220 brave daredevils to zip line across Goodison Park, raising more than £25,000 towards Everton in the Community’s vital work in the process.

Carena Duffy, fundraising manager at Everton in the Community, said: “As a charity, we’re passionate about supporting local people and adapting our programmes to what is needed, especially postpandemic, so fundraising events like this are vital in order to keep our outreach strong.”

Tom’s Apprentice Challenge Our head of membership and business growth, Tom Woolley, has recently completed the University of Liverpool’s “Help to Grow” course. During one module, his group were set a one hour challenge to raise as much as possible for a local charity, resulting in over £1500 being raised for our partner charity Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

Tom said: “This is a perfect example of how significant sums can be raised through businesses working together and engaging their networks in their

Fundraising will start with NWCE’s first ever golf day and black-tie evening event, titled “18 for 18”, to raise funds for 18 charities across the North West on 6 May 2022.

Liverpool Chamber have worked alongside NWCE to identify member charities who share its overall mission, with the Chamber’s own partner charities Everton in the Community and Clatterbridge Cancer Charity amongst those supported by “18 for 18”.

For further information on NWCE and “18 for 18”, please visit https:/ /northwestcharityevents. co.uk/18-for-eighteen or email info@northwestcharityevents.co.uk

48

Our charities:

STAFF DIRECTORY

Staff Directory

Chamber staff are here to provide dedicated support for business members of the Chamber. The directory below provides a list of contacts for members should they need to contact us.

Connect Support Thrive.

Paul Cherpeau Chief Executive

Jon Cranston Director of Finance & Operations

Tom Woolley Head of Membership and Business Growth

Elena Enciso International Trade Manager

Julie Sankey International Trade Executive

Ian Bulmer Programmes & Policy Manager

Sarah Woolley Export Documentation Specialist

Helen Gibbons Accounts Manager

Michelle Cameron Senior Policy & Communications Advisor

Melissa Healy Office Manager

Laura Edwards Events Manager

Nathan Taylor Administration Assistant

paul.cherpeau@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

julie.sankey@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Armands Didzus Export Documentation Officer

Armands.Didzus@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Jordan Rhoda Membership Executive

jordan.rhoda@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Emily Hardy Marketing and Communications Officer emily.hardy@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Liverpool Chamber

jon.cranston@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

ian.bulmer@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Lisa Noon Export Documentation Specialist lisa.noon@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Conor Williams Executive Officer

conor.williams@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Jess Miller Marketing and Events Assistant

tom.woolley@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

sarah.woolley@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

michelle.cameron@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

laura.edwards@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

elena.enciso@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

helen.gibbons@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

melissa.healy@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

nathan.taylor@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Tel: 0151 227 1234 Email: membership@liverpoolchamber.org.uk export@liverpoolchamber.org.uk www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk | @LpoolChamber

jessica.miller@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

49

MINUTES WITH… Dita Sen-Gupta, Co-owner and Chief Commercial Officer, Athertons

What does a typical working day look like, and has this changed since the onset of Covid?

I plan my working day the night before, and diarise what I need to do. But inevitably it involves juggling a multitude of additional tasks, as businesses are not static. For many years, we have ensured our businesses are flexible enough to be mobile and to work remotely, so Covid did not affect that. We were able to adapt the business, the building and the workforce as required.

What is on the top of your todo list?

Checking in on the teams is high on my list, and helping to clear blockages and stay in tune with every day activity. We are incredibly lucky to have inherited (and grown) a truly superb, proactive and positive team of people that truly care for one another; the component parts of a great company full of endless possibilities.

What is the best advice you have been given in your career?

To be respectful to everyone who crosses your path at all times; every person we interact with is different. Be understanding (“the do unto others…” ethos).

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This has proven to be the most valuable piece of advice for me for a number of reasons. It is an increasingly small world, especially with the speed of technological advancement. Paths often cross on innumerable occasions and roles may switch in different companies. A previously negative dynamic may prove to become your most profitable relationship in different circumstances. So long as you can look back with a clear conscience knowing that you have always behaved with dignity and respect, then the relationship is likely to be mutually fruitful.

No-one knows what goes on in peoples’ lives to influence their attitude at any given time.

If you weren’t doing your current job what would be your ideal role?

I would redesign the whole social care and related legal ecosystem to make lives better for kids in care / coming out of care; something that is close to my heart.

Who is your role model?

(Business or personal) I don’t have role models. I do however admire a great many people, one such is an unsung hero of the information age: Tim Berners-Lee co-founder of

the Internet, whose ethos has been ‘inclusivity over profit’. For me this is the single most profound, game changing invention of the 20th century, catalysing the tech we take for granted today. We should not forget just how phenomenal it is, that we have instant global communication at our fingertips 24/7. We are a “truly connected world” as a result of the building blocks he created. Most importantly he chose to make it free, to better lives. I love the inclusivity principle at work too, so we strive to create good communication, accessibility and inclusivity.

Why choose Liverpool City Region?

After we bought Athertons, a love affair with the City and wider region bloomed very quickly! It is the most welcoming and friendly place, full of stunning architecture. We find ourselves wanting to base our next acquisitions here too.

It is also an incredibly forward thinking and dynamic place and these are exciting times to be part of the plans for its future, especially with the growth and innovation plans. I think Liverpool is an undervalued gem. I would like to see it grow and get the appreciation it deserves.

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