Monthly Archives: June 2024

News

Primary school lessons for ALN children will be great outdoors thanks to wildlife donation

LESSONS at a primary school will be great outdoors thanks to a generous donation from Coleg Cambria.

The college donated bat houses, birdboxes, and mud kitchens to Ysgol Rhosymedre, near Wrexham.

The equipment was built by Entry to Construction learners at Cambria’s Bersham Road site and will be used by Reception pupils and children with additional learning needs (ALN).

Lecturer in Foundation Construction Amy Rowlands made the presentation along with colleague Edd Young and students Joe Dempsey and Zac Sprason-Jones.

“Every year we make outdoor learning equipment and items such as bat houses and birdboxes, which inspire conservation, and give them to different schools in the area,” said Amy.

“This year we chose Rhosymedre as my son attended the ALN unit there, it’s a fantastic school so we wanted to give something back.

“They were delighted to receive the donation, and we were only too pleased to help.”

She added: “The entry learners at Bersham designed, built and painted everything, which has been a great experience for them, giving back to their local community and enhancing their skills – they did an amazing job.”

Visit www.cambria.ac.uk for the latest news and information from Coleg Cambria.

Technology

How to block bad actors and become more cyber resilient

By Sam Woodcock, Director of Cloud Strategy and Enablement at 11:11 Systems 

As a wise man once said, a failure to plan is a plan to fail. This is especially true in the world of cybersecurity, where it is all but inevitable that an organisation will face a security incident. According to the 2024 Data Protection Trends report from Veeam, ransomware is the leading type of cyber crime, due to its lucrative nature. Cyber criminals have found that stealing, encrypting and selling data back to their victims is highly profitable, which has led to ransomware becoming a billion-dollar industry. Between ransom payments, maintenance, and lost business due to downtime, the average ransomware attack costs a business around £3.5 million.  

According to Veeam, 75% of businesses experienced a ransomware attack in 2023, making it more likely than not that an organisation will be a victim. This threat is not going to stop any time soon, the key for organisations is to make sure they have proactive  measures in place to minimise and even prevent the damage these attacks can cause. This means that  decision makers must aim for a high degree of cyber resilience, allowing them to weather the storm of an attack, and there are a number of ways to achieve this. 

Preventative measures 

One key point to consider is having a multi-layered approach. This includes preventative measures, to reduce the risk of suffering an attack in the first place, and reactive risk controls, which focus more on speed and completeness of recovery. 

In terms of preventative measures, one very simple yet extremely effective security feature is two factor authentication. Business email compromises and stolen credentials are some of the most common ways hackers gain access to secure systems. This can be accomplished through sophisticated social engineering, using tactics like phishing, as the human element of any system is usually the weakest link. Two factor authentication essentially robs hackers of the power to use stolen email addresses and passwords, which goes a long way to stopping ransomware attacks before they happen. 

Another key tool in the security toolbox is anomaly detection. Say, for example, someone logs into a secure system from the UK, and then an hour later attempts another login from the United States. This is an obvious case of an unlikely scenario, and shows that one of these attempts is fraudulent. Anomaly detection can be easily automated, taking some pressure off security teams, and will allow for these attacks to be blocked before the cybercriminal even gains access to the system. 

Reactive risk controls 

While it would be nice to prevent 100% of security incidents, this is unfortunately not possible. There will always be some hackers who get lucky, or find an overlooked chink in a system’s armour. Therefore, it is essential to have a recovery plan that will allow organisations to minimise the impact of ransomware attacks. 

Everyone working in the security space knows that backups of your important data are vital. However, cyber criminals know this too, and will go after backups first before encrypting the main data, ensuring they can get the maximum value out of it. Therefore, it is no longer enough to just have a single backup. The golden rule is ‘3-2-1’, meaning three copies of data, on two different storage mediums, with one off site. It is also recommended that a copy is stored in an air-gapped ‘clean room’, meaning it cannot be accessed via any network. 

Something else that is vital to cyber resilience is making sure backups are immutable. This means that the backups cannot be modified or deleted for a set amount of time. This prevents any data from being accidentally or intentionally lost, and ensures it is there when needed for recovery.  

One extra layer to this is that some systems have data immutability at the application level, meaning users cannot change the data. This is good for preventing employees from accidentally deleting key data, or for preventing hackers using compromised credentials, however this is not usually enough. Cyber criminals are generally quite tenacious, and will go deeper than just the application. Therefore, it is vital that the data is immutable at the storage level, meaning that even with access to the storage medium, the data cannot be tampered with. 

