<ul>
<li>The Chancellor visits North Devon to welcome a global bio-tech company&rsquo;s &pound;60m investment in the local area creating 200 jobs and levelling up.</li>
<li>These high skill, high wage jobs will fuel growth in Ilfracombe which will become home to one of the Pall Corporation&rsquo;s largest filtration manufacturing sites globally, employing 1,000 people.</li>
<li>Ilfracombe has played a critical role in the fight against Covid-19, providing vital filtration equipment to the majority of the world&rsquo;s vaccine suppliers, saving millions of lives.</li>
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THE CHANCELLOR has today welcomed a world-leading bio-tech company&rsquo;s &pound;60m investment in North Devon&ndash;hailing the effect it will have on creating jobs, boosting the local economy, and levelling up.
Visiting the Pall Corporation&rsquo;s Ilfracombe site &ndash; which is set to become one of the firm&rsquo;s largest filtration manufacturing centres globally thanks to the additional 200 jobs announced today &ndash; Rishi Sunak praised the investment in the town which played a critical role in the production of safe, cheap vaccines to fight Covid-19, saving millions of lives.
This is the first tranche of hundreds of millions of dollars which will be invested in the UK over the next three years, creating 500 jobs UK wide, part of a &pound;1.1bn global expansion announced in July 2021.
With a presence in Devon for more than 40 years, the Ilfracombe site supplies the vast majority of the world&rsquo;s vaccine manufacturers with vital filtration equipment crucial in the production of Covid-19 vaccines.
Following his visit, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:
&ldquo;It is great news that the Pall Corporation is investing &pound;60 million in Ilfracombe creating 200 jobs, a fantastic example of levelling up in action.
&ldquo;This site started in the 1970s with just 50 employees and now is playing a crucial role in world&rsquo;s fight back against Covid-19, saving lives in every country on the planet and boosting the Devon economy.
&ldquo;As we look to establish ourselves as a truly Global Britain and drive forward our recovery it&rsquo;s crucial, we continue to attract foreign investment and create well-paid jobs for the future.&rdquo;
Joseph Repp, President, Pall Life Sciences, said:
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re thrilled to be part of the Ilfracombe community and excited to welcome new associates to our growing team. Our Ilfracombe manufacturing facility is integral to our global capacity expansion plans and continues to play a critical role in helping our customers deliver life-saving vaccines and therapeutics for patients.&rdquo;
Filtering and cleaning air is essential in the creation of the huge numbers of safe vaccines the world needs. Without this vital technology, the risk of contamination increases, and production is slowed. This reduces the number of vaccines available and increases their cost.
The site in Ilfracombe, built on the old railway station in 1978, started with just 50 employees. Today it employs 850 people with an extra 200 recruits in the pipeline, the investment will be a significant boost to the local economy.
The Government is also investing to level up Devon and the South West. Devon County Council secured &pound;10 million of Government investment from the Community Renewal Fund to support local businesses, promote digital innovation in the county and create new opportunities.
At Budget the Government announced &pound;1.5bn worth of investment specifically earmarked for the South West to transform transport networks in the region by reopening railway stations and improving road networks, the Government is also investing in local economies and helping small businesses grow through the Cornwall and Isle of Scilly Investment Fund.

