Member News

Blue Heron Training Scoop Silver Award at the London Chamber SME Awards for Best New Business 2025.

On Thursday 27th February our MD Alex and our Commercial Director Reint attended their first ever awards ceremony at the London Chamber of Commerce SME awards at the prestigious Leonardo Hotel, Tower Bridge.

In the category of Best New Business 2025 we are absolutely delighted to announce that we have won Silver award.

Speaking on the night Alex said “For those who know me – you will know how much this means – a heartfelt thank you to everyone associated with this business!! The wonderful professionals who have chosen to work with us; our brilliant, amazing and supportive clients; the fantastic partners and wider network – you have all made this possible”

We create value through people.

At the very core of Blue Heron Training are people. We help develop your people and then hand you the reigns, empowering you to shape your business’ future.

Contact us.

If you are looking for a forward-thinking business to help you with your personnel training requirements, drop us a line to see how we can help you.

We are looking to hire a Level 3 Business Administration Apprentice in partnership with training provider Swarm Apprenticeships. This is a full-time position with the opportunity for the right candidate to learn and gain valuable skills to build a successful career. 

All information about the application process can be found here:  https://swarmgroup.vincere.io/careers/apply/34042 

We can’t wait to hear from you! 

Embrace the warmer weather with this Softshell Gilet and Jacket bundle from the Result Recycled range. Made from recycled polyester with a patented recycled polyester filling for additional warmth, this lightweight duo will keep you snug on colder mornings and at perfect temperature throughout the day. Smart and comfortable, with eco-responsible manufacturing, this bundle is affordable, practical and smart. Contact the Sales Team for more information on [email protected]. 

We are keen to hear feedback from businesses in Norfolk – to understand the types of barriers and challenges local organisations face when considering starting an apprenticeship programme and what support might be useful in the future. This valuable insight can help us to design and seek funding for initiatives to support businesses in Norfolk…

This survey takes around 5-7 minutes to complete and you do not have to submit any personal details unless you wish to ask for support from Apprenticeships Norfolk and/or enter the prize draw. Thank you for helping to inform the future of Apprenticeships in Norfolk.

To complete the survey, follow the link below or in the caption:

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/OvercomingBarrierstoApprenticeships/

Full-Time Experienced Vehicle Graphics and Sign Technician 

We are delighted to announce that a very exciting position has arisen within our team for a Full-Time Experienced Vehicle Graphics and Signage Technician. 

We are a small but mighty, family-established business located in the coastal town of Great Yarmouth. We specialise in increasing brand awareness through a broad range of specialist, bespoke services from signage, vehicle graphics and engraving to promotional merchandise and branded workwear. 

We take brands and showcase them in the real world through the design and production of creative signage and eye-catching vehicle graphics, ensuring that our customers gain as much recognition in the real world as they do online. This is where you come in. 

Following rapid expansion since our creation in 2016, we are now actively looking to entrust the Very Important Position of Vehicle Graphics and Signage Technician to a person with solid experience in the following essential areas: 

Key Responsibilities:

• Proven hands-on experience in printing, cutting, weeding and preparing vinyl for vehicle application, along with all aspects of vehicle vinyl removal, application and wrapping

• Proficient in producing finished signs from a variety of materials onto various  substrates

• Operating machines such as large-format printers, vinyl plotters and laminator

• Vinyl weeding

• Stock maintenance of production materials: vinyl, laminates, substrates and consumables

• Running regular print machine maintenance routines and keeping computerised production software up to date

• Assist in onsite signage installations

• Knowledge of signage software (preferably Flexi but training can be given)

Essential Qualities:

• Full, clean driving licence 

• Demonstrate excellent organisational and time management skills

• Ability to work under pressure, meeting tight deadlines when required

• Excellent communication skills

• Adaptable to our fast-paced environment 

• Ability to work as part of a team and on your own initiative

• A passion for accuracy and producing high quality signs and vehicle graphics

• Time management and prioritising workflow

• Ability to multitask

• Able to move heavy materials around the production environment

• Confident to work at customer locations for on-site installations

In return, you will enjoy a competitive salary, opportunities for overtime and role development, regular pay reviews, free parking at our premises, holiday allowance + bank holidays, company uniform and the rare chance to work with a team of awesome people in a growing family business. 

