North West business briefs: University of Salford; Bis Henderson; Vital Energi; Everton in the Community; LFC Foundation; Kiistone

Manchester investment platform AJ Bell and the University of Salford have partnered to launch a new initiative for the university’s top performing technology students.

The first ever round of the ‘AJ Bell Technology Award’ is being granted at the end of this academic year with winning students being judged on their practical and written assessments. Students studying Computer Science, Computer Science with Cyber Security and Software Engineering will be eligible to win one of three prizes totalling £1,000. The winning final year student will be awarded £500 with the best first and second year students picking up a prize of £200 and £300, respectively.

AJ Bell is an important industry partner for the university, with this latest collaboration being another way to recognise the academic success of its talented students.

Dr Julian Bass, senior lecturer in software engineering at Salford, said: “We are delighted to welcome AJ Bell as one of our strategic industry partners and look forward to our growing relationship. The AJ Bell Technology Award will allow us to recognise the achievement of our top performing students in each of the year groups by providing a financial incentive.”

Mo Tagari, AJ Bell’s chief technology officer, said: “Technology is the life blood of business and as an online company with technology at its core, we are passionate about helping students gain their technology qualifications and becoming the business leaders of tomorrow.”

The AJ Bell Technology Award will initially run for three academic years with the final gift promised for students in 2022/23

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Teams of Northern advisors have supported TPA Capital’s investment in logistics and supply chain solutions group Bis Henderson.

The Northampton-based company has developed from a recruitment company for supplu chain professionals into the consulting and space arena.

The logistics sector has experienced unprecedented pressures and growth over the last 12 months, providing further opportunities for Bis to support its ever expanding client base. TPA will seek to leverage its sector credentials and experience to support the continuation of Bis’ growth journey.

Ravi Aujla, investment director at TPA, says: “Supply chains are undergoing a period of significant change and Bis is very well placed to capitalise on the opportunities this brings.”

Bis Henderson was supported by a team of North West-based advisors, including Gerard Lucas, Dan Walker and Rachel Green from Dow Schofield Watts, and Ian Riggs, Sean Lightfoot and Olivia Jones from Hill Dickinson.

TPA was advised by Squire Patton Boggs, led by Leeds-based Paul Mann, Ben Squires and Louise Parker, alongside Azets and Apex Insight.

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Vital Energi Training Academy

Vital Energi is working with The City of Liverpool College to deliver bespoke renewable energy and heat network apprenticeship programmes.

The new apprenticeship programmes demonstrate Vital’s commitment to developing the key industry skills required to achieve net zero and create a sustainable workforce for the future. Having pledged to recruit 20 apprentices across the UK, Vital said it is proud to be joining forces with the college which will deliver the curriculum from the £2m state-of-the-art Training Academy located at Vital’s Blackburn headquarters, for two pathways: Craft and Technical.

Both pathways will take apprentices on an energy journey where they will learn and work within the renewable energy and heat networks market. They will discover how energy is generated and distributed, and how to manage and reduce consumption for residential and commercial clients. Apprentices will also learn how carbon emissions are reduced through Vital’s renewable technologies and the innovative products it has developed.

Vital Energi’s manging director for the North & Scotland, Mike Cooke, completed an apprenticeship at The City of Liverpool College and believes this formed a great foundation for his successful career path: “My apprenticeship provided me with social, interpersonal, and technical skills which have been the platform of my career, and even though the pay was significantly less than Vital’s offer today, I’ve been able to progress through my career without being saddled with tuition fees and student loans.”

Sophie Park, director of workforce skills at The City of Liverpool College, said: “Our partnership with Vital Energi is built on the knowledge and skills of its engineers and our innovative curriculum leaders. This new state-of-the-art training centre will play an essential role in developing the skills needed to deliver our low carbon future.”

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Everton in the Community, the charity organisation of Everton FC, has pledged to continue its vital support for local families during the pandemic through its Blue Family scheme.

The charity created the initiative at the beginning of the first lockdown last year to help combat social isolation and give much needed support to some of society’s most vulnerable people.

So far, Everton fans have contributed more than £400,000 through the season ticket refund process when matches were played behind closed doors – a figure matched by the owner, Mr Farhad Moshiri and chairman, Mr Bill Kenwright – while local businesses have donated approximately £200,000-worth of laptops, clothes, and toys to families

Since the beginning of the first national lockdown in March 2020, Blue Family has helped 29,000 families and individuals, with plans now in place to continue the scheme for as long as local people need the support.

Everton in the Community’s CEO, Richard Kenyon, said: “Blue Family was initially launched as a temporary measure in response to the huge levels of social isolation and sheer need for help and support among some of society’s most vulnerable. But, a year on, we’re still running the services – from welfare calls made by staff and players to emergency food parcel deliveries, the initiative is still going strong and will continue.”

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From left: John Pout (LFC), Tess O’Callaghan (NSPCC), Matt Parish

LFC Foundation is teaming up with the NSPCC to help improve the lives of children across the city region – forming the first official partnership of its kind between the children’s charity and a Premier League club foundation.

The LFC Foundation already works to support young people across Liverpool and beyond, as do NSPCC practitioners based at the charity’s Hargreaves Centre. Childline volunteers are also based at the charity’s Great Homer Street site and speak to thousands of children across the country each month.

The Foundation and the NSPCC will work together to support even more children and families across the city region, signposting them towards resources and help they might need, educating adults, parents and supporters with advice on how to spot signs that something might not be right for young people in their area.

Liverpool FC’s mascot Mighty Red welcomed the NSPCC’s Pantosaurus mascot to Anfield to launch the new partnership, which will look to provide essential support to children and young people who have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic.

Matt Parish, LFC Foundation chief executive, said: “We are two organisations born in the same city and by working together as one team we can help achieve a shared ambition to help and support our city’s children and young people. The people of Liverpool look after each other, and by working collectively we can make our city and our society a safer place.”

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Tim Mullock

A Chorley-based tech start-up has launched a new mobile and desktop app designed to help tradespeople run their businesses more effectively and put an end to payment disputes.

The brainchild of CEO Tim Mullock, the Kiistone app is designed to financially protect both tradespeople and customers, who agree job specifications and budgets via the app. Payment is then protected and held independently, by the largest Escrow provider in Europe, until both parties are satisfied that the job has been completed as agreed.

Tim Mullock, said: “My experience of being a British tradesperson over the last 20 years has shown me both the good and the not so good that the industry has to offer, and the biggest issue that we’ve still got today is a lack of trust between the customer and the trade. While it’s undeniable there are some cowboys out there, professional tradespeople often find themselves tarred with the same brush, which doesn’t make for good customer relationships.

“On the flipside, tradespeople can experience lack of understanding from customers or unrealistic expectations, which can lead to disputes over final invoices.”

As well as the Escrow solution, the app provides further functions to help tradespeople manage their projects, diary, cashflow, admin and communication. It also links to the Kiistone Community website, providing industry news, guidance and support for trade businesses and homeowners.

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