chesterfield business news

Chesterfield Escape Rooms gears up for 1st anniversary celebrations

One of Chesterfield’s most renowned visitor attractions, Chesterfield Escape Rooms is set to celebrate it’s 1st birthday in May by reflecting on a number of resounding successes since opening in 2021.

Based on Soresby Street, the games centre features several games where participants must complete a series of puzzles and challenges in order to ‘escape.’ In less than a year it has become one of the best rated escape rooms in the country.

In addition, the Escape Rooms has grown further into the Chesterfield Games Quarter, featuring VR and retro gaming offers for visitors alongside the Geeks HQ, which hosts regular trading card tournaments, board game events and much more.

Nick Hogan, founder and owner of Chesterfield Escape Rooms commented: “Wow, what a year after opening in the middle of a pandemic! We have had just on 10,000 players and unbelievably achieved the number 1 Escape Room in the UK according to Trip Advisor! Our intention was to get into the top 50 but to achieve the number 1 spot when there are 800 Escape Business in town is a real coup.”

Mr Hogan also explained how pleased he was to be providing a unique and modern visitor offer to Chesterfield’s historic town centre: “I for one am delighted to have opened in the town centre, giving something back to the town I have called home for 20 years. We believe in the region of 30% of our players have come from outside of town and most will stay for drinks and food elsewhere therefore contributing to the wider hospitality sector.  When we opened in May 2021, our building was unused and pretty derelict so its great to see something vibrant shine from something so run down.”

Speaking on the expansion into the innovative ‘games quarter’ attraction, Nick said: “The Games quarter is quite unique in that its a collaboration of 4 local businesses coming together in one space to offer lots of different gaming requirements. We have started offering cross business party packages for groups of varying sizes which has proved so popular so far.

“In the early days of opening, there was a government employment scheme called Kickstart and I focused very much on this. I initially employed 6 Kickstarters, who were people under 24 who had been unemployed for over 6 months. 12 months later 4 ex Kickstarters are now on our payroll as permanent employees. We have employed over 30 people in 21/22 so far and everyone of them has contributed to our success, I cant thank them enough.”

Nick is encouraging people in Chesterfield and beyond to keep an eye on further developments at the Games Quarter and Escape Rooms, with further plans to refresh the attractions to keep people coming back for more.

He said: “We try to refresh the games as often as possible, so having started with 3 titles we have had 5 in operation over the year. We are also considering adding least one new title this year as well as a new Xmas game from November. For those people that have played all of our physical rooms, well maybe its time they tried some of our state of the art Virtual Reality rooms as these are proving very popular and getting rave reviews!”

Chesterfield Escape Rooms supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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

Workpays Founder Helen Richardson Becomes an MBE

Helen Richardson, Founder of Workpays, has been awarded with an MBE for Service to Young People During the Pandemic, and was presented with her award at Windsor Castle last month.

Throughout the pandemic, Workpays remained open throughout the pandemic going above and beyond to offer extended pastoral services to our participants, in addition to skills and employability delivery. After creating an online learning platform from scratch in less than a month, we provided a laptop and WiFi dongles to those participants without the equipment to access online learning and virtual classes, these were hand delivered to their homes.

Anne Wright, Managing Director of Workpays said, “We are delighted to congratulate Helen for being awarded an MBE, it is an exceptional accolade that highlights the valuable work undertaken at Workpays during the pandemic. I’m extremely proud that the Workpays family became fully united and focused to continue our service and offer excellent support to our young people at a extraordinarily challenging time for them.”

Alex Glasner, Managing Director, said, “This is a huge accolade for Helen and Workpays and testament to the work our team put in day in day out. Workpays will always put our learners first no matter what the circumstances.”

As a skills provider in Chesterfield, Workpays helps people to access the skills & training needed to gain employment.

The company provides Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge to parents, teachers & students and assists employers to develop their workforce through work-based learning and apprenticeships.

