About Chesterfield

New Year Career and Progression Opportunities in Chesterfield

The new year is a perfect excuse for individuals to take on a new challenge and seek opportunities to develop their career.

Whether you are looking to progress in your personal career or an employer looking to develop your workforce, Chesterfield’s training provider network have many opportunities available to you.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships can be a great option to either kickstart a new career or upskill an existing career. Undertaking an apprenticeship means you can gain qualifications whilst getting real life work experience and being paid for it.

Stuart Greensmith White, Programme Development Worker at Derbyshire Adult Community Education Service, is currently completing his Level 7 Senior Leadership apprenticeship.

Stuart Greensmith White

He explains how apprenticeships can be used as a platform to work your way up in your career:

“I began my own career on a level 2 apprenticeship and have worked my way up to the highest level.  Apprenticeships are not only for new entrants to the workplace – they are also a fantastic way for those established in their careers to develop further, or perhaps even make a career change.”

“I am so passionate about apprenticeships as you gain knowledge and skills that not only develop your work performance but also your own personal confidence.  My experience of apprenticeships is that they open doors and provide opportunities – I would encourage all current and potential apprentices to aim high and achieve their goals!”

Nathaniel Hall is part of Chesterfield Borough Council’s communications team and recently completed an apprenticeship. He joined the team in 2018 to complete a digital apprenticeship but has since been promoted to work as a digital communications officer helping to oversee the council’s website and social media platforms.

Nathaniel Hall

Nathaniel said: “I was looking for a career path I was passionate about. I always enjoyed media studies in school and college, so I thought this was the best route for me to go down. The apprenticeship helped me develop lots of new skills and gain a thorough understanding of digital marketing techniques. I was really focused on my learning throughout the apprenticeship and that has helped me to progress in my career.”

Search the current apprenticeship vacancies in Chesterfield here

Find more information and guidance on becoming an apprentice here

Employ an Apprentice

Apprenticeships are available in 170 different industries from hair and beauty to aerospace engineering, apprenticeships have been making an impact on local businesses for hundreds of years.

Superior Wellness

 

Carol Claydon

Carol Claydon, Head of Human Resources at Superior Wellness, explains how taking on an apprentice has benefitted their business:

“We have noticed various business benefits associated with hiring apprenticeships at Superior Wellness. With the level of growth we’ve experienced over the past year, we have needed to adapt training and roles according to the needs of our business. Apprenticeships have been critical to this – the flexibility of an apprenticeship really allows you to shape the roles and skills required, which in return is great for the personal development of the individual.”

Chesterfield Borough Council

The benefits of apprenticeships are wide ranging to the business, and managers at Chesterfield Borough Council often find that they refresh and update their own knowledge while supporting apprentices through the programme. A quality apprenticeship programme adds value to the organisation or business and will provide a well-qualified future work force.

Chesterfield Town Hall

Chris Miley, Learning and Development Officer, at Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “At the council we use the apprenticeship levy in two ways – to both recruit and upskill staff.”

“To recruit new staff; all job vacancies are reviewed to see if they could be offered as an apprenticeship, this is also built into our succession planning with a clear career pathway onto higher level apprenticeships. We have recently recruited for apprenticeships in procurement and HR.”

“In terms of upskilling, the apprenticeship levy enables us to upskill our existing workforce. We currently have colleagues undertaking apprenticeships in Level 3 Team Leader/Supervisor, Level 5 Operational Departmental Management, Level 7 Leadership and Management as well as apprenticeships in accountancy, legal and learning and development. All of the council’s vacancies are advertised on our website, as well as being promoted on our social media channels.”


Learn how you can get involved and take on an apprentice here

Find out how you may be able to access apprenticeship funding here

Kickstart Programme

The Kickstart Programme has been helping young unemployed adults develop their skills and get into work in Chesterfield. Over 282 young people have started Kickstart placements in the Chesterfield area, benefitting from a six-month job placement to gain valuable work experience and build their future careers.

Connor Preece, Central Services Administrator at Workpays, shared his experience of the Kickstart Programme.

Connor Preece

He said: “I chose to take part in a Kickstart placement as I knew it would be a great chance for me to gain lots of work experience over 6 months.”

“As I was coming towards the end of my Kickstart placement there was a full-time position available at Workpays and I knew it would be a great opportunity to take. I submitted my cover letter and shortly after attending another interview, I was offered the role of Central Services Administrator and was very excited to start my new role in a full-time position which I now love.”

