Author: Rhys Gregory

National training provider Learning Curve Group (LCG) is delighted to announce the acquisition of Cardiff-based Motivational Preparation College for Training (MPCT), in a move which will complement its existing academy provision. LCG, who already have pre-uniformed services academies across Yorkshire, will see the addition of a further 30 locations and 180 employees across England and Wales as part of the transaction, becoming the largest military training organisation outside of the Ministry of Defence themselves. MPCT was founded in 1999 by ex-Army Officer Huw Lewis MBE and has helped tens of thousands of school leavers gain the practical and academic skills…

Principality Building Society has partnered with environmental experts ClimatePartner to help the member-owned organisation measure, reduce and offset the carbon footprint of its operations. The largest building society in Wales, which employs more than 1,000 people and has 71 branches and agencies, has an ambition of being carbon neutral from 2021, and has set a net zero business operations target by 2030. ClimatePartner, who have been helping companies around the world take climate action for the past 15 years, will support Principality in creating a detailed carbon reduction roadmap including a corporate carbon footprint assessment. This will then inform specific…

A mum of two who is severely dyslexic and left school at 16 with no qualifications has landed a top job at one of Wales’s leading care organisations. Nicola Brantley, 37, has been appointed Deputy Care Operations Officer, for the award-winning Pendine Park care organisation which looks after 450 residents at eight homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon and employs over 800 staff. The Birkenhead-born healthcare specialist left Rock Ferry High School with a blank CV. She said: “At school, I was basically left at the back of the classroom because I was considered to be a non-starter academically speaking.” “Leaving…

Chopstix, the Pan-Asian noodle chain, has announced it will be opening its doors in Swansea on Thursday 11th November, bringing Pan-Asian delights to the city! Located at 806 Oxford Street, Swansea, SA1 3AF, the store will include the brands ‘living wall’ and some new screen features including the debut of the ‘animated Chopstix Anime Girl’ along with the now famous decor reflecting the quirky and fun ethos of the Chopstix brand. Customers will be able to enjoy a host of Pan-Asian flavours including Salt ‘N’ Pepper Chicken, as well as customer favourites Chicken Katsu Curry and Caramel Drizzle Chicken. Throughout…

Rare wildflowers are thriving in Denbighshire thanks to the results of a biodiversity project. Denbighshire’s biodiversity team behind the Wildflower Meadow project has revealed that a total of 268 different wildflower species have been recorded across the project sites over the last two years. Amongst the wildflowers recorded, nearly a quarter were classified as a scarce and/or rare species within the Denbighshire. As part of Denbighshire County Council’s ongoing commitment to enhancing biodiversity across the county, nearly 60 sites, including highway verges, footpath edges, cycleways and amenity grasslands, are being managed to create wildflower meadows. These sites, along with the…

Investment in full fibre and mobile connectivity in Wales could unlock 24,000 jobs, boost the economy by more than £2.46 billion by 2026 and help tackle inequality according to new research from Virgin Media O2 and economic modelling experts Oxford Analytica. The research reveals investment could provide a multi-million-pound economic boost to regions across Wales, with the Cardiff Capital Region (£896m), North Wales (£407m) and Mid Wales (£99m) all set to see sizable economic uplifts. The findings are revealed in the first ever Digital Connectivity Index which uses thousands of OECD datapoints to measure how individuals and organisations can connect…

A FLIGHT attendant who was made redundant during the Covid-19 pandemic has landed a new job at the Welsh Ambulance Service. Sarah Goulding, of Connah’s Quay, Flintshire, has joined the Trust as an Ambulance Care Assistant after an illustrious 32-year career with British Airways. The mother-of-two was one of 10,000 British Airways workers to have lost their jobs at the height of the pandemic. Sarah, 54, was inspired to re-train for the ambulance service having given life-saving first aid to dozens of passengers over the years. She said: “I had an amazing career with British Airways and was fortunate to…

The Original Factory Shop, the UK’s leading local, value brand retailer, has partnered with the Co-op to open a new concession inside their Lampeter store, creating seven new jobs in the local community. The brand new concession, which occupies 3,467 square feet, will see the retailer bring its range of bargain-based clothing, pet products, electricals, homewares, a party shop service and reserve and collect to the local community in a shop within a shop concept. As a result of the move, The Original Factory Shop will be creating seven jobs. The Original Factory Shop area manager Nigel Elliot says: “We’ve got a fantastic…

A new Welsh start-up company is to develop a novel cancer therapy, targeting a rare bone cancer and other cancers, more common in Wales, such as lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers. Ceridwen Oncology, based at MS-Parc, Bangor University’s science park on Anglesey, is to develop and transform medical discoveries by Bangor and Cardiff Universities into useable medical treatments. The new company has been selected against stiff competition, to join the Alderley Park Oncology Development programme (APODP), a globally leading commercial accelerator programme, created by UK Government Innovate UK and Cancer Research UK in partnership with some of the world’s…

A sparrowhawk has been rescued from beneath netting atop a building society in the centre of Cardiff. RSPCA Cymru came to the aid of the bird of prey after a member of the public reported his plight. The bird had flown into the netted area via an open wooden door – but was then unable to find an exit back into the open despite attempts to guide him out by kind-hearted staff at the building. Inspector Sophie Daniels raced to the scene and – after half-an-hour of trying to confine the bird – was able to safely secure him in…