Resilience beats ransomware 

Ransomware attacks are a reality that will affect every organisation at some point, no matter the size. The attacks have far-reaching consequences, even beyond the immediate downtime and disruption of services. Leaked data that includes passwords and usernames can form the basis of future attacks, meaning that preventing one attack also prevents likely future incidents. There is also the added damage to an organisation’s reputation as a result of data breaches, as well as fines incurred from regulatory bodies. 

Having a solid, well tested, and flexible backup strategy is the key to cyber resilience, and is vital in preventing huge losses that can amount to way more  than just revenue. Blocking bad actors from the outset is the best defence against the ever-growing ransomware threat.

Business News, Community News

Swansea Building Society Sponsors Swansea City FC for 2024/25 Season

Swansea Building Society has reaffirmed its support for Swansea City Football Club with a renewed partnership for the 2024/25 season. As part of this commitment, Swansea Building Society will continue as the back of shirt sponsor, ensuring their logo features prominently on both the home and away kits.

Building on a successful four-year sponsorship deal with the Championship team, Swansea Building Society’s ongoing commitment solidifies the close ties between both organisations.

In a change to previous years, Swansea Building Society’s logo will appear slightly differently on the 2024/25 season away kit. While allowing the Society’s colours of green and white to stand proud on the home shirt, a colour change will appear on the away shirt to provide a fully immersive kit. The logo will be greyscale on the away shirt, aligning with the overall kit design and matching the new colour scheme adopted by all logos and sponsors. This change ensures a cohesive and stylish look for the team while on the road.

The partnership between Swansea Building Society and Swansea City AFC has flourished over recent years, with the Society providing valuable sponsorships to support the club’s success. Notably, the executive lounge at the Swansea.com stadium was renamed the Swansea Building Society lounge in recognition of this enduring collaboration.

Swansea Building Society has a long history of serving the South Wales area, offering a range of savings and mortgage products since its founding as a mutual in 1923. With its headquarters in Swansea and branch offices in Mumbles, Carmarthen, and Cowbridge, Swansea Building Society has become an integral part of the community, embodying a personal, face-to-face approach that caters to the unique needs of its members.

For over a century now, both Swansea Building Society and Swansea City AFC have played crucial roles in the fabric of Swansea’s history and growth. The Society celebrated its centenary last year, and it is 100 years since Swansea Town, as the football club was known at the time, earned its first league honour in 1924. Since then, both organisations have thrived, achieving significant milestones and contributing to the prosperity of the Swansea community.

Alun Williams, Chief Executive of Swansea Building Society, said:

“We are thrilled to renew our support as the back of shirt sponsor for Swansea City AFC for the 2024/25 season. Our longstanding partnership with the club highlights our shared dedication to the Swansea community. This year, with the new colours on the away kit, we continue to reflect our innovative spirit and commitment to the club’s success. We look forward to another exciting season and wish the team all the best on and off the field.”

Lee Merrells, Head of Partnerships at Swansea City AFC, added:

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with Swansea Building Society for the upcoming season. Their ongoing support is invaluable to us, and their presence on our kits exemplifies the strong bond between the club and the community. The updated colours for the away shirts not only enhance the overall design but also demonstrate our collaborative efforts to bring fresh and cohesive aesthetics to our fans. We are excited about the season ahead and the continued success of our partnership with Swansea Building Society.”

Awards

Coleg Glynllifon students awarded certificates for work on railways

Coleg Glynllifon students have been awarded certificates in recognition of their work experience on the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways.

 

As a group, the students have completed an outstanding 800 hours of work experience from last November to May this year.

 

The railways’ work placement officer, Erfyl Williams said: “It is our second year working with Coleg Glynllifon and it has been great to see the group’s confidence growing each week.

 

“They have been able to develop their social skills and team building as well as learning some practical line side and track work skills. All of these things help prepare them for the world of work.”

 

Anyone wishing to volunteer on the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways is asked visit https://www.festrail.co.uk/volunteering/ .

Awards, Manchester, News, Technology

Hospitality provider behind Wimbledon among winners celebrated at new national innovation awards

Ten leading UK companies and individuals have been celebrated for their innovative new ways of working at a prestigious new award ceremony.

The inaugural Improvement Awards, which were hosted in the new Manchester offices of global technology company SafetyCulture, champion businesses that are driving improvement through digital transformation.

Nearly 50 guests attended the exclusive ceremony, which included businesses in the engineering, manufacturing, construction, and hospitality sectors. Former British Olympic sprinter Derek Redmond also gave a speech on achieving excellence.

