The Coronavirus outbreak may have prevented the Highlands and Islands’ renewables sector from gathering physically. However, it can’t stop us from celebrating the Scottish Highlands and Islands Renewable Energy Conference (SHREC) on 30 April.

That’s why, for the first time ever, Harper Macleod LLP are going to deliver a digital SHREC experience.The full SHREC has, of course, been postponed, with both the conference and the Highlands and Islands Renewable Energy Awards now being held on 24 September.

What can you expect from virtual SHREC

To allow for as any people who are interested to view the virtual SHREC, Harper Macleod are planning to deliver a recording of the conference to your inbox on 30 April. 

Originally, the 11th Annual SHREC was set to tackle the theme of climate change and take a wider look at the environmental and economic benefits that renewable energy brings to the Highlands, Islands & Moray. 

That will still be a theme, but led by Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands, speakers from the original SHREC programme have agreed to deliver their insights which will no doubt reflect the sector’s, and the country’s, coronavirus experience.

Other contributors include David Bone, Head of Energy and Natural Resources at Harper Macleod and the only man to have spoken at every SHREC, Audrey MacIver, Director of Energy and Low Carbon at HIE, and George Baxter, Director of Development at Green Power International, one of the leading independent renewable energy developers in the UK.

The law firm are also delighted to say that Nicky Marr, who will once again host the Awards when they take place, will still host a panel discussion. Nicky is going to be joined in video conversation by a panel of people looking at renewables in the Highlands and Islands from a different perspective, including:

  • Terry Stebbings is the co-founder of Proterra Energy, which was set up in 2012 to design and install micro hydro schemes in Scotland;
  • Ryan Felber is the local Implementation Adviser at Resource Efficient Scotland, which helps organisations reduce costs by saving energy and water, reducing raw materials use and managing waste efficiently.

These local organisations incorporate renewable and energy efficiencies into what they do and they’ll share the reasons for doing so and their journey to where the currently find themselves.

Get involved

While SHREC won’t be live, Harper Macleod would love for you to get involved. 

If you have any questions you would like the panel to discuss, please email DigiComTeam@harpermacleod.co.uk by Monday 13th April.

It’s been a surreal month, not just for us but for all our members and businesses nationwide. We continue to do our very best for our members as things progress in these unprecedented times and are thrilled to welcome Coastline Fashion to our member group this month.

Coastline is an independent womenswear store available online and ‘popping-up’ all over the Scottish Highlands. Coastline clothing combines smart / casual ‘lifestyle’ brands and each piece is individually selected with our customer in mind. Recently, business owner Lesley Ann Sutherland revealed that she had purchased a van for coastline and looks forward to transforming it into a mobile fashion store. We can’t wait to see it!

 

Earlier this month, our Chief Executive, Trudy Morris announced a 3-month Extension of Chamber Membership and offered a payment deferral option to any new members who join before the end of April. Learn more about this offer here.

To learn about how Chamber membership could benefit your business, see the Membership benefits page or get in touch with Fiona Levack, Business Development Manager to arrange an informal chat. The Chamber offers advice and support to businesses of all sizes, at all stages and in all sectors and we would be thrilled to hear from you.

In addition to chamber membership, many of our funded projects offer support and guidance to businesses in a range of ways. See the list of options, here.

Did you know that we offer a membership referral scheme? If you refer a business who joins the chamber, you could benefit from £50 off your next renewal. Read more here.

Communication received from Scottish Government on 20th March, 7pm:

The First Minister has said that COVID-19 is the biggest challenge of our lifetimes and asked everyone to follow health advice. Restaurants, cafes, pubs, gyms and cinemas are being asked to close.

The Chancellor has unveiled a further series of measures to support businesses.

Following yesterday’s announcement that schools are to close, guidance on childcare provision for key workers has been published.

This is a fast-moving situation and we are working hard to expand the information available.  A specific Q&A on rates reliefs and grants was published yesterday and the findbusinesssupport.gov.scot website is updated regularly in relation to Covid-19.  There is also a separate HMRC helpline for tax issues at 0800 015 9559.

