HIE Caithness & Sutherland Area Plan

 
HIE Caithness & Sutherland Area team have released their Area Business Plan.  The document lays out HIE's aims, objectives and priorities for our area. 

You can download from this link (52kB) or contact the local HIE team here. 

Nice new website, by the way.

Invercharron Games

 Part of the victorious Bonar Bridge Ladies Tug O' War Team

Well,  the weather was reasonably kind, the Business Gateway and PSYBT banners stayed up and the competitors gave their all in the last Games of the season.

And of course, BBC Masterchef (wiki)  filmed the event and several local businesses contributed to the menu including:

• Highland Fine Cheeses, Tain
• Ardgay Game Factory, Bonar Bridge
• Sutherland Shellfish & Game, Lairg
• Saladworx, Dornoch
• Matheson & McLeod, Butchers, Bonar Bridge

As part of the TV event, competitors were treated to lunch made by the Masterchef contestants; winners were invited to Skibo Castle for a formal Masterchef Dinner.  Which is nice.

UHI Management School

I recently attended a meeting of the UHI Management School Stakeholder Group.

The School is providing and developing a wide spectrum of courses ranging from modular skills courses to full-blown postgraduate research opportunities .

It will utilise the rapidly-increasing expertise across the UHI network and provide general courses and those relevant to specialist areas such as social enterprise, creative industries, renewables etc.  All levels of business, community enterprise and the voluntary sector will be encouraged to join the management school to enable employees, volunteers and entrepreneurs to gain the management skills vital to business growth and success.

Through its involvement with the Management School,  Business Gateway will be be able assist clients to identify the most appropriate management education and training for owners and employees and is a natural development of our work with Further Education initiatives such as Create.

Led by Dr Neil Simco, Dean of the UHI Business Faculty and the newly-appointed Head of School,  Euan Black, the Stakeholder Group represents a range of business, local authority, enterprise agency interests.


For more information take a look at the management school blog or website

PSYBT Volunteer of the Year - Edward MacKay

Edward MacKay receiving his gift from a bloke in a brown jumper

Edward MacKay from Brora has been awarded PSYBT Volunteer of the Year for the Highland Region.  Edward's been an active Panel Member for over 20 years and, in doing, so has supported over 150 young people to start and develop their own businesses.  

Edward, a prominent local businessman,  is passionately committed to Sutherland and is an enthusiastic supporter of youth and community development in the County. He runs the family business "Edward MacKay Construction Ltd" , runs a croft and maintains a collection of vintage vehicles.

PSYBT Volunteers are the backbone of the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust, making funding decisions and providing advice and support to fledgeling businesses.  For more information on PSYBT volunteers follow this link

Photo by Clive Grewcock

PSYBT Awards - Highland Final

 Henrietta MacKay-Ludgate and Cllr Helen Carmichael, Regional Chair of PSYBT

Congratulations to Henrietta MacKay-Ludgate for winning first prize at the Highland Final of the PSYBT Awards; the latest in a series of awards and accolades for this Dingwall-based business. 

Henrietta is a fashion designer, a graduate of Central St Martin's School of Art who is already making a significant mark in the industry.  For the full story, have a look the business website. Link

Her cash prize, sponsored by the Highland Council, and a framed certificate were presented at a Gala Event in Inverness Town House yesterday.   With only the briefest time for celebration, Henrietta  left almost immediately for London to take part in the Sustainable Fashion Show at Prince Charles' home in London, Clarence House. 
 
The PSYBT Awards recognise outstanding early-years business achievement among PSYBT-supported clients and Henrietta now enters the draw for a place in the Scottish Final to be held in Glasgow in November.

For more information about The Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust in the Highlands, contact Alithea Watson

(Photo: Clive Grewcock)

HIE Creative Industries Newsletter - September 2010

The September 2010 HIE Creative Industries Team Newsletter is now available and you can download it here. (322k). There's some good stuff about training, mentoring and market opportunities.

For any further information, contact Iain Hamilton at HIE.

Invercharron Highland Games - 18 September 2010

 
I've been helping out a bit with the forthcoming Invercharron Games, in particular seeing how we can maximise the impact of this event for local enterprises.

The job has been made slightly easier this year, because of the presence of the TV cameras filming a well-known (but currently-shy) mainstream cooking show. We were asked to identify local businesses which would fit in with the programme and  Highlands Film Commission  provided industry support to the producers - so we will be welcoming SHINE TV to the event and, hopefully, they will be providing a boost to some of the businesses we put forward.
 
In addition to this media excitement, the games will offer the usual mix of sporting prowess and entertainment. This year's Chieftain will be Mr Raymond More MD of Robertson Highland - the construction  firm currently building the new Migdale Hospital in Bonar Bridge.


The long-range weather forecast looks OK, so everything is full steam ahead for the final Games of 2010.

