Office Manager Sarah Taylor woke up one morning and decided to get fit - now she’s preparing for one of the most daunting challenges of her life, running her first marathon.

Sarah works for TechConsult UK Ltd, which is based at The Wilton Centre near Redcar, Teesside, and provides skilled men and women for companies operating within the offshore, fabrication and maintenance, process, shipbuilding, and civil engineering industries.

The Very Reverend Chris Dalliston, Dean of Newcastle welcome the Government announcemnt this week on partially addressing the issue created in the budget announcement to remove VAT exemptions for alteration to listed buildings.   

 In an agreement struct between the government and the Church of England, £30M of extra money will be made available to the £12M already earmarked for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS).

The Rt Rev Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham, today (Wednesday May 16) delivered his House of Lords Maiden Speech in which he praised the North East’s sense of innovation but appealed for more to be done to boost business confidence and for the region to be given more support in areas such as construction and skills. His comments include references to ‘the Gracious Speech,’ which is the speech delivered to Parliament by the Queen on behalf of the Government, and the ‘Budget Red Book‘, which contains Government budgetary proposals.
He said: “The North East was a centre of regeneration and human flourishing in the Dark Ages, a light across northern Europe of learning and the re-founding of knowledge. It has been, over the centuries, one of the centres of the economic life of this country and if it has one significant problem today it is that people begin too many sentences with, “the trouble with the North East”, when, in fact, it is not a problem to be solved but one of the great assets of the country.

“It is an area of innovation and exporting, the only region with a balance of trade surplus. In recent months we have seen the growth of the car plant at Nissan, which with the latest investment announced a few weeks back will employ 6,000 people. Last year Hitachi announced a train assembly plant within a few miles of where Stephenson built the Rocket. A few weeks back steel production began again on Teesside at the SSI plant, where it had stopped last year, finding jobs again for up to 1,500 people. But all this takes place against the grim economic background which the Gracious Speech recognises and which was the context of the Budget Red Book.”

He said that action was needed to encourage companies which had funds to invest, adding: “It is being hoarded not because it is needed imminently to repay debt but out of lack of confidence. Both the Gracious Speech and the Budget Red Book emphasise the importance of exports and investment, but the major constraints in the North East are not imagination or determination to achieve those ends, but confidence and skills. Already with even the very marginal recovery in export led manufacturing of the last two years, skill shortages are emerging in engineering. Skills are taught not in classrooms alone but by the motivation of job observation and work experience combined with technical teaching and vocational learning. “I have the privilege of being patron of the Northern Echo’s ‘Jobs Campaign ‘, which aims to create and find a thousand apprenticeships and internships over the next 12 months in the Darlington Region for exactly this reason. Confidence is not something that comes from words alone, but from signs of action that enable others to feel that if they don’t get moving they will get behind.”

Calling for more investment in construction, in areas such as renovations of listed buildings, he said: “Here, and in areas of the public service, there are what President Obama calls ‘shovel ready projects’, which could be brought rapidly into reality if a certain amount of money were allocated to projects where contracts could be started within six months. Cranes build confidence as well as buildings.

He said: “ This morning I was talking to the Chief Executive of the Northeast Chamber of Commerce and was delighted to learn of a regional company in the Subsea sector manufacturing remotely operated vehicles who created 500 jobs over the last 5 years.”

In the preparation notes for today’s maiden speech [attached] Bishop Justin further commented: “Some weeks ago I attended a ceremony in Newton Aycliffe where the owner of EBAC, a major manufacturer of water coolers and other office equipment, gave his company to a Trust, which will be to the benefit of the community and its staff to ensure its continued existence. That company is worth approximately £30 Million, exhibiting the kind of flourishing of community that comes from confidence.” Summing up his maiden speech he concluded: “Such flourishing is the most effective answer to the differentials in life expectancy, to the issues of family life, to the numbers of people dependant on food banks, to the issues of mental health and of human well-being that are faced across our region. The Gracious Speech focuses much on the need for renewed growth and vitality in our economy. They will not come through exhortation alone but must come through action and leadership.”

As part of the work that we have been doing in the US and India over the last few months we are looking for a mobile technology software development Associate based in the UK.

Emerging Technologies in the mobile and cloud based technology spaces, will dramatically change the way businesses engage with their customers ... we plan to exploiting these technologies to the full.

The Bishop-Designate of Durham, the Very Reverend Justin Welby, provides insights into his beliefs and his approach to his recent appointment in a new film.
 
The Bishop Designate was formally announced on June 2 and the film describes how he is looking forward to bringing about a sense of renewal in the Church of England in the Durham Diocese.
 
During a series of interviews, the current Dean of Liverpool explains what led him to serve God, his views on the task that lies ahead when he formally takes over as Bishop later this year and his approach to some of the more controversial subjects facing the Church.   
He also discusses the way ahead for the diocese during a conversation with Bishop Mark Bryant, of Jarrow, with whom he will be working closely and with whom he has previously worked.
 
Made by Aegies Associates for the Diocese, the film can be viewed on our YouTube page here:


Or Viewed here:

The new Bishop Designate of Durham was announced today – on Ascension Day, one of the most important days in the Christian calendar. The Very Revd Justin Welby is currently Dean of Liverpool where he was appointed in December 2007. 

North East England recruitment company TechConsult UK is expanding into the Asian market and has already placed a number of workers on projects in Singapore and Malaysia.

Aegies Associates Ltd have been appointed by UKTi to support the export efforts of Livington Mines, Clevelend based manufacturer of boutique pampering and health products.

Following on from a series of meetings during January and February 2011, Aegies Associates will act as the Virtual Export Managers for the Cleveland business over the next 12 months.

Aegies Associates have launched a program of workshops and one 2 one mentoring services as part of the UKTi VEM program.

approved providers to the UKTi program, Aegies Associates want to be able to give direct export advise to organisations throughout the North East.

As Managing director Keith Blundy said: "access to the correct advise when considering moving into, or extending export markets is critical. Typically this can be difficult to access or so expensive that it precludes mny organisations from even considering it. Now we can deliver this advise either one 2 one support or to a small group of like minded companies who want to share the costs and the experience". Companies can get export management consultancy at £150 per day or share that cost and advise at a fraction of the cost, meaning that there is no excuse not to have a look at the export opportunities that might be available to them. Keith said: "we are really excited and want to try to help as many business as possible at this difficult time in the UK economy". Interested businesses should contact Keith on 01325 301220 / 07900 583131 Or by email Keith.Blundy@aegies.com

Aegies Associates have recently been approved to deliver the help for the  Virtual Export Manager (VEM) program run by the UKTi.

Our inclusion on the service provider register of approved specialists for delivery of the UTKi VEM program means that we will now be able to offer international business and export advice to businesses in the North East of England.