Updates on public health advice for coronavirus can be found on the NHS Inform website.

The future for Subsea 7 at its Caithness yards looks “very positive”, according to site manager Willie Watt. The company, which makes pipeline bundles for oil companies, is busy with two contracts and is tendering for other work. Mr Watt was speaking just before two towheads were due to be transferred from Wick harbour to Wester.

One is a conventional towhead and is due to be moved today (item printed 13th March 2020), while the other – the biggest to be moved through Wick – is 285 tons and will be transported in two stages on Monday and Tuesday (16th & 17th March).

It will be taken from the harbour to the Lochshell business park and then transferred to a special trailer before going on to Wester. The towheads are for the Buzzard field which is over 100 kilometres north-east of Aberdeen.

To get the massive towhead through Wick, modifications have to be made to the road network and overhead cables moved. The pipeline bundles – one measuring 250 metres and the other 5.3 kilometres – are due to be launched in late summer.

Subsea 7 is also busy with a contract for the Snorre field which lies in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Last week, the company launched its biggest ever bundle which weighed 10,500 tons. “It was really challenging but very successful,” Mr Watt said.

He explained the bundle is for the Snorre East oilfield while another is to be built for Snorre North. Subsea won an order for three bundles for the field, one of which was installed last July, with the third one due to launched shortly.

The company employs over 120 people at its sites at Wester and Hastigrow. “We will be busy all the way through to September and are pricing various work and working with clients to secure further orders,” Mr Watt said.

“The oil price has dropped and coronavirus is having an effect on loads of things but our long-term prospects look very positive. Our product is right for the North Sea and matches the requirements of our clients.”

The biggest crane assembled at Wick harbour was used to offload the three towheads for the multimillion-pound contract for the Snorre field. Twenty trucks were needed to take the crane to its position on the north river pier and assemble it in preparation for the lifts.

The three towheads and a protection structure were lifted off a special monohull vessel and transported to the company’s Wester site and then to their various locations along the track to Hastigrow.

The pipeline bundles incorporate the largest diameter pipe assembled in the far north and include the control umbilicals required for the development.

The Snorre field is sited within the Tampen area of the Norwegian North Sea and has been operational since August 1992.

Source: The John O Groat Journal and Caithness Courier

A SERIES of tourism information workshops will be delivered in Thurso during March.

The events are being run by Thurso Community Development Trust with subject areas ranging from slow tourism to information sharing.

Last year, under the Discover Thurso project, more than 100 tourism providers attended successful workshops aimed at improving tourism knowledge, increasing partnership working and helping to turn Thurso into a visitor destination.

Prior to the start of the 2020 tourist season a series of four workshops will take place.

Joan Lawrie, development manager for the trust, said: “These workshops last year received really good feedback. The aim is to increase the knowledge of those working in tourism with a series of key speakers and of course to provide networking and build on new and existing partnerships.

“It is demonstrated clearly throughout successful visitor destinations that partnership working is the key to success.”

Each of the events has a theme. The first, on Monday, March 9, at Thurso Youth Club, is on the theme of Activities: Night Skies, Walking and Water, and will have guest speakers from Caithness Astronomy Group and North Coast Watersports as well as Caithness and Sutherland countryside rangers.

In addition to this, as one of the first cohort of community leaders in tourism – a course delivered by the Social Enterprise Academy and devised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Tourism Alliance – Joan will be taking these skills and knowledge back to those who attend and discussing key tourism trends and sharing of information.

Further events are planned on the themes of Slow Tourism, Heritage and Culture and finally Tourism Promotion and Information Sharing.

In addition to these events, throughout March the trust is also offering mentoring sessions to local businesses and organisations in social media and promotion, with training to hotel staff in tourism information also on offer.

Joan added: “We’re really excited to be able to offer these sessions as we build the Discover Thurso project to benefit all working in tourism, from the shops and accommodation providers through to our local community organisations who play a role in the visitor experience.

“The more we can work together and support each other, the stronger Thurso becomes.”

