Tech firm backing major careers event has good news for jobseekers
As thousands of students and scores of businesses gather today at Cheltenham Racecourse for a giant careers fair, the major tech firm and headline sponsor has good news for Gloucestershire jobseekers.
Dear readers,
Welcome to the second edition of The Raikes Journal of the week. We have a double-header of stories below.
Yes, we know we usually publish on a Monday, Thursday and Friday, but today we wanted to help draw attention to C2S Educational Outreach Live event at Cheltenham Racecourse.
The business group has used the might of its vast membership and teamed up with the influential Cheltenham-based cyber group CyNam to stage probably the biggest coming together of students and businesses ever in Gloucestershire.
On until 6pm this evening, Educational Outreach Live and CyNam’s EmPowerCyber, will see scores of businesses and experts, advisors and support groups meet face-to-face with hundreds and hundreds of students from schools, colleges, sixth forms, and universities across the county and beyond.
We have already covered what the event is all about and why in a previous edition here, but below we have an exclusive interview with general manager of its headline sponsor, the usually secretive tech firm L3Harris.
Ian Menzies tells us why NOW is a great time to be looking for a career with his business, or in the tech and cyber sector. And that’s only one of the sectors covered at today’s event. The link to which is below.
But first, if you are one of the businesses picking yourself up after being floored by Chancellor Rachel Reeves Budget, then we have hope. Later this month a special meeting is due to take place organised by Randall & Payne which will offer what it says is a solution to the thorny issue of that rise in National Insurance contributions.
We hope the news is helpful. We’re sure the Randall & Payne event will certainly be.
As always, enjoy.
Andrew Merrell (editor).
NB: Raikes publishes probably the best-read business-related email ‘newsletter’, pound for pound, in Gloucestershire.
If you have a story, an issue, a news item, a charity or an interview you want us to write about or investigate, challenge the powers that be on, then please email me: andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.
Business meeting will address the challenges of the Budget
If you are wrestling with how your business is going to digest the new rate of National Insurance contributions announced in the autumn Budget a meeting in Gloucestershire this month promises to deliver you a solution.
What started off as a look at Will Abbott’s ‘business boot camps’ and why they are proving ever so important for Gloucestershire business leaders has quickly become a very topical story.
Getting Abbott himself to sing the praises of his good work is difficult, but businesses that attend his focus groups will testify he has been helping them to overcome challenges and move forward for years now.
And post-Budget, there are certainly some new challenges for businesses to contend with, which brings us to the topical bit.
As we began writing about the next session, on Tuesday, 3 December, Abbott, a partner at accountants Randall & Payne, appeared on social media announcing an extra boot camp specifically to address those post-budget challenges head-on.
And to provide a solution.
“If you are really honest about it, we have just received a kicking in the Budget. I still have the bruises to show for it as a business owner and an employer,” said Abbott.
“Having got over the pain we then have to think about what we are going to do with the challenge.”
What he was referring to in particular was Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to raise the rate of employer Class 1 National Insurance contributions from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent.
Earlier this week Confederation of British Industry (CBI) chief executive, Rain Newton-Smith, told the group’s conference in London that British businesses asking themselves if they could invest, expand, take on new staff, as a result of the Budget the answer was now ‘not yet’.
“The rise in national insurance, the stark lowering of the threshold, caught us all off guard.
“Along with the expansion and the rise of the National Living Wage and the potential cost of the Employment Rights Bill; they put a heavy burden on business,” said Newton-Smith.
And this is exactly what the next Randall & Payne boot camp will seek to address.
“The easier way is to recover some of the inefficiencies and waste in our businesses. We know it is there. It has been there for a long time,” said Abbott.
“There has never been a better incentive to do something about it. That’s why we have put this new boot camp together.
“We want to get together with you as soon as we can to give you time in the New Year in which you can apply the process we will show you.
“This process should be straightforward, it should be relatively easy for you to understand, and we encourage you to bring your managers, your department heads, senior people along.”
Statistics, said Abbott, show that 25 per cent of operating costs are in businesses is being wasted through inefficiency.
Jamie Underwood, of Wheatley Printers, based in London Road, Stroud, is a regular at the boot camps.
Underwood joined the Five Valley’s firm 20 years ago. Wheatley Printers employs 18 staff, is an expert in litho and digital print and works for everything from start-up firms to big businesses UK-wide.
“Every session at the end we go over the tasks set by Will and share with the group. As individuals what we have found valuable, and it always surprises me how much each individual takes away from the session. Although we are involved in different lines of work,” said Underwood.
“It's so important to step away from the day-to-day tasks and take time to review internal procedures and how you can improve the business structure.
“Making connections with others in similar positions has been so good for me as an individual, learning from the room as well as Will is a big bonus.
“The experience Will has running a business and all the relationships and connections with other business owners is the reason this works.
“Mentoring people across various sectors gives him a level of knowledge to be able to help and direct the group with the successful outcomes.”
You can find out more about the next two sessions here. One on Tuesday 3 December from 9am to noon, titled ‘Accelerate your business performance for 2025’, here, and the Budget-focused boot camp on Wednesday 11 December, 9am-1pm here.
