Business News

The Worcestershire Apprenticeships Awards were celebrated in a new virtual manner with broadcasts across three days for the first time ever from Tuesday 16 November until Thursday 18 November. Worcestershire gathered in droves to celebrate the 2021 Worcestershire Apprenticeships Awards with over 600 views across the three-day celebrations. Marking the 2021 awards as the most engaged Worcestershire Apprenticeships Awards in the history of the popular local celebration. 8 winners were announced at the awards with the coveted Worcestershire Apprentice of the Year named as Eleanor Steel and Worcestershire Apprenticeship Employer of the Year unveiled to be Platform Housing Group. Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Congratulations to all the winners and finalists of the 2021 Worcestershire Apprenticeships Awards. There are so many people and organisations involved in making apprenticeships a success in the county and I am pleased we were able to recognise and celebrate that effort. “It was fantastic to be back shining a light on the value that apprenticeships provide and how they are a vital route to enhance an organisation or career.” Councillor Marc Bayliss, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy and Skills said: “This year’s awards were yet another example of how apprenticeships are benefitting the lives of businesses and people across the county. “Well done to all the finalists and winners of this year’s awards as their dedication and hard work over the last year has been exceptional and I hope will inspire others to recognise the value of apprenticeships.” The broadcast episodes have now been made available on demand so that those unable to join live can watch back and recognise the achievements of the best the county has to offer. All three nights of the 2021 Worcestershire Apprenticeships Awards can be viewed on demand through the Worcestershire Apprenticeships website.

Business tax relief specialist Catax has announced the acquisition of competitor Aim Proactive in a deal worth up to £5million. Over the past 14 years Aim Proactive has grown substantially, and now represents clients with a combined turnover of £500m, generating approximately £6.5million in tax benefits and annual revenue of over £1million for Aim Proactive itself. Aim Proactive’s clients will now be moved over to Manchester-based Catax. Mark Tighe, CEO of specialist R&D tax consultancy Catax, commented: “Aim Proactive is one of the best independent R&D tax relief consultancies out there, and we’re honoured to be entrusted with the clients that the founders have spent over a decade nurturing in many cases. Those relationships are really important to us, and that’s why it was always a fundamental part of this acquisition that Steve and Julie would be coming along too. They have valuable expertise and a really solid track record. We’re delighted to have them aboard.”

Ben Mannion and Laura Hewett

Following 41 years at Hewett Recruitment, Founder Louise Hewett announced her retirement.

Louise said: “I’ve been incredibly lucky to have loved my chosen career. So many wonderful memories and good times working with the great business community of Worcestershire.” “The transition will be seamless and I know the business will continue to go from strength to strength under their ownership.” Ben Mannion and Laura Hewett have taken over the business as equal shareholders and recently celebrated the completion of the MBO of Hewett Recruitment. Ben commented: “We are delighted to be owners of such an amazing business with fantastic people. I’d like to say thank you to Louise Hewett for all her hard work over the years, wishing her a very happy (and well deserved!) retirement!” Louise will still be active in the county in her role as Deputy Lieutenant of Worcestershire with responsibility for the Queens Awards.

The prestigious award recognises WCG for how it has developed future engineers through innovation and partnership over the last quarter of a century. Angela Joyce, CEO of WCG, represented the College at a Prize Winners Reception held at St James Palace where the 2020-2022 Winners were announced. WCG delivers engineering courses at three of its colleges, Warwick Trident College, Rugby College and Evesham College. The college has established itself as a leading provider of engineering apprenticeships in the Midlands and across the UK. It was a pioneer of employer-centric educational provision, which is now being widely adopted by other institutions under the Government’s new skills strategy. It has grown its engineering apprentice numbers from 40 in 1996 to 1,195 in 2021 and has placed a focus on working directly with major employers to ensure its provision matches the ever-changing needs of industry. This has included creating bespoke training programmes for major companies including Jaguar Land Rover, AGCO, Royal Mail, Babcock, Alstom, Siemens and Telent. It is now in a position to build on the success of its engineering full-time courses and apprenticeships and further its position in the Higher Education sector after becoming the first college group in the UK to gain Bachelor Degree Awarding Powers. The Queen’s Anniversary Prize also recognised that 95 per cent of full-time students at the college successfully made it to their first-choice destination after leaving and in 2020, the college broke national records for end-point assessment pass rates for its land-based engineering apprentices. If you and your business would like to work with WCG to recruit and train up apprentices, please get in touch with WCG’s Business Development Team: T: 0330 135 6940 E: employerenquiries@wcg.ac.uk

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