Pall invests £60 million in Ilfracombe creating 200 jobs

Shermayne Young is a woman who will be quite literally working to bridge gender gaps in the construction industry. &nbsp;The mum of one joined industry giant Willmott Dixon as a Gates-woman and is now a full-time labourer, following a five-year hiatus from the workplace due to the birth of her daughter, and the subsequent breakdown of her marriage.
The Aberdare resident and former lab technician finds herself back in gainful employment after accepting an invite to attend a &lsquo;Women in Construction&rsquo; event run by Acorn Recruitment, via the Communities for Work scheme.
Seven months on, Shermayne wants to help other women who may be looking for work to think about a job in the construction industry - where females otherwise represent around just 12% of the current UK workforce*.
Shermayne, who otherwise struggled to go back to work like she&rsquo;d originally planned, said: &ldquo;I would say to any woman thinking of a job in construction to just go for it. My marriage meant I&rsquo;d put off pursuing a job in the industry, but I made a decision to be true to myself and I haven&rsquo;t looked back.
&ldquo;I went along to Acorn&rsquo;s event in Cardiff and started my new job within the week - now they want me here until the end of the project and I&rsquo;m chuffed. No day is the same and I couldn&rsquo;t work with a better bunch of people, who know my daughter comes first, that I&rsquo;m doing things on my own, and couldn&rsquo;t be more supportive.&rdquo;
&nbsp;Despite a 50/50 split in men and women across the UK workforce, just 296,000 out of 2.3 million jobs created in the construction industry were occupied by women in 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Acorn is among those working to redress the balance as one of the UK&rsquo;s largest recruiters operating across multiple business sectors nationwide.
As such, it runs a series of &lsquo;Women in Construction&rsquo; events across South Wales to encourage more women to enter construction, bringing together local employers and jobseekers to discuss fully-funded training opportunities and vacancies available regionally in the process.
Lawrence Beach, Construction Operations Manager at Acorn, said: &ldquo;Shermayne&rsquo;s story as a young woman thriving within the construction industry is a great one but still, unfortunately, a fairly unusual one too. Her work with, and commitment to, Bouygues is a great example of how employers and jobseekers of all backgrounds can work together in pursuit of a common goal, regardless of any perceived differences to the contrary.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re absolutely delighted to have played a part in placing Shermayne into a work environment that she loves and in a role which she feels not only fulfilled by, but confidently capable of carrying out to the best of her abilities.&rdquo;
One of various employers signed up regionally, Willmott Dixon was more than happy to support objectives set out by Acorn in bringing more females into construction and fill key industry vacancies at the same time, not least with its own business objectives in mind too.
Jon Pritchard, Senior Project Surveyor at Willmott Dixon, said: &ldquo;We could not ask for a better employee than Shermayne and are really pleased to have taken the opportunity to partner up with Acorn on this pioneering project, not just for our own benefit but in support of wider changes in the construction industry as a whole too.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, it&rsquo;s about bringing the right level of expertise into focus for a range of organisations, regardless of whether those skills happen to come from a male or a female employee. In this case, that brief was one hundred per cent fulfilled.&rdquo;
Acorn is&nbsp;listed in the top 1% of all leading UK recruiters, helping to develop careers, grow businesses, fulfil ambitions and ultimately change lives.
The company works with hundreds of UK and international businesses to bring UK job seekers the best job opportunities available through its network of more than 40 branches nationwide, as well as through its specialist division.

Working to bridge construction industry gender gaps

Pupils at Llanmartin Primary School are being supported by the recruiter to trial a new online learning tool called Our Classroom Climate, created to inspire students on the importance of sustainability in their local communities.
As a result, Llanmartin students now have access to a year long climate change programme providing them with practical experiments and curriculum-based lessons that have the potential to make their school, and others across the UK, carbon neutral.
Victoria Curtis, Head Teacher at Llanmartin Primary, said: &ldquo;The Our Climate Classroom programme feeds perfectly into wider curriculum aims laid out to ensure that the issue of climate change is firmly embedded within the learning experiences of our children and young people nationwide.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Our pupils have found the whole experience thoroughly engaging and we&rsquo;re really grateful to the team at Acorn by Synergie in helping us to become one of the first schools to try out this new technology, therefore.&rdquo;
As part of the partnership, children at Llanmartin also received a visit from one of their own, former pupil Tania Cummins, who now works at Acorn by Synergie&rsquo;s UK headquarters in Newport as its Head of Compliance.
Tania said: &ldquo;Education plays such a vital role in helping to tackle climate change, and programmes like Our Classroom Climate are set to play a crucial part in creating a better, greener world for the next generation and beyond.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The course itself is also designed to help meet government aims in helping schools to meet its sustainability and climate change targets, and is really engaging and informative too.&rdquo;
&ldquo;So, it&rsquo;s been a real pleasure to have made a return to my old primary school and relive a key part of my past as part of a hugely positive project that has been designed to create a brighter future for us all,&rdquo; Tania added.
Acorn by Synergie is one of the UK&rsquo;s leading recruiters with a global outlook and 40 branches operating nationwide, with its own CSR and sustainability strategy in place too.
As part of this work, and following the trial with Llanmartin Primary pupils, it now aims to support this strategy further by rolling out use of the Our Climate Classroom programme across its wider network of branches and clients UK wide too.
Mark Douglas, who founded our Climate Classroom in partnership with Cardiff University, said: &ldquo;We were delighted to inform the wonderful school team at Llanmartin that Acorn wished to fund them to receive our climate change education programme.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The local Acorn team were given a very warm welcome at the school and even got involved in some climate change lessons including capturing Carbon in the classroom - it was so good to see local companies adding real social value.&rdquo;

