Week Commencing 25 July 2016 Energy and Business Services: · Recruitment firm ERSG has been appointed by SSE to help recruit contract workers for its Beatrice Offshore Windfarm development in the Moray Firth, just off the Caithness coast. As previously reported here, Wick Harbour is to be the operations and maintenance base for the project, and the CNSRP Delivery Group hopes to work with SSE and its supply chain to help deliver economic benefits from the Beatrice project.
Week Commencing 11th July 2016 Enabling activities: · The "Ready, Steady, Work" programme developed by CNSRP partners DSRL and North Highland College began this week. The programme takes young people from 4th to 6th year and introduces them to a range of workshops and company visits designed to enhance their ability to move on from school into employment, training or further education.
Week Commencing 27th June 2016 Energy & Business Services: · A deal to supply and install the cabling for the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project has been won by Siem, who will work for Tier 1 supplier Seaway Heavy Lifting. Last year one of Siem's vessels laid the subsea cabling for the MeyGen project in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth.
Week commencing 13th June 2016 Energy & Business Services: · The CNSRP Delivery Group met this week, and we took the opportunity to have a round table discussion on the likely actions needed to support the delivery of local economic benefit from the £2.6 Bn Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project. One of the strengths of the Partnership is the ability to bring partners such as HIE, Skills development Scotland, the NDA, Dounreay, Highland Council, North Highland College and Caithness Chamber of Commerce together with Wick Harbour Authority to ensure that a coordinated approach is taken to this process.
Week Commencing 6th June 2016 Energy & Business Services: · A further element of detail is added to the emerging picture of contract awards associated with the £2.6 Bn Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project, with the news this week that Tier 1 supply chain company Siemens has awarded the contract to install up to 84 turbines to Swire Blue Ocean. It is expected that installation of the 7MW turbines will begin in 2018.
Week Commencing 30th May 2016 Energy & Business Services: · A further contract announcement this week regarding the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm development off the Caithness coast. Scottish company Sgurr Energy have been awarded a three year construction monitoring contract.
Anyone who wants to rent a council or housing association house in Thurso now has greater choice. This is because homes are now being allocated through ‘Choice Based Lettings'.
Week Commencing 16th May 2016 Energy & Business Services: One of the main project focal points for partners over the past three years has been the potential to attract the operations and maintenance base for the Beatrice Offshore Wind development to Wick, and news this week that this moves ever closer with a piece in the RE News online feed regarding the Final Investment Decision for the project. http://renews.biz/102675/sse-to-unleash-beatrice/ Following this week's movement of large transformers from Scrabster harbour to the new Thurso South electricity sub-station, this coming weekend will see JGC Engineering moving three very large support modules to Scrabster Harbour.
Weeks commencing 29th March to 2nd May Energy & Business Services: · JGC Engineering Services announced an important contract award in late March. The company has been awarded a major contract to support the £1.3bn Rampion offshore windfarm development off the south coast of England.
Local business support organisations in Caithness are coming together on Thursday 12th May 2016 in Thurso to host an event as part of an ongoing initiative to help local businesses find out about, and harness, the support available to do business overseas. Entitled ‘Reaching Customers Overseas', the event will take place at Caithness Horizons between 1-4pm.
Last Update Before the Election - Next one 6 May 2016. Energy & Business Services: CNSRP partner representatives were in Aberdeen earlier this week to take part in an Influencers' event coordinated by the Scottish Council for Development & Industry (SCDI).
The Highland Council has congratulated Divisional Commander of the Highlands and Islands, Julian Innes on his retiral and thanked him for his service at his last Committee meeting on 23 March 2016. Chair of the Communities and Partnerships Committee, Cllr Hamish Fraser said: Chief Superintendent Innes has made a huge contribution to the safety of our communities.
Dounreay held its annual supply chain event this week in the Merlin Cinema, Thurso, with suppliers attending from all over the UK. The site spent a total of £121 million on 306 contracts in 2014/15; with 102 contracts let for more than £50,000 and 5117 transactional purchases made for less than £3,000.
Week Commencing 14th March 2016. Energy & Business Services Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) held a pre-application consultation event in Wick this week in support of plans related to the onshore infrastructure at Wick Harbour for its proposed offshore windfarm development off the Caithness coast.
Week Commencing 7th March 2016. Energy & Business Services: Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) has advertised a pre-application consultation event in Wick next week in support of plans related to the onshore infrastructure at Wick Harbour for its proposed offshore windfarm development off the Caithness coast.
Week Commencing 29 February 2016 Energy Business Services: The Scottish Government's recently-announced Transition Training Fund was established to help address the current labour market issues caused by the decline in the price of oil, and its knock-on effects on the economy. The Fund is to be managed by CNSRP partner Skills Development Scotland, and it's been useful to talk through with local SDS colleagues some of the early opportunities to help individuals affected.
Week Commencing 22 February 2016 Energy & Business Services: Good to see in Gordon Calder's piece in today's John O' Groat Journal the upbeat views from Project Director David Taaffe on the likely jobs impact of the MeyGen tidal energy project. The news is also given a balanced and thoughtful welcome in the paper's Leader Column.
Energy & Business Services: It was good to speak last week with Magnus Davidson of Thurso's Environmental Research Institute (ERI) about the transnational EU-funded project called REGINA. The project aims to reduce the vulnerability of small communities in remoter areas of the Nordic Arctic and Scotland which face the development - or closing down of - large-scale industries.
Through a project jointly funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL), Caithness Chamber of Commerce is offering business support and mentoring aimed at aspiring businesses in the Caithness & North Sutherland area. If you are considering setting up your own business (either full time or part time), then the Chamber is able to offer guidance and support in areas such as:· · Business planning and writing business plans · Employment responsibilities · Establishing and registering a business · Intellectual property / trademarks · Market research · Marketing and sales This project is open to those looking to start up as a new business or those who have started a business which is less than 6 months old.