NW business briefs: The Manchester College; TapTrip; Inscape Interiors; SRL Traffic Systems; GMCA; Transform Lives Company
The Manchester College has joined forces with Manchester Magic and Manchester Mystics to create a ground breaking new basketball partnership in the city that will see its students benefit from a curriculum that is co-developed and co-delivered with an industry partner.
As well as benefitting the college’s student-athletes by helping them take their game to the next level, teaming up with one of the biggest and most successful junior basketball programmes in the country will generate a host of opportunities for students interested in coaching, refereeing, sports science, media, marketing and more.
The announcement of the partnership comes at an exciting time for the college, as it prepares to open brand new, industry-standard facilities for its Centre of Excellence for Sport in Openshaw, including a six court multi-discipline sports hall with viewing gallery, a 30-station gym with strength and condition room, and a media suite with match analysis capability.
The Manchester College’s head basketball coach and sports tutor, Ambokile Bell, said: “This is a fabulous opportunity to partner with the Manchester Magic and Mystics, and the timing could not be better. We have always had a basketball offer here at the college for enrichment participation. However, with this partnership, we can now extend it to suit the needs of our students that aspire to play at a high level during their time here. With a range of courses from entry level to degree level, we can now officially announce a basketball programme with one of the most successful community and junior basketball programmes in the country.”
The Manchester College will work with Manchester Magic and Manchester Mystics to provide an education and basketball programme that will give students the chance to excel in the classroom and on the court. The Magic and Mystics have a proven track record of developing talent, winning more than 50 national junior titles since 2000.
Phil Gordos, Magic and Mystics chief executive, said: “We’re so excited about the potential of this partnership and what it could mean for Manchester. This is not just about unearthing the next generation of basketball players, we’re also looking to build a programme that will develop coaches, referees and table officials. It’s a great fit. We’re both ambitious and we both want to provide opportunities for young people in the city.”
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TapTrip founders, from left: Jack Timblin, Neil Ruth, Thomas Young
Following a successful three month Beta test with 20 companies taking part, Manchester-based travel business TapTrip will launch Vessul, a new service dedicated to, and built for, marine and energy travel, in October.
Vessul, known as logistics tech, has been designed to manage the movement of essential workers in the marine and energy sector more efficiently. Currently, booking travel in the marine energy sector is a fragmented, arduous and expensive process. Vessul gives travel bookers access to easy to use, hands on, real time travel management technology blended with human support to easily book, cancel, rearrange and report on travel globally.
TapTrip co-founder and CEO, Thomas Young, said: “We’re really excited about finally seeing Vessul ‘set sail’ and making travel so much easier for marine and energy workers, business travel bookers and TMCs (travel management company). At launch, Vessul will be available exclusively for TMCs with clients in the marine and energy sectors and we have a raft of major TMCs in the pipeline desperate to get started, which shows not only how needed Vessul is, but that we’ve got it bang on.
“Once we have access to more data and a greater understanding of the nuances of how it’s being used, a longer term goal is to create a second version of Vessul for smaller companies with unmanaged travel.”
TapTrip is an award-winner business travel company and the team behind its eponymous booking platform and app used by TMCs to target the SME community. The team raised another £1.7m during the COVID pandemic, increased headcount from seven to 21, and is about to close another significant investment for its Series A to fuel even greater growth and global reach.
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The Inscape Interiors team
A Chorley company which manufactures bespoke laminate joinery has secured a contract as part the investment to expand pre-school provision for young children across Flintshire.
Inscape Interiors has been appointed by Wynne Construction on the scheme which will see 10 primary schools across Flintshire, North Wales, undergoing a combination of new-build and refurbishment works over the coming weeks. The wider £7.1m project will allow the local authority, Flintshire County Council, to expand the provision of early years childcare for three- and four-year-olds on the school sites.
Inscape is providing manufacturing, supply, and fit-out services to create new washroom facilities for the projects which will be completed in the coming weeks. Gary Wynne, managing director, said: “Wynne Construction have been a longstanding client and we’re proud to be partnering with their team again on this project which will have a positive impact on young people and families in this part of North Wales.
“The education sector is one of our core areas of specialism and even though our part of this project is relatively small, we have an opportunity to achieve a fantastic result for our client on a project that can have a transformational impact on these schools.”
Mark Wilson, project manager for Wynne Construction, said: “Our work on this project with Flintshire County Council will help smooth the transition between pre-school and nursery by offering all-day care for three to four-year-olds. We’re proud to be delivering this project in conjunction with our partners, including Inscape Interiors, who are managing all our washroom requirements.”
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New temporary traffic lights technology can reduce commute wait times for Manchester motorists by more than a day a year, research has found. With Transport for Greater Manchester last week reporting there are almost 450 medium and high impact roadworks in central Manchester and nearly 950 across the region, North West commuters could face lengthy queue times at temporary traffic lights.
