Category: Blog

Well-being is one of those words that’s everywhere right now, particularly in the world of work. You can see it splashed across job adverts and company websites, and it takes up lots of newspaper column inches and airspace on radio talk-shows. But is it simply the latest buzzword or something[...]

In business, it doesn’t usually pay to have your head in the clouds. However, there is one time when you really should do it – when you’re storing your data. Cloud computing isn’t new. It’s been around for a good few years and has shown itself to be more than[...]

2020 is the year old-style apprenticeship frameworks are being replaced. This is something the Institute for Apprenticeships has been working towards for the last three years. The idea behind this is to raise the overall standard of apprenticeships for those taking part in them, and the employers apprentices go on[...]

Have you ever considered the benefits of employing your own apprentices? More and more businesses are looking at how to run successful apprenticeship schemes because of the wide range of benefits, including creating a dedicated workforce as opposed to hiring one. All sectors are suffering from significant skills gaps in[...]

Elevating your business to the next level is never going to be easy. There comes a time, through natural evolution, where many businesses are faced with one of biggest decisions the company has faced since it began – do we scale up? Scaling up a business is not a step[...]

Never underestimate the power of networking when it comes to business. Professional networking is not just about swapping business cards or gathering a list of connections on LinkedIn, it is a crucial part of your business strategy – and if it isn’t, it should be. Heather White, founder of Smarter[...]

A business is only as strong as its employees, so how do you recruit the best staff should be a key objective? Hiring is a laborious task and a costly one, so taking the right steps and putting the effort in will reap rewards. It needs to be an efficient[...]

Announced to huge fanfare in November 2017, the Made Smarter Review provided a definitive view of the UK’s industrial and technological landscape – and delivered proposals to put the nation at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It is a cornerstone of the government’s Industrial Strategy, which is why[...]

Successful football teams and brilliant bands are just two of the things the North West’s two major cities have got in common. Something else they share is the plethora of small businesses found within them. Walk through the streets of Liverpool and Manchester, and you’ll see they’re packed with independent[...]

"Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should." Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park, 1991.  Nearly 30-years later, it’s not resurrected dinosaurs you could apply this to, but its 21st Century equivalent, Artificial Intelligence (AI). The benefits of this[...]