“Overall, I feel the Kickstart scheme was a huge benefit to me as I was able to get 6 months of work experience and learn while I worked which was very fun. I would also highly recommend the Kickstart scheme to others who are currently looking for a job and may be struggling to do so as they lack the work experience necessary for many jobs. I really hope to see more people take advantage of such an amazing opportunity.”

Find out more about how you can get involved with the Kickstart Programme here

Traineeship

Traineeships are available to young people aged 16 – 25 years, to help prepare them for employment or apprenticeship by providing education and a work experience placement.

Employers can offer a work experience placement to a trainee and work with local training providers to design the programme. For employers there is an incentive of £1000 and they are a good way of working with an individual before taking on as an apprentice.

Find out about Traineeship funding here

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Blog, Made in Chesterfield

Chesterfield homes benefit from facelift

A major regeneration project which has invested almost a million pounds to improve the look and feel of homes in Chesterfield is now complete.

As part of Chesterfield Borough Council’s wider £8 million Residential Block Refurbishment Scheme, Ashcroft Court in Old Whittington is the latest block of flats in the borough to benefit from a major facelift.

The refurbishment at Ashcroft Court is part of the council’s commitment to providing high quality housing across the borough and create modern, attractive places for people to live.

Extensive internal and external improvements have been completed at Ashcroft Court, including the re-tiling of the roof and upgrading of the roof insulation to provide better thermal efficiency. Windows in flats and communal areas have also been replaced with A rated thermal efficient equivalents which give the block a modern facelift.

Communal areas have been fully upgraded and emergency lighting has been renewed with longer lasting, energy efficient LED fittings now in place. The council has also upgraded all communal electrics including the door entry system. New extractor fans have been installed in all the flats and the council has installed new boilers in a number of the homes.

A new outdoor communal area has also been created to the rear of the flats, featuring a seating area and cycle storage. A new car parking area has also been created.

Councillor Chris Ludlow, cabinet member for housing, said: “A key part of our housing strategy is to ensure that our homes are of excellent quality and that we create attractive, modern places that people to choose to live so we are really pleased that this scheme is progressing well and we have another block of flats completed.

“In response to the climate emergency that was declared in July 2019, the council is committed to ensuring that its existing housing stock is as energy efficient as possible. Therefore, it was important that as part of this project that measures were in place to improve the thermal efficiency of the homes.”

Landscaping works have also been carried out existing footpaths being renewed to help improve access around the estate and to each property and create level access to all front entrances.

The £8 million Residential Block Refurbishment Scheme will continue to run over a three-year period with the next stages of the project initially focusing on Seaton Court, Brearley Court, Dixon Court and Newland Dale, with the potential for more blocks to be added in the future.

James Taylor, Contracts Manager at Fortem said: “We’re thrilled to have begun the council’s Residential Block Refurbishment Scheme with the much needed upgrades to Ashcroft Court. The completed work has reinvigorated the flats to provide warm, attractive and energy efficient homes which residents can be proud of. This is Fortem’s fourth project as part of the Scheme in Chesterfield and we’re excited to continue, with work on-going at Brearley and Dixon Court which is due for completion early in 2022.”

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East Midlands unemployment rate hits lowest point in seven years – but Chamber warns of recruitment challenges

The East Midlands’ unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest point on record, new figures show.

It was 3.5% for the period between September and November last year, compared to a 4.1% national average.

This is the lowest level since the Office for National Statistics (ONS) began publishing regional labour market figures in April 2015, and represented the smallest proportion of the workforce being unemployed since the three months to December 2019, when the rate was 3.6%.

It also marked a significant drop on the previous reporting period for August to October 2021, when the region’s unemployment rate was on par with the UK average at 4.2%.

East Midlands Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles said: “This is fantastic news for the region’s labour market and sends a clear signal that the East Midlands is open for business.

“It reflects our own research that indicates our region’s firms are creating jobs to meet strong demand following the effects of the pandemic. The Chamber’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) for Q4 2021 showed two-thirds of companies attempted to recruit, while a net 35% expect to increase their headcount in the first three months of 2022.

“We are represented by a very diverse economy in the East Midlands but there have been some standout sectors to celebrate in recent times, such as the logistics industry that has been a major driver of job creation during the pandemic, which has accelerated pre-existing online shopping trends.”

Tightening labour pool presents acute challenge for businesses

While the East Midlands has one of the lowest unemployment rates for over-16s in the UK, the economic inactivity rate for people aged 16 to 64 rose from 21.02% to 22% in the most recent reporting period.