Future workshops:

  • Slow Tourism – March 17
  • Heritage and Culture – March 24
  • Tourism Promotion and Information Sharing – March 31

To contact Thurso Community Development Trust regarding workshops, mentoring or training opportunities, email Joan on joan@thursocdt.co.uk or call 01847 867050.

Source: John O’Groat Journal

Johnston Carmichael, Scotland’s largest independent accountancy and business advisory firm, also a UK top 20 firm, has been recognised as Large Firm of the Year at the Xero Awards 2020 – the ‘Oscars’ of the cloud accounting world.

The UK and Ireland awards, held this year in London’s Electric Brixton venue, were established to celebrate excellence in cloud accounting. Xero is the leading cloud accounting app provider, and Johnston Carmichael is a Xero platinum partner – the highest level of Xero knowledge and expertise.

Judges praised Johnston Carmichael for utilising Xero’s automation power, “freeing up precious time to spend helping their clients beyond the figures” and noted that the firm had introduced an internal app advisory programme, working closely with a number of Xero app partners.

The firm has invested heavily in its cloud accounting offering in recent years as part of preparations for Making Tax Digital, introduced by HMRC in April 2019. However, the increased focus is also part of a wider strategy to realise the benefits of cloud accounting, which delivers real time data and enables businesses to monitor performance and drive improvement much more effectively.

To support its drive, the firm created new leadership roles with Ewan Bolt, director in Johnston Carmichael’s Inverness office, becoming Head of Digital Solutions, in 2018. Meanwhile, Lynne Walker, partner in the Elgin office, was promoted to Head of Business Advisory, which incorporates Digital Solutions, to steer the expansion of digital expertise in the business advisory team.

In addition to boosting its people resource and skillset, Johnston Carmichael has also developed its technical capacity. The firm recently launched a bespoke online App Hub, thought to be the first of its kind in the industry, to help clients search for apps that will enhance their Xero software and address their needs as a business. There are more than 800 apps that are compatible with the Xero software, all offering enhanced insight into their business performance or easing the process of reporting.

Ewan Bolt, Head of Digital Solutions at Johnston Carmichael, said: “Winning Large Firm at the Xero Awards is highly significant for us. The awards are the pinnacle of the cloud accounting sector so to be recognised by them is a major achievement. It is also an important acknowledgement of the journey we have been on as a business to grow our digital expertise and deliver the best possible service for our clients.

“Previously the level of data analytics delivered by cloud accounting was only available to big businesses with big budgets. Now organisations of all sizes can benefit from transparent and real time insight and our experience is that once businesses have converted onto digital platforms, there is a strong appetite to utilise the available data and create even greater insight.

“Importantly, the information delivered by cloud accounting also allows us as advisors to engage early with clients and offer pro-active real time business advice designed to improve their results.”

Glen Foster, Director of Accounting Partners at Xero, commented: “The Xero Awards are a great opportunity to recognise the achievements of our accounting and app partners, and shine a light on the work they are doing to support small businesses. They are at the forefront of change, helping SMEs transform the way they do business.”

To support businesses and help them maximise the benefits delivered by their digital platforms, Johnston Carmichael is set to offer a series of Xero events with app partners, across Scotland this year.

For further information about Johnston Carmichael visit https://johnstoncarmichael.com.

North Lands Creative has just completed a successful run at Collect, the international art and craft fair. This year, the Caithness-based arts organisation was selected to show with 40 other galleries from the UK and around the world at Somerset House in London to show a breadth of work made in the studio in Lybster by the visiting residency and associate artists.

The contemporary craft and design fair brings together work by makers and artists from more than 25 countries around the globe, and is a big draw for museums and galleries seeking to acquire the latest in ceramics, glass, metal, wood and textiles.

North Lands Creative at Collect 2020 celebrated the outstanding Scottish and International creativity in glass.

All the exhibiting artists have a connection to our Alastair Pilkington Studio and the work has been inspired by their immersive time on our artist in residence programme or as a collaborative process with our associate artist projects. Our 2020 Collect artists are Emma Baker (UK), Alberto Lago (Italy), James Maskrey (UK), Alexandra Mureșan (Romania), Laura Quinn (Ireland) and Martin Janecký (Czech).

