NI Apprenticeship Week 2022 took place this week and I would like to congratulate our members, McGuinness Plumbing in partnership with Southern Regional College who won the SME Employer Award at the NI Apprenticeship Awards 2022 yesterday.
We are gearing up for a busy period of events over the coming months and you can register for some of our upcoming events via the links below.
CONFERENCE: NI Digital Marketing Conference 2022
Thurs 24th Feb 2022, 8am – 1pm, FREE – REGISTER NOW
WEBINAR: How Newry JBO Can Help You Recruit
Fri 25th Feb 2022, 1pm – 2pm, FREE – REGISTER NOW
CONFERENCE: Cross-Border Conference 2022
Wed 9th March 2022, 9am – 1pm, FREE – REGISTER NOW
In this update, I have also included information on:
- Proposed New Theatre/Conference Centre In Newry
- NI Digital Marketing Conference 2022
- Post-Brexit Conference 2022
- Campaign: Back To Schools
- Get Involved In The Catalyst Schools Project
- Businesses Urged To Improve Their Cyber Resilience
- SRC: Fully Funded Video Production Course For Business
- NMD Employment Academies: Call For Employers
Tony McKeown
Chief Executive Officer
Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade
HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE PROPOSED NEW
THEATRE/CONFERENCE CENTRE IN NEWRY
Pre-Application Public Information Event
Proposal: Demolition of Sean Hollywood Arts Centre and 1 Bank Parade. Refurbishment and alterations to Newry Town Hall. New four-storey extension to Newry Town Hall comprising the new theatre.
The public realm works to the area enclosed by Newry Town Hall, Needham Bridge, Newry Canal, Newry River and Bank Parade.
Virtual Public Information Event: Will take place on Wednesday 16th February 2022 at 6pm.
Further information relating to these proposals and the Public Information Event will be released shortly.
The project portal is available from today and will remain open for a period of two weeks.
If you wish to make comments on proposals, you may do so at the above event and/or through the feedback mechanisms on the project portal.
Keep an eye on NMDDC’s social media channels as they will be releasing details on when the portal opens.
Please note, feedback to be provided no later than Thursday 24th February 2022.
NI DIGITAL MARKETING CONFERENCE 2022
DATE: Thursday 24th February 2022
TIME: 8am – 1pm
VENUE: Canal Court Hotel & Spa, Newry
COST: FREE – Chamber Members
Book your place for our NI Digital Marketing Conference supported by NMDDC and SRC and it will include keynote speakers, case studies and an exhibition space.
The conference is aimed at marketing professionals at all levels, those who are responsible for marketing and business owners/managers.
Over 140 people have already booked their place and we would encourage all of our members to book your FREE place for this conference with expert speakers who will help improve your business online.
The stacked programme will cover:
- Marketing Programmes & Apprenticeships
- Do’s and Don’ts of Google Advertising
- How To Use TikTok To Grow Your Brand In 2022
- The Videos You Should Be Making In 2022
- How To Optimise Your Website In 2022
- The Opportunities of a E-Commerce Website
- How To Supercharge Your Digital Content
- How To Get The Best Results From LinkedIn
- Overview: Inbound Marketing
- Overview: Influencer Marketing
- Retailer Case Study: Kukoon Rugs
- Retailer Case Study: Jack Murphy Jewellers
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE.
POST-BREXIT CONFERENCE 2022
DATE: Wednesday 9th March 2022
TIME: 9am – 1pm
COST: FREE
ZOOM: VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Register now for Newry and Dundalk Chambers’ Annual Cross-Border Conference which will focus on sustaining and building cross-border cooperation and trade.
Themes discussed at the conference will include:
- Trading North/South: Challenges & Opportunities
- Economic Outlook: Post-Covid & Brexit
- Harnessing Growth: North/South & East/West
- Newry – Dundalk: A Prospectus For Growth
We are pleased to announce that Government Ministers, will deliver keynote addresses at the conference:
Michael McGrath TD,
Irish Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform
Conor Murphy MLA,
NI Minister of Finance
Over 150 people have booked their FREE place and we would encourage all members to book their place.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE.
CAMPAIGN: BACK TO SCHOOLS
Would you like to give back to local schools?
Newry Chamber has teamed up with Clanrye Group to give organisations an opportunity to give back to local primary schools.
Donate your old laptops or tablets to Newry Chamber (Windows 7 Minimum/No Broken Screens).
Clanrye Group will then work with its participants to wipe them, recondition them and donate them back to local primary schools in need of IT equipment.
A trial will take place with St Joseph’s PS, Bessbrook.
To make a tech donation, please contact:
admin@newrychamber.com or info@clanryegroup.com
GET INVOLVED IN THE CATALYST SCHOOLS PROJECT
Catalyst have just launched a new initiative called, Catalyst Schools and they are now seeking business representatives to get involved in the programme, which engages school pupils, teachers, businesses and school leaders towards a shared vision of inclusive education.
Catalyst Schools are looking for individuals from local businesses who would be interested in participating in one or more of the activities outlined below:
- Collaborative Coaching Conversation
- Collaborative Skills Coaching
- Shadow & Stare
This is a fantastic opportunity to try on some of the mindsets of design thinking together with dedicated and innovative school leaders and to make a difference to young people in the local area.
If you are interested in getting involved, please get in touch with ellie@juniordragons.co.uk.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
BUSINESSES URGED TO IMPROVE THEIR CYBER RESILIENCE
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has urged businesses and organisations to apply security patches for their systems, develop an effective incident response plan and test their online defences.
In response to the malicious cyber incidents in and around Ukraine, the NCSC has updated its guidance on actions to take when the cyber threat is heightened.
The guidance encourages organisations to follow steps that reduce the risk of falling prey to an attack including:
- Patching systems
- Improving access controls
- Enabling multi-factor authentication
- Implementing an effective incident response plan
- Test backups and restore mechanisms
- Online defences are working as expected
- Keeping up to date with latest threat information
No specific cyber threats to UK organisations in relation to events in Ukraine have been identified yet but the guidance will allow organisations to build resilience and mitigate risk.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.
SRC: FULLY FUNDED VIDEO PRODUCTION COURSE
DATE: Thursday 24th February 2022
TIME: 6pm – 9pm
VENUE: Banbridge Campus/Online
Southern Regional College are holding a Fully Funded Level 2 Video Production Course for businesses with less than 250 employees or social enterprises.
This user friendly video making course will allow you to produce short videos to export to social media platforms for the promotion of your business.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
NMD EMPLOYMENT ACADEMIES: CALL FOR EMPLOYERS
If you have vacancies in the Health & Social Care sector or require HGV Drivers, NMMDC want to hear from you.
They are keen to hear from employers who are willing to participate in an Employment Academy to address their recruitment issues.
Send expressions of interest to business@nmandd.org and include in subject line:
‘Health & Social Care Academy – Employer Interest’ or
‘HGV Academy – Employer Interest’.
DEADLINE:
Friday 11th February 2022