Annemarie Monteforte from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), said: "The two facilities which the First Minister is opening today are key to building further on the skills and R&D required for the energy supply chain in Caithness and the wider North Highlands. "Through this Thurso campus, UHI and North Highland College now deliver the full range of Higher and Further Education services to provide the skills needed for the sector to flourish.
Energy: I took part in a meeting this week to help develop the marketing plan for the Pentland Firth & Orkney waters, together with colleagues from Orkney Islands Council, HIE and EMEC. As partners build on the recent announcement of Marine Energy Park status for the Pentland Firth/ Orkney waters area and the Enterprise Area status for Scrabster, our discussions focused on ensuring that the message to potential investors remains clear and attractive and that local communities and stakeholders are kept informed of progress.
Cairn Housing Association is pleased to announce that it's all change at Caberfeidh Court, Wick. After a fundamental review of the services offered at Caberfeidh Court it has been decided that the housing court at Wellington Avenue in Wick is to be redesignated as Retirement Housing.
Enabling Activities: Enabling those who are currently out of work to find employment, helping school students to identify paths towards employment and supporting those seeking transition opportunities within the current workforce were the three drivers for a meeting I convened this week with colleagues from North Highland College, Skills Development Scotland, Caithness Chamber of Commerce and Highland Council's Employability team. The discussion was to progress plans for an event that promotes access to skills opportunities in new and emerging sectors with relevance to the area.
Highlands and Islands companies confirm academic partnerships boost business. Interface providing vital support to businesses.
This is a short message to update you on activities relating to the Caithness & North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership. Update 9th July 2012 Tourism: Natural Retreats, the operators of the new development at John O'Groats, confirmed in this week's local press the good news that the high-quality self-catering lodges at its site should be completed by early August, with already encouraging levels of interest.
With the rollout of superfast broadband across the Highlands and Islands looking set to begin next year, the region's development agency is launching a public consultation on current levels of service. Highlands and Islands Enterprise is asking broadband providers to confirm any plans they may have to upgrade to superfast, and seeking information from local people and businesses about the quality of their current service.
Week ended 2 July 2012 This is a short message to update you on activities relating to the Caithness & North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership. Energy: The Marine Energy Group, which is co-chaired by Scottish Government and industry body Scottish Renewables, has published its Marine Action Plan, which updates on progress since the launch of the Marine Energy Roadmap in 2009 and highlights ongoing activities required of governments, agencies and private sector in five key areas to further development the marine energy industry.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority says significant acceleration in the clean-up and shutdown of Dounreay will bring real value to the taxpayer who funds the work. Its chief executive John Clarke, writing in the organisation's annual report published today, says the award of the site closure contract earlier this year was a milestone in the NDA's mission to clean up the UK's nuclear legacy and bring down the cost.
As the opportunities for renewable energy increase in the North of Scotland, the lead partner in the Dounreay site, Babcock, announces its continued support to bring jobs into the area. The secondment of June Love, Dounreay, to support Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) activities in the sectors of Energy and Business Services demonstrates a real partnership working between the private and the public sectors.
Energy: As reported last week, Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) launched its online procurement portal for supply chain companies seeking to tender for work with the company. A variety of current tendering opportunities is at https://www.sseopen4business-highlands.com/sse/publicSearchForm.html#publicSearchForm and interested businesses are being encouraged to register their organisation and create a business profile on the site.
Rural communities in Scotland can now apply for support to help buy their land, Environment Minister Stewart Stevenson announced. The new £6 million Scottish Land Fund which will empower communities by helping them acquire land opens for applications on Monday (2 July 2012).
Come and see our new office at Stevenson House, Harbour Street, Wick Tuesday 19th June 2012 "To build the kind of society that we all want, we need to pay more attention to the way that we relate to our youngest children. Science is helping us to understand why it is that the way we love our children matters so much." Dr.
With business service companies actively recruiting across the region the Head of Inward Investment at Highlands and Islands Enterprise says that the skills and reputation of the region's workforce is attracting strong interest from global investors. Following last week's announcement of a further 30 jobs in Moray with Capita, Sensée, which is the leading UK-based provider of employed home-based advisers for contact centres, is hoping to fill 45 positions from across the region.
The Caithness & North Sutherland Fund recently awarded its 2nd round of grants for 2012 to community projects totalling £101,342. Six groups in Caithness and two groups in the North Sutherland area have been awarded funding for projects that help to improve the attractiveness of their area as a place to live, work and invest.
A key industry strategy to capitalise on Scotland's smart grid expertise and create thousands of new jobs in Scotland is published today. The strategy includes a target to create up to 12,000 new jobs by 2020, by supporting work to secure Scotland's place as an exemplar in smart grid adoption and as a leading international provider of Smart Grid technologies and know-how.
Wave, tidal and offshore wind developments have international attention. Scotland is leading the world in the development of offshore renewables - according to two senior figures from development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
Largest ever regional presence for Highlands and Islands at international energy show. The Highlands and Islands of Scotland will once again have the largest regional presence at the All Energy exhibition and conference in Aberdeen this week (Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th May 2012).
Home-Start are moving to new premises! Hello to Stevenson House! Goodbye to the Community Education Office! As of Wednesday 2nd May 2012, Home-Start Caithness will be moving to a new home - Office 4, Stevenson House, 10 Harbour Terrace, Wick, KW1 5HB. HomeStart have been at the Community Education Office since Home-Start Caithness was 'born' 13 years ago, so 2nd May will be a mixed day - one of sadness at leaving to Community Education Office, but one of happiness going somewhere fresh and new.
Weekly update from CNSRP - week commencing 9th April Energy: Scottish Government has confirmed that the Enterprise Area at Scrabster will be able to offer potential investor companies rates relief of up to 100% (up to £275,000 per business) as part of the incentive to locate at the site, which is on land above the harbour. The Enterprise Area designation, which lasts for 5 years, came into force last week for 14 sites around Scotland.