East Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service is running a series of presentations across the region that will be of particular interest to companies interested in low carbon developments and in advanced manufacturing.

The calendar of events is as follows

LOW CARBON INITIATIVE
Nottingham Gateway Hotel 11th February am
Northampton Town Football Club 16th February am
Lincoln Bentley Hotel 18th February am
Leicester Tigers Football Club 23rd February am
Derby Conference Centre 25th February am

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING INITIATIVE
Nottingham Gateway Hotel 11th February pm
Northampton Town Football Club 16th February pm
Lincoln Bentley Hotel 18th February pm
Leicester Tigers Football Club 23rd February pm
Derby Conference Centre 25th February pm

See Events calendar for booking details

CASEDA will be running a series of 5 free workshops between February and June about how to start a social enterprise business.

Are you thinking about starting a business? Have you heard about Social Enterprise and wonder if it might be relevant to you? This workshop will explain what a Social Enterprise is and how you can access help and advice to help you set up your business as a Social Enterprise. We will use case study examples to explore how and why people set up Social Enterprises. Later workshops will cover detailed aspects such as marketing, employment law and accounting. See events calendar starting 1st Feb. 2010 for details or follow headline link for dates

The economic downturn has led to the sharpest devaluation in sterling for decades. In Barclays latest guide they look at the implications this presents for British importers and exporters.

A new version of the web site will be launched shortly. It will give more prominence to the business directories and much of the other information will be updated and re-written.

If you have a directory entry, you need not do anything as the information will automatically be updated but you may find that your company is described under new categories.

It will take some time to get it right so please be patient with us and let us know of any particular problems or items that you can no longer find.

Some good news at last. Charnwood's unemployment level has gone under 3% for the first time since March 2009. Virtually every ward experienced a drop in unemployment but the bad news is that the level of male unemployment in Hastings (Loughborough) ward is still over 9%.

Many young people experience difficulties in accessing employment or training due to transport
problems; this in turn can stop them gaining employment. Alternatives such as walking
or cycling to work can be unrealistic due to the distance involved and for those working
outside the usual working day, public transport may not be an option. Leicestershire County Council has a scheme, Wheels2Work, to help young people who cannot get to training or employment.

A pool of 12 loan scooters are available for young people between 16 and 24 to hire for up to 6 months at a time.

MAKE A POINT...
TO SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS WITH LEADERS FIRST

WHO CAN APPLY?
Businesses, public sector and charitable organisations with between 5 and 249 employees are
eligible to apply*. Funding is made available for the development of a senior manager or key decision maker.

HOW MUCH FUNDING IS AVAILABLE?
One grant is available per organisation of up to a maximum of £1,000. The first £500 is free and an additional £500 is available on a matched basis.

*ELIGIBILITY:
· Between 5 and 249 employees
· Based in the East Midlands
· Not accessed Train to Gain Leadership & Management funding since April 2006.

HOW CAN I USE THE GRANT?
The grant can be used for any form of training or development for a member of your senior management team, for example:

· Management skills workshops/ courses
· Formal qualifications
· Self study
· Mentoring/ coaching

If you have a specific activity in mind please feel free to contact me to see if it can be funded
through Leaders First.

GETTING STARTED:
To find out more about how Leaders First can support your personal development and improve the
productivity and competitiveness of your organisation or if you are interested in accessing the grant, then click here to register your interest. Or call us on 01332 227770.

RUSSIA
In 2008 UK exports to Russia reached an all-time high of £4.1bn, an increase of 46% on figures recorded for 2007. Russia is now the UK's 12th largest export market.

Russia has not been immune to the global economic crisis and, in line with other high growth markets, forecasts for economic growth are down. However, despite this, Russia's fundamentals remain strong and opportunities exist for UK businesses.

To help businesses to explore the opportunities that exist in Russia, UK Trade & Investment invite you to consider joining either of our Market Visits to Russia in February & March 2010.

We will be taking companies to Moscow (22-25 February 2010) and Krasnodar (25 February - 01 March 2010) for the 20th Southern Architecture & Construction Forum 25-28 February 2010.

With our help you will experience the market, meet the people, build contacts and potentially win new business.

BRAZIL
The economy of Sao Paulo state alone is larger than that of Argentina. With a growing middle class there is an increasing demand for luxury goods in Brazil. In fact if a product or service is generally competitive in world markets it is also likely to be so in Brazil.

The UK enjoys a strong and historic trading relationship with Brazil. However if you are serious about doing business in Brazil you have to go there and meet the people, build contacts and experience the market. There's simply no substitute for a personal visit and this is the support package to help you achieve it.

Brazil has a broad and sophisticated industrial base and the government continues its programme of privatisation and deregulation. There is also a growing middle class in Brazil who have real spending power and who appreciate high quality merchandise. If a product or service is generally competitive in world markets it is also likely to be so in Brazil.

See link for more details

The latest bulletin from UKTI contains details of initiatives and briefings on trade with Brazil, Russia, China, Romania, Ireland and Abu Dhabi & Qatar. There's also information on learning languages to help your dealings with various countries.

Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service are proposing to make changes to their services and distribution of resources. If you feel that these changes could affect your business then they invite you to respond by 24th October. The proposals include changes at Loughborough, Shepshed, Syston and Birstall.