Witney Four Pillars are holding a networking event on the afternoon of Wednesday 29th September 2010. Details are below – please RSVP by 17th September.
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OxOnLine 2010 – Connecting Oxfordshire How can Oxfordshire provide the best digital infrastructure for the future? Earlier this year there was great interest in the government’s Digital Economy bill, which reportedly threatened to disconnect web users who downloaded pirate material. Ironically, for many households and businesses in Oxfordshire, that threat is already a reality even though they haven’t committed a crime. They simply can’t get connected. Broadband and mobile telecommunication connection in the county is ‘patchy’ at best in many areas. According to projections, only around a third of the county has a greater than 50% likelihood of receiving next generation ADSL by 2015. As one might expect, the areas most ignored are those rural areas where residents and businesses may be more than five miles from a BT exchange. When it comes to mobile telephony, the situation is worse — only a few miles from the centre of Oxford, mobile signals fail. According to the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, the advent of superfast or next generation broadband is likely to create some 600,000 new jobs nationally and add £18bn to the nation’s bottom line. Without a clear digital strategy, Oxfordshire is likely to be left behind. Working in close partnership with James Elles, MEP for the South East Region, Oxfordshire Economic Partnership is seeking to establish a campaign to ensure that our county is hardwired into the nation’s digital future. The first step in establishing this campaign is the launch of a ‘digital summit’ aimed at local businesses to be held within the county in September 2010. Heading the campaign for Oxfordshire Economic Partnership is Cllr. David Robertson, who is deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council and deputy chairman of OEP. David will host and chair the digital summit, which will bring together speakers addressing the technological, economic and socio-political aspects of our digital future. A draft agenda for the summit is shown below. The event will be followed by six smaller seminars run under OEP’s Horizons and Futures event branding. These seminars will be held monthly and will feature best practice and insight from local companies that are addressing and capitalising on digital capability. In June 2011, OEP will host a large scale follow-up event which will bring the learning from activities and events together and set out a plan for the future. Agenda for the Digital Summit
Places at this important event are limited – to book your place please send your name, organisation, position and contact details to info@oep.org.uk
More than one in five employers in Oxfordshire are experiencing skills gaps in their workforce according to the largest survey of business in the region since the onset of recession.The figure of 21 per cent represents a five per cent rise from 2008 when the Oxfordshire Employer Skills Survey was last carried out. Other findings of the 2010 study commissioned in partnership between Oxfordshire Economic Partnership (OEP) and Oxford Brookes University show:
Across the region, there are particular Higher Level Skills (HLS) gaps in leadership and management, customer care and in specific sectors such as accountancy, child protection, media and Human Resources. As in 2008, 11 per cent of employers said recruitment of HLS staff had become more difficult, largely due to a lack of applicants with the right skills. The report suggests both Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) have a role to play in bridging the training and workforce development gap. Twelve per cent of employers train staff at FE institutions and nine per cent use universities. In response to a growing trend, Oxford Brookes has now created a programme tailored to meet business needs and train workers in the required skills. Paul Large, Oxford Brookes Registrar, explained: “Oxford Brookes is in a good position to support business by drawing on research and expertise to provide practical solutions. “The Workforce Development Initiative we have drawn up is about designing and delivering accessible university-accredited programmes that are of real benefit to both employers and employees.” Forty-six per cent of Oxfordshire employees work in highly skilled industries and 29 per cent of the county’s businesses are dependent on HLS staff. This reflects the region’s status as a centre for high technology manufacturing and research and development. David Doughty, Chief Executive of OEP said: “Once again the employer skills survey has highlighted the need to improve the overall level of workforce skills in the county – it is an urgent call for action to businesses, education providers and the local authorities to work together to address these skills issues and ensure that we can compete effectively now and in the future.” The survey of 1,200 Oxfordshire employers was officially released on July 28 at Oxford Brookes University’s Harcourt Hill campus. Tuesday 13 July 2010Businesses and organisations in Oxfordshire are being asked to “be part of the solution” in improving workplace safety as newly released figures show that 14 people in the South East were killed at work during 2009/10. Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and local resident, will be speaking at an event in Oxford (Friday 16 July) to encourage employers to improve health and safety and share what they are doing so others can learn from it. ‘Be part of the solution in Oxfordshire’ is a joint initiative by HSE and local Council health and safety inspectors to get businesses and organisations to play their part in reducing death and injury by taking a proportionate and common sense approach to managing risk - the key theme of HSE’s strategy. As a first step, employers are being encouraged to sign up to HSE’s Pledge, making a commitment to maintain standards even in difficult economic times and helping to debunk the myths which trivialise real health and safety. More than 1600 companies nationally have signed the Pledge since it was introduced a year ago. Local Oxfordshire businesses and organisations will be meeting at the MINI Plant Oxford, where they will hear from HSE’s chair and companies who are already demonstrating best practice in health and safety. The five district councils in Oxfordshire have already committed support