Workpays has offices in Derby, Coventry, Chesterfield, Kettering, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Hinckley, Redditch, Corby & Market Harborough.

Find out more about the wide range of apprenticeships available in Chesterfield, along with the Made In Chesterfield scheme, which enables school pupils to gain first-hand experience of construction, manufacturing and engineering by taking part in site visits at local businesses.

Workpays supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Workpays Directors – Helen Richardson pictured centre

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

Chesterfield based Mortgage 1st have been named as a finalist in the Mortgage Strategy Awards.

Chesterfield-based Mortgage Advisory firm, Mortgage 1st has been shortlisted of a prestigious national industry award.

The Mortgage Strategy Awards are undoubtedly seen as the pinnacle of success for those in the UK mortgage industry.

Widely recognised as the ‘Oscars’ of the mortgage industry, the accolades are not awarded lightly. Several rounds of shortlisting take place before the judge’s comb through each entry and decide on a winner. It’s the culmination of hard work and effort over the past twelve months, the rigorous judging process associated with the Awards that ensures that winning one of the 27 categories really is a mark of excellence.

The shortlist has been announced and Chesterfield based Mortgage Advisers Mortgage 1st are delighted to be named as a finalist in the ‘Best Mortgage Broker 8-50 Advisers’ category in these prestigious national awards.

Lisa Stones, Marketing Director at Mortgage 1st said: “To be shortlisted is amazing achievement in itself! We are very excited to be in the finals alongside a number of large well-known national mortgage firms – Wish us luck!”

This comes off the back of Mortgage 1st also reaching the finals earlier this year in the Natwest Local Hero Awards and achieving Highly Commended on the night, being recognised for the work the team have been doing over the past 12 months to support young people in the area through their apprenticeship scheme and schools program.

The full shortlist for the 2022 Mortgage Strategy Awards can be seen at: https://www.mortgagestrategyawards.co.uk/msa/en/page/shortlist-2022

Mortgage 1st supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in Business, Home, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , ,

Businesses in our region continue to benefit from funded skills training provision.

Businesses in Chesterfield and the wider Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire region are urged to take advantage of funded training to upskill their workforce.

The training is delivered as part of the Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) programme, which Serco is managing across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.  Eligible businesses can benefit from:

  • A training needs analysis for your business, identifying the skills you need to support your business ambitions
  • Flexible training – pick full qualifications or mix and match individual units to suit your business
  • On-the-job vocational training to meet individual and business needs including taught learning, workplace assessment, distance learning and online learning
  • Learning pathways for your employees enabling them to progress within your organisation onto higher level qualifications or apprenticeships
  • Recognised accredited qualifications and training courses to enhance your employees’ skills

SSW is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), which means you can access a wide range of training at no cost to your business.   SSW has a network of expert training providers who can deliver a range of fully funded training courses and accredited qualifications. The courses on offer include:

  • Leadership/Management/HR/Team Leading/People
  • IT & Digital Skills
  • Business & Office Skills
  • Digital Marketing
  • Health & Social Care
  • Hospitality & Catering
  • Mental Health Awareness
  • Business Admin
  • Customer Service
  • Warehousing/Storage/Logistics
  • Construction

In Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, SSW has supported more than 9,200 learners since April 2019 with over £16.8m invested to date in training and skills support.

A beneficiary of the support working within the manufacturing sector commented: “Everything was well organised from the start and we had a mixture of on and off site training, so we could upskill our key staff with minimal disruption to production.

“Two staff members have been promoted since the training to more senior positions. Attending this bespoke management course gave them confidence to move forward in their careers.”

If you would like to find out if your business is eligible for the funded training programme, simply go to https://www.serco-ese.com/skills-support-for-the-workforce/ or contact Howard Cordingley, Partnership Coordinator, at skillssupport@serco.com.

