Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will report on a year of record investment in the Highland economy when it delivers its annual review to the May board meeting on May 15th. Head of strategic planning and research, Alastair Nicolson, will tell board members in Thurso that all primary measure targets were exceeded and significant progress made against key strategic projects in a year that saw the network invest £118m in the regional economy.
THE drive to create a university for the Highlands and Islands has received a major boost from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). The enterprise network this week announced a funding package of nearly £5m over the next three years designed to facilitate specific outputs which UHI Millennium Institute needs to attain to satisfy the Quality Assurance Agency that university title is appropriate.
Thurso High School is one of eight schools to make it through to the final of the Big Green Challenge. Eight schools from the Highlands and Islands are to battle it out for a coveted place in the final of the region's first debating competition tackling one of the most talked-about subjects of the 21st century - renewable energy.
Summary The March 2007 unemployment figures were released on 14th March 2007. During the month, February 2007 to March 2007, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Great Britain fell by 1.9%, from 948,577 to 930,094 (18,483 claimants).
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will be holding its next public board meeting at the Pentland Hotel in Thurso on Tuesday May 15, 2007. Chair for HIE Caithness and Sutherland Pat Buchanan will begin proceedings by welcoming the board to Caithness.
Caithness and sutherland unemploment fell as at March 2007 to 722 claimants for benefit with the percentage dropping for unemployment benfit claimants by 3% between Feb 07 and March 07. The precentage drop between March 06 and March 07 was 11.6%.
A range of new services for people who have recently moved into the Highlands from other countries has won support from the European Social Fund (ESF). Highland Wellbeing Alliance, a partnership of public sector organisations in the area, has secured ESF funding worth £260,500 to back initiatives which will help the area's new residents with issues such as improving their English language skills, gaining employment and finding out how to access services and advice.
Plans to invest almost £375 million over the next three years in economic and community development across the Highlands and Islands have just been published by the area's enterprise network. The latest operating plan from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) details the key strategic projects which the development agency will be backing between now and 2010, along with a set of eight 'primary measure' targets covering many smaller-scale initiatives.
A BRAND new easy-to-access system for small and medium sized food manufacturers to introduce a food safety quality assurance scheme will be launched on Monday (March 19) at the International Food Exhibition in London. It has come about after four food-chain organisations recognised that although smaller food providers are being courted more and more by retailers and food service companies, their ability to meet the demands of a range of different buyers is often blighted by confusion over exactly what quality assurance level they are required to aspire to.
Carbon Fibre Manufacturer Announces £22m Investment Over 3 Years SGL Technic Ltd, a subsidiary of German based SGL Group, today announced a £22m investment to expand its manufacturing facility in Muir of Ord, near Inverness creating up to 64 new jobs over the next 3 years and safeguarding the employment of the company's 85 staff. The Wiesbaden headquartered company is a leader in the research, development and manufacture of products made from carbon, graphite and composite materials.
The Pulteneytown electoral ward has shown an increase over last month recording 64 males and 22 females registered as unemployed. This compares to the previous month of December when the figures were 57 Males and 22 Females.
UNEMPLOYMENT DIGEST SUMMARY The January 2007 unemployment figures were released on 14th February 2007. During the month, December 2006 to January 2007, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Great Britain rose by 4.6%, from 897,758 to 938,625 (40,867 claimants).
Small businesses and entrepreneurs throughout Caithness and Sutherland are being urged to grasp a unique opportunity to help boost future company growth, by tapping into a ready-made resource based within UHI Millennium Institute that helps companies crystallise opportunities to move the business forward. This free service - a ground-breaking university-based initiative called HI Links, is a three-year project funded by a SEEKIT grant from the Scottish Executive, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and UHI.
A new internet-based guide, accessible via the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website for people who trade online is being launched this week. It outlines the rules for people who trade online for a profit, as opposed to others who are just clearing low value items from the attic.
Are you newly Self Employed or thinking of becoming Self Employed? Do you have a Self Employed tax return to complete? Are you a New Employer? Do you have an Employers Annual Return to complete? Do you want to know about the changes to the Construction Industry Scheme? If you can answer "YES" to any of the above questions & would like to learn more, you may be interested in attending one of HM Revenue & Customs free learning events. The following events will take place in Thurso; 13th March 2007 AM/PM Paying Your Employees 14th March 2007 AM Becoming Self Employed PM Self Assessment for the Self Employed 15th March 2007 AM Employer's Annual Returns PM New Construction Industry Scheme To book a place in one of our sessions, please telephone 01355 275 207.
UNEMPLOYMENT DIGEST SUMMARY The December 2006 unemployment figures were released on 17th January 2007. During the month, November 2006 to December 2006, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Great Britain rose by 0.2%, from 895,833 to 897,758 (1,925 claimants).
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NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED BY LEC AREA The table below traces changes in the numbers (not rates) of unemployed people claiming benefits in the Highlands & Islands LEC areas between November 2006 and December 2006. A yearly comparison between December 2005 and December 2006 is also provided.
LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT BY LEC AREA For the purpose of this analysis, long-term unemployment (LTU) is defined as 'all those who have been unemployed and claiming benefit for over 6 months'. The table below shows the number of people who are on long term unemployment benefit for December 2006 in each of the LEC areas.
A taskforce drawing on the area's three key public agencies will be charged with delivering an action plan for the regeneration of the Caithness and North Sutherland economy. The Far North has specific economic hurdles ahead with the prospect of decommissioning work at Dounreay's nuclear reactor coming to an end in the early 2030s with the eventual loss of around 2,500 jobs.
