Business Gateway Products & Services - Rural Development Grant

Following a review of budgets, there will be significant changes in the funding support available through Business Gateway.

The Business Gateway Rural Development/Start Grant will cease as of 10th February 2011.  This small grant (averaging £1200 in Sutherland) helped to create some 30 businesses in this County in 2010 and will be missed.  It was, however,  always a temporary measure; much appreciated in the rural areas of the Highland Region.

Applications in the pipeline will be honoured.



Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust support remains unchanged but Highland Opportunity loans will be "rationed" according to the availability of funds.


This is the first of several changes to our portfolio which will occur over the next few weeks and reflects the current pressure on local authority budgets.

Farr Safer - The European Dimension

Farr High School's Young Enterprise Scotland team, "Farr Safer", fresh from winning the Highland Area Trade Fair  followed by the  YES "Dragons' Den" event, are now off to Latvia to sell their range of safety equipment.

The Finnish-sourced safety heel cleats have been a real winner during this harsh winter including  sales to AJG Parcels and other corporate customers.

"Farr Safer"also sell items such as safety triangles, hi-visibility vests and first aid kits, and the team are busy preparing display materials and presentaions for the trade fair and competition which will be held in Riga in March.

For more information,  take a look at the Farr Safer website.

UHI Management School

I'm very pleased to be part of the Steering Group for the new Management School at the University of the Highlands & Islands ("UHI Millennium Institute" no more!) and we hope that the business community within our area will take advantage of its courses as part of the business development process.

Here's an update from Fiona Ryan, The Management School's newly-appointed Project Officer:

Introducing UHI's new Management School

The Management School, which is headed up by Euan Black, was launched on 1 August 2010 and has been created to ensure that organisations in the Highlands & Islands and beyond have access to high-quality management training and education. To read more about this exciting venture please access the first edition of the Management School's newsletter here:

The Postgraduate Certificate in Enterprise and eMarketing, which has been commended for its innovation and relevance to SME’s, focuses on business growth and explores the challenges and opportunities of growing an SME, looking both at entrepreneurial leadership and marketing, particularly online or digital marketing. Information on the programme can be found here:

Leadership and Management

The second main area we have been working on is leadership. In September 2010 we launched an MSc in Leadership and Management, this programme is aimed more at those working in medium, larger and public sector organisations and is about supporting individuals take on increased leadership responsibilities effectively. The programme is built on extensive experience we have had working with the health sector, where we deliver a very successful national leadership programme. The Masters programme is made up of a postgraduate certificate, diploma and masters qualifications, information on these can be found via the following links:

Certificate:

Diploma:

Masters (MSc):

For further information, please contact Fiona Ryan, via the Management School website

Social Media for the Tourism Industry

North Highland Tourism and Business Gateway are presenting three workshops aimed at the tourism industry.  The workshops will cover social networking, maximising the impact of your online presence and give an overview of the latest techniques in the field.  They will be hosted by Rene Looper  - a real expert in all aspects of social networking and marketing.

The workshops  - which cost £10 for NHT members and £15 for non-members -  will run from 10.30am to 1.30pm and a sandwich lunch will be provided.

15th March:  at the Lairg Highland Hotel
16th March : the Assynt Foundation, Lochinver
22nd March:  Caithness Horizons, Thurso

For more details and booking options, contact Jill McNicol

Masterchef - Invercharron Games

The Masterchef team at the Highland Games (photo: John Banks)

The long-awaited screening of the Masterchef episode -  filmed at the Invercharron Games  and around the Kyle of Sutherland last September - will be aired on Wednesday 2nd March at 9pm on BBC One.   Full details here