Think you’ve got what it takes to join our team? Send your CV and Covering Letter, outlining your incredible experience and skills to our Hiring Manager on [email protected]. 

Law firm Birketts is reinforcing its commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion by being shortlisted in two categories for the Legal 500 ESG awards. 

The law firm has seen Senior Partner, Chris Schwer make the shortlist for Social Mobility Champion, while the whole firm has made the shortlist for the Women in Law: Best Initiative to Improve Female Representation within Senior Ranks. 

Chris has made social mobility a central tenet of his tenure as senior partner. Together with the leadership team at Birketts, he has been instrumental in supporting up and coming lawyers to deliver the project. This initiative, originally conceived and put into action by our junior lawyers, highlights their innovative thinking and dedication to making a positive impact 

The firm’s Social Mobility Insight into Law Experience (SMILE) initiative sees Year 12 students, who are interested in a career in law and meet the PRIME social mobility criteria, spend a week at Birketts. Students are buddied with trainees and NQ solicitors, and gain experience in several seats in addition to workshops relating to legal based tasks and how the business services arm of the firm work together. 

The SMILE initiative, though only introduced in the firm’s Ipswich and Chelmsford offices in 2024, was such a success that it will be rolled out to other offices, including Birketts’ new Bristol office, in 2025. 

Thanks to Birketts dedicated female representation development programmes, including ‘Clearing the pathway to leadership’ and ‘Pathway to Partner’ 41% of Birketts’ Partnership are now women, up 14% since 2020, with ambitions to increase this to 45% by 2026 and 50% by 2030 

Clearing the Pathway to Leadership and Pathway to Partner initiatives involve workshops designed to significantly enhance female representation in senior roles. These workshops provide targeted training and mentorship, equipping women with the skills, confidence, and networks necessary to advance their careers. By the end of the workshop, participants will have their own roadmap to progress their career on their terms and the resources to be more confident in their day-to-day role. 

Bernadette Baker, Chair of Birketts People and Culture Committee, stated: “Amidst the discourse on scaling back diversity and inclusion efforts, Birketts proudly takes a divergent path. Our exemplary record of women in leadership inspires us to set even loftier goals. 

“Social mobility is also a critical focus for us. We are committed to creating an initiative that goes beyond superficial gestures, providing young individuals considering a legal career with an authentic insight into the profession and the inner workings of a law firm. We hope this experience will ignite their passion and instil the confidence needed to advance. 

“By embracing a wider talent pool and promoting more women to leadership roles, we enhance our collective expertise and send a powerful message that Birketts is a place where careers can flourish, irrespective of background or gender.” 

Birketts will join other shortlisted firms and individuals at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London on 25 March 2025 for the Legal 500 ESG UK Awards ceremony. 

About Birketts 

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich, Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: real estate, corporate services, litigation, and private client advisory.  

At Taylor Investigations, we always take the time to recognise achievements, welcome new faces, and support the community around us. This month, we have plenty to celebrate! From a significant work anniversary, to a new team member, to renewing our sponsorship with Norwich Theatre Royal, and most excitingly, our very own 9th business birthday!

It’s also a great time to remind both our loyal and new clients about the range of expert investigative services we offer.

Celebrating 9 Years of Taylor Investigations

We’re incredibly proud to be celebrating 9 years in business! Since we first started, we’ve gone from strength to strength, building a solid reputation for professionalism, discretion, and excellence in investigative services. Over the years, we’ve worked on countless cases, helped a wide range of clients, and built a fantastic team that shares our commitment to delivering the very best results.

A huge thank you to all our clients, colleagues, and supporters. Your trust and confidence in us have been instrumental in our success. Here’s to the next 9 years!

Five Years of Dedication: Congratulations, Jamie!

A special congratulations to Jamie, who is celebrating five years with Taylor Investigations! Jamie has been a key part of our success, bringing skill, professionalism, and a meticulous approach to every case. His ability to handle complex investigations with care and precision makes him a true asset to the team. Jamie, we’re incredibly grateful for your hard work and dedication!

Welcome to the Team, Debbie!

