Member News

When a workplace accident or near miss occurs, knowing what happened is only part of the picture. Understanding why it happened and how to stop it from happening again is what truly protects people and businesses.

That’s where the NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation course comes in.

Serene Safety is proud to offer this highly respected, specialist health and safety qualification, designed to give learners the confidence and practical skills needed to investigate workplace incidents effectively and proportionately.

Why incident investigation matters

Every incident, whether it results in injury or not, is a learning opportunity. Poor investigations often stop at surface-level causes, missing the underlying human and organisational factors that increase risk.

This course equips learners to:

• Identify root causes, not just immediate issues

• Develop effective risk control measures

• Contribute meaningfully to team investigations for more complex incidents

• Support a proactive, learning-led safety culture

Ultimately, better investigations mean fewer repeat incidents, reduced risk, and safer working environments for everyone.

A qualification developed by the experts

The NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation has been jointly developed by NEBOSH and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – the UK’s leading health and safety regulator.

This partnership ensures the course reflects best practice, current legislation, and real-world expectations, making it a valuable and credible qualification for organisations across all sectors.

Who is this course for?

This course is ideal for:

• Managers and supervisors

• Health and safety champions

• Union and employee representatives

• Those with health and safety responsibilities

• Anyone aspiring to move into a health and safety role

No matter your industry, if you are involved in responding to incidents or improving safety performance, this course provides a strong, practical foundation.

What the course covers

The qualification consists of one unit, which must be completed within six months. During the course, learners will explore:

• The moral, legal and financial reasons for investigating incidents

• Human and organisational factors that influence safety

• How to investigate accidents and incidents effectively

• Positive interview strategies and common barriers

• Advanced accident and incident investigation techniques

The focus throughout is practical application, helping learners feel confident applying their knowledge in real workplace scenarios.

Course details at a glance

• Qualification level: Level 3

• Study time: 1 day + assessment

• Tuition period: Up to 6 months

• Cost: From £300 +VAT

Why choose Serene Safety?

2026 Course Dates

Tuesday 27th January 9am to 5pm at The Nest

Monday 27th April 9am to 5pm at The Nest

Tuesday 22nd September 9am to 5pm at The Nest

To book your place, get in touch with Serene Safety today.

The start-up ecosystem needs more investors with a wide range of experience, backgrounds and skill sets. At ACG we want to support more individuals on their journey into investing.

We’re delighted to be working with Stephen Scruton and his team to bring a new-style angel investor training programme to our region.

This six-session experiential programme which runs over one year and equips you with knowledge, expertise, and practical experience to understand risks and opportunities of venture investing.

The course includes attendance at Anglia Capital Group showcases. The combination of practical experience and training will provide a pathway to help self-certify as a sophisticated investor.

We also have options for corporate groups to join a cohort, providing documented CPD hours for senior managers and emerging executives (min 10 participants)

If you would like to be a part of the future of investing and growing the start-up and scale-up ecosystem here in East Anglia contact [email protected] for more information and join the waitlist.

As OpenContact celebrates its 25th anniversary, our CEO Fiona Brown reflects on the people, principles and partnerships that have shaped the business over a quarter of a century and why, in an industry transformed by technology, human connection still matters more than ever.

“This year marks 25 years of OpenContact, and it’s a moment that fills me with immense pride, gratitude and reflection.

When OpenContact was founded, the customer contact industry looked very different. Call volumes were lower, channels were simpler, and technology was far less advanced. What hasn’t changed, however, is the reason people pick up the phone or make contact in the first place: they want to be listened to, understood and helped by someone they trust.

That belief has guided OpenContact for a quarter of a century.

Built on relationships, not transactions.

Over the last 25 years, we’ve had the privilege of working with organisations that have stayed with us not for months, but for many years. Those long-standing client relationships are something I value enormously. They exist because we’ve always focused on partnership, not just service delivery — taking the time to understand each organisation, its customers, its pressures and its values.

Equally important are the people behind the service. Many of our team members have grown with OpenContact, developing deep expertise, mentoring others and shaping the culture that defines us today. Their professionalism, empathy and pride in their work are the foundation of everything we do.

