In January 2018, Chesterfield Champions UK Asbestos Training Association marks a decade since the Association was first established to manage training providers for licenced asbestos work and monitor standards.

The last ten years have seen profound changes for both UKATA and the wider world and while enormous strides have been made in asbestos training and awareness in the last decade, more remains to be done.

UKATA is marking ten years of asbestos training and safety with a series of special events and initiatives throughout 2018, including a special AGM, awards, additional charity work and an expansion of the Train Safe, Work Safe, Keep Safe campaign, which has already delivered thousands of hours of free asbestos awareness training across the country to those who otherwise have been unable to access it.

Craig Evans, General Manager at UKATA, said:-

“In January 2008, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) passed responsibility for managing the list of training providers for licenced asbestos work to UKATA, tasking us with monitoring training standards.

“Ten years on, UKATA has evolved from the original brief to fill the vacuum that existed in asbestos training, to offer our support and expertise to educate the nation on asbestos awareness.”

Back in 1999, asbestos was banned after the Government pledged to “deal effectively with the problems of asbestos”, but eight years on, millions of public buildings still contained the substance. The HSE Asbestos Training Providers’ Working Group (ATPWG) directed training enquiries to available providers but it was clear more needed to be done. The need for change was recognised and the formation of a training body was suggested, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Craig added:-

“Until asbestos related deaths are consigned to history, UKATA has a key role to play until asbestos is consigned to history.

“A decade down the line, asbestos remains a hidden killer, despite the latest HSE figures for 2015 showing over 5,000 asbestos related deaths keeping asbestos in top spot as the biggest killer in the UK workplace. UKATA has built on the vision of our founders to improve the wider health and safety landscape. Yet with these figures projected to remain the same for the next decade, now is the time to redouble efforts to seeing a significant fall in the number of deaths from asbestos related illnesses like mesothelioma.”

UKATA is the leading authority for asbestos training provision in the United Kingdom. Tasked by the HSE in 2008 to manage the licensed asbestos training providers, UKATA has gone from strength to strength and now has over 180 member organisations from all corners of the UK.

World-class facilities for high-level technical education in the Sheffield City Region (SCR) today received a boost of more than £1.2million in a bid to improve productivity across the region.

Five grants have been approved by the Combined Authority for education centres to purchase advanced equipment needed for learning in science, technology, engineering, and maths – known as ‘STEM’. These higher skills are badly needed in the digital, automotive and construction sectors.

Chesterfield College receives £243,000 to develop a Digital Skills Hub which will teach software, games, networking and hardware development, and develop digital content for college programmes. Over 10 years this will support 5,700 learners with 2,300 estimated to find work subsequently, and provide a £38milion boost to the economy.

Nigel Brewster, Vice Chairman of the SCR’s Local Enterprise Partnership, said:-

“This is a massive boost to productivity across the City Region. Our ethos is about creating jobs and economic growth, and these are just the sort of schemes that will continue putting our economy back on its feet.

“They’re practical, and they are in areas where they will produce results. We’ve worked closely with our partners to underpin their drive to make courses dynamic and fit for the future. We’re providing the equipment for hands-on skills learning.

“It’s an intelligent way to put our funding to use. In the Sheffield City Region, we get things done in an honest, no-nonsense way – this is helping us to build a truly competitive centre of business excellence.”

The Combined Authority also agreed to give £500,000 to Sheffield Hallam University to increase space and equipment for 10,800 learners on digital degree apprenticeship courses over a decade, generating £50million for the economy and seeing an estimated 2,300 being employed subsequently. The university plans to be a ‘business ready’ institution and to launch a centre of excellence for degree apprenticeships.

Students at the RNN Group, (which includes North Notts, Dearne Valley and Rotherham colleges), will soon be working ‘hands-on’ on the futuristic technologies of hybrid and electric vehicles thanks to a £185,000 grant. This will help to fill a shortfall in skilled technicians and provide opportunities for adults looking to re-train or upskill.

The National Fluid Power Centre in Worksop won £132,500 for equipment which will help students receive more in-depth technical training on the advanced integrated systems (combining hydraulics, pneumatics, electronic and controls) used in manufacturing, packaging, control technologies, sensor technology and online monitoring.

And The Sheffield College has been awarded £154,700 to purchase specialist equipment to answer the increased demand in the construction industry for higher level skills in estimating, design, quantity surveying, and site supervision, plus digital ‘literacy’. Some funding will go to simulation software such as a virtual reality welder, and pneumatic and hydraulic simulation.

Crooked Beverage Co, the UK’s first alcoholic craft soda has started the new year with a bang as they have been awarded the gold medal for Design & Packaging at the Drinks International Pre-Mixed Drinks Challenge 2018.

The Crooked Beverage Co is distributed by Chesterfield based business Global Brands with the ‘Crooked’ symbolism being a nod towards the towns iconic Crooked Spire.

An internationally acclaimed event, this year drew entries from across the globe, including Europe and the USA. The eighth edition of the competition saw fewer medals awarded from the same number of entrants, only four golds were awarded within the entire competition, with Crooked Beverage Co receiving one of these accolades.

The three Crooked flavours each convey their own story and feature specific, surreal character illustrations on the can to bring the brand to life. The branding encourages consumers to enter the #CrookedReality of these “worlds” and capture imaginations. The aim of brief set to Lisa O’Hara, local illustrator, was to encapsulate these narratives into imagery to print onto the can and packaging.

When describing her favourite illustration Lisa O’Hara details “Mother Moon; Peach and Pomegranate was the most interesting to illustrate. I tried to draw Mother Moon as mystical witchy being, with a range of potential back-stories. I could get lost in details like drawing her worshippers and in the idea of her controlling the sky and the sea. She’d definitely be the boss of the Crooked world”.

Sharing names with lyrics from Sheffield artists, the brand is heavily influenced by music which is explained by designer Lisa as paramount in the initial creation:-

“The musical theme attached to each flavour was an important part of getting to know the character’s personalities. I struggle to draw without listening to music so this method allowed me to immerse myself quite quickly. I have sketchbooks full of little weirdo characters that I can struggle to contextualise, so being responsible for interpreting both a character and their environment was really enjoyable, and the catalyst I needed”.

The design and packaging round is judged by a panel of experts and industry specialists. Comments from the judges included:-

“The alcoholic soda brand impressed the judging panel with the artistic and unusual designs which cover its 33cl can”. Despite the fewer medals the quality within the category is certainly there”.

Lisa O’ Hara comments:-

“Crooked struck gold! I’m so made up. It’s a testament to how well the brief and the ideas were put together. I am beyond proud and grateful that; a little-known Sheffield based illustrator, has been instrumental to a product that is so highly regarded.”

Charlie Leaver, Innovation Manager at Crooked Beverage Co, added:-

“A lot of creativity and deep thinking has gone into the entire Crooked brand. We wanted to create a product that was different, that the consumer can resonate with and get lost in. For us to be receiving this kind of recognition internationally is a celebration of just how much top quality work has gone into the brand from the entire team”.