* Everything you read on The Raikes Journal is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne, our sponsors Hartpury University and Hartpury College, our Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
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Tech firm backing major careers event reveals good news for jobseekers
As thousands of students and scores of businesses gather today at Cheltenham Racecourse for a giant careers fair, the major tech firm and headline sponsor has good news for Gloucestershire jobseekers.
By Andrew Merrell.
You may not have heard of L3 Harris, but the American technology firm and defence contractor’s expertise and innovations are in demand worldwide and it has a major UK base in Tewkesbury.
L3Harris is growing and it knows that growth depends on one thing - employing more people. Which is why the usually secretive firm is the headline sponsor of today’s Circle2Success Educational Outreach Live show, the biggest careers-related event ever staged in Gloucestershire.
It’s a show made even bigger by the partnership with the Cheltenham-based cyber group, CyNam, which is staging its annual EmPowerCyber careers event alongside Educational Outreach Live.
Ian Menzies, the general manager of L3Harris, who spoke exclusively to The Raikes Journal prior to today’s event, said now was an exciting time to be looking for a job in the sector.
“There are arguably more job opportunities currently available within the industry than there are people to fill them,” said Menzies.
“Given the nature of our industry, specific technical skills are required to deliver the solutions and capabilities our customers need.
“There has been a gap in these skills within the UK for many years, a lot of which comes down to a lack of engagement with STEM in schools and universities.
“We see it as our duty to ensure these skills are fostered and nurtured, not only within our local community but across the whole of the UK.
“We recently launched a UK-wide Graduates, Interns, Apprentices and Trainees (GIANTS) Employee Resource Group as a result, which aims to support early careers members of the team in the transition from school to the workplace.
“As a business currently on the bleeding edge of many innovations making a difference to the wider world, we want to get young people excited about working with technology and show them there is a plethora of great career opportunities available on their doorstep.”
The business, said Menzies, was looking for “people from all kinds of backgrounds, both technical and non-technical” with an array of different skill sets.
“While engineering is a key focal point for us from a recruitment perspective, we also have a wealth of different departments that all play essential roles across the business.
“From manufacturing to finance, commercial to programmes and HR to marketing, there is a multitude of opportunities available to anyone looking for their next challenge.
“For any young people interested in joining us, we’d encourage them to seek out the right entry requirements for courses aligned to our business’s core disciplines but also to show enthusiasm and excitement for the world of technology.
“As many of the students involved in this event will likely be in the process of making key decisions for the future, we feel obligated to offer as much guidance as we can to help them understand the right route to pursue their intended careers.”
Menzies added: “The outreach event offers a fantastic opportunity for local businesses to connect together and help support the wider community by giving students a platform to learn more about the world of work.
“This really sits at the heart of our social value agenda in the UK, with one of our core pillars focused around critical talent and ensuring young people are engaged with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects early on.
“It’s very much come at the right time for L3Harris, as our social value efforts have been steadily building and strengthening over the past few years, including our fourth year sponsoring Cheltenham Science Festival, over a decade contributing to the Engineering Development Trust Gold Award, and new initiatives such as our ScratchVHDL toolkit introduced into schools.
“This event enables us to bring all of that hard work together and engage with students on a micro level, not only promoting our brand within the local community but demonstrating our value as a great place to work.
“We’re very passionate about ensuring we play our part in raising awareness of our industry in the local area, as there are many businesses similar to ours that do excellent work and we’d love to see grow alongside us.”
Menzies said the firm has also recently introduced an ‘early careers lead’ who was dedicated to supporting a clear programme for the professional development of graduates, industrial placement students and apprentices at L3.
“In addition to ensuring mentors are made available to any new early careers starters from the get-go, we make certain they are surrounded by experienced subject matter experts keen to impart knowledge and aid development, as well as offering hands-on experience with our equipment,” he said.
“You can aspire to do anything as long as you have the drive and support you need to succeed, as well as staying true to yourself along the way. We work hand-in-hand with our early careers team to help them become the best that they can be.”
For those who wanted to know more about L3 Harris Menzies has this to say: “L3Harris Technologies is the ‘trusted disruptor’ in the defence industry.
“With customers’ mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.
“From 14 UK sites with over 1,000 employees, L3Harris has been delivering defence and aerospace innovation in the UK for more than 100 years.
“With offices in Bristol, Farnborough and Brighton among others, some of our key capabilities include marine autonomy, secure communications, space control and satellite communications.
“L3Harris’ sites in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire and Fleet, Hampshire deliver integrated, disruptive solutions that unlock mission agility for military and commercial customers around the globe.
“These next-generation solutions include life-saving electronic warfare systems, multidomain situational awareness, high-grade encryption, explosive ordnance disposal robots, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance and more.
“A 300-strong team operates across two sites, working in partnership with civil and defence organisations to defend against evolving and emerging threats worldwide.”
If you are reading this today, Wednesday November 27, you still have a chance to go and find out more in person. The racecourse event is on until 6pm today.