We love it when businesses send us their good news and here’s our latest good news round-up, kindly sponsored by PALADIN. Awards, expansion, new contracts or new appointments, if you’ve got some good news you want to share please email the editor, Martin Shaw, on martin@huddersfieldhub.co.uk.
One of Huddersfield’s leading high technology companies has just taken on six new apprentices.
Lepton-based Reliance Precision makes specialist engineering parts for machinery working in the toughest climates.
This includes space, under-sea craft, aerospace and unmanned vehicles along with vital components and production assembly systems for businesses.
In recent years Reliance has grown into new sectors such as satellites, bionic prosthetics and DNA analysis instruments.
The six new apprentices it has taken on are Felix Watson-Evans, George Brook, Joshua Ellis, Han Barden-Nash, Sam Freudemann and Harry Baxter.
All have recently left local high schools including Honley High, King James’, Holmfirth High, Shelley College, Moor End Academy and Huddersfield Grammar School.
Ahead of their start-date the apprentices were invited to an opening evening with their parents so they could get to know each other and learn more about Reliance.
Training school manager Robert Farrell said: “Reliance Precision is dedicated to providing its apprentices with a rich learning experience, mentorship and opportunities to apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios. Our goal is to equip them with the skills and expertise needed to excel in the ever-evolving field of engineering.”
Applications for Reliance’s 2024 Apprenticeship Scheme intake will open in January 2024. For more information go to www.reliance.co.uk/apprenticeship-scheme.
Schofield Sweeney has welcomed its first group of new solicitor apprentices. Five aspiring lawyers, who have just completed their A-levels, join various teams across its offices as the firm pledges to provide better opportunities and routes into law.
The lawyers of the future who start their six-year apprenticeship are Eesa Ubaid Rizwan, Paige Hunt, Katie Cage, Priya Kaur Sunner and Rebecca Foster.
The new apprentices will spend the first two years in a team before moving to other departments in years three and four. They will then decide on their chosen area of qualification for years five and six. This structure differentiates the programme from other law firms as it exposes them to different areas of law on their journey.
On completion, the individuals will have an LLB (Hons) Law and Legal Practice degree through BPP and go on to complete the Solicitor Qualifying Exams (SQEs) which, once passed, will see them qualify as a solicitor.
The firm has a proven track record of developing solicitor apprentices, as well as those in other disciplines such as IT and Business Administration. The new cohort takes the total number of apprentices employed currently to ten, demonstrating the firm’s investment into people.
HR director Neil Towse said: “We were keen to establish a programme for apprentices which meant they joined as a group and would then spend the next six years together, much in the same way as our trainees progress through their training contract, supporting and helping one another.
“We think that the apprenticeship programme is a fantastic way of helping people into the profession who may otherwise not have had the opportunity to do so.
“We know that qualifying through an apprenticeship works for both the apprentice and for the firm and we are committed to continuing and developing this programme in the future.”
Gaining academic knowledge is only part of the process to becoming a lawyer. The apprentices will gain hands-on work experience, together with a solid commercial understanding at an early stage of their careers, which will prove to be invaluable.
Partner Simon Glazebrook said: “Each of the individuals who have started this programme thoroughly deserve their place. We are excited about what they will bring to the firm and how they will develop and grow both during their apprenticeship and once they have qualified.”
The Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce has unveiled the latest addition to its roster of Patrons for 2023 – Five Talents, a Halifax-based creative design and marketing agency.
The Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce is one of 53 accredited chambers by the British Chambers of Commerce and aims to connect, support and represent its members across Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield.
Five Talents, which was founded in 2000, works with a range of B2B and B2C brands, including White Rose Maths, cottages.com and Fibrelite. It specialises in creative solutions that seamlessly encapsulate a brand’s essence, ignite consumer engagement and help businesses to grow.
Five Talents’ induction as a Patron into the Mid Yorkshire Chamber’s prestigious fold, exemplifies its dedication to nurturing local business innovation.
Its presence joins an array of likeminded organisations, including existing Patrons Eaton Smith Solicitors, Huddersfield Giants, John Smith’s Stadium, Leeds Beckett University, Rybrook Jaguar Land Rover Huddersfield, The Piece Hall, Theatre Royal Wakefield and Wakefield Trinity.
Martin Hathaway, managing director of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber, said: “We are thrilled to extend a warm welcome to Five Talents as the newest member of our Patronage team.
“Their dedication to producing creative ideas that empower businesses to flourish resonates deeply with our vision. We believe that this partnership will infuse a fresh dynamic of innovation and creativity into our Patronage.”
