North West business briefs: Diageo; Yumi; GM Fire and Rescue Service; CNC Robotics; LCR Combined Authority
Global drinks giant Diageo has turned to a Liverpool based social enterprise for help in recruiting its future talent and increasing its workforce diversity.
The Women’s Organisation is providing expertise to help applicants for key roles at the group’s Runcorn plant, including apprenticeships for engineers and packaging operators. The aim is to create a more diversified workforce at Diageo by encouraging more women and black and racial minority job seekers to consider a career in manufacturing.
Diageo has committed to a 10-year action plan which includes aims to achieve 50% representation of women in leadership roles and to increase representation of leaders from ethnically diverse backgrounds to 45% by 2030. The Women’s Organisation, which operates across the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester, aims to further champion this by improving female and black and racial minority applicants’ interview techniques, CV writing skills and confidence to radically boost their chances of achieving employment.
Helen Millne, deputy chief executive of The Women’s Organisation said: “It is imperative that more people have access to good quality, sustainable jobs and career paths in their local areas. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Diageo to encourage more women and people from black and racial minority communities to apply for these fantastic roles, which offer so much more than just a job.”
Talent engagement manager at Diageo, Neil Shannon said “At Diageo we hire for character over competence. We want apprentices to demonstrate genuine passion, have ambition and continually challenge themselves to grow and be their authentic self.”
Erin McKenzie, an apprentice at Diageo, attests to the programme’s success, saying: “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s built me up as a person.”
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The Yumi team
Manchester-based chewable vitamin brand, Yumi, increased turnover by 216% to £1.5m during its latest financial year.
Yumi’s year-on-year growth came as a result of a substantial increase in online sales and product development of its range of easy to consume supplements. Alongside strong ecommerce sales, Yumi’s retail sales also surged by 3840% compared with the year before. This was due to successful distribution deals with Holland & Barrett, TK Maxx and WH Smith in the UK and Urban Outfitters, OTG and GNC in the US.
Since the beginning of last year Yumi has tripled its number of staff and is currently recruiting for three positions following its recent move to a new larger office space in Salford Quays. Yumi is now in talks with several other major retailers and has recently launched in the UAE as it continues its upward trajectory in the current financial year.
Co-founder and chief executive of Yumi, Sebastien Vanderlinden, said: “Over the past 12 months we’ve been able to really accelerate our growth plans, adding new members to the team, securing multiple major retail deals, launching several new products and moving into our brand new office with plenty of space for future new hires.
“Since launching in 2017 in my one-bedroom apartment, we’ve seen fantastic growth in a short space of time and as demand for chewable supplements continues to grow, we have big plans for further expansion in the coming years.”
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Station manager Dave Minto
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) has joined forces with local businesses to highlight the benefits of having fire sprinklers fitted inside commercial properties, while supporting national Sprinkler Week.
The dedicated week of action, which encourages business owners and managers in particular, to ‘Think Sprinkler’, is led by the National Fire Chiefs’ Council (NFCC) and runs from May 17 to May 23. During the week, GMFRS is showcasing never-before-seen digital content featuring some of its staff members and representatives from local businesses, such as sustainable waste manager Biffa and Love 2 Sleep in Salford, who have shared their experiences and knowledge to encourage others to consider having sprinklers installed.
GMFRS’ head of protection, area manager Paul Fearnhead, said: “GMFRS is proud to be supporting this year’s Sprinkler Week, helping to raise awareness of the benefits of sprinkler systems and why they are such a positive piece of equipment to have installed. During the week we want people to ‘Think Sprinkler’, because sprinklers really do save lives and buildings – reducing the economic, environmental, emotional and community impact of fire.”
Fire sprinklers are widely recognised as the single most effective method for fighting the spread of fires in their early stages – with research by the NFCC and the National Fire Sprinkler Network (NFSN) finding that sprinkler systems extinguish or contain the fire 99% of the time where they are fitted and operate.
Sprinklers are also proven to reduce injuries by 80%, reduce damage to property, and also reduce damage caused to the environment.
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Philippa Glover
The University of Liverpool Management School has signed a new corporate partnership agreement with CNC Robotics, based in Bootle, North Liverpool.
The management school and the robotics specialists, which took part in the school’s Growth Catalyst programme in 2017, have continued to work together over the past few years on a number of initiatives that have seen a combined project involving postgraduate and undergraduate students working on market research, CNC taking part in the recent “We Can Work it Out” programme run by the ULMS Postgraduate Careers team, and providing an MBA student with a work-based project.
Philippa Glover, CNC managing director, said: “As an SME based in Liverpool, becoming a corporate partner of Liverpool’s Management school will enable us to continue to raise awareness of how exciting and rewarding a career in manufacturing is, provide growth opportunities for learners and access new ideas to help us as a business, as we continue to scale up and grow.”
Management school business development manager, Anne Donnelly, said: “It is fantastic that the management school has been able to secure this partnership with CNC Robotics and formalise a basis for further collaboration.
“We are looking forward to working with the CNC Robotics team and developing some new and exciting opportunities.”
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A CGI of Headbolt Lane rail station
Rail users, residents and businesses are invited to give their views on ambitious plans for a new station at Headbolt Lane in Kirkby.
The proposed station would be located north of the existing Kirkby station and will help improve transport links for the Northwood and Tower Hill areas of the town. The new station is a key part of Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram’s plans to deliver a London-style transport system for the Liverpool City Region, which aims to bring together bus, rail, ferry and active travel in one simple, affordable and easy to use transport network.
It is also aligned to Knowsley Council’s plans for the area to improve transport access in the area for residents while also supporting workers and visitors to one of Europe’s largest employment sites in Europe – Knowsley Business Park. The new station plans include proposals for: Step-free access throughout the station; a bus interchange; cycle parking; links to the local cycling and walking networks; passenger waiting facilities and toilets; approximately 300 park and ride spaces.
The full scheme includes the extension of the Merseyrail network beyond the existing Kirkby station and would see Merseyrail services run into the new station. Northern services from Wigan and Manchester would also operate to and from the new three-platform station.
Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram, said: “I’ve always been really proud to be from Kirkby, so it’s really exciting to see all of the work we’ve been doing to help get the area back on the up again. From the tens of millions we have invested in the Townie, to the work we’re doing to open this station at Headbolt Lane, we’re making a real difference because of devolution – and the ability to make more decisions locally.”
