Author: Rhys Gregory

The UK’s first hospital-owned solar farm has surpassed expectations by providing enough electricity to not only contribute to the daily power needs of Morriston Hospital in Swansea, but to also cover 100% of its demand for 50 hours. This is despite only operating during the shortest days of the year. The £5.7m solar farm was built thanks to a loan scheme set up by the Welsh Government to decarbonise the public sector by 2030, and is repayable on an invest to save basis. It is estimated that the hospital has already saved an estimated £120,000 in electricity bills since it…

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, has set out his vision for further education in Wales that puts supporting staff and learners at its heart. Speaking at Coleg y Cymoedd last week (10th March), the Minister set out actions to support the FE workforce over the next 12 months, including: A Professional Learning Plan for further education professionals; A fundamental review of Initial Teacher Education; A Knowledge Transfer Project to help bring in industry expertise to increase learners’ knowledge and learning experience in subjects such as digital, green skills, retrofit construction and engineering; and A recruitment campaign to…

The first shipment of medical supplies including ventilators, bandages and face masks is being despatched from Wales today to support the people of Ukraine. The medical supplies left Wales this morning and will be flown to Poland, then onto Ukraine. First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “Wales stands in solidarity with Ukraine and its people. “Wales’ links with Ukraine are long and deep, and we are ready to offer any practical support and humanitarian assistance that we can. “The best way for the people of Wales to support Ukraine is to give money to the Disaster Emergency Committee, so supplies can…

Many transportation companies are choosing to utilize fleet management services particularly as it involves more than simply viewing their vehicles on a map. Fleet safety solutions like CameraMatics are now able to deliver actional intelligence that can solve not just vehicle related problems, but driver-related issues too and improve overall safety. We look at six benefits of fleet management. Improves Safety A fleet management system monitors and records driving behavior such as speeding, acceleration, hard braking, idling and more. It generates customizable reports from the data collected to identify where and when a driver engages in risky driving behaviors. This can…

AN INNOVATIVE jobs and training programme served up a tasty new role for Jason Davies. Jason, from Old Colwyn, is now working as a kitchen porter at Hickory’s Smokehouse in Rhos-on-Sea thanks to the support of Conwy Employment Hub. In partnership with the restaurant’s placement scheme ‘Smokehouse Stars’ and the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions), the 34 year-old took part in a nine-week course which built his confidence and included sessions on teamwork and communication, how to write a CV and real-time experience. Conwy Employment Hub – which oversees Communities for Work, PaCE and Communities for Work Plus -…

Former international referee Nigel Owens has told William Hill that he doesn’t think Wales have a problem with slow starts, but says if they open Friday’s Six Nations game with France like they did against England then they’re in for a long night at the Principality Stadium. Wales have been criticised for starting slowly against Ireland and England during this year’s tournament, but Owens doesn’t believe it is an issue heading into Friday’s game. “They started well against Scotland, so I don’t think slow starts are a problem for Wales, but certainly against England they did start slowly and gave…

Newbridge RFC urges dog owners to do the right thing and pick up after their pets as part of a national dog fouling campaign from Keep Wales Tidy. The father of an eight-year-old boy, Jake, discovered dog poo smeared on the side of his son’s face whilst warming up to play an under 9s rugby game at Newbridge RFC in Caerphilly where the animals are banned. The dog poo narrowly avoided Jake’s eye, in what Newbridge RFC has described as a ‘close escape.’ Dafydd Martin-Lloyd, Director of Newbridge RFC said: “A young man left his house excited about going to…

Business Butler is investing in the future by providing rewarding work experience opportunities for young people. The Swansea based on-demand matching platform for startups and SMEs has taken on several participants during the past six months from the UK Government’s Kickstart Scheme and has recently added another four to the team. The scheme was devised to create thousands of new jobs for young people aged 16-24 at a time when it is needed most. Business Butler Founder and CEO, Bhupinder Sidhu is excited at being able to be help kickstart young people’s careers in the most challenging of times, as…

Cytiva, a global life sciences leader, is opening a new 11 000 m2 manufacturing facility in Cardiff, Wales. The site, part of a two year $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) global expansion plan, has begun to make mixer bags, flow kits and tubing assemblies which will later be shipped to customers. These technologies are used in the development and production of biopharmaceuticals such as COVID-19 vaccines. Mary Blenn, Vice President Global Supply Chain at Cytiva, says: “Since 2020, we have invested and significantly increased global capacity to address our customers’ growing needs. We continue to expand with new manufacturing sites, such…

Working in collaboration with ISG, ARUP, and Austin Smith Lord, HLM Architects has developed a design concept for a new joint education campus in the Fairwater area of Cardiff, Wales. Capturing Cardiff Council’s vision, the Fairwater Campus will co-locate Cantonian High School, Woodlands Secondary Additional Learning Needs (ALN) School, and Riverbank Primary ALN School, all onto the existing Cantonian High School site in Fairwater. The development will form a fully inclusive state of the art campus for over 2,000 pupils and staff, which will also offer comprehensive facilities to the wider community outside of school hours. It will be the…