UK job vacancies also soared to a record high of 1.24 million between October and December – 462,000 higher compared with the three months before the pandemic.

Scott added: “Despite the positive trajectory in unemployment, businesses are still encountering major recruitment challenges in a super competitive jobs market.

“The 0.8% increase in the economic inactivity rate represents a rise in the number of people who have opted out of employment, whether it’s for studying, caring or to take early retirement – with the latter being a noticeable trend during the pandemic.

“This means the labour pool is tightening at a time when companies are desperately trying to fill roles to cope with demand, which will enable them to continue growing and creating more jobs for local people.

“Many companies in traditional industries such as manufacturing and construction often tell us about the difficulties in replacing an ageing workforce with younger talent, and the latest QES showed that eight in 10 of those that attempted recruitment struggled to find people with the right skills.

“As we await publication of the Government’s delayed Levelling Up White Paper, the wider context behind the latest ONS data illustrates the need for policymakers to understand how we can pull the right levers in order to support the local economy’s requirements.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Home, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , , , ,

Central Technology provides digital support to Chesterfield charity

Chesterfield-based Central Technology has been working closely with local charity Ashgate Hospice, by providing staff with digital support and advice.

Over the last few years, the company has been providing IT Support to the charity, including a recent webinar  which helped staff combat their IT issues.

Three IT challenges have been highlighted during CT’s work within the hospice and charity sector – budget constraints, data protection and agile working for staff.

Matt Corbishley, Director of people and performance at Ashgate Hospice explained why the company was a good fit for the charity:  “I know there’s a lot we don’t know, and having that external support from CT is invaluable”.

Hospices are responsible for sensitive employee data and also the data of vulnerable patients. Data security is at the heart of the service provided by Central Technology, and all parties can be assured that data risks are managed effectively.

The company is accredited with ISO27001 – a certification standard that is recognised worldwide as an indication that your Information Security Management System (ISMS) is aligned with information security best practices.

For Ashgate, Matt stated: “CT were the only provider to have that – that’s beyond digital security… that’s gold standard really!”.

Matt Corbishley, Ashgate Hospice

With the rise in agile working from the effects of COVID-19, Ashgate found it was especially important to implement smart-working practices.

Matt stated: “we wanted a strategy that enabled that remoting working for our teams. The hybrid support that’s emerged in certain years between the developer and operations role is extremely beneficial. Now the full team of clinicians can access SystmOne remotely and don’t have to come back to base which saves time and money, and staff can see more patients”.

The team at Central Technology has experience in supporting hospices by providing a strategic IT roadmap to support their charitable objectives. Its technology advice and solutions align with hospice business goals to ultimately improve patient care. Find out more about the range of support and advice on offer at: https://www.ct.co.uk/pages/contact

Central Technology and Ashgate Hospice support the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Home, Love Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , , , ,

Grants available for Chesterfield businesses affected by Covid-19 Omicron variant

Businesses trading in Chesterfield’s hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors which have been affected by the Omicron variant of Covid-19 are being encouraged to apply for a support grant.

The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant provides grants from £2,667 up to £6,000 to support local businesses impacted by the pandemic.

Applications for funding are now open, and will close on 11 February 2022. A business will be eligible for the grant if:

  • it was registered for Business Rates on 30 December 2021
  • it was trading on 30 December 2021
  • it is one of the hospitality, leisure or accommodation business types that are eligible for this payment (some exclusions do apply as per the BEIS guidance)

Businesses that may qualify for this grant are being contacted by Chesterfield Borough Council’s business grants team directly. However, if you think you are eligible and have not been in touch with anyone from the council about this yet, you can complete the application form here.

A business will not be entitled to a payment if it has entered into administration or insolvency or has exceeded the permitted Business Grant Subsidy Allowance.

Only the Business Rates payer at 30 December 2021 is entitled to claim this payment.

If you are eligible to receive a grant payment, you will receive this within seven days of your application being assessed and no later than 28 February 2022.

Meanwhile, the Government has also recently announced a new Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF) and published guidance on the operation of the fund and details of the funding allocation for each local authority.

Chesterfield Borough Council is in the process of drafting the scheme ready to publish on its website during January 2022. Businesses are encouraged to keep checking Chesterfield Borough Council’s website and social media for further updates.

Find out more about the COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund.

To find out more about some of the other business support available for companies in Chesterfield, go to: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/business-support/

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , , , , , , ,

Local law firm looks to raise awareness for family mediation week

A Chesterfield law firm is looking to highlight the benefits of family mediation during an awareness week taking place from 17th-21st January.