for the scheme as well as Abingdon School, Grundon Waste Management, MINI, Oxfam GB, Oxford University, Oxford Brookes University, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Rowse Honey, Thames Valley Police and Witwood Foods. It is expected that over 50,000 workers in Oxfordshire will be represented . Judith Hackitt, HSE Chair, says: “As a resident of Oxfordshire, I am very pleased to be speaking to businesses and organisations in this area who are taking a lead in adopting a common sense approach to health and safety. “A sensible, proportionate approach to risk management is central to HSE’s strategy and I am delighted to see that employers in the county recognise that health and safety makes good business sense. “Health and Safety is often cited as an easy excuse not to do something. It’s only by working together and sharing good practice that we can move the focus away from the myths and misunderstandings.” Councillor John Tanner, Board Member for a Cleaner, Greener Oxford at Oxford City Council, says: “As a major local employer, we apply sensible risk management to what we do. This is not about daft political correctness. We’ve signed The Pledge to demonstrate that we manage health and safety properly and support this campaign for a safer Oxfordshire.” David Doughty, Chief Executive of the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership, says: “Businesses get a lot of information about so-called health and safety but not all of it is reliable. We?re pleased to see regulators and businesses getting together to share good information and advice - this helps us smaller businesses in particular.” A booklet containing examples of good practice from organisations who have already signed The Pledge and sources of advice and help in Oxfordshire will be available at the event. The booklet will be freely available to any Oxfordshire business and will be published on council and the HSE websites. Pledge signers are listed on this page of the HSE website or to find out more about the strategy see this page of the the HSE website. Signing is a voluntary indication of support and it is down to individual organisations to decide how they can contribute, but in signing the Pledge they do commit to take a common sense approach to health and safety. Be part of the solution in Oxfordshire’ is being co-ordinated by the Oxfordshire Health and Safety Officer Group, which includes Oxford City Council, Cherwell District Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council, in partnership with HSE Field Operations Division.
Oxfordshire is well placed to set the pace as a coherent stand alone partnership. The current thinking about LEPs – what we know, questions to be answered and what it means for Oxfordshire are set out below. The timescale is tight – although the official deadline is early September it is likely that early consideration will be given to proposals submitted before the end of July. The next few weeks may well prove to be pivotal in ensuring that Oxfordshire has the opportunity to take control of its economic destiny, By working together, local authorities, business organisations, local employers and education providers can produce a strong bid to form a Local Enterprise Partnership based on the foundations laid by OEP and the Oxfordshire Learning and Skills Partnership (OLSP). Background
The fund, which will operate from 2011 to 2013, will help areas most dependent on public sector employment as the country makes the transition to private sector-led growth and prosperity. Both private bodies and public-private partnerships will be able to bid for funding by demonstrating that their proposal will bring in private investment and support sustainable increases in private sector jobs and growth in their area. In the same speech, Nick Clegg also set out plans for local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) that will bring together councils and business on an equal footing with one voice, replacing the current Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).
Local enterprise partnerships will tackle issues including planning and housing, local transport and infrastructure, employment, enterprise and support for business start-ups. Other roles currently carried out by RDAs, such as inward investment, sector leadership, business support, innovation and access to finance, will be led nationally, The partnerships, which were originally designed to be local government-led, will now be chaired by a local business leader. This is perhaps a sign that the government wants to placate local business organisations which have expressed strong doubts about letting local authorities take sole responsibility for economic development. What do we already know about LEPs? The coalition agreement says that LEPs will be: “joint local authority-business bodies brought forward by local authorities themselves to promote local economic development” Legislation to enable the creation of LEPs will be included in the Devolution and Localism Bill, which was announced in the Queen’s Speech and is scheduled to be introduced to Parliament in the autumn. The new Government has not provided any further detail on what LEPs might look like – the most in-depth account of how LEPs might function was given before the election in a letter jointly written by Caroline Spelman and Ken Clarke in March, when the two senior Tories were shadow communities and business secretaries. The letter said that businesses and councils will be able to come forward with proposals for new LEPs to replace RDAs. The boundaries of the partnerships will “reflect natural economic areas”, the letter said. It added that, if local authorities and businesses in a region decide that the current regional boundary reflects their local economic area and decide to form a regionally-based LEP, the Government would respect this view. It also said that at least 50 per cent of the boards of the new partnerships will be representatives from local commerce and industry and that a leading local business person will chair each LEP. On funding, the letter said that the transition to LEPs would be “smooth”, and would allow for “the appropriate fulfilment of ongoing projects, grants and contracts, including projects which also draw on EU structural funds”. It is important to stress here that Spelman and Clarke are in different roles in the new coalition government (Spelman is environment secretary, while Clarke is justice secretary), so this letter may not necessarily reflect the Government’s policy.
