HIE is calling on businesses across the region to be ‘Business Brave' and take the leap into trading overseas by signing up to its Selling Online International trade workshops. Share The organisation has kicked off a series of free international trade workshops in a bid to support businesses that aspire to sell to overseas markets via the web but lack the knowledge and expertise to do so.
A £5.39m construction contract has been awarded for the development of a new Research and Innovation Campus in Orkney. The campus is a joint venture by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Orkney Islands Council (OIC) who have appointed Kirkwall based R Clouston Limited as the main contractor.
People in 14 communities across the Highlands and Islands are being asked to take part in an online survey on rural banking services. The survey will be used to gather feedback from a broad range of individual households, businesses and community groups in areas expected to be affected by local bank branch closures.
Week Commencing 12th March 2018 Energy & Business services: Crown Estate Scotland has announced that following last September's Contracts for Difference auction, which demonstrated a sharp fall in the cost of offshore wind electricity, it will now consult industry and government on further leasing rounds for offshore wind. Marine Scotland will lead a planning process to identify potential new sites, which will include both fixed and floating offshore wind.
A Caithness engineering and design company has become the first to achieve national accreditation through the region's ‘Cyber Strong' initiative. Thurso based Envision Engineering & Design has been awarded government backed Cyber Essentials certification.
Week Commencing 5th March 2018. Energy & Business services: An interesting update report in today's John O'Groat Journal, which highlights that Fraser Well Management has been appointed to carry out work on the "Wick well" oil field off the Caithness coast at Lybster.
Google's Digital Garage team, which offers free digital training to people of all ages to help them find a job, grow in their career and or business, is coming to four Highlands and Islands campuses this month to give students advice on how best to sell their skills to a new employer. As part of employability month, mentors from Google Digital Garage will travel to Alness, Inverness, Thurso and Kirkwall in Orkney to advise on how you can create a CV that shines.
Work has started to make safe one of the most hazardous materials left at Dounreay. Highly radioactive liquid, known as raffinate, has been stored in tanks for around 20 years after being produced as a by-product of Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) fuel reprocessing.
Applications are now open for up to 50 ambitious entrepreneurs eager to grow their business and learn from one of the world's foremost entrepreneurs. Professor Bill Aulet, managing director of the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will be in Edinburgh this summer for the residential Can Do SCALE summer school which runs from 18 - 20 June.
Norscot, the Highlands and Islands manufacturer of timber frame kits, windows and doors, received the Innovation of the Year Award at the prestigious Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards 2018. The awards, run by Interface, aim to celebrate the achievements of academic and business collaborations and partnerships.
Week commencing 19th February 2018. Energy & Business services: Good to see the installations of pontoons in Wick's Inner Harbour progressing, as part of the construction phase of the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project.
Young people in Caithness will be the first in Scotland to benefit from new Norwegian style learning centres. A network of ‘Newton rooms' in Norway and one in Denmark are used to inspire more young people into careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
Energy & business services: Staff from AGM Batteries were represented at a business breakfast event this week (see communications below), and it is great to see their recent success recognised in today's John o' Groat Journal. The company, which is based on Thurso's Business Park, has been awarded a £1.48 million grant through the UK Government's Faraday Battery Challenge.
Week Commencing 29th January 2018. Energy & business services.
A kit home and window manufacturer with operations in Caithness and Inverness has been shortlisted for a national award for innovation. Norscot is one of three finalists in the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards 2018 Innovation of the Year category, after developing a system for clients to view their new homes on site virtually before building work starts.
Energy & business services: The Scottish Government's Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme is now open for applications. Financial support through the programme has been designed to encourage innovation of both design and business models.
A global software development business with its technology hub based in Orkney is moving to larger premises. Kyloe is set to double its staff in the next few years and has secured £191,250 investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to help it move to a more suitable premises.
A Shetland boat building and engineering company has increased its workforce and is set to expand internationally as orders for workboats grow. Six new jobs have already been created at Malakoff Ltd after opening a new site earlier this year at Greenhead Base in Lerwick.
A £60m fund to keep Scotland at the forefront of low carbon innovation is now open for applications. The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) will fund large scale projects which support the ambitions of the Scottish Government's new Scotland's Energy Strategy, which was published in December 2017.
Week commencing 15th January 2018 Enabling activities: It is always great to see an innovative Caithness company being recognised - this time Norscot Joinery, whose partnership with Strathclyde University through the Interface programme, is up for Innovation of the Year in the 2018 Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards. http://www.bqlive.co.uk/scotland/2018/01/11/news/scottish-knowledge-exchange-awards-finalists-announced-29865/ Business Gateway (managed in the Highlands by CNSRP partner the Highland Council) will be running two workshops for businesses interested in boosting their digital profile.