Acorn by Synergie supports Newport’s Llanmartin Primary 

Business leaders from across Wales came together on a level playing field to raise thousands of pounds for charity at the 3rd annual CEO Kickabout, organised by Acorn in partnership with the Football Association of Wales (FAW).
Attendees enjoyed a day of sport at the National Football Development Centre at Dragon Park, Newport, in support of the UK recruiter&rsquo;s efforts to raise &pound;30,000 for its 2022 chosen charity, Mind UK, in its 30th year of business.
Players from all sectors took their turn on the pitch to raise more than &pound;8,000 which will now go towards that total, and enjoyed some tactical insight from FAW Chief Executive Officer Noel Mooney and Wales&rsquo; national team manager, Robert Page, beforehand.
Bernard Ward, Managing Director at Acorn Recruitment, said: &ldquo;Mental health issues have been amongst the foremost of challenges faced by companies in recent times, and we have spent the last 12 months renewing and enhancing our focus on the wellbeing of the people that make our organisation what it is today in response.
&ldquo;Our HR policies have all been, or are in the process of being reviewed, renewed and added to with a focus on ensuring our team feel valued and supported. So, it made total sense for us to choose Mind UK as our charity of the year in our 30th anniversary year, to help us in contributing to the wider community too.&rdquo;
Bernard continued: &ldquo;We would like to say a huge thank you to the FAW for supporting us with this effort and once again partnering with us on this fantastic event, which brought businesses together for a day of football insights from Noel Mooney and Robert Page, a five aside tournament and a great opportunity to chat at the barbecue later on.&rdquo;
Organisations taking part included project managers Arena Projects, Watkins Davies Insurance Consultants Ltd, cyber consultants PureCyber Ltd, Eat Sleep Media, sales centre Outsource Strategies, RWG Mobile, training provider Call of the Wild and South Wales Sports Grounds,
Players from sporting agency Sotic, St Davids World, Vog Brewery and solicitor Harding Evans were also joined by those from Acorn and the FAW, while Jeff White Motors was named best team on the day, and Owen Eirey of Arena Projects became player of the day.
FAW CEO Noel Mooney said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to see the CEO Kickabout event continue to support worthwhile community causes with each year that passes, and we are especially delighted this year to have supported the amazing fundraising effort from Acorn to raise &pound;30,000 for charity in its 30th year of business.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Engaging Welsh businesses is vital to the work that we do in encouraging and continually improving upon football participation levels across Wales, and we are delighted once again to have welcomed a diverse range of organisations to enjoy the world-class facilities at Dragon Park in support of such a worthwhile cause.&rdquo;