An industry transformed

The customer contact sector has evolved dramatically. We’ve seen the rise of multi-channel engagement, data-driven insights, automation, AI, and global offshoring. Each wave of change has brought opportunity — and challenge.

AI is now a core part of modern customer service, and we actively embrace it. We work with established and emerging AI technologies to support efficiency, insight and consistency. Used well, AI enhances service — it doesn’t replace it. It helps teams respond faster, understand patterns, and remove friction from the customer journey.

But what we’ve learned is this: technology works best when it supports people, not when it replaces them.

Human connection still matters

As AI accelerates, the value of person-centred customer experience has only increased. When a customer or member needs reassurance, clarity or empathy, they still want a human conversation — especially in moments that matter.

At the same time, the growth of offshoring has changed perceptions of cost and delivery. In that landscape, UK-based customer contact has become a premium proposition. It represents trust, cultural understanding, data confidence and quality — and for many organisations, that reassurance is worth investing in.

OpenContact has remained proudly UK-based, delivering high-quality customer service that reflects our clients’ brands, values and tone of voice.

Our values haven’t changed

What has kept us relevant for 25 years isn’t just adaptation — it’s consistency of values.

We still believe in:

• Doing the right thing, even when it’s harder
• Treating customers with care and respect
• Supporting our clients as partners, not suppliers
• Investing in our people and their development
• Adapting thoughtfully, without losing our human focus

Those principles have guided us through change, growth and innovation — and they will continue to guide us into the future.

With thanks

To our clients — past and present — thank you for trusting us, challenging us and growing with us.

To our team — thank you for your commitment, your warmth, and your professionalism. OpenContact is what it is because of you.

And to our partners — including those shaping the future of AI and customer experience alongside us — thank you for helping us evolve while staying true to who we are.

After 25 years, I’m more confident than ever that great customer experience is built on people, supported by technology, and driven by values.

Here’s to the next chapter.”

Fiona Brown

CEO, OpenContact

Hiring can be tricky, and sometimes these two documents get mixed up, causing confusion and frustration during the recruitment process. 

On our latest blog, we breakdown the key differences between a job advert and a job description, why it matters – and how getting it wrong, can waste time, money and patience. 

Read on below and see how you can start attracting the right talent today:

https://spiderrecruit.co.uk/news/job-advert-vs-job-description/?utm_source=jobad_vs_jobdes&utm_medium=norfolkchamber&utm_campaign=blog&utm_content=read

Welcome to 2026. 

Christmas and New Year are over and it’s time for your marketing teams to start pumping out content, but question is what to post? 

I am here to talk about the one type of content we all consume, but don’t always think to create, and it will keep your audience engaged for longer. I am talking about content serialisation. 

This style of content has been around for years from comic strips in news papers, to soap operas and now to social media. I have spoken to many businesses across Norwich and Norfolk and many of them find one of their issues is they are stuck for ideas and believe they have to re-invent the wheel every time they post which isn’t the case. 

Over recent years across social media there has been a massive rise in serialised content to the point where they have almost become their own ‘shows’. Shows such as these are Subway Takes, Boy Room and one of the most popular ones from last year Career Ladder. All these show have a very simple proposition and cater to being a repeatable and unique every time which as a result leads to audiences coming back and wanting more.  Shows like the Career Ladder are getting over 600 million views per month! The show is even getting to the point where it has allowed host Max Klymenko to interview guests such as Shaquille O’Neal, Toto Wolff and Sir Kier Starmer.  And the concept for this show is simple, invites members of the public onto a step ladder to guess their job in 2 minutes or less. He has essentially made a modern day career version of Guess Who. 

So I strongly believe every local business no matter its size can truly benefit from finding something they can turn into a video series and post an episode a week to socials. Whether it’s filmed on your phone, with a camera or using a video production company. Just create something.  As long term each of these episodes compounds and keeps people coming back for more, just like with Career Ladder and it is something that we at Rolling Wave Media, are going to be working on with our clients this year too.

As you never know your new series could be the next Career Ladder. 

A College of West Anglia (CWA) student has taken home a gold medal after an impressive performance at the Eastern Regional Championships. 

