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news opinion


November is awards month – and our celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards (TVBMA) ...


It is also, for our south coast edition, time to celebrate the fast risers and highly successful companies in our annual Solent 250.


And we launch the latest Thames Valley SME 100 plus the Next 50 – a line-up of 150 private SMEs in the region ranked by turnover.


TVBMA is our flagship, of course, and we are extremely proud to have been running the Thames Valley’s leading multi-category awards scheme for the past two decades.


This year we had a record number of entries, and the competition has been fierce. The finalists were being chosen by our judges as we closed


for press – and the successful names will have been published on our website by the time you read this.


Literally hundreds of companies have entered TVBMA over the years. Some have been ’serial’ entrants, submitting nominations on a consistent basis as they have grown. We thank them all for their participation.


We also thank our sponsors – not least law firm Pitmans, which has supported the awards from their inception, and RBS and Deloitte, both of whom have been long- term sponsors.


The 350-strong audience who will hear Nick Hewer, of The Apprentice fame, and top newsreader and journalist Fiona Bruce read out the winning names, will enjoy a night to remember.


All the winners will be in our December/January double-issue. Plus, in our Solent edition, all the successes from our Solent 250 launch dinner. We congratulate them all.


David Murray, Publisher


Lack of skills could force a move from Oxfordshire


The operations director of one of Oxfordshire’s leading high-tech manufacturers has warned that a shortage of skills may force the company to pursue its expansion drive outside the county, unless it can attract more qualified staff.


LTi Metaltech, which has just invested well over £1 million in securing and equipping a second factory at Milton Park, near Abingdon, specialises in the design and manufacture of high performance vessels and structures – including MRI scanners – for the healthcare, nuclear and renewable energy sectors.


With a £25m turnover, it already employs more than 100 people, but Phil Lacey says a lack of technical skills and a “can do” approach from potential candidates means at least 10 new vacancies are going unfilled.


“We’re committed to expanding the business, but we’re really struggling to find people with the right


expertise, and I think that’s because there’s a significant generational skills gap,” he said. “Our existing engineers and technical experts have been in the trade a long time, and what we’re seeing now is a lack of technical skills among the younger generation.


To try and develop its own home-grown talent, the company already has an apprenticeship scheme and has also thrown its support behind the new University Technical College, which is due to open in nearby Didcot next year, specialising in science and engineering.


It could however, says Lacey, be “too little, too late” to support LTi Metaltech’s expansion plans. With a new business development manager now on board, the company is already pursuing additional opportunities in the renewable energy and nuclear industries alongside its traditional market.


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www.wilkinskennedy.com www.businessmag.co.uk 42252 WK Business Magazine ad E.indd 1 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY –NOVEMBER 2014 12/11/2013 16:12


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