Outstanding students, apprentices and employers were given special recognition at Chesterfield College Group’s annual awards ceremony last week.

The event, held at the Proact Stadium and hosted by Peak FM’s breakfast show presenters Ricky Durkin and Becky Hayes, recognised the personal and academic achievements of students at all stages of their educational journey, as well as employers who are committed to developing the skills of their workforce.

Staff from across the college nominated students, apprentices and employers who have demonstrated exceptional ability and commitment over the academic year across eleven award categories.

Julie Richards, Principal and Chief Executive of the Chesterfield College Group said:

“It is an honour to be able to celebrate the achievements of these amazing students, apprentices and employers. They have been chosen from over 10,000 students and apprentices and around 4,000 employers to receive an award tonight. It really is a testament to the efforts and achievements they have made this year.”

“It is wonderful to see how The Chesterfield College Group has played a part in helping so many people, at different ages and stages of life, to achieve their goals, to experience new opportunities and to progress into work or further study. I wish them all every success and I look forward to seeing how they use their newly developed skills in the future.”

Winner of the Student of the Year award, Kai Undrell, age 17 from Chesterfield, stood out to judges because of the high standard of his work, his attitude and his commitment to gaining work experience. He is tipped to be the next big film director by the tutors on his media course. He said:

“It’s absolutely incredible to be named as the student of the year. I had some real competition with the other nominees so it was a surprise when my name was announced as the winner. The best thing about college so far has been taking part in inspiring projects like the Melodic Caring Project where we can use the skills we are learning to really make a difference to people at the same time as getting brilliant work experience. What an honour to be recognised for taking part in things like that.”

Samantha Hall, age 36 from Clowne was named as the Adult Student of the Year. After some tragic personal circumstances she decided to return to college to retrain as a beauty therapist to help provide a secure future for her three young children. She goes above and beyond in her studies and is on track to receive high grades. She said:

“It feels really good to be awarded for something I have done. I am a bit shocked though because I don’t usually win anything! This is my first year at college and I have learnt so much about myself and beauty therapy. Studying at college has really boosted my confidence and helped me through some of the very hard times I have been through. I’ve got 3 young children at home and I think it’s helped them to see me coming back to college. They tell me they are proud of me and I can’t wait to show them this when I get home.”

The award for the Apprentice of the Year went to Roy Cusworth, age 59 from Doncaster who started a health and social care apprenticeship to help him retrain after being made redundant from a 28-year career of working as a butcher. After putting lots of hard work into gaining his qualification and going the extra mile to pass his English and maths he was promoted to team leader and is now studying for the next level qualification. He said:

“It’s a proud moment and it’s great to have my family here to see me get the award. I’ve had so much support from them, from my tutor and from my employer, Heathcotes. I love my job and it’s given my apprenticeship has given me a new career that really suits me. There were times when I didn’t think I could do it but this goes to show what you can achieve with the right support.”

Old Cestrefeldian’s Trust sponsored an award for a student who has demonstrated tenacity and resilience in pursuit of their studies. Media student, Harry Bracken, age 18 from Dronfield was the lucky recipient of this award and a £200 cheque from the trust.

Other winners at the awards ceremony were:

Inspirational Student – Tina Bull

Employer of the Year – Worcester Bosch

Higher Education Student of the Year – Zachary Spence

Foundation Studies Student of the Year – Daniel Seldon

Most Improved – Victoria Watson

Student Project of the Year – Melodic Caring Project

English and Maths (most improved) – Benjamin Scully

Shorts’ Corporate Finance are delighted to have won three awards at the Insider Dealmakers awards last week.  Having received nominations in several categories, they are thrilled to have taken the following titles of ‘Deal of the Year’, ‘Emerging Dealmaker of the Year’ and ‘National/International Deal of the Year’.

The ‘Deal of the Year’ award was won for the work carried out advising, a long standing client, Pentag Gears Limited, on their sale to BG Engineering Limited

With both David Robinson and Ellie Wilcockson nominated, the ‘Emerging Dealmaker of the Year’ category was highly contended this year.  It was a shame that there could be only one winner, but Shorts’ are delighted to congratulate Ellie in her success in taking the title in recognition of her work in a variety of transactions over the past year.

This ‘National/International Deal of the Year’ award was won for the work carried out advising the sale of Delivered on Time to DHL earlier this year.

Andy Ryder, Corporate Finance Partner at Shorts’,  on winning the Awards, commented:-

“We are delighted to have received recognition at this year’s ceremony and winning three out of our seven nominations is a tremendous achievement.   The awards reflect nominations put forward by the region’s deal making community and our representation this year demonstrates the strength and growth of Shorts’ Corporate Finance offering over the last few years.”

“We have seen continually increasing levels of interest and activity within the acquisitions and disposals market this year, despite the general economic uncertainties and are confident that the team will therefore continue to be busy over the coming months.”

In total, nine separate awards were handed out at the black-tie dinner, held at the Mercure St Paul’s Hotel in Sheffield, in front of the region’s top corporate finance accountants, banking professionals and law firms.  The shortlists for each category were drawn up by an independent judging panel, who assessed nominations from the region’s deal making community.

Equal opportunities and improved employability are the aims of a £1.5million funding call, now open in the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire (D2N2) area.

Funding is now available to organisations across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire that can manage and distribute grants, to support people in the D2N2 area who have barriers to employment, education and training.

