News
It's time for a fresh approach ....
Keep up to date with the latest Strawberry news:
September 17th 2008
Strawberry shortlisted for prestigious award
Strawberry are pleased to announce that they have been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Young Business of the Year’ award at the Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards 2008. The event, attended by the Rt. Hon David Cameron, selects businesses from the region who have made an outstanding contribution to the area. The award is for businesses under 3 years old and focuses on company progression since inception. Strawberry, based in Bradford, was handpicked from a large number of entries due to its rapid progress since it started in 2006. Strawberry has quickly established strong working relationships with a number of key clients. This enabled investment in new service streams and staff infrastructure. Strawberry now works with 15% of English providers of Further Education including a number in the Yorkshire area - Park Lane College, A4E and Bradford College. Strawberry’s success has been inextricably linked to hard work, innovative ideas, strong business acumen and an investment in people. They are delighted to be selected and look forward to the event on the 17th October 2008.
September 1st 2008
Strawberry highlight changes in Government legislation for the supply of temporary staff
As announced in the 2008 budget the current Staff Hire Concession will be removed from April 2009. This will lead to an increase in the VAT liability placed on clients using temporary workers through employment businesses for the delivery of qualifications in the FE sector. Strawberry is working with the recruitment sector body, REC, to lobby the Government about the implementation of this directive. Also, from April 2009 holiday entitlement for temporary workers will increase to 5.6 weeks (28 days) based on full time employment, pro rata for those working part-time. This will affect anyone engaging staff through an employment businesses.
To find out more and to see if this affects you please contact Strawberry’s head office on 0845 094 3110
July 25th 2008
Strawberry open up Southern Office
Due to increasing client demand Strawberry have opened up a southern base. Strawberry will still maintain its Head Office in Bradford but will now benefit from a dedicated home in Swindon. Jon Cummins, Business Development Director, said ‘Since Strawberry started customer satisfaction has been paramount. The number of referrals from current client recommendations is testament to the high levels of service we provide. Having a permanent home in the south of the UK will allow us to offer even higher levels of support to FE providers in this area’. Set in the beautiful countryside of Wiltshire but with easy access to the M4 and M5 the office is a perfect setting for staff and clients.
July 14th 2008
Strawberry to attend key sector event.
Strawberry is pleased to be exhibiting at the ‘Becoming Recognised as an Awarding Body’ conference on 24 September. With a host of high profile keynote speakers the day will focus on the government’s decision to extend awarding powers to employers, colleges and training providers so they can offer their own qualifications. The event is aimed at senior staff within FE Colleges, Private Training Providers and other sector stakeholders. To learn more and to register please go to http://www.becominganawardingbody.co.uk/.
June 2nd 2008
Strawberry’s strengthens its ongoing commitment to the environment.
Strawberry supply a number of FE providers with high quality learning materials. We are pleased to announce that, for all new products, the paper and board used throughout our workbooks are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited and sourced. Also, all the inks used are vegetable inks which are made with a proportion of vegetable oil rather than petroleum oil. Being partially made with renewable resources such as soy, linseed and corn and means there is much less harm to the environment.
In addition to this all the waste material is separated and recycled at our printers, with waste ink disposed of by a licensed disposal company while our PVC binders are recycled and are made in Great Britain from up to 99% (by weight) recycled post consumer waste.
7th April 2008
Strawberry release first company newsletter
Due to frequent requests from existing and new clients we have launched our brand new company newsletter. Since our launch in 2006 we have grown significantly, primarily through word of mouth, supplying a range of key services to the Further Education sector. We have recently developed a new company structure that supports the needs of our clients nationwide with Regional Directors in both the North and South of the country. We have also strengthened our Head Office team to make sure that there is always someone on hand to help and advise on client requirements.
Recognising the needs of the FE Sector has been crucial to our success; from its inception we wanted Strawberry to be different, to provide the Sector with a fresh approach to its everyday issues. We have made it our business to understand our clients’ objectives and help provide the solutions.
We hope our newsletter provides key information to the sector and keeps you up to date with how we can help you meet LSC targets - if you would like to receive a copy or comment on any of the articles please e-mail me at jon@strawberryrecruitment.co.uk
Strategic partnership leads to success
In the first edition we hear from Sam Sawyer, Director of Performance and Quality at NVQUK about the successful partnership that has developed with Strawberry during the past 12 months and how this has led to major success within their organisation.
How has your relationship with Strawberry supported NVQUK?