Family Mediation is a process in which an independent, professionally-trained mediator helps you work out arrangements for children and finances following separation.

Midlands Dove Mediation, part of Elliot Mather LLP is a specialist service offering Family Mediation on a private and Legally Aided basis. The company, which has an office in Chesterfield says it is looking to assist clients across the East Midlands. The firm’s remote working capability also allows it to offer mediation services to clients nationally.

Mediation aims to assist ex-partners in making suitable arrangements for the future, avoiding the delay, cost and added stress that the Court process can bring.

Local family mediator Elizabeth Bilton FMCA, from Midlands Dove Mediation said: “We have an experienced team of specialist and Accredited Lawyer Mediators who have expertise in resolving family disputes using the process of Family Mediation. Family Mediation is proven to be an effective and time sensitive way for each family to explore different options and work out what arrangements are best for their Family.”

Midlands Dove has produced numerous useful guides that can be accessed free-of-charge, designed to assist parties who are searching for information about Mediation Services.  These can be accessed via the company’s website, which also contains the profiles of highly experienced Mediators – Elizabeth Bilton, Jennie Byrne, and Julie Skill.

Midlands Dove Mediation is also taking part in the Ministry of Justice’s Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, which meets up to £500 of mediation costs for families if they need to discuss arrangements for children. The scheme is anticipated to run until the end of March, although vouchers are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Parties interested in finding out more about mediation can also watch a free, online event with parenting expert Sue Atkins in discussion with Sarah Manning (a Mediator accredited by the Family Mediation Council), on the morning of Wednesday 19 January. In addition, the Family Mediation Council has organised a series of free, online events for professionals who work with families. The full programme of events, and details of how to sign up, are available on the Family Mediation Council website.

Elliot Mather LLP supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Home, UncategorisedTagged in , , ,

£58 million to be invested in Derbyshire’s road network in the coming year

A £58 million investment in the county’s roads and pavements has been revealed by Derbyshire County Council.

The work, to be carried out from April 2022 to March 2023, will include resurfacing and surface dressing roads and pavements, traffic safety schemes, draining improvements and maintenance to bridges and retaining walls.

Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, said: “This huge investment in roads, footpaths and pavements across the county is the second year of a three year £120m programme.

“More than 44% of the money next year will be spent on resurfacing or surface dressing 375 roads across the county.

“We’re also going to make improvements to pavements, drains and spend money on measures to prevent flooding.

“To help reduce accidents on the roads, money will also be spent on a variety of safety schemes which aim to reduce the numbers of people killed or seriously injured in accidents. Improvements will also be made to the cycle network.

“Much of this work will need us to close roads to make sure it can be done safely, and where possible we will work at off-peak times. I’d like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused to all those affected by these improvement works and thank everyone for their patience.”

The money will be spent in the following way:

  • roads £25.8million
  • pavements £3.6million
  • drainage and flood management £4.7million
  • bridges, structures, retaining walls and highway boundary structures £8.1million
  • signs, lines and signals £3.1million
  • street lighting £2.7million
  • rights of way £1million
  • cycle routes £0.6million
  • greenways £0.6million
  • traffic management £2.8million
  • key cycle network investment £0.1million
  • local cycling and walking investment £0.1million
  • sustainable transport £3.1million
  • air quality £0.1million
  • road safety £1.8million.
  • Total 2022-2023 programme £58.2m.

Centrally located in the UK Chesterfield is superbly connected, has an abundance of new business premises and room to grow. Well served by the M1 and the Midland Mainline Chesterfield is within one hour’s drive of four major airports and London is under two hours by rail.

Find out more about the great investment opportunities in the town at: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/invest-in-chesterfield/

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Home, Property and Construction, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , ,

Local Energy firm transitions to Employee Ownership

Shorts Chartered Accountants recently teamed up with Knights plc to act as corporate finance, tax advisors and legal representatives as Cost Advice Energy Specialists (Cost Advice) transitioned to an Employee Ownership model.

Established in 1995, and previously owned by brothers Christopher and Stephen Ball, the Company strives to set the benchmark for providing quality advice for commercial energy customers on the best ways for them to purchase and manage their electricity and gas.

Over its history, the business has expanded into a team of professionals who assist businesses across Britain, ranging from small independent retailers to large multi-site organisations.

On completing the transition, Stephen Ball commented: “Chris and I are extremely proud of the company and how it has grown and evolved over the last 26 years, and it is important to us that we protect its legacy and ensure it remains independent.

