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UPDATE: OCT/NOV 2014
Contact Us
For more information about our
plans and activities:
Call: +44 (0) 1707 358 744
Email: [email protected]
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In This Issue
Medtech
Conference
Awards round-up
Little Hadham
Bypass
A1(M) update
STEMS skills gap
Focus on St
Albans Cathedral
Meet the Board
Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership Newsletter
Herts set to secure £30m from ESF Hertfordshire has been notionally allocated around £30 million from the
European Social Fund (ESF) for 2014-2020.
We are hosting two key information-sharing events this month, the first
will take place on 13 November in partnership with the BIG Lottery
Fund and is targeted at the Hertfordshire voluntary and community
sector. This is now fully booked, if you would like to receive informa-
tion from this event please email [email protected].
The second event in partnership with the Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP), Job Centre Plus and the Skills Funding Agency
(SFA) on 25 November is aimed at training providers. This is still open
for registration, please email [email protected] to book
your place on this FREE event. Click here for more information.
Exploring digital advances in bioscience Hertfordshire LEP is leading the field when it comes to exploring the
impact healthcare technology is having on professional companies and
consumers.
This was the view of one of the delegates who attended our recent
conference Medtech Meets Lifestyle: A New Convergence. For more
information see Page 2.
Up to 90 businesses, ranging from corporates to micro SMEs
in the digital healthcare field, attended the second in a series
of conferences on Convergent Medical Technologies on
Wednesday 22 October. Organised by Hertfordshire Local
Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and sponsored by the Univer-
sity of Hertfordshire, the event at the Fielder Centre, Hatfield
Business Park, provided a great opportunity to debate the
important links between digital health products designed for
use by both professional medical providers and consumers.
The conference heard from experts in the fields of sensing technologies, mhealth and the patient experience, Big
Data, product design and funding for digital health businesses. Speakers included senior executives from Google,
The Technology Partnership, and Toumaz Group including academics from UCL. The conference saw a fascinating
demonstration of Google Glass showcasing changing trends in wearable technology.
Crowd Mission outlined the opportunities of raising capital through crowd funding and Government funding resource
Grant Tree highlighted the benefit of R&D tax credits, the enterprise investment scheme and grants to support busi-
ness development.
Rowan Gardner from RowAnalytics said: “The conference pro-
vided a great opportunity to consider a world where healthcare tech-
nology has an impact on professional companies and consumers, and
is making an impact on better health and healthier living.”
We received some great feedback from
delegates via Twitter.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more information about this event please email
Pete Danks, Google
Sharing digital health expertise
Medtech Meets Lifestyle: A New Convergence
Awards update
Hertfordshire Business Awards finalists announced
We are proud sponsors of this year‟s Hertfordshire Business Awards. The 2014 final-
ists are available to view here. The awards ceremony takes place on 27 November.
Rewarding enterprise
A Hertfordshire-based company has helped a self-employed plumber win a national award at a prestig-ious ceremony at the House of Lords. Paul Dolman was nominated for the Enterprising Learning award by employability and skills development provider The Consultancy Home Counties Ltd (TCHC) on 23 October.
Paul was made redundant after spending 10 years working in a power station maintaining, repairing and rectifying faults. After deciding to become a self-employed plumber, Paul signed up for a course run by TCHC which helped him develop a business plan and identify his skills gaps. Click here to read more.
Celebrating creativity
We were delighted to sponsor the Most Innovative Creative Business category at the
inaugural Creative Hertfordshire Flame Awards on 4 October. This year‟s winner was
Trestle Theatre Company. A spokesman for the St Albans based company said it was wonderful to be
recognised as a thriving business both in the community and nationally. Well done to all finalists.
Herts LEP Joan Hancox , left, with the winners on the night
We received some great feedback from
delegates via Twitter.
Apprenticemakers brings together
existing and budding apprentice
employers to help them make the very
best of the opportunity for their
business. Register to receive your free
Apprenticemaker Toolkit and to
connect with other employers, share
the knowledge you've gained as an
apprentice employer and learn from
those that have been through the
process.
Click here to see the Small Busi-
ness Guide to Apprenticeships.
Click here to share your journey.
Apprenticemakers
Green light for Little Hadham bypass and A602 improvements
Redevelopment works for two major roads moved a
step closer after they were granted funding by a new
advisory panel.
Improvements to the A602 and the A120 bypass at
Little Hadham were given the green light for a cash
boost by the Hertfordshire Local Transport Body (LTB).