The big winner of the night was Levy UK + Ireland, the leading hospitality company within Compass Group, which provides food and drink to Wimbledon and other legendary venues and events across Europe.

Levy scooped the Digital Transformation Award for best overall improved ways of working, as well as the Improvement Impact award for its ‘paperless’ initiative across more than 40 venues which saved more than 600,000 pieces of paper and £3.3 million in 2023. The company’s move to app-based processes is part of its ambitions to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2027.

Other winners celebrated at the ceremony included:

  • NiftyLift, the Milton Keynes-headquartered manufacturer of mobile elevating work platforms, which won the Innovation Award for its creative use of digital technology;
  • Altrad, the global construction engineering company, in the Best Newcomer category for its new, fully paperless client site at a leading power station;
  • ERH Communications, the Newport-based civil engineering and communications company, was named Best SME with fewer than 1,000 employees;
  • William Hare Group, the £170m-turnover structural steel engineering group headquartered in Bury, won the Best Enterprise category for businesses with more than 1,000 employees;
  • The London-based United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), based in City of London, picked up the Future Skills Award which celebrates leaders in upskilling and training;
  • Aviva, the multinational insurance company which employs 23,000 people, won the Partner of the Year award for a SafetyCulture partner with a long-term commitment to continuous improvement.

The SafetyCulture Improvement Awards 2024 also named three individuals who have been instrumental in driving forward innovation in their company. Mark Murphy, chief risk officer at Scottish timber merchant Donaldson Group, and Anna Giusti, quality infrastructure analyst at Norway-headquartered seafood company MOWI, were both celebrated for their passion for innovation, digital transformation, and health and safety.

Finally, Andrew Coles from Gillingham-based building and facilities management company Medway Norse, was named Voice of the Frontline, a category which rewards people who have led positive change for frontline workers in their organisation.

Congratulating the award winners, Alex Brooks-Sykes, SafetyCulture’s lead for UK & Ireland, said: “It has been so inspiring hearing how these businesses are embracing new, better ways of working. What these award winners show is that digitising processes can be win-win—good for employees, profit, safety, and the environment.

“When it comes to improving any business there can be challenges along the way, from getting senior buy-in and securing budget to managing culture change. The key is remembering the bigger vision, and that even small, incremental changes can scale up to make a big impact. Well done to all the winners from everyone at SafetyCulture.”

SafetyCulture’s mobile-first workplace operations platform is used by more than 18,000 UK businesses, including the National Grid, Network Rail, and Transport for London. The SafetyCulture platform enables over a billion checks each year, delivers approximately 75,000 lessons per day, and informs millions of corrective actions.

—

About SafetyCulture

SafetyCulture is a global technology company that helps frontline teams find a better way of working.  Its mobile-first workplace operations platform gives teams the knowledge, tools and confidence they need to meet higher standards, work safely and improve every day.

The SafetyCulture platform powers over a billion checks each year, it delivers approximately 75,000 lessons per day and informs millions of corrective actions. SafetyCulture gives leaders visibility and workers a voice in driving safety, quality, and efficiency improvements.

A recent analysis by Forrester found that SafetyCulture’s flagship products provide a 214% return on investment for customers and $3.6M in cost savings from operational improvements. In the UK, customers of SafetyCulture’s award-winning products include the NHS, National Grid, TfL, Network Rail, DHL, BP Pulse, CBRE, American Golf, and Brentford FC.

https://safetyculture.com/

Business, Employment, FInance, Pensions

What are the political parties’ pension policies and is it enough?

With the general election fast approaching, political parties in the UK have set out the steps they propose to take with regards to pension schemes in their manifestos.

When in government, the Conservative party used the Autumn Statement and Spring Budget to announce their plans to make pensions more productive for the UK economy.

In April, the party applied the triple lock in full to the state pension for 2024-2025 (an 8.5% increase) and confirmed the abolishment of the lifetime allowance, while also proposing measures such as a pension ‘pot for life’ and the consolidation of small defined contribution pension funds.

The Conservative party has reaffirmed its commitment to the triple lock in its manifesto, introducing the ‘Triple Lock Plus’ which ensures that both the state pension and the tax free allowance for pensioners always rise with the highest rate of inflation, earnings or 2.5%.

The majority of the other political parties, from the national Labour and Liberal Democrats parties to the regional parties Plaid Cymru and the SNP who do not have devolved control of pension policy, are also committed to the triple lock.