Chesterfield businesses can find out more about the range of business support available to them in the area by going to: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/business-support/

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

Robinson celebrates first successful year of sustainability pledge

Robinson, the manufacturer specialising in value-added custom packaging – is celebrating the successful first anniversary of its Sustainability Pledge.

Helene Roberts, CEO, says: “Our sustainability pledge helps bring our purpose to life – going above and beyond to create a sustainable future for our people and our planet. This underpins our business strategy and is focused on five pillars and 15 ambitious commitments which are woven into the fabric of our business. We have achieved many of our goals ahead of time and we are proud to celebrate a very successful first year”.

People successes included the introduction of a ‘People development plan’, Zero accidents and proactively championing employee health and wellbeing. An organisational culture survey for the entire workforce compared Robinson to some of the world’s most successful businesses identifying strengths which led to more teamwork and empowerment.

Other activities included enhanced employee communication, a diversity plan to ensure Robinson benefits from a variety of perspectives, skills and backgrounds, and investment in people development and training.

Valuable feedback came from ‘Big Picture’ workshops run by employee volunteers – ‘Big Picture champions’. Strongly linked to the business strategy the aim was for all employees to understand how the business will develop and how sustainability and people are at the heart of everything Robinson does.

Helene says: “We want all our employees to go home safely and that is our top priority, applying a safety-first culture across all workplaces by implementing formalised, behaviour-based safety programmes, reporting near misses and carrying out on-the-job checks through 30 second risk assessments”.

The Regeneration pledge aims to extract maximum value from the resources used in all operations, recovering and restoring materials at the end of their life. Goals included:

  • Zero waste to landfill by 2021
  • Net carbon positive by 2030
  • Sustainable buildings by 2025

Robinson UK, Polish and Denmark sites have already met the zero waste to landfill goal ensuring all waste streams are sustainably managed. All sites are signatories to Operation Clean Sweep – an international initiative to reduce pellet loss from manufacturing operations.

Robinson is committed to the decarbonisation of its operations and is dynamically developing a roadmap to become net carbon positive by 2030; meaning it will eliminate more carbon emissions than generated.

An energy management team has been formed with engineering representatives from the leadership team and all sites. Energy and carbon maps have been developed for each site and so far more than 30 carbon reduction projects have been identified to include capacity and asset utilisation, compressors and water cooling. Implementation of 6 priority projects continues such as installation of new energy-efficient injection moulding machines and production cells within sites, aligning investments for sustainable growth.

Energy and carbon reduction measures for Robinson buildings are integrated into the carbon management programme, along with machinery or equipment replacement programmes.

The Intelligence pillar says Robinson will enable its customers to contribute to building a circular economy by applying purposeful design, using recycled content and making its products recyclable.

Goals included:

  • 10% virgin plastic reduction by 2025
  • Maximum recycled content by 2022: Minimum 30% in plastic / Maintain 100% in paperboard
  • All products fully recyclable

Robinson has had many customer successes reducing the amount of virgin plastic, increasing the use of PCR while maintaining product protection and functionality.

‘My Fabulosa’ identified a gap in the disinfectant market for a greater variety of high performing disinfectant products and partnered with Robinson to meet their rapid growth requirements while providing a sustainable solution – a PET bottle that is widely recyclable.

Robinson joined forces with NEXTLOOPP to deliver, for the first time, a supply chain model to close the loop on food-grade rPP. NEXTLOOPP is managed by leading environmental consultants Nextek, a consortium including a team of expert organisations across the PP and food supply chain, including Robinson.

All Robinson paperboard packaging is made with 100% recycled material and is widely recyclable. A great example of this is the beautifully crafted boxes for luxury chocolate manufacturer Holdsworth, meeting both companies’ sustainability goals for circular packaging solutions.

The Community pillar aims to deliver tangible social and environmental benefits, educating the next generation of change-makers and bringing more sustainable initiatives to the areas where Robinson operates.

Goals included:

  • Offering career-enhancing work experience and opportunities
  • Engaging schools on the benefits of packaging and recycling
  • Giving back to communities every year.

