NAS Training Centre to host Chamber Business after Hours

The NAS Training Centre, based in the Cleaboy Business Park, will host a Business after Hours, in association with Waterford Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday, May 1^st.

The state of the art training facility has gained a reputation as one of the region’s leading conference and training venues and May’s open event will give businesses and trainers the opportunity to learn about the facilities and courses on offer.

According to Ray Power, General Manager of NAS Training Centre, the portfolio of courses has grown exponentially since it opened in 2006.  “The NAS Training Centre hosts a wide range of academic and practical courses for different sectors and disciplines.”

“We have proactively sought to work with strategic partners in developing a broad portfolio of training courses.  We are working with an array of local and national trainers, such as the I.I.T.D., Mary Daly and Associates and Darlington Consulting.”

“Our partnership with Adult Continuing Education at UCC has been very successful and has seen the centre run courses in Autism Studies and Disability Studies.”

“We are currently engaged in our second Irish Times Digital Media training course and the feedback has been excellent.  This course is aimed at any organisation, business or individual that wants to gain a better understanding of the ever evolving digital landscape and the trainers comprise of some of the most well regarded names on the digital media landscape, such as Eoin Kennedy of Knudger, Maeve Kneasey of Elucidate and Conor Pope of the Irish Times, amongst other industry experts” Ray added.

The NAS Training Centre also provides facilities for companies wishing to hold off site meetings or conferences.  “We have developed the centre so that it provides state of the art facilities, in a bright and spacious setting, plenty of free parking and catering facilities, which have been proven to encourage and nurture optimum performance from all participants.”

The NAS Training Centre Business after Hours takes place at Unit 3, Cleaboy Business Park, Old Kilmeaden Road on Thursday, May 1^st at 6pm.  For further information or to book your place call Waterford Chamber on 051 872639 or email sheila.quinn@waterfordchamber.ie.

Rotary club of Waterford appeals to the public to cycle for charity

The Rotary Club of Waterford’s annual Fun Cycle takes place again this year on Sunday May 11^th 2014 at Mc Donald’s on the Cork Road, starting at 11.00 am the cycle travels  to Tramore and back.

The Charity Cycle, now in its fifth year, is an opportunity for anyone who cycles and believes in helping a good cause. 

Regular participants are those who know a family who have stayed in the Ronald McDonald House or have stayed in the house themselves and wish to give something back.

  

Waterford Rotary appeals to cyclists of all ages to join. No pre-registration is required, just get the bike out or borrow one, and join in for about two hours on May 11^th.

To top it all, WLR fm will be broadcasting live from McDonalds on the Cork road and Ronald Mc Donald will join the fun on the day. All cyclists will be treated to a free Burger after the cycle plus lots of other treats on the day.

The Ronald McDonald House, Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital

The Ronald McDonald House provides a home-away-from-home for families of seriously ill children who are hospitalised or undergoing extended treatment at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. Families will be able to stay for the dura

tion of their child’s stay in hospital. The Ronald McDonald House provides a supportive environment for these families. The first Irish Ronald McDonald House was a 15,000 square feet stand alone building in the grounds of Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. The House can accommodate up to 16 families in en-suite family bedrooms with communal kitchens, dining areas and living areas. It also has a toddlers’ room and full laundry facilities.

Since opening in November 2004 the House has been “home” to over 1000 families from all over Ireland. Some have stayed for just a few nights, while others stay for 7 or 8 months!  The beauty of the house is that each room accommodates 4 so grannies, granddads, brothers and sisters can all help in the child’s recovery.

The annual running costs are in excess of €300,000. We are very dependent on the continuing support of all to cover the ongoing costs of running the House.

Sponsorship cards are available from Mc Donald’s City Centre or Cork Road, Lily o Brien’s and Nolke Opticians, or donations can be made directly on the Rotary website – www.waterfordrotary.org

Irish Handmade Glass takes the US by storm

Having made its international television debut on one of the world’s largest shopping channels on St. Patricks’ Day, Waterford’s Irish Handmade Glass company has been invited to feature on the QVC shopping channel again next year.

In September 2013, the Waterford glass manufacturer caught the attention of QVC at Showcase, Ireland’s Creative Expo, and was chosen from hundreds of Irish designers and producers to showcase its product on the St. Patricks Day show.

Tony Hayes, Master Glass Blower and one of the founders of Irish Handmade Glass travelled to the Philadelphia home of QVC, where he underwent two days of intensive media training before showcasing the “Lovebird” collection to an audience of over 35 million viewers.

“It was an amazing experience”, Tony said.  “We sent over product, our glass Lovebird pairs, a few weeks before we were due on air.  Then when we arrived I had two full days of mentoring, training and rehearsals.  We were allocated five minutes and ten seconds live on air and when I was finished was told that over 35 million people had viewed our segment and all of our products were practically sold out within that time.”

“Not only was it a fantastic opportunity for us to get such exposure, we made sure to focus on the fact that our products are 100% guaranteed Irish, 100% handmade and most specifically 100% Waterford.”