3rd annual CEO Kickabout

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Staff are taking on the challenge of swimming the same distance from the UK to France - a total of 1,352 lengths of a standard 25 metre pool - between June 19th and July 1st to help send a family on a VIP weekend to London or Disneyland Paris.
The team wants to raise between &pound;1,000 and &pound;3,500 for our chosen charity for 2023, When You Wish Upon a Star, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. Funds raised will sponsor a much-needed trip away for a child and their family as part of a wish programme run by the charity.
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David Harvey, Branch Manager for Chippenham and Gloucester at Acorn by Synergie, says:&nbsp;&ldquo;When You Wish Upon A Star is such a great cause and I felt they deserved a really great challenge to support them. With the parent company of Acorn by Synergie, the Synergie group, being based in France, there seemed no better way to unite our team and raise money for this excellent cause at the same time than swimming the channel, therefore.&rdquo;
So far, Acorn by Synergie has raised over &pound;1000 for When You Wish Upon a Star and aims to bring that total to &pound;10,000 for the cause throughout 2023 with a range of initiatives that include its cross-channel swim challenge, a charity golf tournament and more.
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Bernard Ward, Managing Director of Acorn by Synergie, says: &ldquo;Our goal for 2023 is to continue raising as much money as we can and help make wishes come true for as many children as possible, therefore, through the amazing support services When You Wish Upon A Star provides to young people and families who are otherwise facing some really tough challenges in life.&rdquo;
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To show your support for the Acorn by Synergie South West team and When You Wish Upon A Star, visit:&nbsp;
<a title="Just Giving Page" href="https://www.justgiving.com/page/southwest-swim-the-channel">Donate here&nbsp;</a>
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Acorn by Synergie staff get set to swim the English Channel for our chosen charity, When You Wish Upon A Star

Acorn by Synergie has been recognised for its commitment to supporting the emotional wellbeing of its employees as a winner at this year&rsquo;s Wales Business Awards.
The leading UK recruiter took home the Wellbeing at Work award at the 2023 ceremony, which took place at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Wales this week (May 18th).
Judges were looking for businesses that support their employees to succeed by demonstrating their commitment to health, safety and wellbeing and found what they were looking for at Acorn by Synergie, a company signed up to the Mental Health at Work Commitment pledge, among other things.
Bernard Ward, Managing Director said: &ldquo;As business leaders, the mental health of our employees is vital to the health of our business - it is a known fact that happy people make happy companies.
The company has also set in place &ldquo;you days&rdquo; where, if someone is struggling for any reason, they have a day available to take purely to focus on themselves, as well as giving people their birthday day off too.
Bernard added: &ldquo;I am absolutely delighted that these efforts have been formally recognised with this prestigious award, which is a tribute to all my amazing colleagues at Acorn by Synergie that work day in, day out to make it all happen.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t think of anything better to be recognised for as a business than as one supporting its workforce to be happier, more productive and emotionally resilient people to be honest.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We work really hard at Acorn by Synergie to support our highly valued colleagues in feeling valued and listened to, not just professionally but as people with home lives and loved ones to support, too.&rdquo;
The panel was also impressed by a range of other schemes Acorn by Synergie has introduced to support the company&rsquo;s workforce in all areas of their lives, not just at work.
These include life coaching support for senior staff, training mental health first aiders, monthly wellbeing checks with employees, financial wellbeing seminars, its Cycle to Work scheme, a Hybrid Working Policy, a Menopause Support Group and many other initiatives.

