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ALL THE LATEST NEWS, ADVICE AND EVENTS FOR THE SOLIHULL BUSINESS COMMUNITY


CONTACT: Joan Smith T: 0845 603 6650


The Family Care Trust


is charity of the year Solihull Chamber has announced that the Family Care Trust, which has supported people in Solihull for 21 years, is to be the organisation’s chosen charity for the coming year. The trust provides educational and vocational


training opportunities for people with learning disabilities, mental health issues and brain injuries and has recently applied for planning permission at its Newland Bishop Farm based at Catherine De Barnes for two new buildings, a bulk and volume agricultural building and a training and


administration centre. The Chamber has also joined forces with CMA


Video to produce a series of videos to promote the charity and the work it does in the community. The videos will focus on the range of services that the Family Care Trust offers and will feature staff, volunteers and those who have benefitted from the charity. The filming will take place at Newlands Bishop


Farm and will showcase the opportunities and services that are on offer, ranging from the gardening social enterprise to the community support services. CMA Video’s marketing manager, Adam


Snelleksz (pictured), said: “We are really looking forward to creating some videos that highlight the important work that the trust does in the community. We are extremely grateful to Solihull Chamber for introducing us to another member who was looking for video work and it means that we can work and engage with a fantastic organisation in Solihull."


Solihull gets ready for a


very fashionable week Solihull’s ‘Fashion Week’ (21-24 April) kicks off with an exclusive event at The Ramada Hotel featuring ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star Anton Du Beke. At the event, on 21 April, Du Beke will


compere a fashion show and will also be the subject of a Q&A session, hosted by ITV news presenter Sameena Ali Khan. ‘Fashion Week’ will continue with a second day


of four shows on Friday 22 April which will include a hair tutorial from top crimper Andrew Barton. Barton, who appeared on TV’s ‘10 Years


Younger’, is one of the country's most celebrated hairdressing names and a stylist to the stars, with celebrities booking months in advance to visit his salon. Voted ‘London's Best Hairdresser’ by high


society mag Tatler, Barto will be appearing at the Solihull Fashion Week Catwalk Extravaganza at the Ramada Hotel for four shows. Mell Square will be transformed into a ‘Style


Arena’, featuring the latest beauty trends, including hair and makeup demonstrations throughout the four days.


34 CHAMBERLINK APRIL 2016


You’re hired (L-R): Gary Poulton, Natalie Dean, Mergim Butaja, David Stevenson from ‘The Apprentice’ TV show, with John Callaghan


launch of ‘Apprenticeship Week’ on 14 March. The college’s initiative is a repeat of a similar


S


exercise last year, when the establishment managed to secure a commitment from local employers to create 100 new apprenticeships in the borough and surrounding area. This was achieved in 90 days – and the


college is hoping to do even better this year. Shaun Hindle, senior director, employment and


skills, Solihull College said: “The majority will be new recruits, but it could be used to qualify existing staff – there’s no age limit either, so even the managing director or CEO could do it.” He added that the college’s apprenticeships


initiative was part of its commitment to developing the partnership between education and business.


olihull College is set to renew its pledge to find 100 new apprentices in 100 days or less, in an initiative coinciding with the


‘It is different things at different levels for different people, and it is subsidised by government funding’


The initiative has included college students


filming various items to promote the project on social media, one of which is a re-enactment of a scene in the TV show ‘The Apprentice’, in which the successful apprentice is hired. For this, the students engaged the services of


college principal John Callaghan as the Alan Sugar character, and four actual contestants from the last series of ‘The Apprentice’. Mr Callaghan is the president of Solihull Chamber, and announced at the organisation’s recent annual general meeting that he is to continue in the role for a further year.


The need to engineer talent


The UK could run out of engineers completely if it does not attract young pupils into manufacturing, says top Jaguar Land Rover executive Alan Volkaerts (pictured). The man who was at the helm of


the Solihull Land Rover plant for seven years before taking on a leading research and development role at Gaydon, spelled out the risks facing UK engineering and the possible implications for JLR. He said the Midlands biggest manufacturer


was ploughing every penny of profits back into crucial R and D to stay on top of the game – but warned of the risks of a severe skills shortage and the importance of attracting young talent. Mr Volkaerts, keynote speaker at the Go for


Growth 2016 event organised by Solihull and Coventry and Warwickshire Chambers of


Commerce, told guests at Coombe Abbey: “We are the leading premium automotive business in the UK, hands-down, and the biggest investor in automotive R and D. “We have to start getting our


young kids more and more excited about design and making things, otherwise we will run out of engineers. I am engaged with the LEP and this is very close to my


heart. I work in a business that is very, very reliant on skills. “This is an opportunity to show our kids that


there are some fantastic options out there in manufacturing and skills.” He said JLR had survived the 2008-09


recession due to Ratan Tata’s backing for the Tata takeover in 2008, and continuing investment in products and people.


College takes on apprentice challenge


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