What will be the role of a LEP? Local enterprise partnerships will provide the strategic leadership in their areas to:
LEPs will have a broader role than the RDAs they are replacing, including identifying barriers to economic growth in:
Governance To be effective partnerships, the Government believes that it is vital that business and civic leaders work together with an equal input from local government, local business and the major academic players. To this end they are suggesting that there is an equal representation on the boards of these partnerships which should be chaired by a prominent local business leader. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) supports the principle of equality between businesses and local authorities and has said that partnerships must be sure to follow a “practical, business-like agenda” The governance structures will need to be sufficiently robust and clear to ensure proper accountability for delivery by partnerships. The Institute of Directors (IoD) has gone further by suggesting that business should have more votes than local authorities on the ‘board’ – for example, at least 51% to 49% representation or a casting vote on a 50/50 basis. They have also called for ‘real business’ membership, selected by businesses rather than through the public appointment process with a standing representation of the IoD or a rotation of business organisation representatives on the ‘board’. Size One of the biggest questions to answer about the new LEPs is how big will they be? As they are replacing RDAs it would be natural to suspect that they should align to the same geographic region. However, the Government has made it clear that they are concerned that some local and regional boundaries do not reflect functional economic areas and that they wish to enable partnerships to better reflect the natural economic geography of the areas they serve and hence to cover real functional economic and travel to work areas. To be sufficiently strategic, there is an expectation that partnerships would include groups of upper tier authorities – in other words that they would be larger than a single county. But the Government has also said that it would consider a county-based LEP proposal providing it genuinely represented a functional economic area in its own right. Early statements suggested there would be 30 LEPs across the country but there is now some belief that this figure will grow Funding Given that the Government is now asking its departments to prepare scenarios for a 40% cut in spending and that David Cameron has previously stated that regional development will be focused in the North it is quite likely that LEPs in the South will be getting little, if any, money to spend in addition to existing local authority budgets for economic development. There is a slight possibility of retaining some of SEEDA’s current resources in the short term but the view from Vince Cable and others is that the South East economy will manage well without any significant support or funding. The IoD are adamant that there must be no attempt to re-localise business rates or in any way use the LEP framework to unilaterally strengthen local authority power over business issues. The IoD would like to see pressure from LEPs on the Government to re-evaluate the workings of Business Rate Supplements and other issues on the basis of a coherent sub-regional economic development agenda. This is in contrast to the previous LABGI scheme whereby a proportion of the business rates collected by a local authority was handed back to them on the basis of economic growth but was not ring-fenced and so in many instances was not used to promote further economic development. Membership Whilst guidance on the makeup of the LEP board has been clear nothing has been said about how the partnerships will engage with local businesses. It is obvious that organisations such as IoD, CBI, FSB and the Town Chambers would be welcomed to the table but there is a need for a model that directly engages with representatives of the real economy and not other proxies for business. To be successful, LEPs should be looking for commitment from major employers from all sectors in a model that allows for a strategic role with a light touch and no heavy diary demands. On academic engagement with the HE and FE sectors it is important to obtain high level engagement at Vice-Chancellor and College Principal level. One model that can successfully bring together local authorities, business and academia is a not-for-profit membership organisation. What are the unanswered questions about LEPs? There is a lack of detail about funding, remit and governance set-up for LEPs. The absence of such detail is in part because there remains a clash between two visions within the Government about how to proceed. Communities and Local Government (under Eric Pickles) want to allow local authorities to have a high level of control, but to allow variation in the model. The department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the other hand, unsurprisingly are championing a business voice and a higher level of clarity about role and remit. Key questions remain over the transitional process from RDAs to LEPs. At the moment, it is not clear what the process will be for local authorities to decide to replace their RDA with a LEP, or who will be responsible for making the final decision. It is also unclear how soon local authorities will be able to come forward with proposals to establish LEPs, or how quickly LEPs can be formally established once they get the go-ahead. One