Acorn by Synergie praised for supporting emotional wellbeing of its employees

Horses bring YOUNITED Flag to Mansion House to award first UK companies to employ ex-offenders through new Key4Life award scheme
23 September, 2021, London: Flag-bearing former convicts on horseback descended on the Mansion House today, where Alderman William Russell, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, awarded the first 15 UK companies to employ ex-offenders through the prestigious YOUNITED Flag award.
The YOUNITED FLAG award &ndash; launched in September 2019 by music legend Nile Rodgers together with crime prevention charity, Key4Life - encourages companies to employ ex-offenders and give them another chance, rewarding those that do with the prestigious YOUNITED Flag kitemark.
The 15 companies awarded the YOUNITED Flag today are: Acorn Recruitment, Avalara, Bouygues, Dent Global, MediaCom, Purple Hire Solutions, SheerLuxe, Sir Robert McAlpine, Social Pantry, Sony Music, St James, Trade Windows, Yeo Valley, Willis Towers Watson and Willmott Dixon.
Key4Life will extend the YOUNITED FLAG award to many more companies UK-wide next year, in association with the Corbett Network.
The special awards ceremony at Mansion House also celebrated the 9th birthday of Key4Life, which has an unrivalled track record for transforming the lives of some of the most disaffected young men in Britain. Key4Life reduces re-offending through its innovative rehabilitation programme for young men in prison and those at risk of going to prison, saving lives by helping to break the cycle of crime. Running programmes in London and the South West, the charity uses equine therapy, music, mentorship and employability training to help the young men heal and become valuable contributors to society. Horses play a vital part in rehabilitating the men, both inside and out of prison.
Alderman William Russell said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m honoured to present the YOUNITED Flag awards. It&rsquo;s remarkable to see graduates from rehabilitation programmes attaining impressive corporate roles because some one cared enough, for long enough, to change their lives. Employing ex-offenders offers the chance to include a new perspective in the workplace and provides a genuine opportunity to do something meaningful by offering these young men a second chance.&rdquo;
Eva Hamilton, Founder and CEO of Key4Life says: &ldquo;Research shows that 50% of corporate Britain would not hire ex-offenders, and yet having a job is the crucial success factor for men with convictions. With reoffending costing the UK government &pound;18.1 Billion a year, the YOUNITED Flag award highlights how employing ex-offenders can drive change by dispelling stereotypes and removing unfair prejudice.&rdquo;
Ex-offender Liam Meredith, who worked for YOUNITED FLAG award recipient, Yeo Valley, for three years before recently setting up his own ice cream and burger van business in collaboration with Key4Life and Yeo Valley, said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hugely grateful to both Key4Life and Yeo Valley for helping me rebuild my life. Without more companies giving men with convictions opportunities, we can&rsquo;t break the cycle of crime. We&rsquo;ve made our mistakes, we can&rsquo;t deny that, but now we want change. So my message to other companies is that if you aren&rsquo;t going to be part of the solution by giving ex-offenders another chance, you&rsquo;re part of the problem.&rdquo;
Liam and some fellow Key4Life rappers featured on the new Key4Life Vol. 1 EP, produced by Sony Music (released 15 October), will shortly be closing the YOUNITED Flag awards ceremony with a short private performance of extracts from the EP. Guests will then gather to enjoy lunchtime burgers served from Key4Life&rsquo;s Food Cell &ndash; a former prison van, turned burger van which gives ex-offenders valuable business skills and experience to help them get future work.
This afternoon, Lord Mayor William Russell will challenge companies to employ ex-offenders as part of the Recruiting from a Different Talent Pool conference led by the Corbett Network.
&nbsp;

Key4Life Award Scheme 

<h3>Got a video interview lined-up?&nbsp; Here&rsquo;s our top tips on how to make it work for you!</h3>
With many companies recruiting via online interviews, here some top tips on how people can stand out from the crowd:
<ul>
<li>Environment: &nbsp;Think about what&rsquo;s in the background of your webcam and try to find a place where there is a blank wall behind you, or create one by taking pictures down. You want the interviewee to have all eyes on you and not be distracted if someone walks past in the background or more interested in your abstract wall art.</li>
<li>Clothes:&nbsp;Dress just like you would for an interview, each industry has different expectations for interview attire but don&rsquo;t relax it just because it&rsquo;s a virtual meeting - &nbsp;first still impressions count.</li>
<li>Platforms: With so many different video platforms around, check well beforehand that you are setup with an account and that the software is downloaded ahead of time. Most platforms offer free accounts you could test with a friend or family member.</li>
<li>Timing: Don&rsquo;t leave it until the last minute to join the video interview. As you would for a face to face interview, arrive on the &nbsp;video call at least five minutes ahead of time.</li>
<li>Sound/Camera: Make sure your tablet/laptop or PC&rsquo;s settings are correct to enable webcam and we suggest using headphones it boosts sound quality and avoids unnecessary background noise and feedback.</li>
<li>Battery life: Are you fully charged? You don&rsquo;t want to get cut off just as you&rsquo;re about to answer that amazing job-winning question.</li>
<li>Preparation: Do just as much interview preparation as you would if you were having a face to face interview. Don&rsquo;t take a casual approach to the interview. This is still an interview. List out the questions you want to ask on a notepad and ensure you have a pen handy to make notes in case you want to ask something else.</li>
<li>Communication: Take your time be clear in your answers and, if you don&rsquo;t understand a question due to quality of connection, it&rsquo;s OK to ask the interviewer to repeat it.</li>
<li>And finally - take is seriously: Although you are having an interview from the comfort of your own home, &nbsp;it is still an interview and you still want that job, so treat it as such.</li>
</ul>

