Minerva Blog
Welcome To The Minerva Blog
Our Blog is a great way for you to keep up with the latest events at Minerva. You will also find information which we are sure will be of interest to employers, employees and learners.
On the Minerva Blog we will also provide details of our team showing how their skills can help you access the resources you need to help you succeed.
Please join in!
There is a comments section on every thread which lets you have your say, post questions and participate in debates. At Minerva, we are always keen to hear your comments, suggestions and points of view as these help us provide a better service.
Improvements in October
1st of October already! This year feels as though it is going particularly quickly for us at Minerva. Anna, our Pitman Training Supervisor, and I attended the Opportunities Knock event yesterday in Dumfries. This was a great event aimed at helping people find out about training opportunities, funding and careers advice available to them. It was also a good opportunity to network with other organisations that were present and share thoughts. This region certainly has a lot of good local training for individuals and businesses. The overall impression I got from other businesses was that business in general ...read more
Posted by: Andrew Hunter / 01 October 2009 at 16:40 / Comment
Sir Tom Farmer - Chamber of Commerce Lunch
Today Rosemary and I hosted a table at the Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of Commerce Annual lunch at the Easterbrook Hall in Dumfries. It was a great event and the highlight was a very motivational speech from Sir Tom Farmer. The key points in his speech were very closely aligned to the vison here at Minerva. He said that training is a key part to the success of his business and that he actually spent more money on training during the recessions to develop his staff in preparation for the future. He focussed on young people and how we need ...read more
Posted by: Andrew Hunter / 06 October 2009 at 16:56 / Comment
New staff member and the Skillseeker Training Programme
We have a new member of staff, called Sarah, who started with us 4 weeks ago. Sarah is working with us while on the Skillseekers Training programme and is currently working towards gaining her Business and Administration NVQ Level 2. Her first day was also her 16th birthday, so what better way to start a job than with chocolate cake in the afternoon. Sarah is doing well, getting to meet lots of new people and is certainly contributing to work in the office. In her first few weeks here she has assisted with organising a large event, preparing and ...read more
Posted by: Andrew Hunter / 13 October 2009 at 14:24 / Comment
Encourage Learning
I enjoy reading various business publications that we receive in our office. One particular article that I read today was about business leadership and the need to get back to basics. The article was written by Digby, Lord Jones who was Director General of the CBI from 2000 to 2006 and is now the Chairman of Triumph Motorcycles as well as an Ambassador for Business. One particular statement he made was "Anybody who thinks that training staff is expensive should just try ignorance. If you think that it's expensive to have a skilled person leave you, just imagine ...read more
Posted by: Andrew Hunter / 19 October 2009 at 15:02 / Comment
The Buccleuch Arms Hotel
On Wednesday Tricia and Gwyneth had great pleasure in meeting the Judging Panel at The Buccleuch Arms Hotel in Moffat after learning that the Hotel had been short-listed for a national award. The Panel heard our story, then met two Modern Apprentices. Minerva nominated Dave Smith and his team for a Modern Apprenticeship Award 2009 – Small Employer Category - due to the fantastic work that they have done over a number of years in developing their team. Results will be announced at a dinner in Glasgow on 9 December. To find out more about this excellent hotel, please ...read more
Posted by: Andrew Hunter / 26 October 2009 at 10:30 / Comment
