The Highlands and Islands Enterprise network (HIE) is on budget and in line to meet or exceed most of its annual performance targets, according to its half-year results announced on Tuesday 14 November. In light of the considerable headway already made in two key areas of its activities, HIE board members have agreed to increase targets for the number of new business start-ups in the region and of assistance given to strengthening community groups.
ISSUED BY UKAEA, ON BEHALF OF THE DOUNREAY STAKEHOLDER GROUP Options for the Dounreay site end state are the subject of a public consultation announced today. While a final decision on the future use of the land does not need to be made for a number of years community views are being sought now to allow the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and its contractor, UKAEA, to finalise their plans for decommissioning the site with greater certainty.
HIGHLANDS and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will be holding its next board meeting in public for the first time on Tuesday, November 14. HIE conducts eight board meetings annually at various venues around the Highlands and Islands.
Entrepreneurs with ambitious business plans are encouraged to enter a competition to win a trip to the world famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and UHI Millennium Institute (UHI) are offering a unique opportunity to help businesses reach their full potential.
HIGHLANDS and Islands Enterprise (HIE) today announced it is to invest an extra £12million in Caithness and Sutherland. The extra funding, a 50 per cent increase on the current budget allocation for the area, will be used over the next three years to help address the considerable challenges posed to the area's economy by the decommissioning of Dounreay nuclear plant.
The following are funds approved up to the last day of the month. Please note that the sums relate to approvals, not payments.
SUMMARY The August 2006 unemployment figures were released on 13th September 2006. During the month, July 2006 to August 2006, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Great Britain fell by 0.3%, from 932,191 to 929,498 (2,693 claimants).
Those looking to start their own business in the creative industries are being given a unique opportunity to take advantage of contracts available from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). The Indiepreneur programme has two contracts available for new, recent or upcoming businesses involved in the creative industries across the Highlands and Islands.
The issues surrounding the employment of migrant workers are the subject of this month's Hot Topic on LearningWorks, the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) website dedicated to online training and learning. LearningWorks explores the key issues employers should be aware of when employing migrant workers, with links to new information about work permits and the workers registration team.
ENTERPRISE funding has been secured to enable a range of Seafood Scotland (SFS) market development services to continue to be delivered to the Highlands and Islands seafood sector. The £57,000 financial package from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will provide funding towards the costs incurred by SFS in the Highlands and Islands over the next two years and builds on the success of a previous package of assistance.
Companies in the Highlands and Islands who are interested in exploring new ways of maximising their business opportunities now have the opportunity to take part in an innovative new programme. Supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the Intellectual Assets Management company development programme aims to help businesses to harness untapped value to help unleash their potential.
FOOD and drink producers in the Highlands and Islands are invited to come along to the Inverness Caledonian Thistle stadium on September 26 to learn some valuable advice on developing their business operation. The event, featuring a number of leading speakers, is the first in a new programme of meetings organised by the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Forum.
The hunt has begun to find the Highlands and Islands' answer to Richard Branson. The ICT Hothouse Youth Challenge 2007 is looking for young entrepreneurs with bright ideas.
SUMMARY The July 2006 unemployment figures were released on 16th August 2006. During the month, June 2006 to July 2006, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Great Britain rose by 0.7%, from 925,466 to 932,191 (6,725 claimants).
As young people across the Highlands and Islands anxiously await their exam results, Careers Scotland is urging pupils to remain calm and take advantage of the Exam Results Helpline. Exam results will be posted throughout Scotland in August, and experts from Careers Scotland will be on standby to reassure callers and provide impartial advice.
This year's Highland Spotlight exhibition sees some exciting changes to the format. Not only is there a new date - Tuesday 5 September 2006 - but there are also new features in the form of the Young Business Zone and the NSIG Energy Zone, adding to the already successful Fusion IT Zone.
NORTH-based consultants Development Partners Ltd has won an £8m contract from Highlands and Islands Enterprise to manage the supply of advice to organisations over the next three-and-a-half-years. The use of supply partnering for advice provision was introduced in 2003 and its success has led to another round of tendering for the next three-and-a-half year period.
Businesses and community organisations in the Highlands and Islands are being asked to help demonstrate that European Union funding has been properly invested. The Highlands and Islands Enterprise network (HIE) is compiling evidence to show in detail the good use put to funding distributed under the EU's six-year Highlands and Islands Special Transitional Programme (HISTP).