Robinson has appointed Community Champions to help inspire colleagues and coordinate projects, leveraging the efforts of all individuals to generate greater impact.

Robinson offers internships, apprenticeships and takes part in local career fairs in partnership with colleges and universities in the three countries in which it operates.

From Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths Ambassadors (STEM), volunteering at schools and colleges to partnering with the IOM3 Starpack Students competition, Robinson is supporting the packaging technologists of the future and guiding them to become environmental advocates.

Giving back to local communities is important. In Poland one inspirational team raised money for a heart-warming campaign called ‘Overcoming yourself’. Funds raised are used to support the rehabilitation of people who are suffering from life-changing accidents.

The team in Poland have been collecting recycled cans for the ‘Balls for Cans’ project. For every 15kg of cans collected, the project donates a football to support a local team, Tęcza Soccer Club in Stanisławów.

Throughout the year teams at Stanton Hill and Kirkby sites have been raising money for charities including Great Ormond Street Hospital through a daily tuck shop and cake sales.

A continued partnership in Poland with the local volunteer fire brigade means employees receive regular fire safety training and in turn donations are allocated to fire service equipment for the local fire stations.

The Denmark team continue to support a local orphanage through donations, as well as participation in local fundraising events. The team also employ local people who have fallen out of employment due to physical or mental constraints, supporting and mentoring them in their careers.

The Transformation Pillar means Robinson will drive shared commercial value and income streams beyond current business models, collaborating with customers and partners to regenerate local economies.

Recent history shows the ever-increasing critical nature of resilient supply chains to future-proof the business for sustainable growth; for impact that endures.

Robinson’s Danish business has been working in local partnership to create its own supply chain of recycled materials, delivering circular packaging solutions through intelligent yet simple systems thinking. The consortium of four organisations: waste management company Dansk Affald, plastics recyclers Aage Vestergaard Larsen, Robinson (Schela Plast), and customer – Danish leading home and personal care private label manufacturer Nopa Nordic – is a perfect partnership working across the supply and value chain to create a localised circular economy for plastics.

Traditionally PCR material is imported within Denmark however this unique collaboration has delivered significant strides to make closed loop packaging within this country a reality. This has resulted in the launch of new plastic packaging made from 100% of Danish household-sorted plastic waste; a true local circular loop driving increased recycling of household plastic waste, using it as valuable raw material for new protective plastic packaging.

Helene concluded: “This initiative is contributing to the green transition and we are proud to be part of a scheme where millions of plastic bottles in the coming years will be made from plastic waste from local households. It is just one of the many successes we are proud to report after twelve months of our sustainability pledge – just imagine what we can achieve in the next twelve months!

Robinson supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in Business, Home, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , ,

Plans for Sensory Hub outlined by Chesterfield FC

Chesterfield Football Club has announced that plans for a Sensory Hub at the Technique Stadium are well underway.

Jane Cooper, who is a director of the club and a trustee of the Community Trust, has played an instrumental role in the project. She was a guest on BBC Radio Sheffield earlier this week to talk about the plans.

The Chesterfield FC Community Trust Sensory Hub is a stand-alone building which will be located opposite the entrance to Chester’s Den. It will be a safe, quiet space with sensory equipment and sensory lighting. There will also be a Sensory Garden to the rear.

The Hub is intended for the use of autistic people who need a quiet space to retreat from the noisy, often chaotic environment of a football ground. It will also benefit autistic people and people with profound and multiple learning disabilities in the wider community. It will support autistic youngsters to access the Community Trust’s activities and alternative education provision.

It will be a community resource, open for members of the wider community to hire on an hourly basis and will be a welcome alternative to Chester’s Den who find the play centre environment challenging.

Why is the Sensory Hub needed?

• Autistic people can often be overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells of the world around them and they can become ‘overloaded’ with information.