As part of this vibrant collaboration, the chamber will provide a platform for Five Talents to engage with the local business community, fostering meaningful connections and avenues for it to showcase its unique expertise in delivering projects of varying scales – be it small-scale endeavours or large-scale, multi-channel campaigns.
Adrian Prosser, founder and managing director at Five Talents, said: “Becoming a Patron is a great opportunity for us to collaborate with the chamber and its members.
“Our team offers a wide range of creative ideas for helping start-ups get their businesses up and running to implementing large-scale digital solutions for corporate clients.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to solve problems, communicate effectively, and produce stand out creative and have some fun on the journey. We are very proud of our Yorkshire roots and the local businesses we help achieve success.”
For additional information regarding the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and its Patrons, please visit www.my-chamber.co.uk. For more information on Five Talents, please visit: www.fivetalents.co.uk.
Strategic brand consultancy — The Engine Room — has scooped a series of health briefs, as the 21-year-old firm’s presence in the sector continues to grow, worldwide.
The Mirfield-headquartered agency has been re-appointed by medical diagnostics specialist, 2San. Having experienced significant expansion through the sale of Covid tests, the global firm approached The Engine Room, post-pandemic, with a range of new ‘at home’ wellness and female health kits.
With a packaging design project already complete to accelerate 2San’s B2B routes to market, The Engine Room has now turned its attention to the launch of a consumer-facing brand.
This adds to the strategic rebrand — including renaming — of NHS healthtech firm, Mizaic (formerly IMMJ Systems). Having already provided electronic document management technology to a number of Trusts nationwide, the business — under the steer of a new CEO and senior leadership team — approached The Engine Room to help consolidate and reposition the brand, as it advances its support to digitise the NHS.
Former client ADL Smartcare — trailblazers in the provision of evidence-based data, research and intelligence on age-related decline — has engaged The Engine Room to rebrand The Lifecurve.
The LifeCurve is a simple idea and an app-based toolkit, specially developed to empower people to take better care of their bodies as they approach key markers in their life, and consequently reduce pressure on the NHS as the population ages.
Meanwhile, Leeds GP Confederation — who originally approached The Engine Room to develop its training offer — has undertaken a values-based positioning project. Acknowledging the organisation’s range of services and complex cross-sell potential across a staggering 92 different practices, The Engine Room advised the firm to take a step back.
The brief has therefore morphed into a project to redefine its purpose, principles and personality, review its brand architecture, and map its full service offering. By helping GP Confederation visualise its multifaceted structure — a vast comms challenge in itself — the goal is to drive greater advocacy and understanding of the organisation’s work, in turn better supporting the GPs they are here to serve.
The launch of a new online magazine created by surgeons, for surgeons, completes the five-strong project line-up. Surgery International — a digital resource rich with insights, trends and thought leadership articles — represents a new brand that The Engine Room has built from the bottom up, with the potential for it to become a revenue-generating asset with real estate for commercial sponsorships and ad placements, moving forward.
Commenting on the influx of work in the health sector, The Engine Room’s founder and design director Darren Evans said: “We have long been passionate about using brand to drive change when it comes to the health, wellness and social care in society, and our extensive credentials in this complex field — not to mention deep-rooted understanding of global terminology, regulatory landscape and societal challenges — now see us support a growing number of public and private sector brands with important change agendas.
“Innovation is continually bringing new products and services to market, and brand naturally plays its part. But as the needs of the general public — and pressures on the health service — further evolve, it’s also important to redesign processes and propositions too.”
‘Design for society’ is an important pillar of The Engine Room’s own proposition. The team is therefore no stranger to the health and medtech sectors, having long worked alongside global scalp cooling pioneers Paxman and CareFusion — which went on to be acquired by BD. An additional two projects — yet to be publicly disclosed — are also in the studio’s pipeline.
With over 125 years’ combined experience in the team, the consultancy has doubled its headcount in the last three years — particularly strengthening its motion graphics and senior creative expertise. Net profit has also doubled during that time.
Slaithwaite-based natural dog food company Dragonfly Products is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a special event on Saturday September 16 (9am-5pm).
The company, based at Kiln Hill, will open its doors to customers and their pets for a paw-ty like no other. Highlights include pet photography, puppacinos, fancy dress and a dog treat lucky dip.
There will also be a raffle to raise money for the RSPCA (Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford branch).
Company founder Laura Lambert said: “It’s incredible to reflect on five years of spreading joy and tail wags.
“Our mission has always been to create products and experiences that enhance the lives of our dogs, and this celebration is a testament to how important our dogs are to us.”
