North West business briefs: MHA; Very Group; Lancaster University; N&W Lancs Chamber; TfGM; American Golf

Manchester Hoteliers’ Association (MHA), a membership organisation of 70 of Manchester’s key hotels, has teamed up with Sixty Eight People’s training arm ‘CLASSOF68’ to launch a fully funded development programme for the future leaders of Manchester’s hotels.

The programme, which aims to give rising stars a chance to explore new skill sets to establish themselves in leadership positions, will feature a range of topics such as recruitment, train the trainer and delivering feedback. The 13 successful candidates were nominated by general managers and chosen as high performers with the potential to learn, grow and build a long lasting career in the industry.

Over six months, the inaugural cohort will complete a programme of interconnected workshops that take new leaders on a journey of learning and self-discovery. The leaders will also be given the opportunity to explore their strengths and identify areas of personal development or career progression they would like to pursue whilst forming a peer network that we hope they will take with them through their career.

Sixty Eight People, a recruitment and training consultancy for the hospitality industry, has been working with the MHA over the past year to develop a market leading programme that is currently being delivered to the nominated individuals. 

Matt Townley, Chair of MHA, said: “A key pillar of the MHA is skills and development, supporting the recruitment and retention of talent in our profession. This partnership with Sixty Eight People will ensure that our cohort and future cohorts, feel nurtured and equipped with the skills to become successful leaders in the hotel industry.”

Cally Bannon-Smith, Head Coach, said: “We hope this collaboration will give something to Manchester’s vibrant hospitality community, allowing us to retain the incredible talent within the city and attract more people to a career in hotels and hospitality.”

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The Very Group, the Liverpool-based operator of digital retailer Very, has launched training to further develop 11 of its data professionals through a new degree-level data academy. 

The initiative will aim to further improve the retailer’s data capability to support even more decisions that enhance the customer experience, increase efficiency and productivity, and unlock growth opportunities. 

The programme will be delivered by Multiverse, a tech company providing high quality training through applied learning. Multiverse has trained more than 16,000 apprentices in data and digital skills since 2016. 

The Very Group’s new data academy will see 11 of its data professionals initially enrol onto a 39-month degree-level Advanced Data Fellowship course, which will build on their existing skills and give them even more in-depth data analysis training to thrive in their roles, focus on more strategic initiatives and further help to ground business decision-making in insight. 

Rob McCormick, Head of Data at The Very Group, said: “As data has become such an important part of business decision making, our data teams are in high demand, which can restrict the time spent on more strategic initiatives. Through our partnership with Multiverse, we’re confident that we can increase efficiency and productivity through data and automation, benefiting our digital brands and our four-and-a-half million active customers.”

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Prof Martin Spring

Funded support is available to help accounting and law firms in Preston use digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to innovate and grow.

A new programme, designed and delivered by Lancaster University Management School and fully funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, aims to help accelerate the adoption of digital technologies amongst Preston firms so they can become more productive and provide world leading professional services to their customers.

The Digital Acceleration in Professional Services programme is a local variation of Lancaster University’s £1.8m Technology in Professional Services (TiPS) accelerator projects which aims to help professional service firms up and down the country overcome many of the barriers that prevent them from adopting digital technology. 

Prof Martin Spring, from Lancaster University, said: “Firms who register for this programme will benefit from the latest thinking and practical solutions to learn how digital and AI capabilities can drive innovation within their firms and deliver additional value to customers.”

Starting on November 5, 2024, the four-month long programme is designed to fit around business leaders’ work schedules, with two consecutive half day sessions, followed by a series of half day workshops. The programme is fully funded and available to businesses that are based in Preston City Council local authority district, employ five or more people and have received less than £315,000 of subsidies in the last three years. To register interest, firms are urged to visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/ business/digital-acceleration-for-professional-services and register before Friday, September 27.

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The North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce has backed calls for an independent taskforce to urgently examine energy transition in the North Sea and safeguard tens of thousands of UK jobs. Hundreds of jobs in the supply chain across the county rely on the North Sea.  

It comes after a new British Chamber of Commerce report found a careful balancing act will be needed to reach Net Zero and protect the huge oil and gas sector workforce, alongside thousands more jobs linked to the industry across the UK.  

The report calls for a “national conversation” about the North Sea as a “critical asset”. It highlights recent estimates that 200,000 direct and indirect jobs across the UK are reliant on the oil and gas industry.  

During the summer, the NWL Chamber was part of a round table with the network and stakeholders to discuss the North Sea jobs issue. It concluded that there needs to be “strong dialogue” and “collaboration” between all interested parties.  

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The imperative for Net Zero is ratcheting up daily as fresh evidence of the damage caused by climate change emerges. But it’s equally important that we manage this process to avoid catastrophic harm to our economy and workforce. We need an effective energy transition which does not cut adrift the tens of thousands of highly

skilled people across the UK who rely on the sector for their livelihoods.”

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State-of-the-art cameras which can automatically detect drivers using mobile phones behind the wheel or not wearing a seat belt are being trialled in Greater Manchester, from September 3.

The new ‘Heads Up’ technology from Acusensus captures footage of passing vehicles before the images are processed using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect potential offending drivers.

Footage deemed to contain evidence of an offence are sent for a secondary human check to confirm that an offence has occurred. If an image shows that no offence has been committed, it is deleted immediately by the software and no further action will be taken.

This trial will be used by Safer Roads Greater Manchester as a traffic survey to understand how many drivers still choose to break the law. This will be used to refine future road safety campaigns aiming to improve compliance of mobile phone and seat belt use by drivers.

Peter Boulton, TfGM’s Network Director for Highways, said: “In Greater Manchester we know that distractions and not wearing seat belts are key factors in a number of road traffic collisions on our roads which have resulted in people being killed or seriously injured. By utilising this state-of-the-art technology provided by Acusensus, we hope to gain a better understanding of how many drivers break the law in this way, whilst also helping to reduce these dangerous driving practices and make our roads safer for everyone.”

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Dan Brown

Warrington-based golfing retailer, American Golf,  has signed rising golfing star and DP World Tour player Dan Brown to an exclusive sponsorship deal. 

The 29-year-old golfer, who recently made headlines by finishing 10th in his major tournament debut at The Open Championship, joins American Golf until December 2025.

Over the next 18 months, the retailer will gain exclusive behind-the-scenes access to reveal on all social channels as well as having Brown available for corporate events and appearances.

Brown said: “American Golf is a brand synonymous with all golfers and I’m excited to be able to work with them going forward.”

Scott Taylor, Marketing and CRM Director at American Golf, said: “We’re really excited to welcome Dan Brown to the American Golf family. His dedication to the sport perfectly aligns with our brand’s values. We are confident that this partnership will not only showcase his immense talent but also inspire golfers at all levels.”