Author: Rhys Gregory

BREAKING down silos and improving the connection between supply and demand in key sectors are among the aims of the new North Wales Skills and Employment Plan. Those are the words of David Roberts, chair of the North Wales Regional Skills Partnership, who was joined by guest speakers, educators, employers and business leaders at the launch of the Plan, which runs from 2019-2022. Also in attendance at Venue Cymru in Llandudno was Welsh Government Minister for Economy and Transport Ken Skates, who agreed skills have a major part to play in the region’s growth. “As we move forward, they will…

Creative businesses on Swansea’s High Street and in the wider city centre are being urged to join a new collaborative project aimed at revitalising the area. The new Creative Focus project has been launched by 4theRegion, a membership alliance working to bring about positive change in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. It will be run from 4theRegion’s new offices at High Street Station. Swansea Creative Focus is a collaboration between independent businesses, organisations and individuals, helping to support and develop the creative and cultural fabric of the city. This involves nurturing and championing creative businesses, entrepreneurs and projects,…

Huge numbers of children across Wales took part in the 20th anniversary of a reading challenge which was space-themed in 2019 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, and featured bespoke artwork from top children’s illustrator Adam Stower. The Reading Agency and public libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge reached 37,469 children across Wales during the school holidays. The challenge is endorsed by parents, teachers, the Books Council of Wales and the Welsh Government. The challenge is the UK’s biggest annual reading promotion for children aged 4–11. It aims to encourage children to visit their local libraries and inspire them to…

Local charities are feeling the pinch, general donations to charities across the country are down and with uncertainty over Brexit, a General Election and public sector financial pressure leading to reductions in funding to some third sector bodies, Age Connects is feeling upbeat from the support received at its recent Fundraising Christmas Gala Dinner  held at the Copthorne Hotel in Cardiff on Friday 29th November 2019. CEO of Age Connects Cardiff and the Vale, Jeff Hawkins says “this is our second Gala Dinner. It can be a risky commitment for a small charity and a lot of work goes into…

This National Volunteers Day (Thursday 5th December) a Cardiff man is urging people in South Wales to help blind and partially sighted people access the books they love. Joseph Flatt, 38, from Ely, has been volunteering for RNIB’s Cardiff Transcription Service for over six years and hopes more people will join the volunteering team. The chance to access books, magazines and letters in a variety of formats can be a lifeline for people in Wales living with eye conditions. However, only 10 per cent of all books published in the UK are available in accessible formats and many people cannot access…

A slimming group in Cardiff has raised £350 in support of a local family whose son passed away as a result of undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes. Peter Baldwin was just 13 when he passed away in January 2015.  Since then Peter’s parents, Beth and Stuart, and sister Lia helped Diabetes UK Cymru launch Know Type 1, a campaign to raise awareness of the common early symptoms of the condition, so that children are diagnosed sooner and more safely. Type 1 diabetes is a serious, lifelong condition where blood glucose levels are too high because the body can’t make a hormone…

Festive shoppers, commuters and Christmas party-goers are getting travel advice from Cardiff Bus as they prepare for the Christmas season. The operator is advising customers of timetable changes through the festive and new year period, which will see services altered between December 24 and January 1. Starting on Christmas Eve all services will follow a Saturday timetable, except for services 98, H59, H95, and X59 which will run a Tuesday service, with an early finish across all routes at approximately 7pm. There will be no buses running on Christmas Day, and a special timetable running across certain routes on Boxing…

Health Education and Improvement Wales has teamed up with the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust to help paramedics become Advanced Paramedic Practitioner (APPs). APPs are registered paramedics who have undertaken additional training at university leading to a master’s qualification. The primary benefits are reducing the calls to the 999 system, to treat patients in the community, refer them to a GP or decide if they should go to hospital. They can administer a far greater range of medicines and manage more patients with complex care needs closer to home. The modern paramedic has distinctive abilities which play an important part…

Two popular Carmarthen sports clubs now have access to life-saving defibrillator equipment thanks to a year of charity fundraising by JCP Solicitors, which is based in the town. A new public access defibrillator, donated to the Carmarthen & District Harriers Athletics Club, has been installed at their HQ in Carmarthen Leisure Centre, Johnstown. So, both the Harriers and Johnstown Football Club will have access to it 24/7. The installation is the last of nine public access defibrillators that have been installed by JCP Solicitors throughout all of the Welsh towns and cities served by the law firm, after the business…

Young people aged between 13- and 24-years old spending Christmas in a Cardiff hospital will be given special presents to open on Christmas morning thanks to a nationwide campaign organised by The Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust. Cancer does not take time off over Christmas and so the charity’s Christmas appeal ‘Fuel the Sleigh’ aims to spread a little cheer to young people forced to spend the holidays in hospital away from their family and loved ones. All gifts are wrapped by volunteers and then delivered to around 500 young people being treated at the 43 hospital units nationwide. Last…