Latest News and Events here at BTC
7th – 8th November 2019
The EIC was present at the UKSPA conference on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th November at Culham Science Centre. The two day event brought leading experts together to discuss the latest opportunities and innovative trends in the UK’s innovation and technology sector, with sessions on innovation and business support for SME’s, bio-incubation good practice and a host of supporting keynote and discussion panels.
Land Referencing Services, one of the Business & Technology Centre’s longest serving tenants, are taking on university graduates and training them via their own in-house training programme, LRS Academy®.
In 2015 it was recognised that there were no qualifications in land referencing, so in order to fill the skills gap within the sector, LRS set up LRS Academy® as a sister firm to address this problem. It was designed, not only to train and develop new members of staff, but also to polish the skillset of their highly-respected existing team.
Through the academy, they have taken on a host of graduates including individuals from the University of Wolverhampton via the graduate scheme. These graduates have acquired valuable new skills at LRS with some also working their way up through the company to become team leaders.
One of the graduates to get to that position is Aidan Wilkes, who said: “The graduate scheme, provided by LRS in conjunction with the University of Wolverhampton, has been extremely beneficial. As a Geography Graduate of 2015, it was hard to find relevant jobs close to home. The scheme offered me a chance to get my foot in the door and gain some valuable experience. The scheme also gave me the platform to become a permanent member of staff at LRS.”
Land Referencing Services are the perfect example of how companies within the Business & Technology Centre can use collaboration opportunities with the University to access talent. Director of LRS, Martin Glover, said: “The graduate scheme is a perfect way for us to be introduced to a pool of skilled individuals, sometimes at very short notice. We would recommend the programme to any organisation looking to gain access to professional and qualified graduates.”
To find about more about Land Referencing Services, visit www.land-referencing.co.uk
Representatives from EIC and BTC were in attendance at Get Digital – Survive or Thrive – an event held at Enginuity in Coalbrookdale by the Marches Growth Hub.
The event was all about enabling local businesses to find out all they need to know about how new technologies are changing the way we work.
The day began with a keynote speech by Bruce Daisley, the head of the European arm of Twitter. In an interesting and informative talk he detailed how he arrived at his current position, and also his opinions on what a productive and healthy workplace should be like.
Bruce was then joined on stage by local business leaders and academics, including Tim Luft, head of former BTC tenants VR Simulation, for a Q&A session.
Later in the day, there was an expo and also workshops for people to benefit from the knowledge of tech-savvy industry professionals. These included Web Development by Nick Carr of Focus Digital and also Smartphone Videos for Business by Stone’s Throw Media.
All in all, it was an extremely informative day and an important way of keeping the region’s businesses informed and engaged with current and future digital technologies.
The region’s leading businesswomen are being urged to step forward and play their part in driving the area’s economic growth.
The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership has vacancies for two new board members and says it is particularly keen to hear from excellent female business leaders who can play a key role in helping to drive economic growth in the area and contribute actively to the board’s effective governance.
The LEP – which covers Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin – says women are currently under-represented on its board as are the black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.
Marches LEP director Gill Hamer said it was crucial that the make-up of the LEP reflected the diversity of talent across the region.
“It is vital that we properly reflect the communities we serve and we are therefore very keen to improve gender equality on our board,” said Gill.
Applicants should have a strong knowledge or expertise in the region’s industry and either live or work in the Marches.
The board meets six times a year and membership will be for a minimum of two years on a voluntary basis.
To find out more, visit www.marcheslep.org.uk/boardroles/