North Lands Creative at Collect 2020 was supported by Creative Scotland and included the Origin project sponsored by Salviati Furnace and Scuola Del Vetro Abate Zanetti, Murano and British Council Scotland.

The Centre for Excellence for Glass, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, also gathered interest from international collectors and buyers with Victorian Obscura: High Society – A Ghost Appears Near Woolwich by James Maskrey being acquired by Sotheby’s London. All six artists were offered substantial new opportunities and sales from international curators and collectors.

Karen Phillips, Director, said ‘We are just delighted to showcase the work being made in our studio. It is a real achievement and testament to all the hard work that our fabulous team and artists put in. We’re really lucky to have such brilliant local support, and we have had huge international press coverage– it is amazing to be able to tell the many stories of this wonderful part of the North East of Scotland which is a huge draw and inspiration to artists and our cause to build a stronger glass community for the benefit of the local economy’.

Caroline Dinenage, Minister for State for Digital and Culture visited the stand and met with the staff and listened to artists explain their passion for the material and its application to sustainability and innovation in the craft sector.

North Lands Creative, which has seen huge growth with collaborations worldwide, was praised for its commitment to sustainable business practices, community engagement and investment in people as a key employer in the area.

Material innovation and co-production are two ways we see craft evolving over the coming years and we want North Lands Creative to be at the heart of this research. Co-production is becoming more common across the creative industries and craft is no exception, with more makers working in collaboration. We currently have EU Creative Europe and British Council Scotland projects running involving international partners in Italy, Japan, Germany, Latvia and Ireland. We are looking to how we can reinvigorate local skills in glass making and provide a number of opportunities in our 2020 programme through skills training, scholarship and training opportunities.

We plan to showcase some of the work later in the year at our Alastair Pilkington Studio and Gallery in Lybster but for those who cannot wait all the work of the artists can be viewed on North Lands Creative new online gallery by visiting landshttps://northlandscreative.co.uk/collect-2020-gallery/.

JGC - Logo         North Highland College UHI - Logo

Aspiring engineers in the north highlands will benefit from a new apprenticeship pathway developed by North Highland College UHI and JGC Engineering. The new pathway has been created to promote the value of employer engagement and the benefit of the skills, learning and experience gained at college.

The pathway will allow JGC Engineering to recruit up to four apprentices from one of North Highland College UHI’s full time courses in an engineering discipline. Once completed the students will be invited to apply for an apprenticeship with JGC Engineering and if successful, will enter directly into year two of an apprenticeship programme in an engineering speciality within the firm.

John Campbell from JGC Engineering said, “Collaborating with North Highland College UHI allows for prospective JGC apprentice applicants to achieve applicable training and experience through their SVQ level 2 courses and thus suitably prepare on a level basis for the JGC recruitment process. Giving opportunities for work experience placements during the course also allows students and JGC to both engage and consider future possibilities.”

Debbie Murray, Director of Business Development at North Highland College UHI, supported the initiative and said, “This is another excellent initiative to help support employer engagement, reduce administration burdens for both parties and ensure a continued supply of work ready young people to support a key industry”.

Students will be based at the Engineering, Technology and Energy Centre (ETEC) at the Thurso campus and will develop their practical skills with the facility’s industry-based workshops. The students will also complete core employability, enterprise and citizenship modules to help prepare them for the world of work, interviews and work placements in semester two.

North Highland College UHI, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands offers further and higher education across the north Highlands at campuses in Thurso, Halkirk, Dornoch and Alness.

2020-03-05 - JGC News Item

Source: Caithness.org

Planning applications for SpaceHub Sutherland are currently open for comment until 12 March 2020 and if any businesses are interested in commenting they can do so by clicking here.

SpaceHub Sutherland is a priority project in the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership (CNSRP) programme and, as a partner in CNSRP, the Chamber is supportive of the project and the potential economic benefits it will bring to the region.

Further information about the project, and an opportunity to register for updates, can be found on the HIE website.