NWRC Business Support: Innovation and Skills 21 January

In 2021 as business continues the long process of recovery from the effects of the pandemic, companies will be reviewing the skills necessary to take them through the challenges ahead. Upskilling existing staff and identifying support for innovation will be a priority and the NWRC Business Support team can help.

The NWRC Business Support Centre managesthe College’s engagement with industry and provides support to businessthrough training and up-skilling and assisting businesses to source funding to undertake innovation and research and development projects.

This webinar will explore the range of support and funding programmes that are available to businesses and their employees. Whether you are an entrepreneur, a small and medium enterprise or a larger business there are a range of support programmes, that can help your business. It could potentially be fully funded mentoring or consultancy support through the Department for the Economy’s (DfE) InnovateUs programme or Invest NI Innovation Vouchers, or fully funded upskilling for you and your employees with DfE’s Skills Focus and Covid response training programmes.

This event will involve some case studies of local businesses, Alchemy Technology Services and MIM Engineering Solutions, who have already availed of training and innovation support .

Speaker bios:

Marc McGerty

 Marc is the Business Development Executive within North West Regional College’s Business Support Centre. He helps businesses across the North West secure funding for training and staff development projects. Marc also has 20 years’ experience in supporting businesses throughout Northern Ireland from a varietyof roles prior to joining the NWRC 3 years ago.

http://bsc.nwrc.ac.uk/marcmcgerty/

Anne O’Neill

 Anne is the Head of Human Resources atAlchemy Technology Services, a Derry based Company who provide core systems implementation and consultancy services directly to insurance companies.  She has over 20 years HR generalist and specialist experience gained primarily in the IT and manufacturing sectors, from start-up SME’s through to large global matrix managed organisations.

Anne is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, holds a Master’s degree in Human Resources and a BSC (Hons) in Human Communication from the University of Ulster.

  Fergal Tuffy

Dr Fergal Tuffy is TechnologyInnovation Manager at the NWRC and manages the NWRC’s Business Support Centre. Fergal leads a team of technical consultants in industry focussed projects and manages the engagement with business, locally, regionally and internationally. This includes leading externally funded projects whichcontribute to the income generation / targets for the College, this involves the College’s delivery of Technology Transfer Programmes such as Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), InterTrade Ireland Fusion, Invest NI and Enterprise Ireland Innovation Vouchers, and the Department for the Economy’s (DfE) InnovateUs Programme as well as industry Skills programmes such as the DfE Skills Focus, Higher Level Apprenticeships(HLA) and Assured Skills.

Fergal also oversees the NWRC’s TechnologyInnovation Centres of Foodovation (Innovation in Food and Drink) and Product Design Centre (PDC).

Fergal Tuffy

John Deery

John Deery is the owner of MIM NI Ltd a mechanical engineering company based at Maydown.

Established in 1994, MIM employ over 60 highly skilledemployees installing manufacturing equipment and fabricating items to clients across a number of different sectors including Pharmaceutical, medical, food and beverage and data centres.