We’re also delighted to welcome Debbie, our newest Investigator and Process Server based in our Norwich office as well as covering the Royston, Cambridge and surrounding areas. With a strong background in investigative work and an eye for detail, Debbie brings valuable experience and expertise to the team. Whether she’s handling sensitive cases or ensuring legal documents are served efficiently, Debbie is already proving to be a fantastic addition.

Renewing Our Commitment to Norwich Theatre Royal

Supporting our local community is incredibly important to us, which is why we’re delighted to renew our sponsorship with Norwich Theatre. As proud sponsors of the safety curtain, we remain committed to the arts in our local community.

Norwich Theatre is a cultural cornerstone, bringing outstanding performances to the city and enriching the lives of audiences of all ages. We’re honoured to continue our partnership and look forward to supporting the theatre in the year ahead.

How Taylor Investigations Can Help You

As we celebrate our 9th year, we want to highlight some of the key services we provide to individuals, businesses, and legal professionals:

·      Surveillance – Discreet and professional surveillance services for corporate, legal, and personal matters.

·      Process Serving – Ensuring legal documents are delivered correctly and within legal timeframes.

·      Tracing Services – Locating missing persons, debtors, or beneficaries efficiently and lawfully.

·      Asset Searches – Identifying assets of an individual or company prior to litigation or for recovery purposes.

·      Background Checks – Providing detailed and confidential checks for businesses, landlords, and individuals.

·      Corporate Investigations – Assisting businesses with internal investigations, employee misconduct, and due diligence.

·      Family Trees & Genealogy Services – Family tree services for individuals, probate services such as beneficiary tracing and international bankruptcy searches

With a team of highly skilled professionals, we handle each case with integrity, discretion, and expertise. If you need investigative support, we’re here to help.

Looking to the Future

With nine years in business, a dedicated and expanding team, and a continued commitment to serving our clients and community, the future is looking bright for Taylor Investigations.

A huge thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey so far. We couldn’t have done it without you! Here’s to the next chapter!

www.taylorinvestigations.co.uk | [email protected] | 01603 904031

You’ve got an email list, but are you actually using it?

Most businesses either don’t email their audience enough—or worse, send boring, spammy emails that get ignored.

We craft engaging, sales-driven email campaigns that your audience wants to open.

✅ More engagement

✅ More sales

✅ More loyal customers

? Plus, we track the data, tweak the strategy, and make sure your emails are working hard for your business. No contracts, just results.

? Let’s make email your best marketing tool! Contact us https://smashmarketing.co.uk/contact/

Food Safety Level 3 Course

Please contact [email protected] to book on!

RenEnergy is excited to invite you to an exclusive technical showcase that will take off at Saxon Air. We will explore cutting-edge energy solutions across multiple industries. Gain insights into commercial battery storage and how it can optimise your business, the latest developments in solar canopies, and advancements in EV charging.

This event is a unique opportunity to see these technologies in action, engage with our expert team, and network with key industry leaders shaping the future of energy.

More about the event

Date: Thursday, 20 March

Venue: SaxonAir Charter Limited, Business Aviation Centre, Norwich NR6 6JT, United Kingdom

12:00 Arrival time

12:30 Start time

16:30 End time

RSVP: Please RSVP by 28 February

Please park your car at the Norwich Airport Park & Ride, we will be providing transport for the entire day. We will meet you there.

Will we see you there?

Please use the RSVP link to let us know if you will be able to attend or not. Let us know as soon as possible.

Do get in touch if you have any questions. We would love to see you there.

Hands On At Work is working in collaboration with a health and wellbeing training provider to offer their clients a broader range of services including Mental Health First Aid England Training. The courses are offered both onsite and online to suit businesses whether they work purely onsite, remotely or hybrid working. 

Mental Health First Aid, or MHFA, is an internationally recognised training course that teaches people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill-health and provide help on a first-aid basis. 

To be effective, MHFA training should be part of a broader wellbeing strategy. To assist with this, we offer the following MHFA England courses.

2-Day Mental Health First Aider

Courses are available for Adults, Youth, and Armed Forces, and are known for being practical and sensible.

Mental Health Champion Training

A one-day course designed for those seeking basic skills to assist others with mental health issues and improve workplace mental wellbeing without committing to the 2-day course.