suggestion is that the timescale for the transition will be two years. Another unknown is how easy it will be to dismantle RDAs in areas where local authorities choose to set up a LEP that does not reflect the boundaries of their RDA. The RDAs own land and buildings and in many cases have long-term contracts with other organisations – both public and private. Quite how easy it will be to dismantle these arrangements is unclear. One possibility that has been mooted is that, should RDAs be replaced, residual bodies may remain in place for years to come. The Commission for the New Towns, for example, was not formally dissolved until 1 April 2009. Next, there are also big questions over the funding and powers that the LEPs will have. RDAs will be stripped of their planning powers as part of the coalition government’s move to abolish regional spatial strategies but it is unclear what will happen to other key areas of the RDAs’ work, such as business support and development. One key area of uncertainty relates to European Regional Development Funds which are currently administered by the RDAs. There are doubts over whether local authorities would have the capacity to administer this funding (which comes with a big bureaucratic burden attached) and, as RDAs are a key match funder of EU regional aid, there are concerns that structural funding may be returned to Brussels unspent. The European Commission is uneasy about the prospect of the RDAs being replaced, fearing disruption and a loss of expertise in handling ERDF money These are just some of the questions raised by regeneration professionals regarding LEPs. One thing that is clear, given the public spending squeeze and last week’s announcement of nearly £300 million of budget cuts for RDAs in this financial year, is that the new LEPs will have less money to play with. There is also the question of what will happen if following a change of political leadership one or more local authorities wish to opt-in or out of a LEP. Timescale The Cable Pickles letter has asked for outline proposals from partnerships of local authorities and businesses as soon as possible, and no later than 6 September 2010. There is therefore some real urgency around organising a local LEP bid: Although there is a formal deadline of early September, advice from political sources suggests that aspirant LEPs should be aiming to make a submission before the end of July 2010 – this will inevitably be before publication of the Government’s White Paper due to be published later in the summer, which will set out their approach to sub-national growth. What does this mean for Oxfordshire? LEPs will replace the role that is currently undertaken by SEEDA, the South East Regional Development Agency which will cease to exist during the course of 2011. The recession and the credit crunch have had a significant negative impact on economic growth in Oxfordshire. Unemployment has risen and government spending cuts will inevitably lead to the fulfilment of the ‘double-dip’ prophecy. SEEDA has had sizable budget cuts this year and will cease to exist sometime next year. The Business Link contract, which has only recently been re-negotiated at a regional level is now likely to be changed again to a national level. The Oxfordshire Innovation and Growth Team, which has started to work effectively with high growth businesses in the county is facing severe budget cuts and the business mentoring services offered by OBE have only just managed to secure enough funding for another two years. In this new world of austerity where businesses are being asked to do more with less it is essential that the public and private sectors work together to secure an effective local economic partnership to drive economic growth and achieve our shared vision that Oxfordshire should become a World Class Economy. There are challenges to face in putting together a successful partnership bid, not least of which is the one of size. Indications are that a LEP should probably include more than one upper tier authority. However there is strong evidence to suggest that Oxfordshire, more than any of its geographical neighbours, does form a coherent economic geography. Oxfordshire has tremendous assets – a highly skilled workforce, two internationally recognised Universities, a global brand in Oxford and four major science installations – more than any other county in England. It is vital to our future economic success that the 5 local MPs, the County Council, the 5 District Councils, OEP, OBE, OxIGT, IoD, CBI, FSB, OTCN, the Chambers of Commerce and local business leaders work together to produce a convincing argument for the establishment of a Local Enterprise Partnership for Oxfordshire. Conclusion Creating an Oxfordshire Enterprise Partnership could be as simple as changing the word ‘economic’ in Oxfordshire Economic Partnership to ‘enterprise’ since OEP already has the governance structure, strategic economic agenda and engagement with local businesses that is required for a successful LEP. Alternatively the local authorities may wish to create a new structure in parallel to OEP which replicates much of what the current organisation is presently engaged in. This would seem to be a misuse of scarce resources at a time when we can ill afford it with little gain by way of a more effective body for co-ordinated economic development in the county. Either way it is vitally important that businesses – the organisations that generate the county’s wealth should be heard and should be allowed to express their views as to the best way forward.
