Serving the Teesside Business Community | 11
/NEWS
Redcar MP Anna Turley
joined other speakers –
including Claire Preston,
Yasmin Khan, Deb
McGargle, Dinah Bennett
OBE and Julie Gilhespie
– at an event to celebrate
the 10th anniversary of
Assist.
BUSINESS BITES
£21.4M UNI PROJECT STARTS
Networking is key to
Assist businesswomen,
says award-winner Claire
T
ees Businesswoman of the Year
Claire Preston praised the power of
networking as she helped celebrate 10
years of Assist Businesswomen’s Network
when she was among the speakers
at a special event at the refurbished
Middlesbrough Town Hall.
Assist exists to support business and
professional women across the Tees Valley,
sharing and learning business skills.
Claire, CEO of Middlesbrough-based
Lexonik by Sound Training, was joined on
the stage by Tees Businesswomen Awards
double winner Yasmin Khan and Redcar
MP Anna Turley among the speakers of the
Past, Present and Future event.
“Leading a professional working life can
be tough going for women in particular but,
thanks to organisations such as Assist, none
of us should ever feel alone,” said Claire.
“There are so many amazing women out
there supporting each other. Assist is proof
that support is usually on your doorstep but
you do have to reach out and look for it.”
She also urged attendees at the
celebration to consider entering the
2019 Tees Businesswomen Awards – or
nominate others for an award.
“Last year’s inaugural Tees
Businesswomen Awards were so important
in the way they inspired so many talented
women in so many different sectors,” she
added.
“I am confident that every one of the
attendees at the Assist event were worthy
of an award – it is really about whether they
acknowledge that fact.
“But even if they decide against entering,
I reckon they could all nominate a handful
of their fellow businesswomen who are
worthy of being considered for one of the
10 categories.”
Hosted by Ruth Winden, the event also
featured talks by lawyer Deb McGargle,
Dinah Bennett OBE and Julie Gilhespie,
chief executive of Tees Valley Combined
Authority.
Find out more about the 2019 Tees
Businesswomen awards on pages 18-23,
including an interview with cover star
Yasmin Khan.
INTERNATIONAL BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS
T
he region’s leading businesses have
an opportunity to bring talented
international students on board as part
of a scheme with Teesside University.
The university runs a number of two-year,
full-time masters programmes that have
proved especially attractive to international
students.
The opportunity to gain work experience in
the UK whilst studying for a masters degree
is very appealing to international students,
who are available to undertake semester
placements lasting 12-15 weeks.
Placements, which last for one semester,
starting from either September or January
each year, can be paid or unpaid, and can
be undertaken by individual students or by
groups.
Jane Turner, the university’s pro vice-
chancellor for enterprise and business
engagement, said: “Given the success
of the university’s international strategy,
which focuses on growing the international
student population on campus, there’s now a
learning community of international students
right on the doorstep of local businesses.
“An international student has so much to
Jane Turner OBE, Teesside University’s pro
vice-chancellor for business and enterprise.
offer local businesses as part of a risk-free
arrangement with the university.
“International students can provide
businesses with additional staffing resource
covering a particular project or busy period,
insight into developing markets, language
skills and because the students remain
attached to the university, links with the
excellent facilities and services the university
offers.”
The university’s Department of Academic
Enterprise can discuss placement
opportunities for postgraduate students in
more detail via the head of student futures,
Norman Day, who can be contacted via
[email protected] or 01642 738229.
Wates Construction has been appointed
to build the new student accommodation
development at Teesside University,
marking another major milestone in the
university’s £300m Campus Masterplan.
The £21.4m Cornell Quarter project,
located off Woodlands Road and Southfield
Road in Middlesbrough, will see Wates
build a new 300-bedroom residential
complex for students, arranged across 48
cluster apartments, each complete with
communal facilities and with a proportion
of rooms designed for students with
special mobility needs.
HR FIRM GROWS
HR Alchemy is celebrating hitting 60 clients
just a year after launching by expanding the
team and moving into a larger office.
Jo Davies runs HR Alchemy which is
based at the new business community at
Commerce House in Middlesbrough and
is expanding with larger offices and a new
full-time office manager.
PLAN FOR DERELICT PROPERTIES
An innovative scheme to turn derelict
properties into refurbished homes is to be
relaunched.
Redcar and Cleveland Council’s
successful Empty Homes to Happy Homes
project to convert empty properties to
homes for vulnerable people previously
operated from 2010 to 2016.
Now the local authority and voluntary
sector partners are to relaunch the
scheme.
HIGH TIDE DONATION
Rockliffe Hall presented a cheque for
£2,600 to The High Tide Foundation
following the five-star resort’s year-long
partnership with the Tees charity.
Rockliffe hosted a number of events
for the foundation including a special
afternoon tea, the High Tide ball and a golf
day.
The High Tide Foundation brings
together industry and education across
Teesside to increase awareness of career
opportunities, showcase the region’s
industries and raise aspirations for young
people in the Tees Valley.
Teesside-based TTE is the
UK’s largest technical training
organisation in the engineering,
process and oil and gas sectors.
#TalkingUpTeesside