• This can lead to a ‘meltdown’ or ‘shutdown’ often meaning that they find it difficult to access busy and noisy environments such as a football stadium.

• This impacts on their life and that of their family, friends and those who support them.

The design of the Sensory Hub has been agreed and will be supplied by Rise Adapt. The club has planning permission from the local authority who have commended this provision. Chesterfield FC Community Trust is now applying to funding bodies for the circa £60,000 it will cost to create the Sensory Hub and the sensory garden to the rear. Other fundraising initiatives are likely to follow.

A statement on the Chesterfield FC Community Trust website said: “Chesterfield FC’s vision is to be THE most accessible football club in the country and providing the Sensory Hub will be a step towards achieving this vision. The Football Association motto is ‘For All’ and we intend to make that a reality.

“In the longer term we want to create a quiet viewing area of the pitch on matchdays. A full access audit of the site is underway which will identify other ways in which we can improve.”

Chesterfield Football Club supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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

Office space? Chesterfield has it all!

With rapid regeneration currently taking place in Chesterfield, we got the thoughts of two people in our town helping to lead the way in providing high quality office spaces.

Developments such as the Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre and One Waterside Place are set to open this year, while existing spaces are continuing to be revamped to create affordable and state-of-the-art premises for businesses.

Whether you’re just launching or taking steps to grow your business, Chesterfield has plenty of options available. Find out more at: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/invest-in-chesterfield/office/

To find out more about the Chesterfield Property and Construction Group, go to: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/propertygroup/

Building high-quality offices in Chesterfield

Tom Swallow, Development Manager, Bolsterstone Group PLC

Offices remain important to companies – they are vital hubs to facilitate collaboration, team building, training and mentoring particularly where younger members of the workforce are concerned.

The post-pandemic return to the office has led to a shift away from the ‘traditional’ approach to office space. Businesses are now reconsidering how they use their space and looking at how they can adapt it to a more modern, agile way of working. This has resulted in a dramatic change in office space requirements. and a ‘Flight to prime’.

As a result of the pandemic, companies are now looking to modern, high quality workspace to attract their staff back into the office and maximise on the efficiencies of agile working.

Companies want modern, quality workspaces that are flexible and provide good services and amenities. Quality is overtaking quantity, as it’s unlikely all employees will be in on the same days as they adopt a hybrid working from home /office model.

On the back of the delivery of high quality office developments and refurbishments across the borough – Chesterfield is in an excellent position to capitalise on the change in office demands post pandemic.

A 2021 survey by CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, found that 63% of employers planned to introduce or expand the use of hybrid working to some degree, combining time in the workplace with time at home, depending on the needs of the job, the individual and the team, and the team working practices.

Additionally, many large companies are now looking to move away from their single city centre HQs and, instead, implement a ‘hub and spoke’ office model – a network of smaller regional offices in well-connected locations.

With new offices at The Glass Yard, and the Enterprise Centre and our own scheme, One Waterside Place at Chesterfield Waterside, nearing completion, Chesterfield is well positioned to meet all the post pandemic office needs.

The addition of high quality office space to Chesterfield is important for economic recovery. The quality of space offered not only supports the growth ambitions of local companies, but also facilitates inward investment from companies locating from elsewhere in the UK (the hub and spoke model).

The social impact of offices is another emerging key factor for occupiers too, with Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) policies now at the heart of decision making. Sustainability is at the heart of such decisions – occupiers are focusing on their carbon footprint in all aspects of their operations. High quality design with a focus on sustainability through the whole life cycle of the building are real criteria for businesses looking to relocate and Chesterfield has designed buildings to meet the highest scoring criteria, further adding to its appeal.

The creation of new, Grade A office space with larger floor plates and high quality amenities allows Chesterfield to compete with other towns across the region. One Waterside Place for example is a BREEAM rated ‘Very Good’ property, has two passenger lifts, raised access flooring, air conditioning, LED lighting, a high-quality entrance foyer, showers and cycle parking facilities onsite. It is city-quality office space that allows employers to provide flexible and collaborative workspace in the post-Covid world.

