We do try, you know...

Gateway in Highland is coming up to its (official) first  birthday and, as part of our regular get-togethers, Jennifer Irvine (RDO Caithness) and I met with our colleagues in HIE recently to try and sort out any confusions that have developed about our respective roles.  And I think we did. 

Hopefully this means that we can get clients to the most appropriate support in the most efficient and effective manner.

Learning to Be Enterprising - Lairg

Lairg and Brora Learning Centres are developing a course for those at the first stages of considering starting enterprise.  The "Learning to be Enterprising" (LTBE) programme is aimed at those who may feel that they need some additional learning support before contacting, for example, Business Gateway.

Topics will include the European Computer  Driving Licence (ECDL), First Aid, basic business and communication skills  - with direct links to vocational training provision where available.

LTBE clients will be linked to local Business Gateway support, where appropriate, and BG will be asking some of our clients to act as case studies for the initiative.

For information about "Learning to be Enterprising" contact Kelly MacKay as follows:

email: Kelly MacKay
Telephone 01549 402050/ 01408 622707

DK at Go4It

I include this without comment other than "Business Start Specialist" is probably over-egging it a bit.....



Video by Highland Productions and filmed at Inverness College as part of Go4It on 3 June 2010.

"Riding through the Glen......"

I'm in sunny Nottingham at the moment, getting intimately involved with the NHS, but (thanks to Sir Tim Berners-Lee) I seem to be able to run my little empire just as well from down here.  Not quite the same outlook, though.

Farewell "Off Our Rockers"

The members of "Off Our Rockers" held a dinner on Thursday night at the Ben Loyal Hotel, Tongue, to thank Link Teacher, David Charnley, for all of his efforts during their YES campaign.  Coinciding with the Higher results, we took the opportunity of celebrating the students' own  achievements as they look forward to the next stage of their education and careers. 

Stop Press! Gateway Start Up Course in Lairg 19th/20th August

Due to some considerable demand, we have managed to arrange a short notice 2-day start up course at the Lairg Learning Centre on the 19th/20th August from 9.30am to 4.00pm each day.   The courses are suitable for any kind of business, community or social enterprise and, whilst we recommend the full two days,  it is possible to book for one day only.

There'll be the usual relaxed but informative workshops with the invaluable chance to meet others who are considering starting a new venture or, indeed, have started a business in the past few months.  All are welcome, lunch and refreshments are provided - and it's FREE.

To book, please  contact Lesley Allan on 01463 713889 or email her here

Scottish Government Review of Enterprise Agencies

At the risk of being a proverbial turkey voting for Christmas, I'm attaching a link to the Scottish Government's survey regarding Scottish enterprise agencies.

The survey is asking for opinions and suggestions regarding the recent changes in, and the future of, enterprise support across Scotland.

Link

Business Gateway Record-keeping Workshop - 27 July 2010

Popped into the above workshop at the Lairg Learning Centre yesterday to see what was happening,    With a couple of extra clients attending, the unflappable trainer, David Taylor, used his expertise in crowd control to run a very stimulating and informative course.  I think all the attending clients found the event useful -  as the ability to control and manage a business is very much tied up in the quality of the admin.

As ever, the workshop provided a real opportunity for 10 completely different businesses to network and share their own experiences.

For more information about Gateway courses, contact Lesley on 01463 713889.

Food & Drink Seminar, Dingwall, 24 August 2010

UHI HI Links is holding a lunchtime seminar at Tulloch Castle, Dingwall on Tuesday 24th August.  It is aimed at the Food & Drink sector and those businesses looking for help on developing new products and marketing.  Keynote speakers will be from Food Innovation (University of Abertay) and Food Marketing (Scottish Agricultural College).

Registration is from 1130am. A light lunch will be served at 1.15pm.

For more information please contact Charlotte Ball, tel: 01463 279368
 

Sutherland County Show

 

The sun was shining, the birds singing, the burgers sizzling on Saturday at the Sutherland County Show. Jennifer Irvine and I set up shop in the Industrial Tent and barely had time to slope off for a coffee in between meeting clients old and new. 

We did manage to spend a few enjoyable moments watching Mike Ellis from Helmsdale Coppicing and Charcoal offload his brand new charcoal burner.  Also, in our marquee, there was Lyn Wells from Artful Creatures, the much-travelled jewellers,  David & Tess Wilson (look out for their new website soon), and Judi Sutherland from Dornoch Leisure.


Sian Curley, (with cute daughter Florence),  of Sugar & Spice bakery, Elphin  was one of the attractions in the Taste of Sutherland tent along with a fantastic selection of North Highland Food producers.

The event was brilliantly organised and thanks to the Committee for helping make our first Sutherland Show such a successful one.

Highland Opportunity Business Growth Fund

Please note that the Highland Opportunity Business Growth Fund will be discontinued on the 31 August 2010.  All other HOL schemes will continue as normal.

Any Questions 23/7/2010

Well, Lochinver's back on the political map.  BBC Radio 4's  "Any Questions" programme is coming live from Lochinver Village Hall on Friday 23 July 2010 (repeated on Saturday).  Given the number and variety of opinions in North West Sutherland,  this should be compulsive listening.

For more info, follow this link

New Business Gateway Course: Your Business & The Environment

Business Gateway are trialling a new (Free) course "Your Business and the Environment" to be held in Inverness on the 3rd August 2010. For more info, please contact Lesley on 01463 713889.

Sutherland County Show

We (Jennifer Irvine and me) are going to be at this year's Sutherland County Show on the 24th July 2010 in Dornoch. With my, as yet unused, display panels, a picnic table and a variety of leaflets, we''ll be there to answer any Gateway queries and hope to catch up with existing Gateway clients who will undoubtedly want to buy me a coffee/burger/balloon.

The weather will, of course, improve dramatically by then.

For more information about the Show, follow this link

EBG Part Deux

Well, the connectivity wasn't all it was cracked up to be so I'm now back in the office with the EBG update.

What a week of activity. Our French hosts looked after us well with some amazing entertainment coupled with business visits, networking events and, of course the Final which took place at the Regional Government Headquarters followed by the Award Ceremont and Farewell Dinner at the Limousin Visitor Centre. Here are a few pics of the Fortrose Team and some of the events.

The Overall Winners were the Danish team but Fortrose walked off with the Team (& Teacher) prize.
The whole event was the being filmed and the Final was featured live on French TV

Our heartfelt thanks go to Francis Obry, Nadine Rossignol and their team for being wonderful hosts for this year's event.

As a judge, it was the most difficult year yet as every competing country really put a real effort into the business ideas, reports and presentations. (One evening, the judges' meeting went on until midnight in 35degrees of heat until we came to a consensus - sometimes this job can be a real struggle).