Honey Howling, who is currently studying a BTEC Extended Diploma in Sport Science (Level 3), represented CWA as part of the North Norfolk Judo Club team, competing against some of the best young athletes in the region. Her powerful performance and technical skill earned her the top spot on the podium, marking a standout moment in her sporting journey. 

Honey balances her competitive training with her academic commitments at CWA, where she is developing her practical and theoretical understanding of sport, performance, and athletic development. 

Honey said: “Competing at a high level in judo is very demanding, but the support I have received from my tutors at CWA along the way has allowed me to stay dedicated to both my studies and training. Competing for club and the college has been an honour!”

Programme Manager for Sports and Public Protective Services Sean McQuaid said, “We are thrilled to see Honey excel in her sporting career while studying with us. Her success highlights the strength of our Sport Science programme and the commitment to our students reaching their full potential. Honey is an exceptional role model for others across the department.”

Happy New Year. We have limited capacity for new projects this quarter. If you want more quality traffic, enquiries and bookings from search and your website, we’d be happy to help.

Q1 Availability

Tanya’s back at her desk for a few days this week. But, she has knee surgery on Friday, 9th January, so we’ll be quieter the week commencing Monday 12th January, while she recovers, then back the following week. 

Capacity for Q1

We have room to take on one or two new clients or projects this quarter. So, we’d be happy to help if your business wants to:

• attract more quality traffic from search
• turn more website visits into enquiries, bookings or sales
• understand what’s working with clear tracking

Get in Touch

Contact us here or via email [email protected] to chat about how we can assist your local business.

2025 In Review

With new courses and services launched, and more candidates trained than ever, 2025 was CTS Training & Consultancy’s most exciting year yet! 

Looking back over 2025, we’re proud of all the candidates who trained with us and the businesses that we have supported in becoming more compliant. 

Training Statistics

CTS Training & Consultancy delivered training to over 1300 attendees in 2025 across dozens of different courses. 

Our most popular training remains MHE courses. This represented over 50% of our courses delivered last year covering counterbalance, rough terrain, pallet truck, HIAB and many more. This is thanks to our flexible training options, whether it’s day-shift or night-shift, at your site or ours, our fantastic team of instructors can deliver training whenever and wherever you need it.

Our next most popular courses were: 

• Driver CPC: Although the 5-year rush is over, we recommend completing 7 hours every year to stay ahead.
• First Aid: Whether it’s 1-day Emergency First Aid, 3-day First Aid at Work, or Mental Health First Aid, the safety and well-being of staff remains a priority.
• ADR training: Our sister company specialises in the transport of dangerous goods, so candidates benefit from real life expertise.

We remain committed to serving our local Norfolk and Cambridgeshire area. Our customers in 2025 included transport, manufacturing and warehousing companies, local councils, lorry drivers, forklift drivers and individuals looking to change or progress their career.

Training course launches and achievements in 2025

Beyond the numbers, 2025 was a year of growth and improvement. 

CTS Training & Consultancy launched multiple new courses and services including:

• Level 1 and Level 2 Security of Dangerous Goods courses: Developed by NLTC, these courses ensure that all staff involved in the transport of dangerous goods receive the required training in security-related aspects.
• Mental Health First Aid training: As businesses continue to invest in the wellbeing of their staff, it’s recommended that at least one person is trained to recognise signs of mental health issues and direct colleagues to the available resources for support.

In November, we delivered the first CTS Compliance Seminar which was very well attended, and where we launched CTS Companion. This new membership service is designed to support transport companies with their compliance. You can find out more about CTS Companion here.

We expanded our on-site training fleet with a new electric forklift and a HIAB equipped with a brick grab attachment, enhancing our existing rough terrain telescopic and hook attachment HIAB.

We were also delighted to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback on our annual audits from accrediting bodies such as RTITB and SQA. We are proud to be delivering accredited courses again throughout 2026.

Start the year off right

Speaking of 2026, here’s what you can expect from CTS this year!

Whether it’s training, compliance advice, DGSA services, digital tachograph solutions from CTS Analysis or PPE from CTS Shop, our vision for 2026 is to continue to develop our services and support you in keeping your business compliant.

The beginning of a New Year is the perfect time to review your training matrix, plan any training that’s needed for the year ahead, book in your annual compliance audit and stock up on tacho rolls and PPE. Make sure you start 2026 off right. 