The exceptions are Reform UK, who did not specifically mention the triple lock within their ‘Contract with the People’, and the Green Party who suggest that they would replace it with a double lock system linked to inflation and earnings, moving to a flat rate of pension tax relief in line with the basic rate of income tax.

Stuart Price, partner and actuary at Quantum Advisory, said: “Pensions are a key policy area for political parties as most voters will receive the state pension and employees are contributing to workplace pensions throughout their professional life.

“The increase in the state pension earlier this year thanks to the triple lock was welcome news for pensioners – a demographic likely to turn out for elections. The triple lock was especially welcomed by those who rely on this as their main source of income and is also an increasingly popular policy decision amongst adults over 40, with a recent survey by My Pension Expert revealing that over half (51%) of respondents stated that a commitment to maintaining the triple lock would significantly influence their voting intentions in the general election.

“Therefore, it is not surprising that many of the political parties across the country have stated within their manifestos that they will retain the triple lock. It is interesting to note that proposals to reform pension schemes are also being highlighted.”

Labour intends to review the pensions landscape and adopt reforms to ensure that workplace pension schemes take advantage of consolidation and scale, increase productive investment and boost the country’s growth. Green finance is also high on the party’s agenda, with a requirement for pension funds to develop and implement transition plans that align with the Paris Agreement, a plan also echoed in the Liberal Democrats and Green Party’s manifestos.

Other suggested reforms include the Liberal Democrats investing in helplines to ensure quicker responses to queries and underpayments for the state pension, the Green Party working closely with the higher education sector to tackle challenges regarding the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and Reform UK aiming to review pension provision and minimise the complexity of the system.

Stuart Price added: “Reforms to pension systems are good political strategies to enable growth and economic prosperity. However, what we really need is a full review of our pension system as it is clear that the younger generation are not saving enough, which will lead to huge problems in the longer term. The only real answer in my opinion is a legislative increase into the minimum contributions required under auto enrolment legislation from say, an 8% total to at least 12%. From what I have seen this is not mentioned in any of the political parties’ manifestos, which is disappointing.”

Business News, Charity & CSR, News

Perane Introduces Historic Legacy Search Service for Charities With One-Stop-Shop Approach

Inheritance recovery specialists Perane have unveiled a new one-stop-shop approach to streamline the coordination required between charities, executors and financial institutions where legacies are divided between a number of organisations.

The aim of the new service is to simplify processes when an individual leaves a residual estate to be divided between various charitable organisations.

If only one or two charities are the beneficiaries the process is relatively straightforward. However, more often than not, it can involve between six to ten different organisations and sometimes more, making the repatriation of funds time consuming and complex.

Specialists Perane and Co will now act as a one-stop-shop for the identification of unclaimed assets, act as a co-ordinator between the various charities and, at the same time, a single point of contact with the executor and financial institutions – simplifying communications and removing the stress from legacy managers and professional or lay executors.

 

Bruce Cane, CEO of Perane, (pictured above) says: “We work with the charities in order to facilitate the disbursement of these legacies. When it involves multiple beneficiaries, it is usual practice for one charity to take the lead and co-ordinate with the remaining parties.

“But navigating a process with increases in the workload for already overstretched and understaffed charities is difficult, which is why Perane can now offer this as a one-stop-shop service, removing stress from all parties involved.”

 

Utilising its in-depth knowledge of the dormant asset landscape and resources, Perane is able to source all the documentation, handle the paperwork and communications between the relevant charities and the executor, providing a professional service to all parties.

 

Cane adds: “We understand that in many cases charities are unfamiliar with what we do because this is new ground for them. Because of the technology we have developed at Perane, we are able to recover assets missed by the executors in the original winding up of an estate.

“There are huge sums involved in lost and dormant legacies, with an estimated £50bn held by financial institutions in unclaimed or lost assets. Perane has recovered and distributed £20m so far, with more funds being identified all the time.

“Our pioneering software enables us to search previously inaccessible databases showing deceased share and pension ownership. To date, we have identified more than £2m left to charitable organisations and we work hard to repatriate unclaimed assets to the charities they were left to.

“We’re always happy to talk to all charities and executors to see if we can facilitate the speedy disbursement of these funds to the organisations they were left to.”

 

If you’d like to know more about Perane, visit our website at https://perane.co.uk/ or call us on 01603 673260.

