For the third successive year, BRM Solicitors has joined forces with Macmillan Cancer Support to exclusively offer a free will writing service during September and October to support Macmillan in Chesterfield.

Including Gift Aid donations, the Chesterfield law firm has so far raised over £30,000 for the Macmillan appeal to help build the NGS Macmillan Unit Appeal, at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. With the centre now open, the firm is continuing its support by getting behind Macmillan’s ongoing work in the region to provide better cancer care.

Over the two months, BRM Solicitors will waive its fees, and instead will encourage clients to make a voluntary donation of £75 per single will and £150 per double will to the Chesterfield Royal Macmillan Cancer Centre.

Over the next few years, Macmillan will be investing a significant amount of money to fund new projects and health professionals at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and elsewhere in Derbyshire. For example,  funding the Welfare Rights Service at the new NGS Macmillan Unit.

Rob Woodhead, Head of Wills and Probate at BRM Solicitors, says:-

“We are very proud that BRM and its clients were able to make a significant contribution in funding the construction of the new centre. Now that the doors are open, we hope that our partnership with Macmillan can help to improve the services and support available to local people affected by cancer.”

Due to the overwhelming success of the partnership between the two Champion organisations, the firm has committed to run the free wills service alongside Macmillan Cancer Support in September and October, for the next two years.

Rob Turner, Local Fundraising Manager at Macmillan, says:-

“For every person who takes part in this scheme, your donations will automatically be restricted to fund the Macmillan Services based at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, or on Macmillan grants to people living with cancer in the Chesterfield area.”

World-leading creative and innovative projects which can tap into a new £15million cultural regeneration fund are being called for by the Sheffield City Region (SCR).

The SCR’S business arm, the Local Enterprise Partnership, today put out a ‘call’ for proposals to access the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund and help build a lasting regional legacy from the Great Exhibition of the North next year.

The fund will make grants of up to £4 million for major cultural and tech projects to be included in next year’s exhibition, helping pave the way for future investment in the Northern Powerhouse.

The Great Exhibition, in Newcastle from next June to September, is set to be the biggest event in England in 2018. It will showcase world-class art, culture, design and innovation from the North.

It will demonstrate to the world how the North of England’s great art and culture, design and innovation has shaped our lives and is building the economy of tomorrow.

The Local Enterprise Partnership has been asked by the Government to co-ordinate proposals locally.

Sir Nigel Knowles, Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership said:-

“This fund can make a huge contribution to the cultural and creative offer of the City Region.

“We’re a region blessed with outstanding creative and cultural talent and are quite rightly recognised for the contribution this sector makes to the economy and our communities.

“But we’re also a city region that doesn’t have some of the iconic physical cultural and creative assets that other parts of the country boast – which means the talent and the opportunity that abounds here don’t always play as central a role as they could do.

“This fund can help us develop some of those assets. We’re entirely open to ideas from across the city region – and the LEP Board looks forward to considering the proposals that come forward”.

Jake Berry, Northern Powerhouse Minister, said:-

“The North is a cultural powerhouse, as well an economic one, and this £15 million fund will give a boost to the region’s vibrant culture and tech sectors.”

Chesterfield Champions, Handelsbanken Chesterfield, has appointed a new Individual Banking Manager in response to increasing demand for its local relationship banking services.

Samantha Halifax has joined the fast-growing relationship bank and will be involved in developing existing customer relationships as well as welcoming new customers to Handelsbanken’s bespoke approach to local banking.

A strong focus on long-term relationships and high levels of personal service has seen the bank rated top for customer satisfaction eight years running in an independent survey of British banks’ personal and business customers. Branches are responsible for making all day-to-day banking decisions based solely on their customers’ requirements, free from product and lending targets or bonus incentives.

Samantha commented:-

“What attracted me to Handelsbanken was its strong culture and high sense of customer value. Our customers appreciate a long-term banking relationship, where decisions are made locally in the branch and where they are always made to feel valued. We constantly strive to satisfy customers with high levels of service and sensible, bespoke solutions.”

The branch, established in 2012 and located on Spire Walk Business Park, has developed a reputation for traditional banking, financial strength and high standards within the local business and professional services community.

Phil Walker, Branch Manager at Handelsbanken Chesterfield, added:-

“I am very pleased to welcome Sam to our team. It is great to be able to give this opportunity to someone who has always lived in Chesterfield and therefore knows the town so well, as our customers value local, personal relationships.

“Her appointment means that we can continue to meet the growing needs of both existing and new customers in our area, whilst maintaining the high levels of service for which we are renowned.”

Originally from Sweden, Handelsbanken now has over 800 branches in more than 20 countries and was named the world’s fourth safest commercial bank, by Global Finance magazine.

Small to medium Chesterfield businesses are being invited to access expert help to attract, select, recruit and train graduates through a city region-wide funded scheme.

The Sheffield City Region RISE graduate recruitment programme is delivered in partnership with the SCR Growth Hub, University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and the private sector.

It aims to connect growing businesses with ambitious graduates – and take the hassle out of recruitment. Local organisations that have been involved in the project to date include Chesterfield Champions Casa Hotel and Global Brands.

Kylie Cook, RISE Project Manager, said:-

“RISE has had a fantastic year so far, supporting more than 50 businesses to take on graduates across the region. We work with all sectors and disciplines, and are excited to hear from more SMEs who want to join the final round of 2017. From digital marketing to design engineering, there’s not many roles we haven’t helped to fill in the past.”

Business can participate in RISE, whether they want to appoint a graduate to a six month internship or a permanent post with a six-month probationary period. The only eligibility criteria is that they have less than 250 employees and are based in the Sheffield City Region.

The organisation must commit to an excellent induction, management support, salary and appraisal package. In return, they can access a fully-funded recruitment programme to help manage the process and ensure the best possible result for both employer and employee – plus there’s a £1,000 wage subsidy available.

To find out more about the RISE project click here. The deadline for applications to get involved is September 27th.

Companies are being asked to what extent they want to work with schools to improve employability of ‘leavers’.

The lack of basic skills demonstrated by ‘leavers’ but demanded by employers is a perennial complaint of recruiters.

But little has been done over the years to ensure young people have even the basic skills required by potential employees, including maths, English and the ability to communicate on the phone and solve simple problems.

In its Quarterly Economic Survey for the third quarter of 2017, East Midlands Chamber is asking firms about their experiences of trying to engage with schools for work experience, mentoring, work placements for pupils and teachers and more.

Launched today on the 21 August, the latest survey asks firms in what ways they would consider engaging with schools, from having staff who are school governors, to taking part in careers fairs, participating in classroom-based teaching activities, offering interview training and more.

Chris Hobson, Director of Policy at the Chamber, said:-

“Our survey results for the second quarter of 2017 revealed that two-thirds of firms wanted to recruit new workers but two-thirds of those companies struggled to find suitably skilled staff.

“This has been a problem identified by employers for surveys going back a long, long time. It has gained higher profile in recent years but we want to do is see if there has been any success in closing the skills gap and what levels of engagement employers feel they need to make sure youngsters leaving education have the skills they seek.”

To take part in the survey, visit http://bit.ly/2fYTN9c.

Chamber strategic partner bmi regional is offering two return flights from Birmingham to Nuremburg as a draw prize for completing the Q3 QES. The winners will be advised on 14 September and the tickets will be valid until 31 March.

Earlier this year, bmi regional created a new hub at Birmingham Airport, launching three new European routes from the UK’s second city to Graz, Gothenburg and Nuremberg, to provide improved connectivity to and from the East Midlands.