Features - Page 158

The well-documented Covid-19 pandemic has been a testing time for businesses and organisations across a number of industries, including social care. Abilities Development, a Wembley-based organisation that offers a range of practical and enjoyable activities to young people with disabilities, is one such operator in the sector that has not gone unaffected.

In 2019, the UK became the first G7 nation to set itself the ambitious goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. As part of this wider commitment, the government announced a Green Finance Strategy, confirming in July 2019 that a £5 million fund will be made available to help the financial sector develop green home finance products such as green mortgages.

While many leaders can become pioneers in their field standing alone, for many others success is also owed to the team of people working around them. In the education sector, Gary Nott, the headteacher of St. Bede’s Catholic Primary School in Chadwell Heath, Redbridge, is one leader who has found teamwork to be a vital element of the school’s ability to continue to provide learning to its pupils remotely throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, and to prepare properly for the return of the academic year this month.

The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has said that the EU must show a “degree of flexibility and realism” as the next round of negotiations begins this week.

Kent and Surrey-based construction company, Ash Contracting, has announced that they are ‘engaged and prepared’ to deliver all of their projects ‘safely and in accordance with government guidance.’

Prime minister Boris Johnson has said that it will be time to accept that there will be no free trade agreement with the EU and “move on” if a deal is not in place by October 15.

London based online market research agency FlyResearch has been issuing weekly polls to its research panel of over 3000 people throughout the coronavirus lockdown in the UK, in order to project how the outbreak and the implementing of social distancing has been impacting the daily life of UK citizens. This week, managing partner Greg Ward discusses the findings from the 23rd wave of the Covid-19 tracker survey with the Leaders Council, published on September 3 and sourced from data collected on August 28.

England’s exams watchdog Ofqual recently admitted that it was a “fundamental mistake” to believe that the public would accept the outcomes of its controversial standardisation algorithm in lieu of actual exam results.

For a large number of schools in the south west of England, the ability to offer remote learning has been assisted by the Hampshire-based technology company, Agile ICT.

Horizon International Cargo has been included in the The Business Magazine's prestigious 'Thames Valley Top 250' listing, for a third consecutive year.

Caledonian Modular has been awarded a £27 million turnkey contract by south London’s Lewisham Council, to deliver a total of 65 affordable homes in the area.

Khurram Asif, the CEO of TechSimulater is set to release his first book in December of this year. The book, which will chronicle his life and career to date, will be of particular interest to any young people looking to make early inroads into the business world.

On Friday September 11, 2020, Gloucester Rugby’s Kingsholm Stadium will be hosting a Jobs Skills & Apprenticeships Lift Off Event aimed at bringing the country together and supporting people who are seeking employment opportunities.

The UK’s first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, once said: “Don't follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you”. However, when it comes to leadership, one should not simply take that quote at face value, at least not in the eyes of Amin Amiri, founder and chief executive of investment management firm a2e Industries, who believes that although leaders must be able to convince people to follow them, those people must follow on with conviction and confidence, rather than doing so blindly.