MEMBER NEWS


Marketing course helps graduates set up businesses


A Nottinghamshire-based marketing expert has helped more than 60 graduates to get the skills they need to set up their own business as part of a vision to encourage entrepreneurship in the region. Victoria Prince, who has 16 years


of experience working for marketing teams within iconic British brands Thorntons and BMI Baby, launched her “marketing mavericks” course last year after seeing graduate roles cut due to the pandemic.


‘The current climate is probably one of the most challenging job markets for graduates’


She said: “The current climate is probably one of the most challenging job markets for graduates. With graduate roles cut and many employers reducing their staff levels rather than hiring, finding a new role can prove difficult despite the wealth of expertise and knowledge our graduates possess. “For many graduates, it is


confidence that holds them back from looking at self-employment. Further learning or graduate roles are often seen as the natural


Raj Taak


progression.” Statistics from the Institute of


Student Employers (ISE) show that in 2020, graduate jobs dropped by 12%, with the majority of employers anticipating further decline this year, according to the Student Recruitment Survey 2020. It is the largest fall in graduate


recruitment since 2008/09, when the market contracted by 25%. Raj Taak was one of the first


students to complete the “marketing mavericks” course. When he was made redundant, it meant he had to rethink his career path and find the skills to set up his own business with the help of Victoria. Covering everything from the


basics of setting up a company to understanding how self- employment works and marketing your business, the course is designed to give talented graduates the confidence to be the


Victoria Prince has helped more than 60 graduates to set up their own businesses


entrepreneurs of the future – and within two months, Raj was using his learnings to run his own marketing consultancy, Taak Marketing. Raj said: “Without Victoria’s help,


I don’t think I would have had the confidence to set up my own business at this time in my career. “Setting up my own business


was something I had planned on doing further down the line, but it is probably one of the best things I could have done. I am finding more fellow graduates are seeing it as an option as the current jobs market means we are having to relook at options and be more innovative in


our approach.” Since setting up eight months


ago, the course has been trialled within universities, including Nottingham Trent University, to help graduates get the skills they need to set up their own business. Victoria hopes that more universities will follow suit and encourage graduates to see self- employment as a viable option. Victoria added: “I want to show


graduates that with the right help and support, starting their own business can be a great way of forging their own career path and developing a business which works for them.”


Queen’s Awards for Chamber members


Four Chamber members have won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the UK’s most prestigious business awards. Swadlincote-based vitamin manufacturer


Brunel Healthcare (international trade), Leicester- based Indian snack brand Cofresh Snack Foods (international trade), Derby-based sportswear brand HUUB (innovation) and Ashbourne-based electric tugs manufacturer MasterMover (international trade) were among 205 winners. The awards – established in 1965 and judged by


senior Whitehall officials and experts from industry, academia and the third sector – recognised firms across a diverse range of sectors. MasterMover, which started trading in 2009, is


a global leader in the design and manufacture of compact, powerful, battery-operated tugs that allow its customers to safely move wheeled loads ranging in weight from 50kg to more than 100,000 kg. It works in sectors including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, healthcare, food production, retail and logistics. The company has subsidiaries in North America, Germany and


L-R: HUUB founder Dean Jackson, and MasterMover partners Andy Owen and James Jones


France alongside a global sales partner network, and was recognised for outstanding continuous growth in overseas sales over the past six years. Managing director Andy Owen said:


“Receiving the Queen's Award is a recognition of the hard work and dedication of everybody in the company and the journey so far that we've been on together.” HUUB, founded by Dean Jackson nine years


ago, has used science to innovate wetsuits now used by the world’s elite triathletes, including Olympic medallists, as well as keep-fit enthusiasts and amateur competitors.


Dean, who left school with two O levels, said:


“I would never have dreamed when starting this business on my kitchen table nine years ago that we would be recognised for what really makes HUUB special – our innovation. We constantly strive to make athletes better and faster, and our sport more fulfilling.” This year’s four award categories were


innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility. Winners are permitted use of the esteemed Queen’s Awards emblem for the next five years. Other winners in the region were Novametrics (international trade), Total Saddle Solutions (innovation), Apption Labs (innovation and international trade), EarthSense Systems (innovation), GH Hurt & Son (international trade), and ONYX InSight (innovation and international trade).


Businesses can enter the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2022 now at www.gov.uk/queens- awards-for-enterprise.


business networkMay 2021 7


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