Andrew Percival, Hertfordshire LEP board member,
said: “We are delighted that through our £200m
Growth Deal we have been able to identify funding for
these vital improvements. Boosting investment in
transport infrastructure is one of the LEP‟s top priorities
and forms a key part of our commitment to provide
local businesses with the environment they need to
thrive.”
Click here to read the full story.
Superfast broadband boost
Businesses at Centennial Business Park in
Borehamwood are celebrating having access to
faster broadband as part of Connected Counties –
the £18.06m partnership to transform internet
speeds for thousands of businesses and residents
in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has also
contributed with an investment of £500,000 making
the roll-out at Centennial Business Park possible.
Faster fibre broadband has already been rolled out
at Maylands Business Park in Hemel Hempstead,
and is under way at Gunnelswood Road in Steve-
nage, as part of the scheme.
Click here to read the full story.
Free English and Maths training now available to upskill workforce
For the first time, fully funded training for English and Maths qualifications is available to all businesses, from start
-ups to FTSE100 giants, to upskill staff and volunteers. Hertford Regional College is leading a consortium of
colleges and private training providers on the Skills Excellence East (SEE) project. This project is aimed at
upskilling the Maths or English levels of the East of England workforce.
To be eligible employees and volunteers have to be aged 19 or over, working for a minimum of eight hours per
week and assessed at working at below level 2. Basic Skills training is fully funded via the European Social Fund.
And small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could be eligible to receive a cash incentive of up to £2,400 to
assist with the upskilling of their workforce.
Herts LEP Paul Witcombe, third left, celebrates the switch-on
Hertfordshire district councils are undergoing a flurry of
activity in releasing Draft Local Plans setting out their
planning policies and preferred site allocations. Our main
concern is whether the balance between employment
and housing helps develop the Hertfordshire economy.
With so much of the focus on new housing impacting on
the Green Belt, the role of designating employment land
tends to get overlooked.
First out of the gate has been East Herts District Coun-
cil which published its Draft Local Plan for consultation in
February. It is currently undertaking a detailed delivery
study which we are supporting.
Next out has been St Albans City and District Council
publishing its draft Strategic Local Plan which is out for
consultation until 23 November. Click here to read more.
Shortly behind, Welwyn Hatfield Council is due to start
consultation of its preferred options in early November.
The main focus has been on the housing site allocations
with an anticipated need for 12,500 new homes by 2031.
Click here to read more.
North Hertfordshire District Council is intending to
consult on its preferred options from December if agreed
by the council at the end of November. The majority of
development focuses on North Hertfordshire‟s towns.
Some of the proposed sites are major new communities
therefore the council will produce masterplans for these.
Click here to read more.
Finally Broxbourne Council is also due to release its
Draft Plan for consultation by the end of the year but no
precise dates for consultation have yet been confirmed.
A1(M) congestion easing moves a step closer
The work with the Highways Agency and Hertfordshire County Council to
promote improvements to the A1(M) has been progressing over the sum-
mer. We supported an evidence study with HCC which highlighted where
the existing problems on the A1(M) were and where problems would occur in
the future. This is now being used by the Highways Agency to develop pro-
posals for improving the A1(M) between junctions 5 and 9 to relieve the
regular congestion on that stretch.
The HA has acknowledged that the work of HCC and others through the A1
(M) Consortium, in terms of sharing the evidence base and supplying infor-
mation, has helped speed up the process and ensure that prospective schemes on the A1(M) are potentially deliv-
erable in a 2015-20 timeframe.
This scheme is now one of over 200 proposals being considered by the Highways Agency and Department for
Transport for road improvement funding.
At the same time HCC has been working on draft schemes to improve the junctions on the A1(M) so that if the HA
scheme goes ahead, we have the proposals ready to deal with more traffic getting on to and off the motorway.
We have secured funding through our Local Growth Deal to continue to support the work of HCC and HA in devel-
oping proposals to reduce congestion along and around the A1(M) and will continue to lobby for further investment
as part of the A1(M) Consortium.
Draft Local Plans unveil key sites for development
Kickstarting the visitor economy - St Albans Cathedral
Hertfordshire‟s cathedral city is often described as a hidden gem. The St Albans Visitor Partnership has been
established to deliver the St Albans Visitor Economy Strategy which will result in a 40 per cent increase in visi-
tor numbers and a knock-on impact on economic growth and jobs throughout the region. Partners come from
the private, public and voluntary sectors, all working together to make St Albans a top visitor destination.
As a key part of delivering this strategy, St Albans Cathedral‟s development project, ‟Alban, Britain‟s First
Saint: Telling the Whole Story„ aims to provide new visitors with a greatly enhanced experience of the Cathe-
dral‟s unique history and heritage. The project will bring modern techniques to the telling of the story behind
the oldest site of Christian worship in Britain, as well as a programme of activities for adults, families and
schools, improved learning spaces in the existing Chapter House and a new welcome centre.