Training courses and compliance services in 2026

It’s never too early to book MHE refresher training, and our open course dates for Driver CPC, ADR, Transport Manager and First Aid courses are all planned in until the end of the year. 

Our first courses this year are:

• 19th January 2026 – Emergency First Aid at Work with optional 7 hours Driver CPC
• Starting 20th January 2026 – Transport Manager CPC
• 24th January 2026 – Driver CPC covering Health & Safety and Economical Driving

Check out all our upcoming courses here. 

We are also looking forward to two more CTS Compliance Seminars, one in the spring and another in the autumn. Make sure you’re following us on social media to see those dates as soon as they are released. 

Happy New Year from CTS Training & Consultancy

With that, we’d like to thank you for your continued support and wish you a very Happy New Year, full of growth and success. 

We are proud to announce that we have successfully placed our 200th Scion into employment, a major milestone for our award-winning Scion Scheme. Launched in 2017 to address a shortage of technical talent, the Scion Scheme has become a cornerstone of our commitment to promoting opportunity and social mobility within the tech sector. 

Earlier this year, Netmatters was honoured to receive a King’s Award for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity 2025, formally hosting the ceremony last month.  As one of only 197 organisations nationally to achieve this prestigious recognition, the King’s Award celebrates our dedication to helping individuals access meaningful careers, especially those who may have faced barriers entering the industry. 

James, our Managing Director, reflects on this milestone: 

“We are delighted to have achieved our 200th successful placement of a Scion. Hearing stories of how lives have been changed through this program makes us very proud and motivated to take this further.” 

The Scion Scheme was developed to bridge a significant skills gap in the East of England and create an accessible pathway into tech for individuals who might not otherwise have the opportunity. The scheme targets those who are unemployed, long-term unemployed, or from low-income backgrounds. Scions undergo a comprehensive training program combining hands-on software development experience with theoretical learning and soft skills development. Graduates are then supported in securing suitable roles, ensuring that training translates into meaningful employment. 

Kayleigh Hall celebrates the milestone, saying: 

“Reaching 200 individuals in employment is an incredible milestone for everyone involved in the course. Helping people move into careers they’re passionate about, rather than just jobs, is truly inspiring. Here’s to the next 200!” 

A Transformative Achievement 

Reaching 200 placements underscores the success of a program that prioritises not just skill development, but life-changing opportunity. Each Scion represents a story of confidence gained, potential realised, and barriers overcome. 

At Netmatters, we remain committed to expanding the reach of the Scion Scheme, nurturing talent, and opening doors to careers that make a genuine difference. With 200 Scions now successfully placed, the journey continues—transforming lives and inspiring others to follow in the footsteps of our graduates. 

Artificial intelligence often gets framed as something mystical. Press a button, get a result, job done. Real life stays less exciting.

Walk into any commercial kitchen and you see the same basic truth. Every chef uses a knife. The café serving all day breakfasts uses one. The hotel kitchen uses one. A Michelin star restaurant uses one. The tool stays constant. The outcome does not.

The difference sits with skill.

A knife in untrained hands delivers food. A knife in expert hands delivers precision, consistency, and pace under pressure. Knife skills take time. Repetition matters. Experience shapes judgement. Two chefs, same knife, wildly different results.

AI follows the same pattern.

Many businesses now say they use AI. Fewer explain how long they have used it. Almost none explain how well they use it. 

Prompting is not typing a sentence and hoping for the best. Structure matters. Context matters. Constraints matter. Testing matters. Iteration matters. Small changes produce large differences in output quality.

We have integrated AI into our photo booth experiences for over 18 months. Not as a novelty. Not as a last minute add-on. As a capability we actively develop.

Early results looked fine. Current results look deliberate. Faces stay recognisable. Groups render correctly. Lighting matches the scene. Outputs suit both adults and children. Prints look clean. Digital shares look intentional.

Those improvements did not arrive by accident. They came from repetition, refinement, and understanding where AI struggles. Knowing the limits proves as important as knowing the strengths.

Two companies often run the same software. One delivers inconsistent results. The other delivers reliable quality. The difference mirrors kitchens everywhere. Same knife. Different hands.

