Author: Rhys Gregory

More than £1.5m in Welsh Government funding has been awarded to 17 projects that will deliver high quality skills and training projects within the creative industries in Wales, Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden has announced today. The Creative Skills Fund was launched in September 2022, with the aim of supporting projects which could deliver against one or more of the 10 identified priorities within the three-year industry led Creative Skills Action Plan. The Action Plan seeks to address the skills needs of the three priority sectors: music, digital content and screen in the short term, as well…

Minister for Climate Change Julie James met Jinx the biosecurity dog today, whom she has tasked with a special mission to protect Wales’ seabirds. Welsh Government has provided £250,000 as part of a new project which will expand biosecurity for Wales and includes using Jinx, a three-year-old working cocker spaniel who is the UK’s first conservation detection dog. He has been in training with RSPB for the last two years to sniff out rats. When left undisturbed, invasive species can cause devastation to already threatened seabird species. That’s why Jinx’ job is so important. A single pregnant rat can produce…

More than 11,000 young people have been supported to find jobs during the first year of the Welsh Government’s flagship youth employment programme, Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething confirmed today. The Welsh Government’s Young Person’s Guarantee (YPG) provides under 25s in Wales with the offer of support to gain a place in education or training, find a job or become self-employed. Ministers have committed £1.4 billion a year to support young people across Wales under the YPG’s wider range of programmes. The YPG brings together a range of programmes and initiatives for young people that aim to enhance employability, enterprise, and…

A music concert celebrating the sound and life of David Bowie arrives in Cardiff this week for one night only. The touring production pays homage to arguably one of the world’s greatest singer-songwriters, and is being hailed as a must-see for all Bowie fans. Oliver Slee steps into Bowie’s shoes to bring a spectacular concert celebrating the sound of the rock icon to Cardiff, featuring all the hits from A to Ziggy. Speaking ahead of this latest tour, the Bournemouth actor said he is delighted to take up the role and can’t wait to get on stage and perform it in…

QuestionPro, a global leader in online survey and research services, has acquired Wales-based doopoll, the multilingual, realtime, engagement platform. doopoll’s features and its customers will be integrated into QuestionPro’s comprehensive research and experience management platform while also boosting its physical presence in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2015, doopoll has worked with governments to international banks, museums and housing associations, with thousands of start-up and scale-up businesses also using doopoll to fuel their growth. With an intuitive design, doopoll set out to make every voice heard and broke records for gathering large scale responses to surveys, most notably with the Great…

Multi-platinum selling global superstar Michael Bublé today adds an extra date at Cardiff International Arena to his highly anticipated UK tour, ‘Higher’, Bublé’s first nationwide arena tour in more than four years. 20 years after the release of his self-titled debut album, the ‘Higher’ Tour, produced by TEG Live Europe, will kick off at London’s iconic The O2 on Sunday, 26 March 2023. Bublé then takes to the road, travelling across the country with his charismatic, intimate show – an evening you won’t forget. Performing his most-loved hits and the greatest tracks from his phenomenal career, alongside songs from his No.1 album ‘Higher’, released last year, the multi-Grammy winning…

It has been 21 years since he last headlined in the Welsh capital, but legendary icon Sir Tom Jones has confirmed a date at Cardiff Castle this summer, as part of his ‘Ages and Stages’ tour. The star will perform live in the castle grounds on Friday 21st July 2023. The announcement follows on from his appearance alongside the Stereophonics at two sell-out dates at the Principality Stadium last year. Organisers DEPOT Live are encouraging people to register early for ticket updates at: Sir Tom’s remarkable music career spans more than six decades in the business, and at the age of 82, he is…

Mid-Wales building contractor, SJ Roberts Construction, has expressed optimism for the year ahead as it eyes a 10% increase in turnover and plans further investment in its growing team. With a heritage spanning over 40 years and with clients across the leisure, education, commercial and housebuilding sectors, SJ Roberts has reported that during 2022, it worked on a wide range of projects worth more than £40m, whilst also increasing its workforce by almost 20% and making significant investments in plant and machinery. Amongst the contracts it secured over the past twelve months were several for affordable housing provider Homes Plus,…

Adra Housing, North Wales’ largest housing association, has secured a £40m, five-year sustainability-linked loan from its new banking partner Lloyds Bank to help it build more homes and improve the energy efficiency of its existing portfolio. The association provides more than 7,000 homes to 15,000 residents across North Wales and employs over 340 people. It will qualify for discounts on this latest funding by hitting a range of ESG KPIs. Over the next five years, Adra aims to use the funding to ensure 90% of its new build homes have the highest energy efficiency rating (EPC A) and retrofit more…

Hut Six Security Ltd, the Newport-headquartered developer of software-based information security training products has completed a third fundraise taking total investment in excess of £1 million. The latest round has been led by the Development Bank of Wales with their third equity investment of £200,000 being matched by a further £200,000 from Wesley Clover and the Waterloo Foundation. Hut Six will use the investment to support product development, increase marketing and expand internationally. The company is also working towards National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) accreditation for their training. Launched in 2017, Hut Six is an alumni of The Alacrity Foundation…