Add The Glass Yard, the recently refurbished HQ building and the Enterprise Centre (BREEAM ‘Excellent’) to the town’s existing office space provision, and I believe we can truly say that Chesterfield has something for everyone – from start-ups to growing and mature businesses.

The new office marketing campaign, led by Destination Chesterfield in partnership with Chesterfield Borough Council and Derbyshire Economic Partnership, provides a central showcase for companies to see available office space opportunites across the borough.

Our variety of office space, competitive cost, central location, mainline train station and proximity to the Peak District, is all helping make Chesterfield an obvious location for many businesses looking to balance and accommodate hybrid working arrangements for their workforce. The town has, once again, proved it is ahead of the curve.

Creating great working environments

Amy Revell, Co-Founder of We Are Spaces Ltd

The workspace is a fascinating topic for me, I’m a creative person with a keen interest in the psychology of why we do what we do. The workplace is the perfect blend of the two, bringing together people and property.

Our Businesses are full of different personalities, pressures and demands, which is why a quality workspace is so important to support the needs of your team. Throughout the pandemic we’ve all been forced to change and work in different ways, some embracing this, and others really struggling. But what is evidently clear in our modern world of working is to ensure we provide dynamic, engaging, sustainable and healthy workspaces for us all to achieve our very best.

The office isn’t just about providing a desk, we all need much more than this to feel inspired, energised and productive. To futureproof our offices, it’s important we adapt to hybrid working, meaning you are able to provide a little bit of everything, at any time. From open plan agile work stations, to quiet focus zones, collaborative areas, fully AV enabled meeting spaces, places to be sociable, to build trust and rapport, and crucially, an environment to allow our younger, less experienced workers to learn from their co-workers.

In addition, our health and wellbeing is a hot topic, and something we should all be striving to improve upon. Our workspaces need to be healthy environments, with good levels of fresh air and ventilation, robust heating and cooling systems, lots of natural light and acoustic comfort really needs to be considered. If we get all of these basics right, creating an engaging and productive space is much easier to achieve.

This is proving to be a huge success in Chesterfield as we are seeing a large increase in inward investment and large businesses looking to locate their workspaces here, due to the mix of high quality office space, good transport links and overall quality of life. This brings new and exciting job prospects to Chesterfield, its raises the aspirations of our young learners and workforce, more people look to live in Chesterfield and in turn boosts our local economy.

We are very fortunate in Chesterfield, as the council and local developers have continued to invest in a range of high quality workspaces. For example, the Northern Gateway has a warm and inviting reception with modern and bright furniture pieces, sociable shared breakout areas, temperature controlled office suites, with plenty of fresh air, natural light, acoustic baffles and lovely views of the towns greenspaces and iconic crooked spire.

The Waterside development has high reaching ceilings, with energy efficient LED lighting, fantastic fresh air and ventilation system, floor to ceiling windows, allowing all the natural light to flood in and the higher floors have fantastic views of rolling hills lush greenery. In addition, The Glass Yard really provides a fantastic industrial style workplace experience, with leisure, food and beverage and health and wellbeing businesses on site. In creating workspaces that allow us to create a great experience for the user, we will all have a happier, healthier and productive workforce.

Our workspaces also need to cater for the rapidly growing digital and tech sector. There is huge growth in new tech and digital starts up, and Chesterfield is already great at providing business support, but our workspaces also need to be able to provide fast and reliable broadband, spaces for efficient digital content creation and inspiring design to really allow new innovation to thrive.

This is where investing in a quality interior fit out and furniture, can have such a big impact on the overall success of the workspace. Lots of our businesses in Chesterfield are already embracing this. I have been working first hand with many. For instance, Hunters Estate Agents have now adapted to a fully agile work environment. Moving to The Glass Yard, they have reduced from 3 floors to 1, so they can work collaboratively together as a close knit team.