The total project cost is £7.5m. The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the Cathedral a Round 1 pass for a £4.2m
grant in December 2013. The Cathedral is seeking to raise the outstanding £3.3m from trusts and founda-
tions, companies, individuals and local communities over the next 18 months, with a view to submitting a round
2 bid to HLF by no later than March 2016 to secure its funding.
Together with St Albans Museum Trust‟s project to develop the iconic old
town hall, this project will provide a total investment in the St Albans visitor
economy of nearly £14m over the next five years, and act as a catalyst for
economic growth in the city and its surrounding areas. If you would like to
learn more about the Cathedral‟s project, click here or email.
The employer-led Science Industry Partnership (SIP)
has developed an Industry Degree Scheme and
Modular Masters programme, designed to equip
students in science and technology industries with the
practical skills and knowledge that science sector
employers are crying out for.
The degree scheme, which is being delivered in
Hertfordshire by SIP‟s lead partner Cogent in partner-
ship with local universities, including the University of
Hertfordshire, and science and technology industries,
will pair students up with an employer to develop key
practical skills through work placements. This will arm
the student with an enhanced academic record and it
is hoped lead to a job offer with that employer after
graduation. Crucially the partnership with universities
also means employers can plug the skills gap before
graduates enter the workplace.
The SIP Modular Masters programme addresses the
lack of coherent training in Formulation Science and
Technology and is aimed at professionals
already in the workplace to fill any further gaps in
provision as identified by employers.
The SIP has been partly supported by HM Govern-ment with Employer Ownership funding. For more information click here. To find out how the programme can benefit your business, contact Business Development Manager Donna Dainton at Cogent Sector Skills
Council on 01925 515200 Ext 304.
Employers to address the STEMS skills gap for graduates
Meet the Board: Adrian Hawkins
What have been your main business highlights?
Watching the business grow from strength to strength by organic growth and acquisitions, I am proud that one
arm of the business will be celebrating its 90th birthday next year. Forming the Weldability Sif Foundation, which
is now financially supporting both colleges and skills centres across the UK and internationally, to run a recog-
nised Welding and Fabrication Apprenticeship. I have particularly enjoyed developing intuitive tools such as
e-learning and virtual reality learning environments and watching the increased learning curve of students. As
co-founder and chairman of biz4Biz, I have also created an extremely active Hertfordshire business advice and
assistance group.
How are you involved with the Hertfordshire business community?
I am known as a „go to‟ person, and am happy to pass on my knowledge and expertise gained from building my
own business. Biz4Biz has done this through holding forums and meetings with prominent speakers which
enables closer collaboration between Hertfordshire businesses. We are also for the fourth year running support-
ing the Herts Business Awards and are the main sponsors this year. I was instrumental in setting up the Da Vinci
School for Science and Engineering in Stevenage where I have been Chair of the Local Governing Body for the
past two years and a Board Director and Trustee on the North Hertfordshire Studio School Trust.
I also work with a company called Jabbercoms which provides opportunities to Hertfordshire-based young adults
embarking on their careers. I also take an active interest in the Stevenage Community Trust, an independent
charitable trust which raises funds and promotes charitable giving in order to enhance the quality of life for people
living in the area.
What do you feel are the most important issues for business growth in Hertfordshire?
Our county is a 20-minute train ride to our capital city and university cities of Cambridge and Oxford; we need to
exploit this to the best of our ability. Widening the A1(M) between Welwyn and Stevenage would ease the frus-
trations of drivers going to and from London, supporting new and existing businesses with an extensive support
network, developing localism and ensuring our „industrial areas‟ remain industrial, and continuing to be vibrant.
What difference do you think the LEP will make?
The Board Members, through interview, are selected for their knowledge and expertise and, therefore, as a group
we can be a „force to be reckoned with‟ on those projects the LEP has decided to support. For the first time the
business community can support its local governing bodies with developing services and education within our
locality for the benefit of the residents and businesses of Hertfordshire.
If you could wave a magic wand, what single thing would you want to see happen in Hertfordshire?
Hertfordshire being seen as the number one place to work, rest and play.
You’re the LEP Board’s newest member, what made you want to get
involved?
I have lived in Hertfordshire all my life and have enjoyed the process of building
my business here, during the past 37 years. Approximately five years ago I
co-founded biz4Biz and I now have a vast number of business connections in
Hertfordshire. I wanted to be involved with the LEP to be able to help others by
using my business knowledge and expertise.