This funding is released as part of the D2N2 Community Programme, run by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). D2N2 is a partnership of businesses, local authorities, skills and training providers and community and voluntary sector organisations. It works to grow the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire economy, with the aim of creating 55,000 new jobs in ten years (2013-2023).

As part of this overall mission, D2N2 has a £197million allocation of European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). This is split into the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), designed to help businesses in the D2N2 area grow and improve their competitiveness, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), designed to help rural businesses and communities and the European Social Fund (ESF), designed to help people in the D2N2 area access opportunities and overcome barriers to long-term, sustainable employment.

The £1.5million available as part of this current funding call comes from D2N2’s European Social Fund allocation. D2N2 is looking for organisations across its area that can manage and distribute small grants across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Grants should be made available to providers who work directly with people in communities to build confidence, address barriers to inclusion and move closer to becoming economically ‘active’.

Organisations which are looking to submit a bid as part of this call will need to provide half of their programme’s overall funding amount, which will be matched from the £1.5million now on offer from D2N2’s ESF allocation. The deadline to apply for this funding is August 21, 2018.

Programmes submitted as part of this call should look to help deliver some or all of the following:

• basic skills and English as a second language (ESOL) training,
• support for basic skills in preparation for apprenticeships;
• support for those who need pre-traineeship and pre-Work Programme assistance
• support for skills, including team working, effective communication, problem solving, critical thinking and self-direction;
• money management support and advice and financial literacy programmes in order to address debt issues
• digital and internet literacy courses to aid job searching and progress in work;
• softer skills development, including assertiveness, anger management and motivation

‘The Active Inclusion Community Grants Programme’ is the first part of the D2N2 Community Programme. This aims to promote equal opportunities, improve employability and support communities across the D2N2 area. The main beneficiaries of the D2N2 Community Programme will be those who are unemployed or inactive and require dedicated support to move closer to employment.

Rachel Quinn, D2N2 Careers, Employability & Inclusion Manager, said: “It’s vital that the benefits of employment and economic growth are felt across the whole of the D2N2 area. This is why part of D2N2’s European Social Fund allocation is being offered to support organisations working at very local level in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

“In inviting organisations to bid for this funding, D2N2 is looking for providers who can manage a programme with local reach into small organisations helping those who have barriers to accessing long-term, sustainable employment.”

D2N2 will also be hosting a free Technical Assistance workshop, to help organisations bid for funding for this call, on Thursday July 5, from 10.00am to 1.30pm. It will be held at Erewash CVS, Granville Avenue, Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire (NG10 4HD) and will include a networking lunch.

This event will give information on the local strategic priorities for the D2N2 ESF programme and is designed to support potential applicants interested in applying to support the delivery of the Active Inclusion Community Grants.

Steve Perez, Chairman of Global Brands and owner of Casa Hotel and Peak Edge Hotel, is to be awarded an Honorary Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Derby.

Each year, notable people with a strong connection to the University, the city and county, who have made a valuable contribution in their field, are chosen to receive an Honorary Degree at the annual Award Ceremonies – a highlight of the University’s calendar.

Steve Perez is chairman of Global Brands, a leading independent drinks business, and owner of Casa Hotel and Peak Edge Hotel in Chesterfield. In 2002, Global Brands was the UK’s fourth fastest growing company and Steve was voted CBI Entrepreneur of the Year. Since then, Steve has expanded into property, farming and hotels.

Steve is amongst a number of notable people to receive an honorary degree including the Bishop of Derby Rt Revd Dr Alastair Redfern and international rugby star Jonathan Joseph.

Thousands of students, guests and VIPs are expected to attend the Award Ceremonies, which will take place from Wednesday, July 18 to Friday, July 20, 2018 at Derby Arena.

Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby, said:-

“I am looking forward to welcoming all of these special guests to our Award ceremonies in July, where they will have the pleasure of sharing the stage with our fantastic, hard-working students.

“The standard of Honorary Award recipients this year is excellent. Each one of these notable people has made an exceptional contribution in their field and to our region, and I am delighted to confer them with these honorary awards alongside our graduating students.”

Central Technology (CT), a leading IT Managed Services, Cloud and Security Compliance organisation based in Chesterfield, is celebrating a move to a brand new fully refurbished 11,500 sq. ft. location following major growth and success.

A stone’s throw from its current office space, CT will be operating from the newly named building, ‘Quantum Point’, Sheepbridge Works, from the 1^st June.

The new location is laying the foundations to accommodate the continued growth of mid-market customers and partner businesses, providing a stronger presence in the region, and a more flexible venue for meetings, events and training.  Universal Office Products, alongside OPUS 4, Classic Lifts, Electron TSL and ASI Security Systems have collectively waved their magic wand and transformed the old GKN building to deliver a refreshingly brilliant office space with open plan office work stations, breakout rooms and a large training centre.

Flooded with natural light, fresh new interiors and over 50 parking spaces, the new CT location demonstrates the organisations investment to provide the right work environment for its talented teams, loyal customers and partners.

Ian Snow, Managing Director at CT, commenting on the move, said:-

“Moving to this new office is a very proud moment for me. It’s amazing to see just how quickly we are growing and that is evidence of our success and hard work. The new office substantially increases the amount of desk space we have, providing the opportunity for both future growth and the strategic acquisitions we have forecast.

“We are continuing a huge recruitment drive in operations and sales in readiness for the delivery of our future plans and we believe the impressive new office space will help us continue to attract the best talent nationwide.”

CT will be having an official opening later this summer where they will be offering customers and partners a chance to visit the offices and raise a glass as they move forwards to exciting times together.