JULY 29 2010Bicester 2030 – Shaping the FutureBicester Chamber of Commerce and partners would like to extend to you an invitation to a forthcoming event, aimed at discussing the role of innovation and technology in shaping the future… 3.00 – Introduction and Welcome Where are we now? Ben Jackson & Stuart Smith – Bicester Chamber of Commerce. 3.30 – The Eco Innovation Future Where do we want to be? – Jo Willett, Oxford Innovation. Jo will provide an overview of the work Oxford Innovation have been doing to initiate an Eco Innovation Network and exemplar site in Bicester. 4.00 – Case Study Who has done this? Tony Moseley from Southwark Council will provide an overview of the Elephant & Castle Regeneration program, which used a Multi-Utility Service Company and Next Generation Broadband as part of a £2.7bn regeneration of the Elephant & Castle Region. 4.30 – Views and questions to the panel 5.00 – Launch of Sustainable Building Matters Website, Bicester 2030, Oxonline and Eco Innovation Network + nibbles VENUE Bicester Innovation Centre, Commerce House,Telford Road, Bicester OX26 4LD Tel : 01869 255800 Booking for this event by email at: reception.bicester@oxin.co.uk (please provide name, company and contact details) Download a pdf copy of the flyer Bicester 2030 Invite
Ngage Solutions is a not-for-profit organisation that provides funding acquisition, project management and back office solutions such as IT, Marketing and Finance for other not-for-profit companies. Ngage has been providing business support since 2001 and currently delivers numerous publicly funded projects across the UK and Europe. Philippa was previously Head of Finance and Board Director at Ngage, gaining valuable insight into the needs and behaviours of SMEs and the economic landscape. She came to ngage with 25 years’ accounting experience within the private and public sector having previously worked at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Charitable Trust and Bucks County Council. Philippa comments: “We have developed a really unique business model that utilises our expertise in the not for profit sector to assist other not for profit organisations. In addition we currently deliver projects valued at nearly one million pounds which in turn will contribute to business start ups, job creation and carbon efficiencies.” For more information please visit www.ngagesolutions.co.uk.
The report is the result of a two year study by a wide range of workplace learning specialists drawn from private, public and voluntary sector organisations within the county. The work was sponsored by the Oxfordshire Employment and Skills Board and supported by the ESRC Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE), which is part of the University of Oxford. The aim of the report is to improve the way that workplace learning takes place in Oxfordshire so that local organisations can develop the talents of their people and ultimately deliver more for their customers. While the report doesn’t focus on any particular sector, it outlines how to make workplace learning more effective in organisations and recommends that government focuses any public funding for skills – such as the Train to Gain programme – on high growth sectors that will add significant value to the local economy. Frank Nigriello, who chairs the Oxfordshire Employment and Skills Board, and who co-authored the report said that the recommendations came from a pool of people who have been involved in workplace learning for many years. “We brought together some of the leading experts in workplace learning who are currently working for Oxfordshire companies or public sector organisations, or who have been providing training and skills development to people in work,” said Nigriello. “They contributed to an inquiry into the key factors that would improve the way people learned at work and identified the best ways for organisations to grow their talent base. “More and more companies recognise that they will succeed or fail based on the talent, ideas and contributions of their people. They also know that investing in developing great people is like having money in the bank. But engaging employees in meaningful learning and development is still difficult to do, particularly for smaller companies that may not have dedicated training mangers or HR specialists. “This report provides some clear guidance to those companies by first identifying the barriers to workplace learning and then recommending ways of overcoming those barriers. The recommendations come from people who ‘really know’ because they are specialists currently overcoming these barriers every day.” One of the most controversial elements of the report focuses on the way public money should be directed in terms of workplace development and challenges schools to develop the workforce for Oxfordshire’s future. “From our very first workshop, participants recognised that public funding for training people at work was critically important for SMEs but would come under intense pressure. Their view has been that public funding should be directed towards Oxfordshire’s high growth potential business that are most likely to support a recovering economy. Those businesses come under the broad headings of science and technology, in which Oxfordshire has a growing number and which have potential to be truly world class in their fields, “ said Nigriello. “But participants weren’t just focused on the immediate needs of the economy, they took a much longer term view. They have been deeply concerned that our schools are not doing enough to engage and inspire interest in science, technology and math in our youngest pupils. “They’ve called for national and local education authorities to raise their game in creating not just the scientists of the future, but the engineers, technicians and other roles that can support Oxfordshire’s emerging role as one of Europe’s science capitals. “While the model proposed in the report is particularly focused on Oxfordshire, there are clear parallels with other parts of the country, particularly at a time when all resources are coming under scrutiny for their effectiveness and affordability.” Nearly 50 Oxfordshire learning specialists and business people contributed to the inquiry and workshops the provided the basis for the report. Copies of the report can be downloaded here
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SkillsFest 2010 is proudly sponsored by Richardsons Chartered Accountants and Jack fm |  |
On the day you can receive free training taster sessions – why not book your staff on to one or more of these one hour training sessions or come along yourself?
