BUSINESS20 / Monday June 9, 2014

Company hits out atapprenticeship plans

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BUSINESS IN BRIEF

REGION: More should be doneto allow office staff to workfrom home, the South WestTrades Union Congress says.

A report from the Office ofNational Statistics shows theregion has the highest homeworking rate in England at17.1 per cent, but the TUCsays this figure is skewed byfarmers and over-65s.

Nigel Costley, the regionalsecretary for the South WestTUC, said: “Too many bossesstill don’t trust staff to workfrom home and instead forcethem to trudge into the officeso they can keep an eye onthem.”

Breakfastat meetingLYMINGTON: LymingtonChamber of Commerce holdsa breakfast meeting onThursday June 19, 7-9am, atLinden House in New Street.

Details are at lymington.biz

Networkingat eventPOOLE: Poole Chamber ofTrade and Commerce holdsits next Chamber Xchangenetworking event on MondayJune 16, 6-8pm, at Twin SailsWharf. The event is free andwill have a cash bar.

New way toraise fundsPURBECK: A new way to raisefunds from buildingdevelopment has beenintroduced in Purbeck,officials have confirmed.

Purbeck District Councilsays the aim of theCommunity InfrastructureLevy (CIL) is to “raise fundsfrom new buildingdevelopment to provideinfrastructure to offset theimpact of the development.”

A schedule listing the CILcharges is available atdorsetforyou.com

Post Officegets revampBEARWOOD: Bearwood PostOffice, Magna Road, Poole, isbeing modernised to create anew open plan branch withlonger opening hours. It willclose at 5.30pm on July 16 forrefurbishment and isscheduled to open on July 28.

Staff workfrom home

PLANS to make employers bearmore of the costs ofapprenticeships could hit smallbusinesses hard, it is claimed.

GF Electrical has hit out atproposals for the “co-funding” ofapprenticeships, which were partof a government consultationthat closed recently.

Michelle Fuller, whoestablished the company 10 yearsago with husband Gary, said theyhad three apprentices amongtheir 11-strong team based atHolton Heath.

She was concerned about theimpact on cash flow if employersare forced to pay fees up front fortheir apprentices’ training andclaim back some of the coststhrough the PAYE system. It isnot yet clear how much of thecosts would be recoverable.

“For slightly larger companiesit’s not too much of a problembut for small businesses and soletraders, it really causes them aproblem,” she said.

“We’re still struggling from2008-9 when the recession wasout there, especially in thisindustry. We don’t need thehassle.”

Apprenticeships in electricalcontracting run for four yearsand require a lot of supervisionfrom experienced staff.

“In the 10 years we’ve been inbusiness, we’ve always hadapprentices, but it’s notprofitable for a company in theearly stages,” said Mrs Fuller.

The company took onapprentices Matt Hughes andJamie O’Shea last year through

the training organisation JTL,which deals with coursework.

Mrs Fuller said: “The guyshave brought vitality to thecompany and have integratedreally well into the team.

“We’ve had plenty of positivefeedback so we decided to take onanother apprentice, DarylNimmo, last month.”

Skills minister MatthewHancock has said theapprenticeship system needs tobe reformed “to put it at the

forefront of economic growth foryears to come”.

A ‘trailblazers’ scheme whichbegan last year saw the setting ofnew apprenticeship standards inthe sectors involved, along with anew funding system which meantbusinesses received £2 for every£1 they invest in apprenticeships.

Mr Hancock said:“Apprenticeships will deliverhigher quality across the board,skills relevant to the future andgive everyone in the country the

opportunity to realise theirpotential. I am calling forbusinesses to come alongside usand we can go forward together.”

CHANGES: Theteam at GFElectrical,based atHolton Heath

DORCHESTER-based DorsetCereals has been sold for areported £50m.

The proposed change inownership is not expected toaffect the company’s currentmanufacturing base inPoundbury.

Associated British Foods,which owns the Jordans andRyvita brands, has clinchedthe takeover in the face ofcompetition from industrygiants Kellogg and Weetabix.

Dorset Cereal is currentlyowned by Wellness Foods,which is based at Chertsey.

Wellness is a subsidiary ofErbium Capital Partnersand is backed byhorseracing tycoons JPMcManus and JohnMagnier.

Wellness Foods Limited, ahealth food group,purchased the award-winning firm in 2008.

A spokesman forAssociated British Foodssaid: “We can confirm thatthe Jordans & RyvitaCompany, part of AssociatedBritish Foods, has reachedan agreement to purchase

the Dorset Cereals brandfrom Wellness Foods, subjectto regulatory approval.

“Until the acquisition hasbeen cleared by theregulatory authorities,Dorset Cereals will continueto operate as a part ofWellness Foods, and it isinappropriate for us tocomment further at thisstage.

“We can confirm that ourintention would be tomaintain Dorset Cereals'existing manufacturing basein Poundbury, Dorset.”

DarrenSlade

CONTACT ME

t: 01202 411297e: darren.slade@bournemouthecho.co.uktwitter: @echodaz

Dorset Cereals sells for £50m