One of Strawberry’s key services is the supply of qualified NVQ Assessors and Verifiers to colleges and private training providers. We approached Strawberry as we needed support to grow our Assessment team to meet an ever-increasing demand from employers in the Health and Social Care sector. We provided Strawberry with a brief and together we have developed a hugely successful recruitment strategy that has allowed us to meet the demands of the organisation.
In less than 6 months nearly 30 full time qualified Assessors and Verifiers have been successfully employed by NVQUK after being identified and referred by Strawberry, our partnership with Strawberry has been key to our success over the past year – their team has invested time and energy in understanding our business requirements with some great results.
What other initiatives have you been working on during the past 12 months?
Key to NVQUK’s success has been our popular NVQ STARS programme. This has been developed using a planned and systematic modular approach to the delivery of training and assessment.
Follow the link www.nvquk.co.uk/nvq-stars.asp to learn more about the NVQ STARS programme.
Stop Press …
New…
We can now provide Assessors on a temporary, contract basis. For more information visit our website
www.strawberryrecruitment.com
New …
NCFE Palliative Care and NCFE Equality and Diversity Learning Materials
Save …
10% on your initial order of any VRQ Learning Materials.
Subject to availability. Offer ends 31st May 2008
New … ASET Occupational Health and Safety and ASET Personal Health and Lifestyle Awareness Learning Materials.
3rd April
Strawberry help ‘Get Kids Going’
Strawberry are delighted to be sponsoring Matthew Harrison as he walks from the source of the Thames to London before running The Marathon in support of ‘Get Kids Going’, a national charity that gives disabled children and young people the wonderful opportunity of participating in sport. “‘Get Kids Going’ is a fantastic charity and if by supporting Matthew and his group we can help more disabled children and young people get into sport then we are delighted to help” commented Jon Cummins, Strawberry’s Business Development Director.
To learn more about the Get Kids Going charity and the work they undertake on behalf of disabled children and young people, or to make a donation, please visit www.getkidsgoing.com
Wednesday 21st November
Strawberry launches Christmas promotion on learning materials for new clients
Strawberry has created an exciting range of care related VRQ learning materials. Developed with leading Further Education colleges they have received a fantastic response from clients who are impressed with their quality and ease of use. As an early Christmas present all books ordered from new clients before the 15th January 2008 will cost just £45 each. The price includes the following:
• Branded front cover using your college logo – a key opportunity for you to promote awareness of your college to local employers and employees.
• A full training session for your delivery team with our experienced sector expert.
• A supporting assessor guide, available electronically for you to use with any existing guidance information
• Postage and packaging
Saturday 17th November
Strawberry sponsor Leeds vs Swindon League 1 Fixture
Strawberry was delighted to be the Match Ball sponsors at the recent League 1 fixture between Leeds United and Swindon Town. With bases in Swindon and Leeds it was an ideal opportunity to support their local football teams. After an entertaining match, Stuart Miller (Recruitment Director) and Jon Cummins (Business Development Director) presented the match ball to man of the match Leeds United’s Jonny Howson. Stuart commented that ‘this was a fantastic chance to demonstrate our commitment to supporting important centres for the local community’.
Monday 1st October 2007
Strawberry secure exclusive recruitment deal with leading training provider
Strawberry is delighted to have secured an exclusive arrangement with NVQUK to supply their NVQ Assessors and Verifiers. NVQUK are one of the leading private training providers and specialise in care related qualifications. After a successful initial pilot NVQUK agreed that Strawberry would be responsible for all recruitment related services. Jon Cummins (Business Development Director) said ‘we are really pleased that NVQUK have decided to utilise our services and we look forward to helping them deliver against their key LSC contracts. NVQUK have won a number of new contracts and Strawberry look forward to identifying high calibre applicants so they can meet employer and funding body demands’.
To apply for any vacancy please click on the following link: www.strawberryrecruitment.com/vacancies.php
Friday 28th September 2007
Strawberry launches new learning materials
Working alongside leading FE colleges, including North Warwickshire and Hinckley and Castle College (Nottingham), as well as awarding bodies NCFE and ASET Strawberry have launched two new VRQ Dementia learning materials. Using an exhaustive and robust process Strawberry has designed engaging and easy to use learning materials. All latest best practice, guidance and policy have been incorporated. The qualifications are on the Learning Aims Database and are typically delivered using either a distance or blended learning model. The front cover can be personalised with the employer or college logo. They are in full colour and contain a range of interesting and engaging activities that prepare the learner for the assessment element of the qualification.
To learn more about our learning materials please click on the following link: www.strawberryrecruitment.com/clients-lm.php