For detailed information about the Games, follow this link

Client Profile - ARTful Creatures

Wildlife artist, Lyn Wells, started ARTful Creatures in 2009, building on her love for nature and animals. She had studied Natural History Illustration at The Royal College of Art and carried out research in animal behaviour in Cuba,  Morocco and Malawi -  in addition to working directly for the publishing industry.


Lyn's business still produces natural history illustrations for publishers but now welcomes commissions for animal portraits, and illustrations based on client ideas.  Locally, in Sutherland,  some of her work is on display at the new Dornoch Gallery but you can find out more about ARTful Creatures on the business website.

As part of her entry into self-employment, Lyn attended Business Gateway workshops and received a  grant to assist with marketing her business further afield. In particular, the business acquired display materials to allow Lyn to promote ARTful Creatures at art and wildlife events across the country.

By the way, Lyn also undertakes Ecological Surveys and is a qualified Dog Training Instructor.

Photo by Clive Grewcock

The Cycle of YES

No sooner have we packed off the 2009 Farr YES team to their respective universities, colleges and  gainful employment, then the whole enjoyable package starts all over again.

Just back from a very breezy  Bettyhill where I met this this year's batch of committed and enthusiastic students and they're just itching to take on the baton passed to them by the 2008 and 2009 winners.

For more information about Young Enterprise Scotland follow this link

Youth Music Initiative Demo Fund

Here's a message about money from the very nice people at Creative Scotland.......

Youth Music Initiative Demo Fund

Funding of up to £6 000 for studios to record with young bands...

The Demo Fund is part of the Youth Music Initiative’s Independent Music Making programme.

Applications are welcome from professional studios, or organisations willing to partner with a studio, for up to £6000 to help young musicians record a high quality demo.

The Demo Fund will help emerging young bands record their first demo, allowing them to take the next step in their music careers by presenting themselves professionally to the music industry. The aim is to target young musicians who are making music in an unsupervised capacity.

There is a change to the application process for 2010/11, instead of specific deadlines for the Demo Fund we have moved to Fast Track applications, which means we are accepting applications anytime until 10th January 2011.

Funds available
A total of £70,000 is available to be distributed

Level of grants
£1,000 - £6,000 per application

Who Can Apply
The Demo Fund is primarily for professional recording studios with a proven track record of working with high class professional musicians.

Other organisations are also eligible to apply, for example rehearsal spaces, venues, local authority arts officers, youth or music organisations but must demonstrate a strong partnership with a professional recording studio.

How to Apply
All the guidelines and application forms relevant for the Demo Fund are available on the music funding for organisations webpage. Link

If you need any help or advice,  email Development Officer:  Jennifer McGlone
 or call her on +44 330 333 2000

Sutherland Development Plan

 
The Sutherland Development & Action Plan was officially launched last night at the AGM of the Sutherland Partnership

Guest Speaker was John Thurso MP who put the Plan into  context with the economic threats and opportunities both locally and further afield.  Like the Plan itself the message was distinctly upbeat but not complacent.  Although the economic situation is outwardly grim, there are local strengths, initiatives and enterprises which have the potential to provide major opportunities for Sutherland businesses and communities.

You can obtain a copy of the plan from William Sutherland at the Sutherland Partnership or by using the download (1.7Mb) link here.

STEP Awards

I spent a long, but enjoyable, day on Wednesday helping to judge the Classic STEP Awards for students placed within businesses across the Highlands & Islands.

In total, 34 students had been working within businesses, carrying out vital projects for their hosts and making a real and considerable difference to their employers in addition to developing their own professional and personal skills,

Ranging from cutting edge sustainable energy projects through to lifeline social enterprises,  it was a real struggle to come up with a winner from such diverse and high-quality submissions, but here are the results:

Winner: Kirsty Gordon, ABSL Power Solutions, Thurso, Product development project

2nd place John Watt, Inspiralba, Campbeltown, Social enterprise consultancy and support project

Runners-up  were:

Rachel Thomas, Cocoa Mountain, Durness, Social networking marketing project
Ewan Murray,Ice Factor, Kinlochleven, Sustainable energy research project
Yva Yorston, HISEZ, Inverness , Online sales feasibility study
Andrea Howard,  Rag, Tag n Textiles, Balmacara, Textile design and product development project

Congratulations to Ruth Sime (Highlands & Islands Enterprise) and Karen Darke (Inspire & Impact) for bringing the whole programme together.

For more details about STEP follow this link or contact Karen Darke at Inspire & Impact

Client Snapshot - Jadcom UK

James Dalton started his IT business, Jadcom UK in 2003. Since that launch, James has been able to supply hardware and software solutions combined with consultancy, training and IT development from his base in Rosehall.

James is seeing considerable potential for growth in his business and recently received some support from Business Gateway to help access these new markets. 

Apart from his business activities, James and his family are familiar figures in the equestrian world and are building a name for themselves in the showing of guinea pigs!

To contact JADCOM visit James' website: Link

Photo: Clive Grewcock