This shows up clearly for clients. The experience feels smoother. The results feel trustworthy. The technology fades into the background while the outcome takes centre stage.

AI does not replace experience. It rewards it.

Photography reached this point years ago. Anyone owns a camera. Not everyone produces professional images. Tools became accessible. Skill remained scarce.

The same shift now happens with AI.

The more useful question no longer asks whether a business uses AI. It asks how developed their skill is in using it. Tools move fast. Skill compounds slowly. The gap between the two defines quality.

That gap matters.

Banham Zoo is delighted to share some heart-warming festive news with the announcement of two newly hatched African black-footed penguin chicks, a joyful milestone for this endangered species.

Earlier this summer, in June, Banham Zoo proudly welcomed a group of African black-footed penguins from Hertfordshire Zoo, adding to our already established colony of African black-footed penguins as part of the international breeding programme dedicated to safeguarding the future of the species. We are thrilled to report that the penguins have settled in exceptionally well and are already playing a valuable role in conservation efforts.

Maneno and Jozini have successfully hatched chicks: Pumpkin, born on 31st October, and Spice, who followed shortly after on 3rd November. Keepers report that both chicks, along with their attentive parents, are doing extremely well.

With African Black-footed penguin populations continuing to decline and fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs remaining worldwide, every successful hatching represents a vital step forward. Alongside its breeding efforts, Banham Zoo is proud to support the vital conservation work of SANCCOB (the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds), whose teams work tirelessly in South Africa to rescue, rehabilitate and release African penguins affected by oil spills, climate change and food shortages.

Sophie Imhof, Team Leader of the Bird team at Banham Zoo said,

‘We couldn’t be happier to welcome Pumpkin and Spice, especially at such a magical time of year. Seeing Maneno and Jozini settle in so quickly and successfully raise two healthy chicks has been wonderful for the whole team. With African black-footed penguins under so much pressure in the wild, every new chick really does matter and these two are a lovely reminder of why conservation work like this is so important.’

To celebrate the arrival of Pumpkin and Spice, Banham Zoo has launched new penguin adoption packs, offering supporters a meaningful way to help protect this endangered species. Adopters will be able to follow the penguins’ story as they grow, while directly supporting conservation efforts both at the zoo and in the wild, making it a truly special gift this Christmas.

Find out more here: https://www.banhamzoo.co.uk/adoptions/adopt-a-penguin

Just to note – As a precautionary measure due to current bird flu restrictions, visitors are not able to enter the penguin habitat at this time. However, there are several designated viewing areas around the habitat, offering guests the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the penguins and observe the family from a safe distance.

https://www.banhamzoo.co.uk/

A Graphic Design student at the college of West Anglia (CWA) has helped spread festive cheer beyond the classroom after winning a Christmas card design competition for environmental services company MVV Environment. 

Ezme South, who studies the UAL Extended Diploma in Creative Practice (Level 3) – Graphic Design, created the winning design, which was selected by MVV Environment to be used as the company’s Christmas eCard. As part of the prize £300 was donated to British Heart Foundation a charity of Ezme’s choice, alongside a £30 gift voucher for Ezme.

Ezme undertook the design independently, applying the creative and technical skills developed through her studies to produce a professional piece of work for a real organisation. 

This achievement highlights how CWA students are able to take initiative beyond the classroom, using their learning to pursue external opportunities and build experience within the creative industries. 

Clyde Dunn, Graphic Design Lecturer at the College of West Anglia said: “Ezme embraced the opportunity and challenge offered in the MVV Environment Medworth Ltd Christmas Card brief. Her design response meets the client’s requirements of combining a Christmas vibe with communicating an environmental message that is so important to the company’s ethos and values. It is a testament to Ezme’s design and creative skills that MVV’s Community Liaison Manager Andy Houghton and his team felt her work (over entries from a range of other schools and colleges) would carry the company’s festive greetings to their clients and customers. Ezme’s winning design is evidence of the strong Graphic Design training she enjoys at the College of West Anglia as well as her creative flair and ability. Well done Ezme!”    

Ezme said “It was a great opportunity and a chance to show my creative skills. I’m proud to have won!”

The College of West Anglia supports students in developing the skills, confidence and independence needed to pursue creative opportunities and progress into employment or further study.