They have also been able to reduce their overall square footage, saving key overhead costs to their business. By working closely with the team, we have been able to understand their challenges and opportunities, and with the volume of high quality workspace on offer, they have been able to make great changes to their workspace, which will put them in a much better position for the next 10 years.

To this end, I hope you will be able to see how important it is that our councils and developers continue to invest and build high quality workspaces, so that we can attract new businesses, create more jobs, generate new revenue and grow further opportunities for everyone to thrive.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Blog, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Property and Construction, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , ,

Chesterfield’s Central Technology partners with South Yorkshire charity

Chesterfield’s Central Technology has announced it will now be providing IT Support to South Yorkshire Eating Disorders Association (SYEDA).

SYEDA is an independent charity, based in Sheffield, originally established in 1996 by a group of people who were affected by eating disorders and were concerned by the lack of information, guidance and help available.

Today they provide non-judgemental support directly to over 500 people each year affected by eating disorders, which includes one-to-one therapeutic and practical support, as well as additional support sessions for families and friends affected. They also facilitate support groups and deliver education and training sessions in schools, colleges, to professionals and the wider community.

With the rise of remote working, CT will be supporting SYEDA in a new independent, agile way of working by providing them with a Microsoft 365 solution and ongoing support.

Madeleine Thomas, Business Development Manager at SYEDA said “It has been a pleasure doing the onboarding process with CT and the staff and the support we have received has been brilliant. There has been some steep in-house learning getting to grips with Office 365 but we have been fully supported all the way by CT staff and the CT knowledge hub has been a great asset. We look forward to building a long-term relationship with CT and improving our own IT skills along the way in-house!”

Even closer to home, Central Technology also worked with local charity and fellow Chesterfield Champion Ashgate Hospice in upgrading their IT systems as part of their partnership working across the town. Find out more here.

If you are wondering how to ensure your business is cyber-secure and protected whilst harbouring an agile working set-up, contact Central Technology today.

Central Technology 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 , , , , , , ,

Workpays’ Big Assembly Wins at the 2022 Annual Apprenticeship Conference Awards

Big Assembly, a project delivered by Workpays in association with its partners, has won the FE WEEK AELP Annual Apprenticeship Conference 2022 Award for Promoting Apprenticeships ‘Campaign of the Year’ at the award ceremony in Birmingham.

The annual event returned in 2022, with the broadcast informing thousands of young people about the benefits of apprenticeships. The live event enables schools, parents, students and employers to receive  information and advice about possible next steps in their careers.

For the 2022 event, The Big Assembly teamed up with companies such as Pret A Manger, Bakkavor, Disability Rights UK, the Co-operative Bank & Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Alex Glasner, Managing Director at Workpays said: “It’s a real honour to be receive the Promoting Apprenticeship Campaign of the Year Award. Our entire team works hard throughout the year to provide young people with information and real stories about incredible apprenticeships.

“I’m proud that the work we are doing has been recognised with a national award. We will always keep young people and their careers at the centre of what we do.”

Twenty-four awards winners were recognised at the awards including Workpays, revealed at the ceremony in Birmingham as part of the two day conference which is held annually.

There are many great opportunities to become an apprentice across Chesterfield, with more than 2,500 people currently taking part in an apprenticeship in the town.

Chesterfield is the first town in the UK to declare itself an Apprentice Town – demonstrating its commitment to growing the future and careers of young people alongside business and the economy by retaining and developing young talent in the town in order to attract more employers to invest here.

Workpays 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, Apprentice Town, Business, Featured, Home, Made in Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , , ,

David Robinson promoted to Tax Partner at Shorts

Shorts are delighted to announce the promotion of David Robinson to the position of Tax Partner, with effect from 1 April 2022.