 

News, Technology

Ransomware: More pressure for transparency

Ransomware: More pressure for transparency
By James Blake, Global Head of Cyber Resiliency GTM Strategy at Cohesity

The recent Synnovis ransomware attack reveals how even critical infrastructures remain vulnerable and how complex and intertwined companies are today. This creates uncertain risks of failure. As a pathology laboratory, Synnovis is closely linked to some hospitals with its pathology services such as blood testing. The ransomware attack on the laboratory forced the affected hospitals to postpone a total of around 800 operations and around 700 outpatient appointments.

As a result politicians in the UK want to ensure companies are more transparent. Initial ideas are being discussed on whether all victims of ransomware attacks should be required to report incidents to the government. Affected businesses should also have to obtain a license before making extortion payments.

A complete ban on ransom payments for organisations involved in critical national infrastructure is also being proposed. The ban is intended to remove the incentive for hackers to disrupt these critical services by preventing them from monetising attacks. This would likely only reduce a subset of attacks though as nation-state actors are focused on destabilisation and destruction over cash reward.

The risk of successful cyberattacks on the well-being and lives of citizens will continue to drive politicians to enact new rules and regulations with the aim of strengthening security levels and cyber resilience. So there is likely to be more to come.

Companies should respond accordingly and create more transparency and control over their data and services internally. The following steps are essential for this:

  • Understanding data precisely: Companies need to know exactly what data they have and what value it has. Only then can they report to the authorities which data was corrupted in a successful attack. Companies must index and classify their data, including classification to their relevant record strategy. 

  • Regulating access: Once the data has been correctly classified, it can automatically enforce rules and rights that regulate access to it. 

  • Survive attacks: In order for a company to be able to create reports for the authorities at all, it must remain able to act. In the worst case scenario, however, nothing will work in the case of ransomware or a wiper attack. The IT teams of CIOs and CISOs will not even be able to react to this attack because all security tools are offline and evidence is encrypted in logs and on the systems. Companies should therefore implement clean room concepts where an emergency set of tools and system and production data is located in order to create emergency operation of the entire IT. This contains all the vital tools for the security teams so that they can begin the essential incident response process. This process is essential to generate correct and meaningful reports for NIS-2, DORA and GDPR violations.

Marches, Shrewsbury

Lorna Bailey ceramics collection sells for £6,500 at Shrewsbury auction

A Shropshire couple’s large collection of more than 250 pieces by contemporary ceramicist Lorna Bailey sold for £6,500, double the pre-sale estimate, at Shropshire’s leading fine art auction house yesterday (Wednesday).

The collection, which included Bailey’s whimsical cat models and ‘grotesque’ models of birds, sold in 40 lots in Halls Fine Art’s 612-lot pictures, ceramics, collectables and modern design auction.

Top price went to ‘Lorna’s Jazz Band’, a set of five cat figures, which made £250, as all the Lorna Bailey lots found buyers.

Stoke-on-Trent potter Bailey’s colour palette is often compared to that of Clarice Cliff’s, who similarly favoured bold and vibrant designs.

Caroline Dennard, Halls Fine Art’s ceramics specialist, said: “We had a mixture of trade and private collectors bidding and achieved really healthy prices which shows that there is demand for this type of model. The vendors are delighted with the result.

“The auction also demonstrated that novelty and good quality art pottery is still commercial.”

More traditional tea and coffee services also sold well. Top prices included £850 for a Ridgway (Cauldon Place) ‘Savoy’ bone china tea service with 43 pieces and £650 for a Minton’s part coffee service, inspired by Christopher Dresser, together with a mid-20th century Wedgwood part coffee and tea service.

A Staffordshire mocha ware mug, circa 1800 and two mid-19th century nursery or children’s mugs also found a new home for £650.

Halls Fine Art’s reputation for being the home of Coalport auctions was underlined as an early 20th century blue batwing service and an assembled group of teawares with the same pattern sold for £650 and £550, respectively.

A 20th century Wedgwood and Barlaston ‘Queen’s Ware’ blue and white embossed tea and coffee service and a Clarice Cliff for Wilkinson Pottery Fantasque vase, ‘Umbrellas and Rain’, sold well at £500 each and four 19th century British art pottery grotesque spoon warmers made £400.

A rare Minton’s lustre cat night-light or pastille burner, believed to have been a protype, found a buyer for £320, while a late 17th or early 18th century Italian maiolica wet drug jar, Montelupo, which was used as a prop by Canadian mural artist Tom Luzny, made £400.

Highlights of the pictures section were a watercolour by William John Wainwright (1855-1931) titled ‘A Troubadour’ and a Rob Hefferan oil on canvas titled ‘Relaxation’ which sold for £550 apiece.