Mental Health Awareness Training

An introductory half-day, four-hour session aimed at raising awareness of mental health in the workplace All courses are delivered online or face to face either on-site at your premises or at the training provider’s open courses held in Liverpool, Milton Keynes and other locations nationwide.

Kathy Scott, Director of Hands On At Work, completed the 2 day Mental Health First Aider course online and said “It was very intense, extremely eye-opening and has made me more aware as to what we say and how we say it, and how that can make a huge difference when supporting someone who has poor mental health. The course does not set out to make you a professional counsellor, but it does guide you how not to be judgmental, to recognise signs someone may be struggling, and how to help by being a good listener and to signpost them to useful resources.”

Hands On At Work is excited to offer these training opportunities in addition to their other services giving a broader spectrum of ways you can support your employees in all aspects of health and wellbeing.

Contact us for more information or to book a training session as part of your 2025 wellbeing strategy.

Telephone Kathy Scott on 07989 367669

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.handsonatwork.co.uk

What a great week it was as the country celebrated NAW2025.  So many events going on up and down the country for the purpose of helping more employers to understand what is on offer for them and how their business can benefit.  We celebrated apprentice successes (see our LinkedIn page) which in turn celebrated the successes of those businesses and their bottom line.

We offered events to focus on the key areas of interest which we know employers find challenging around team building and development.  If you didn’t have chance to come to the events on the day, we have recordings so you can watch as soon as you are ready. 

Solving the Challenge of Recruitment and Retention

Our Head of Recruitment at Swarm Recruitment, Paul Riddock, along with Sophie Duffy, our Recruitment Consultant, and our friend Andy Lochtie from Lumos Digital Marketing, talked about how to overcome the typical complications and challenges of recruitment and retention. Andy, as an employer of apprentices, spoke about how it works for him and particularly gave some great practical guidance and insight.

Well worth a watch:
https://www.linkedin.com/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:7294671063773310976/

YouTube Forum (90 mins):

Understanding Business Apprenticeships

On Tuesday of National Apprenticeships Week we held a forum for employer’s wanting to learn about how an apprentice can really make a difference to their business bottom line as well as how the system works to be able to access it for your business. 

This is for businesses of all sizes!  It is not saved only for big corporations but works for small businesses with a handful of employees.  On the panel was Chris Perry talking about the funding and format of apprenticeships, Martin Morrell representing Anglian Home Improvements as an experienced apprentice employer, two of our recent apprentices, all supported by Suzanne Hodnett as Chair offering extra insight from her experience as an apprenticeship trainer.

Worth watching to understand exactly how everything works…
Take a look at the opening screen showing 3 examples of real ROI achieved by apprentices for their businesses:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=ZYfYKYkSY2U

“Open Evening” for Secondary Schools:

A career in Market Research

This was a really interesting online session which we ran for secondary schools across the country to help their soon-to-be school leavers learn about a career in Market Research, as they assess their options.  We welcomed parents with their Year 10s/11s to hear about what Market Research is, and the Apprenticeship roles being recruited for this March at Ipsos, the well-known Market Research business in London, ready for a September start.  We don’t have a recording of this session as it wouldn’t have been appropriate with young people on the call but if you are interested to know more and how your local school can partner with us to hear about these opportunities for students, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

We were also guest speakers on the LinkedIn Live Ranksuite webinar for Marketing Apprenticeships (60 mins):

Digital Marketing Apprenticeships: Careers, Capabilities, and Impact

Our Recruitment Consultant, Sophie Duffy, and our Head of Marketing and Marketing Apprenticeship Lead, Suzanne Hodnett, were invited to be on the panel for our friends at Ranksuite, who champion Marketing Apprenticeships.

It was a very informative session to help you tap into the benefits of a Marketing apprentice for your business. Also on the panel were Tom Sangers, Director of Metric Hub who talked about employing marketing apprentices and Karim Adib from FatJoe and Bradley Webster from Herd who both started their careers as Marketing Apprentices.

Watch the recording on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7295433885100695552

————————————————

If you are still on the fence and we haven’t convinced you yet how much you can benefit from having an apprentice in your business… read some key takeaways on our summary of the week:

What happened in National Apprenticeship Week 2025

…and also make sure to follow us on LinkedIn for ongoing information, testimonials and support: 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/swarm-training/