Now, a new independent modelling exercise of next-generation smart traffic systems has revealed that these commuters could save more than seven minutes a day, 35 minutes a week or more than two hours every month getting to and from work. The exercise showed that the new Multiphase Adaptive Detection System (ADS) developed by Middlewich firm SRL Traffic Systems can halve average queue lengths, while waiting times can be reduced by 40%.
It works by constantly monitoring traffic flow using intelligent radar to adjust how long temporary lights stay green. This will be vital in the coming years – with traffic set to increase by more than half. According to the latest government figures, it is expected to surge by 55% by 2040, with an 85% hike in congestion.
Adrian Murphy, COO at SRL Traffic Systems , which commissioned the research, said: “As congestion continues to grow, the need for new approaches to traffic management are vital. Temporary traffic lights are essential to keep the region’s drivers, road workers and pedestrians safe, but we have found new ways to reduce wait times and keep motorists moving quicker – and for longer in and around Manchester. Greater adoption of smart technologies across the UK’s temporary traffic light network would deliver a range of benefits for motorists.”
The technology will also help to cut pollution by reducing the amount of time cars spend on UK roads.
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Signing the Memorandum of Understanding
A new cooperation agreement has been struck between Greater Manchester and Germany’s largest metropolitan region following a visit by city region leaders to the country last week. Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, Stockport Council leader and Greater Manchester Economy lead Cllr Elise Wilson, and other Northern leaders were part of a delegation that visited North Rhine Westphalia.
The mission, aimed at strengthening economic and cultural links in a changing Europe, saw the signing of the new partnership and the appointment of a special advisor for Germany, in Richard Carter, a former MD of German chemical company BASF, which has its UK base in Stockport. The newly-created role will act as Greater Manchester’s ambassador to the country, fostering and enhancing new and existing relationships.
As part of the visit, the Mayor and Cllr Wilson joined Prof Dr Hans-Peter Noll and Karola Geiß-Netthöfel of the Regionalverband Ruhr to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between Greater Manchester and Metropole Ruhr. The signing of the agreement in Essen, attended by UK Consul General Rafe Courage, will establish a new strategic partnership between the two regions, recognising their shared industrial heritage and priorities for the future.
Under the agreement the two metropolitan regions will deepen cooperation and share best practice in areas including climate change, adaptation and mitigation; sustainable mobility and transport; digitisation and cybersecurity; innovation and research; and regional devolution. In addition to strengthening business and trade links, there will also be efforts to strengthen civic, cultural and educational connections, including the potential for youth exchanges.
Andy Burnham said: “We are pleased to be signing this new partnership with our friends in the Ruhr metropolitan area of Germany. We already have so much in common, from our industries past and present to our love of football, and this agreement will only strengthen those bonds, bringing a range of economic and social benefits to both regions. Greater Manchester has always been active on the world stage and, as the UK’s relationship with Europe changes, we can play a new role in fostering greater collaboration between ourselves and partner city regions.”
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Kickstart employee Aidan Hanlon and Lauren Bailey-Rhode, TLC director of operations
Liverpool based social enterprise, Transform Lives Company (TLC). is celebrating after securing £250,000 from the Big Lottery Fund, which will enable more long term unemployed people in the Liverpool City Region to access support and unleash their potential.
Over the course of the next four years, TLC aims to use the funding to work with up to 240 people that may have additional and possibly longer term health, wellbeing and social isolation support needs, and connect them with businesses across the region to help boost skills and confidence, as well as creating employment opportunities. The participants go through the programmes in groups and benefit from wellbeing workshops and one-on-one coaching support to improve their own mental and/or physical health, as well as practical guidance into employment.
Founded in 2013, TLC is a pioneering person-focused social enterprise, determined to rethink and advocate how people’s unmet life needs can be realised, by working alongside organisations looking to contribute to their communities beyond their core purpose. Since then, more than 500 people have been supported by TLC, including 86 young people who are currently working at digital and creative businesses across Liverpool as part of the Government-funded Kickstart scheme.
As part of its Big Lottery funding success celebrations, TLC is hosting a virtual event on 15th September, inviting local businesses to find out more about the programmes they offer. Attendees will also hear from those that have been supported by TLC, some of whom have gone on to become artists, musicians and bakers.
MD and founder of TLC, Tracy Fishwick, said: “We think it’s such a crying shame that there are still many people a long way from meaningful, fulfilling lives, with work or without. So, we set about changing that. Our approach is truly person-centred so that each individual gets the support they need, but for those businesses that go on to be employer partners with us, it also helps them to deliver real social value in what they do, too. It can be difficult to know where to start in terms of creating truly impactful social value and that’s where we come in.”