Responding to a decade of sustained growth, David will join Chris Chambers and Scott Burkinshaw in leading the firm’s tax offering and will divide his time working across both the firm’s Sheffield and Chesterfield offices.

An experienced Chartered Tax Adviser with national firm experience, David joined Shorts in 2015 as Senior Tax Manager and was promoted to Director in 2018. The promotion to Partner recognises David’s continued commitment to growing the department and underpins the firm’s continued development and strength.

David will continue to advise his clients on all areas of UK taxation with a particular focus on transactional work, including acquisitions & disposals, corporate reconstructions, and advising international businesses on their expansion into the UK (through the firm’s membership of The Praxity Alliance). Going forward, his role will transition progressively in taking a more active role in the leadership and strategy of the firm.

David said “I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to be promoted to Tax Partner at Shorts, joining a partnership that has been in existence since 1890.  The promotion is the culmination of years of hard work, and I’m proud to take the next step on my professional journey.  I am very much looking forward to working with existing and future clients, as well as the rest of the partners, to help drive forward the continued success of the firm”.

Chris Chambers, Senior Tax Partner at Shorts, said “Since joining us in 2015, David has played a key part in the growth and success of the business, and this promotion is just reward for his hard work and effort.  He’ll be a fantastic addition to our partner group, and I am confident that with David on board, the firm will continue to go from strength to strength”.

Scott Burkinshaw, Tax Partner at Shorts, added “I am delighted that David has agreed to join us in the Partnership.  We have enjoyed significant growth over the last few years, and this appointment further strengthens our position as we head into the next chapter of our long history.  We reward talent and effort here at Shorts, and we had no hesitation in asking David to join us to continue to drive the business forward”.

Shorts are a nationally recognised award-winning firm with a long-standing heritage of over 130 years.  They can be contacted on info@shorts.uk.com or by calling 0114 2671617 or 01246 559955.

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

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Spireites launch Easter Egg Appeal to bring joy to youngsters across North Derbyshire

Chester’s 2022 Easter Egg Appeal has been launched by Chesterfield FC Community Trust and Chesterfield FC.

The appeal is sponsored by John Pye Auctions. Easter Eggs will be accepted in the HUB and by the club until Tuesday, April 5.

The eggs will be donated to The Life House Church, which will have four pop-up shops, open on Easter Sunday (April 17) in Whittington Moor, Boythorpe, Hasland and Newbold.

We are looking for people and businesses in North Derbyshire to donate any Easter Eggs for the children of North Derbyshire.

Pastor Paul Hollingworth of Life House Church is taking the lead with the appeal, and Spireites player Luke Croll will be providing his support.

Paul said: “In a world surrounded by fear, the simple act of ‘bringing a smile’ to someone is powerful.

“An appeal like this gives people the opportunity to invest something back into the community that can make such a huge difference.

“The partnership with Chesterfield Football Club is a great model of how we can all work together for the greater good. Over the years we have been able to make a significant community impact in many different ways.

“The support of Luke Croll with this appeal says a lot about him as an individual. He has been a great ambassador for the club. His enthusiasm is undoubtedly an indicator of the positive culture within the football club currently.”

The launch of the Spireites’ Easter Egg Appeal comes off the back of the hugely successful Christmas toy appeal hosted by the club. The appeal ensured that more than 120 less fortunate families in our area were able to open presents on Christmas Day.

The appeal has already been supported by a number of Chesterfield Champions, with businesses including Mortgage 1st making a dontation.

Meanwhile, The Trust has also been raising funds for people affected by the crisis in Ukraine, with collections at the recent Maidenhead United match and the academy game at Matlock Town raising around £1,000 for relief efforts. This was supplemented by some Spire Lotto winners, meaning £1,200 has been sent to the EFDN Foundation.

The European Football Development Network is supporting humanitarian work by Shakhtar Donetsk in Lviv. This campaign is facilitated by Legia Warsaw in Poland, where their stadium has become a distribution centre for much needed supplies.

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

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