Tips for video interviews 

Acorn Building Services will combine the UK recruiter&rsquo;s Construction, Mechanical, Engineering and Housing divisions into one, to help increase the availability of sustainable job opportunities for under-represented groups in all sectors.
Acorn has overseen a number of social value initiatives and consistently championed the introduction of new entrants into the construction industry in recent years, working with partners including Her Majesty&rsquo;s Prison &amp; Probation Service and homeless charity The Wallich, running its own Women in Construction initiatives, and more.
With a focus on South Wales and Bristol to begin with, its Acorn Building Services division will now help drive forward new projects and initiatives aimed at further supporting its clients in contributing socially as well as economically to areas they work in too
Lawrence Beach, Client Development Director for Acorn, will be responsible for developing these initiatives, focusing on social value, people pathways, tenders and more. Operations Director Osian John will also head up the new division in an operational capacity and drive the day to day running of the team involved.
Lawrence said: &ldquo;The work Acorn has already done using employment as a key driver to create social value is something that we are hugely passionate about across the organisation, and we feel now is the time to push forward with plans to implement and develop a range of new initiatives that we hope will prove invaluable to Acorn and the businesses we support in future too.
&ldquo;My role as part of Acorn Building Services will involve working closely with clients and local stakeholders to develop collaborative programmes that will assist Acorn and our clients in maximising the social value we are able to have within local communities. In essence, we want to ensure the employment opportunities we are involved in are used in the most productive, sustainable way possible.&rdquo;
Osian said: &ldquo;We identified a need for Lawrence to spend a lot more time developing initiatives which will benefit the people and communities in which we work, but this on its own was a full-time commitment. So, I&rsquo;ll be responsible for day-to-day operations around sales, business development, compliance and recruitment strategy, enabling Lawrence to give that job his full focus.&rdquo;
Acorn has a network of 30 branches supporting businesses with recruitment needs through its specialist divisions, which cover manufacturing, production, IT, legal, construction, commercial, energy, life sciences, aerospace and other sectors.
Its Building Services division will initially support teams in Cardiff, Bristol and Gloucestershire to develop temporary and permanent employment partnerships with a community focus across the construction and housing sectors more widely.
Marc Jones, Technical Operations Director at Acorn, said: "the focus then would be on growing and developing Acorn Building Services as a division within its own right over the next 3 to 5 years, with the aim of expanding its services throughout the South West and beyond."
Marc added: &ldquo;This development really marks an important milestone for Acorn, as well as the businesses we&rsquo;re able to support in contributing to communities where they work in a much more impactful and sustainable way, as our reputation across the construction and building services sectors has become more and more established, through working so closely with a large number of construction-related employers.
&rdquo;The knock-on effect for workers, and for people looking for jobs, at all levels, whether skilled or currently un-skilled, can be genuinely transformational &ndash; and this is at the heart of the way our work across the building and construction areas has developed in recent years. It&rsquo;s something we at Acorn think very deeply about, and are determined to continue to make as big an impact as we possibly can.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

News