Timetable & Booking Form
Training Session and Presentation Timetable
| 9.30-10.00 SkillsFest 2010 – opening by Kelvin Thomas, Chairman of Oxford United Football Team | |||
| Heritage suite | Landmark Suite | Blenheim Suite | Spires Suite |
| 10:00 – 10:45tbc – Oxford and Cherwell Valley College | 10:00 – 10:45 Developing Emotionally Intelligent Leaders and embedding a Coaching Culture – LeaderShape | 10:00 – 10:45 Behaviours, Attitudes and Mindsets – KFES Ltd/Creative Training | Personalised Business Mentoring by MD2MD 10:00 – 11:00 Mentoring session 110.30-11:30 Mentoring session 211:00-12:00 Mentoring session 3 11.30-12:30 Mentoring session 412.00 – 13:00 Mentoring session 5
12:30-13.30 Mentoring session 6 13.00-14:00 Mentoring session 7 13:30-14:30 Mentoring session 8 14:00 – 15:00 Mentoring session 9 14:30 – 15:30 Mentoring session 10 |
| 11:00 – 11:45Managing Stress at Work – Restore | 11:00 – 11:45 Reining In Your Finances – simple budgeting and finance – TRG Training | 11:00 – 11:45Making the most of austere times – Serious Brands | |
| 12:00 – 12:45Social networking for business – Abingdon and Witney College | 12:00 – 12:45 Real tips on leadership from real leaders – MD2MD | 12:00 – 12:45 Communication Skills– Oxfordshire County Council’s Adult Learning | |
| 13:00 – 13:45Leadership– Rona Cant | 13:00 – 13:45 Developing Emotionally Intelligent Leaders and embedding a Coaching Culture – LeaderShape | 13:00 – 13:45Making the most of austere times – Serious Brands | |
| 14:00 – 14:45Managing Stress at Work – Restore | 14:00 – 14:45Presentation Skills a participative demonstration (tbc) – Toastmasters | 14:00 – 14:45 Communication Skills– Oxfordshire County Council’s Adult Learning | |
| 15:00 – 15:45 Social networking for business – Abingdon and Witney College | 15:00 – 15:45Reining In Your Finances – simple budgeting and finance – TRG Training | 15:00 – 15:45Developing a High Performance Culture (tbc) – Oxford Brookes University | |
SKILLSFEST 2010 BOOKING FORM
June 29 2010 – 10am-4pm at Kassam Stadium, Oxford OX4 4XP
| Heritage Suite | Please tick | Landmark Suite | Please tick |
| 10.00 – tbc – Oxford and Cherwell Valley College | 10.00 – Developing Emotionally Intelligent Leaders and Coaching Culture – LeaderShape | ||
| 11.00 – Managing Stress at Work – Restore | 11.00 – Budgeting and finance – TRG Training | ||
| 12.00 – Social networking for business – Abingdon and Witney College | 12.00 – Real tips on leadership from real leaders – MD2MD | ||
| 13.00 – Leadership – Rona Cant | 13.00 – Developing Emotionally Intelligent Leaders and Coaching Culture – LeaderShape | ||
| 14.00 – Managing Stress at Work – Restore | 14.00 – Presentation Skills a participative demonstration (tbc) – Toastmasters | ||
| 15.00 – Social networking for business – Abingdon and Witney College | 15.00 – Budgeting and finance – TRG Training | ||
| Blenheim Suite | Please tick | Spires Suite(please indicate 3 session times in order of preference) | Please indicate choices |
| 10.00 – Behaviours, Attitudes and Mindsets – KFES Ltd/Creative Training | Mentoring sessions provided by MD2MD 10:00 – 11:00 Mentoring session 110.30-11:30 Mentoring session 211:00-12:00 Mentoring session 3 11.30-12:30 Mentoring session 412.00 – 13:00 Mentoring session 512:30-13.30 Mentoring session 613.00-14:00 Mentoring session 7
13:30-14:30 Mentoring session 8 14:00 – 15:00 Mentoring session 9 14:30 – 15:30 Mentoring session 10 |
1st choice | |
| 11.00 – Making the most of austere times – Serious Brands | |||
| 12.00 – Communication Skills– Oxfordshire County Council’s Adult Learning | 2nd choice | ||
| 13.00 – Making the most of austere times – Serious Brands | |||
| 14.00 – Communication Skills– Oxfordshire County Council’s Adult Learning | 3rd choice | ||
| 15.00 – Developing a High Performance Culture (tbc) – Oxford Brookes University |
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Please tick if you do not want to be kept informed about future OEP events |
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Download the programme of events and booking form here
Please return completed forms to us by Friday 4 June 2010
Please note places for each session are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Email: oep_events@oxfordshire.gov.uk or
Post: OEP, Speedwell House, Speedwell St, Oxford, OX1 1NE.
