Author: Rhys Gregory

The 2022 Wales HR Awards finalists have been announced following a record number of entries. Launched in 2017 by commercial law firm Darwin Gray and leading recruitment agency Acorn, the fifth annual Awards will see top HR professionals and organisations gather on 8th July at the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff for black-tie celebrations. Hosted by prominent journalist Sian Lloyd, the Awards will recognise outstanding HR professionals and teams performing in HR, learning, and people management roles across a variety of industries in Wales in the last 12 months. Darwin Gray’s Head of Employment Law and HR, Fflur Jones, said: ““We…

A go-ahead Vale of Clwyd football club is appealing for more coaches to help with its expanding junior section. St Asaph City, which runs two senior sides in the North Wales Ardal Leagues, also fields over 80 youngsters in five sides from Under-Six to Under-12 in the Rhyl and District Junior League with a new 20-foot storage unit from Denbigh-based Container Sales Service to house their matchday and training equipment. In the last six years the club, which plays at Roe Plas, alongside the River Elwy, in the heart of one of the UK’s smallest cities, has carried out a…

Residents have moved into new energy efficient homes built on the site of the former Cwm Ifor Primary School in Penyrheol, Caerphilly. The 19 homes have all been built to Passivhaus standard; meaning they use high-performance insulation to make a building completely draught free, eliminating heat loss to create homes with very low environmental impact. United Welsh worked in partnership with contractor Kingfisher Developments Ltd and Caerphilly County Borough Council to build the development, which received investment from the Welsh Government Innovative Housing Fund. Lynn Morgan, Director of Development and Regeneration for United Welsh said: “I am delighted to see…

Cyber security consultancy Wolfberry has today (June 1) rebranded as PureCyber as it looks to solidify its recent success and expansion. The multi-award-winning Cardiff headquartered cyber security consultancy has gone from humble beginnings as a one-man-band IT start up in 2011, to the cyber-focused experts they are today. Following a review of existing trademarks in the technology and cyber market, Wolfberry, which has clients across the globe, has decided to set itself apart. It has therefore reinvented itself as PureCyber to reinforce that it is not an IT company, but a business with cyber at its core. The company has…

Age Connects Cardiff and the Vale is marking this Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June) by celebrating all of its amazing volunteers who make an almighty difference to its local work. Hundreds of volunteers support older people living in our communities who are often facing the devastating effects of loneliness and isolation with no family or friends to turn to. A “Volunteer Wall of Recognition has been launched on the charity’s website to share volunteer stories from just a few of those involved, including the charity’s oldest volunteer aged 91 and its youngest aged 18! When asked about her experience with the…

Talyllyn Railway is the world’s first preserved railway, known affectionately as ‘The Railway with a Heart of Gold’. This name comes from the title of a film released in 1965, much of which was shot in 1953 in the early days of the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. A number of Talyllyn railway supporters, who have signed up to make a regular monthly donation to the society, form the membership of the ‘Heart of Gold’ Group. They receive exclusive benefits such as an invitation to travel on the Founders’ Day train and a special edition of the Talyllyn Railway enamel badge.…

The last reception class at a historic former primary school were VIP guests of honour at a celebration of its £5.3 million transformation into showpiece homes. Ysgol Maelgwn, in Broad Street, closed for the last time five years ago but the pupils, now at the new Ysgol Awel y Mynydd, joined residents and staff of leading housing association Cartrefi Conwy, Conwy County Council and developers Brenig Construction at the event. The children have played their part in the flagship redevelopment by Cartrefi Conwy, with their names on the artwork for a mural depicting the herbs, fruit and flowers planted in…

Work has now begun on site to deliver a new 60-bed extra care scheme in Porth – as the Council and Linc Cymru’s (Linc) pre-commencement contractor progresses preliminary work ahead of the main construction phase. The new scheme will transform the former Dan y Mynydd Care Home site into a state-of-the-art four-storey development with 60 extra care apartments and amenities – including a dining area, hair salon, activity room, day care centre and offices. Externally, 33 car park spaces will be provided along with cycle and buggy stores, while the site’s existing access will be slightly reconfigured. The former care…

Men’s Sheds projects in Swansea can once again apply to Swansea Council for funding. Applications are now open for a share of the £25,000 in grants available to existing and emerging groups. Men’s Sheds are community spaces where people from all backgrounds can meet, chat and take part in activities if they wish, to reduce loneliness and isolation. They are part of an expanding network around Swansea and the UK. During the last financial year grants ranging from £2,000 to £7,000 were awarded to seven projects. There were Action Shack, Eagle’s Nest, Summit Good, Swansea Community Workshop (pictured), Swansea Wellbeing Centre, The Old Blacksmiths and Ynystawe Cricket Club…

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, has announced new funding to support the re-launch of the Urdd’s national youth theatre, Cwmni Theatr Ieuenctid Cymru. The Welsh Government will invest £1 million over a five-year period to support the re-launch of the theatre. Cwmni Theatr Ieuenctid was set up in the 1970s, with the objective of providing opportunities for 14 to 19-year-olds to enjoy and expand their arts experiences through the medium of Welsh, but ceased to operate in 2019. The Urdd celebrates its centenary this year, with the Urdd Eisteddfod returning for the first time since 2019…