A hand painted sculpture titled ‘Lapwing’ by Guy Taplin (b.1939) and an Olivier Mourgue Djinn sofa for Airborne made £480 apiece. The Djinn seating range was the first furniture to use urethane foam upholstery over tubular steel frames and the model sold was deemed to be so futuristic that it was used by Stanley Kubrick in his 1968 movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’

One of the surprises of the day was a mint collection of 91 DeAgostini Zippo lighters, all in their original boxes with display case, stands and hardback binders, which sold for £700 to a German buyer.

An unusual 19th century brass timepiece by Alexander Smart, London, with its original key and locking device, raced away to sell for £600 for a Newtown seller, a 1960 Rolleiflex 3.5F camera, model 2, with its original leather case, box, papers and attachments, made £550 for an Aberystwyth seller and a Clementi & Company eight-keyed cocuswood flute, from between 1802-‘21, hit the right note at £420.

Samplers sold well. A 17th or early 18th century English ‘stumpwork’ embroidered panel depicting the Old Testament story of Abraham banishing Hagar and Ishmael made £550 and an 1820 needlework sampler by Sarah Greene, decorated with a Baptist verse, sold for £500.

Alexander Clement, Halls Fine Art’s senior general valuer, Asian art and watch specialist, said: “I’m really heartened by the level of interest in the ceramics right across the board which is great credit to the cataloguing of Caroline Dennard.

“The complete collection of DeAgostini Zippo lighters also sold well and I was pleased to see the Rolleiflex camera sell for £550 because it was in really good condition with the original box, papers and leather harness.”

Halls Fine Art’s next pictures, ceramics, collectables and modern design auction is on September 18.

Business News

Globetrotting ex-apprentice now designs bespoke products for luxury yachts

Stuart Bowen is living proof that dreams really do come true for those dedicated to developing their skills and career.

The former Llandrindod Wells student is now the globetrotting technical director of a Mid Wales company which is making waves in the luxury yacht market.

Stuart, 43 and managing director Jack Miller head up Custom Marine Developments (CMD) which provides bespoke engineering solutions for clients in the very high end of the luxury marine market.

With a workforce of 17, the company is based on Abermule Business Park, a few miles from Newtown, where parent company Makefast has its headquarters. Makefast has celebrated its 50th birthday this year.

CMD was launched in 2020 to provide custom products for superyachts, their tenders and dayboats. Bespoke products range from door and window systems, sun awnings and sliding roofs to automated anchor launchers.

The company’s design team works with many of the world’s leading superyacht builders, design houses and management services to provide innovative solutions for new build and retro fit projects.

CMD’s installation team travels the world to install products on superyachts and tenders, which are often a mini replica of the ‘mothership’.

Stuart’s exciting and challenging job is a far cry from doing an Advanced GNVQ in mechanical engineering course at Coleg Powys, the forerunner to NPTC Group of Colleges, as a teenager.

The course led to a place on a Shared Apprenticeship Scheme in 2001 when he first met Makefast, whose owner Bill Brown was also the scheme chairman.

Stuart made such a good impression that he was offered a permanent job in the design team at Makefast, which designs and manufactures equipment for the marine and safety industries.

He spent 16 years with Makefast before he and Jack persuaded Bill to let them launch CMD to fill a gap in the luxury yacht market for customised products. The initial team of five has expanded to 17.

“We are unique in the UK with the specialised services we provide,” explained Stuart. “It’s a really creative environment which is always challenging, with no two days the same.

“We are working with several of the world’s leading superyacht and tender builders. The boats we work on tend to spend the winter in the Caribbean and the summer in the Mediterranean.

“It’s going to be another busy year with three or four big projects coming through and these types of projects can each take from a month to a year to get into production, depending on their complexity. Our ambition is to grow the business and team as much as possible.”

Having benefited from an apprenticeship, Stuart says its rewarding to see CMD now employing two apprentices, with plans to add another with an electrical engineering focus later this year. Current apprentices would like to progress to Degree Apprenticeships to further their knowledge and skills.

“Apprenticeships are very beneficial because you learn in a dynamic work environment much more quickly than going to university,” added Stuart. “With CMD and Makefast, you also get opportunities to travel the world and meet people of different cultures in a work environment

“My advice to this year’s school leavers is to seriously consider the apprenticeship option with a good company. Makefast is a family-run business which has been so supportive to me and it’s a great place to work, with apprenticeship opportunities.”