“Employee ownership provided a way for us to do this; it’s progressive and forward-thinking and provides a way to give back to our loyal and talented workforce who have helped to make Cost Advice what it is today. The company is going from strength-to-strength and now is the perfect time to start our exciting new chapter.”

Speaking about the transition to employee ownership, Shorts Corporate Finance Partner, Andy Ryder said: “We would like to extend our congratulations to Cost Advice and its new employee owners.

“Having discussed various succession planning options with Stephen and Chris, it was clear that the EOT route would best meet their overall objectives.

“Businesses that choose the EOT route build trust and shared responsibility. and we are confident that this will result in a very positive future for the business. We look forward to seeing Cost Advice’s continuing success under their new ownership model.”

Shorts supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Home, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , ,

Made in Chesterfield praised by businesses, schools and pupils

An impact report has revealed that nearly 200 students from North East Derbyshire’s schools got a hands-on taste of manufacturing and engineering careers during the Made in Chesterfield festival in November last year.

Businesses, teachers and pupils have all praised the Made in Chesterfield initiative.

Nick McGowan, assistant headteacher a teacher at Whittington Green School which visited Woodhead Construction’s enterprise centre site, said: “We’ve been teaching construction in the school for the last 15 years and one thing we have always struggled with is access to site so the visit was absolutely brilliant. The visit opened the student’s horizons to the jobs and opportunities within the construction sector.”

In a review of the month-long annual festival undertaken by Direct Education Business Partnership (DEBP) which coordinated Made in Chesterfield in conjunction with Destination Chesterfield, it also found that there was no demand for virtual school visits, indicating that schools are keen to re-engage face-to-face with the business community despite the pandemic.

Ivan Fomin, Managing Director of MSE Hiller and Destination Chesterfield’s board member responsible for manufacturing and engineering in the borough, said: “The uptake of the physical workplace tours by schools for Made in Chesterfield was very encouraging given the current climate of uncertainty. There is a very real appetite amongst schools to give young people the widest exposure to careers and job opportunities.”

He added: “It is so important that we highlight the local career and job opportunities to young people as they are an intrinsic part of Chesterfield’s growth ambitions.”

Virtual workplace tours were launched last year amidst the pandemic, however with Covid restrictions eased physical workplace tours were reintroduced for 2021.

Pupils from Whittington Green School, Springwell Community College, St Mary’s Catholic High School, The Bolsover School, Shirebrook Academy and Heritage Academy all took part in visits to local engineering and manufacturing businesses, including Aztec Oils, Woodhead Construction, CBE+, Penny Hydraulics, Superior Wellness, Morgan Sindall, Weightron Bilanciai, MSE Hiller and United Cast Bar.

Carol Claydon, Head of HR at Superior Wellness which hosted students from Springwell Community College, said: “The tour organised by Made in Chesterfield was a fantastic opportunity for our business. Our team members thoroughly enjoyed explaining more about the business, their roles and their work experience to the students. It was brilliant to see how inspired the students were and I think it opened their eyes to the various career opportunities within the local area.

“The campaign is a fantastic way to inspire the next generation and hopefully showcase the different sectors and opportunities available within the town of Chesterfield.”

Ben Jones, Project Manager at Weightron Bilanciai which hosted students from Bolsover School added: “Hopefully we have inspired young people to be interested in what they want to do as a career so they can start thinking ahead now to what they should be studying and also whether they want to go to university or follow the apprenticeship route.”

Charlie Goodwin, Projects Officer at DEBP who compiled the report commented: “We are so grateful to the many businesses who got involved with Made in Chesterfield and worked with us to make it a success in 2021. We appreciate that everyone continues to experience challenging times, however the feedback from those who participated has demonstrated the value in providing meaningful insights into the working world and the role this initiative has in inspiring future employees.”

Launched originally in 2013, the annual Made in Chesterfield campaign, has since introduced thousands of young people across North East Derbyshire to the possibility of a career in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) sector.

The hands-on campaign aims to bridge the careers information gap between education and industry by giving schools and pupils access to workplace tours, a range of careers videos and the MyFuture virtual careers fair.

Made in Chesterfield 2021 was made possible thanks to funding and support from The Chesterfield College Group, Chesterfield Borough Council, D2N2 LEP and Careers and Enterprise Company, Derbyshire North Career Hub, MSE Hiller, United Cast Bar Ltd and NatWest.

Emily Carter, Operational Careers Hub Lead at D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership added: “We are ever grateful to our cornerstone employers and local business partners for supporting opportunities such as the Made in Chesterfield open doors programmes, supporting young people’s career awareness and aspirations, again this year despite the challenges still faced by industry.