If you have any queries contact Catherine Young on 01865 810 149
Throughout the day you will be able to speak to one of many training organisations exhibiting on the day to discuss what is available to you.
SkillsFest 2009
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| From SkillsFest 2009 |
SkillsFest 2009, launched by Kelvin Thomas, Chairman of Oxford United, attracted over 70 employees who registered for the free courses ranging from personalised business mentoring, presentations on apprenticeships, leadership and management funding from Business Link and training courses across areas such as marketing, communications and sales.
Henry Riley-Collins, founder of family business Innovative Technologies speaking about why he attended the event said, “we need better organisation in the company – without sound business resources the organisation will struggle so I have come here to take advantage of specific courses.”
As well as the free taster sessions available there were 30 training organisations including Colleges of Further Education, promoting their course offerings and giving advice to visitors.
Ben Jackson, Vice President PR of Toastmasters, a network of Oxfordshire Speakers Clubs who train members to communicate effectively, said at the event “From Toastmasters perspective we have made at least three solid strategic connections with other exhibitors, taken away details of over a dozen people interested in attending a meeting, interestingly enough largely from Abingdon where the club has struggled to recruit. This outcome exceeded our expectations.”
Business support networks Business Link, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors were on hand to offer invaluable advice to potential members.
Exhibitors at SkillsFest 2009
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Integration Technology was named the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership Business of the Year at the Bicester Business Awards on St George’s Day, 23 April 2010.
Managing director Adrian Lockwood, pictured with Kelvin Thomas, Chairman of Oxford United, also picked up the title Busin
ess Person of the Year.
The Oxfordshire Economic Partnership Business of the Year award category is open to any business that employs more than 25 staff or has an annual turnover of more than £5 million. The judges, David Doughty, Chief Executive of Oxfordshire Economic Partnership and Councillor Norman Bolster looked for evidence of business growth, a commitment to the local community including local job creation, proven success and achievement during the past 12 months together with a management team with a genuine commitment to staff and the ability to drive the business forward
Integration Technology specialises in ultra violet light technology for printers and employs 40 staff at Heyford Park, Upper Heyford.
It started in 2000 with just two people and last year won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
The full list of winners is as follows:
- The Oxfordshire Economic Partnership Business of the Year: Integration Technology, Upper Heyford
- Bicester Chamber of Commerce and the Wednesday Business Club Business Person of the Year: Adrian Lockwood, Integration Technology, Upper Heyford
- The Chiltern Railways Small Business of the Year: Clark Howes Group, Bicester
- The OCVC Business Hub Training and Development Award: Clark Howes Group
- The Bicester Village Young Achiever Award: Fozia Parveen, director of Signs4Life, Bicester
- The Sainsburys and Stockdale Land Employee of the Year: Tim Webb of K Scaffolding, Bicester
- Bicester Town Council, Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council The Local Government Environmental Award: Brita, Bicester
- The Bicester Vision Community Initiative Award: Cooper School, Bicester
- The Bicester Hotel, Golf & Spa Customer Service Award: Cherwell Innovation Centre, Upper Heyford
- The Business Link Start Up Company: Pea Green Physio, Caversfield
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