“D2N2 Careers Hub is excited to fund the expansion of this successful model to bring more open doors programmes to young people across the wider D2N2 region during the rest of the 2021-22 academic year.”

Julie Richards, Principal and Chief Executive of the Chesterfield College Group said: “I am delighted to hear that once again the Made in Chesterfield initiative has been a great success. We are proud to support the programme of activities which take place to connect the future workforce with local employers. It is very encouraging to hear how so many schools and employers benefited. It is critical we excite and educate the next generation to understand the fantastic career opportunities for engineering and manufacturing in Chesterfield to build the workforce for the future and secure local economic growth.”

A number of the businesses involved in the Made in Chesterfield campaign are keen to continue to work with schools throughout the year. If your school would like to arrange a workplace visit, please contact DEBP on 01246 212 535.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Made in Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , , , ,

SDE Electrical & CCG join forces to offer a one stop shop for all EV requirements

Chesterfield-based SDE Electrical has agreed a nationwide partnership with Car Charge Go to support domestic and commercial customers converting to electric vehicles.

The number of EV vehicles in the last 12 months has increased by 67%, whereas sales in petrol and diesel vehicles have fallen significantly. Battery EV uptake has doubled, but the new car market remains well adrift of pre-pandemic levels.

SDE Group says that while the demand for Electric Vehicles is at an all time high, the EV charging and infrastructure network does not currently support the uptake. The announcement of this strategic partnership will help support the gap by offering customers a complete end-to-end solution for all EV needs.

Both SDE & CCG have both secured nationwide contracts in their own fields with global companies, with SDE being a commercial EV specialist and CCG specialising in the domestic market.

Furthermore, SDE has successfully secured a contract with Gridserve for the rollout of new rapid chargers. The contract is for both installation and maintenance across the electrical highway (motor services, Ikea stores etc.) from Lands End to John o’ Groats.

This contract is set to help increase the EV infrastructure across the UK. Car Charge Go will support SDE by providing administration & technical support.

Jonathan Bennett, Managing Director of SDE Group commented: “The change in behaviors in consumers and businesses looking to convert to electric is phenomenal when you look at the numbers.

“Along with the environmental benefits and financial savings attached, key policy changes set by government and events such as COP 26 have helped create this uptake, therefore this partnership is critical to support all our customers and aid the transformation for consumer and businesses. We are looking forward to working with Kate and the team at CCG.”

SDE Group supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

 

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , , ,

Local charity receives national recognition from the BBC’s The One Show

North East Derbyshire based local charity – crafting2gether which has supported over 1000 businesses during the pandemic, has received a surprise visit from the BBC’s The One Show to thank their founder, Shelagh Cheetham.

The charity, formerly Shelagh’s Sewing Circle, has supplied over 77,000 face masks to frontline workers and businesses and has now received recognition for their dedication to helping those in need.

The charity has expanded and is not just about crafting, people are welcome to join the group for a cup of tea and a chat, helping people to combat loneliness and isolation as well as developing a new skill if they wish.

BBC’s The One Show surprised founder Shelagh at Dronfield Sports Centre and was broadcast to millions of viewers on national TV where she was thanked for her incredible efforts to help key workers, businesses and local communities.

TV star and fashion business owner Patrick Grant was in attendance to surprise Shelagh and thank her.

North East Derbyshire District Council Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Alan Powell said, “I am delighted Shelagh has received the recognition she and the other volunteers deserve. I cannot express enough how grateful we all are to have such inspirational members of our community helping others selflessly through the pandemic and beyond.

“I am proud to say we stepped when it was needed most to offer space in our leisure centre at Dronfield so the BBC could attend and put crafting2gether on the National stage.

“Our authority is here to support our local community groups – like crafting 2gether and it’s a great privilege to support the work they do which has helped thousands of key workers and charities worldwide. Thank you.”

Pauline Memmott, a volunteer with crafting2gether, said “We are very grateful to Dronfield Sports Centre for letting us use their venue for the BBC’s One Big Thank You surprise for our founder, Shelagh Cheetham.

“The success and growth of the Charity is all down to Shelagh, although she would say it’s the volunteers!

“With Shelagh’s commitment, we’ve provided thousands of masks to key workers, helped a charity in Armenia by knitting scarves and at a local level, we help combat isolation by providing social contact for members of our community.

“Everyone is welcome to join us to create or just have a cuppa and a chat.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , , ,

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