The positive reaction to the Lovebird collection has ensured that Irish Handmade Glass will be featuring on the channel again in 2015.

“We have just been asked to return for St. Patrick’s Day next year.  The QVC buyers have been in touch with us and requested sample products which we hope to feature on the show. QVC looks for authentically Irish hand crafted products and our multi-coloured Lovebird pairs, which are inset with Irish wild flower, were a huge hit with the US audience.”

Ciaran Cullen, Acting Chief Executive, Waterford City Enterprise Board, which has supported Irish Handmade Glass since the beginning through funding and mentoring added, “We were absolutely delighted that the Irish Handmade Glass Company was chosen from hundreds of Irish designers and producers by QVC.”

 

“Being invited back by QVC for next year’s St. Patrick’s Day broadcast not only proves that Tony and the team can make beautiful high quality glass pieces, it also shows that there is a significant international demand for the work of Waterford’s highly skilled glass cutters and blowers, which is something we can be very proud of.”

The founders of The Irish Handmade Glass Company are Danny Murphy, Tony Hayes, Derek Smith and Richard Rowe.  They established the company in the Kite Design Studios in the Viking Triangle and have almost 150 years cumulative experience in glass blowing and cutting.

Producing 100% mouth blown and hand cut coloured crystal in the Kite Design Studios in Henrietta Street the Irish Handmade Glass Company has quickly become one of Ireland’s leading glass manufacturers.

To see more from the Irish Handmade Glass Company go to www.theirishhandmadeglasscompany.com or call the Kite Design Studios on 051 858914.

Waterford's Cathal takes top national student enterprise award

Jonathan Earl, B2B Communications, Jacqui Gaule and Ciaran Cullen, Waterford City Enterprise Board collecting National Student Enterprise Award on behalf of Cathal Daly

16 year old Cathal Daly, a transition year student at De la Salle College, Waterford, was announced as Senior Winner of the 12th Annual City and County Enterprise Boards Student Enterprise Awards National Finals in Dublin’s Croke Park.

Cathal's award winning company, “Upright Cycle Stands” produces hardwood cycle stands for bicycles with clipless pedals that hold the bicycle by the pedal so it does not touch the frame or rims of the bicycle. 

Organised by the County and City Enterprise Boards, a record-breaking 17,000 students from 370 schools have researched, set-up and managed their real-life businesses, as part of the biggest student enterprise programme in the country

Through their involvement, students learn important business skills, gain real-world experience and develop their commercial instincts. It also gives students;

•  practical, real life experience of setting up and running their own business

• the opportunity to think about entrepreneurship and self-employment as a viable career choice

and it: 

• enhances the teaching of business and entrepreneurship in schools by combining class room learning with real life experience

Judging of the awards centres on key business areas, including: business planning, market research, sales and marketing, financial management, innovation and enterprise.  Cathal receives an International enterprise education study visit to Lisbon as part of his prize.

Scandinavian students enjoy an enterprising visit to Waterford City

From March 24^th to 27^th 40 Norwegian and Swedish students and 5 teachers visited Waterford City on the invitation of Ciaran Cullen CEO (Acting), Waterford City Enterprise board. The students are studying a 3-year entrepreneurship program, this is the student’s 3^rd and last year and the Irish visit is the highlight of their year.

A full itinerary was planned for the group including visits to Waterford City enterprises, WIT, historical venues such as the Medieval Museum and on Tuesday March 25^th they attended a private morning seminar. Held at the Garden Room in the Medieval Museum, the seminar included talks by Eamonn McEneaney, Director of Waterford Treasures, Ciaran Cullen CEO (Acting) Waterford City Enterprise Board and the Norwegian Ambassador to Ireland, Roald Næss on Irish/Norwegian trade relations over the 1,100 years that Waterford has been a city.

This is the fifth year Waterford City Enterprise Board has hosted a Norwegian student group. Ciaran Cullen emphasised the importance of the visit, “We have spent a number of years developing friendships with Norway and hosting student groups. This is the second year Swedish students have also travelled."

"The total numbers have doubled in size in the past three years, which I believe is a testament to the success of the relationship. Our approach to enterprise development is a good example to the students and their enterprise teachers, and we have much to learn from them also” Mr. Cullen added.

The group took particular interest and learned much from visiting some of the Enterprise Board’s clients. These included a trip to the Kite Studios, Spraoi and Emerald Crystal where they learned how local enterprises start, grow and competed on a national and international stage. The most fun had to be the visit to WIT and TSSG were they partook in a ‘start your own business’ Pizza game, discovering the pitfalls and various stages of business growth.

Norwegian teacher, Anne Karin Sveinall described the importance of the visit, “I am delighted we have made this study visit a permanent fixture for our 3^rd grade entrepreneurship class. Ireland is in many ways similar to Norway, it is a small country with about 5 million inhabitants. Our students need to learn that Norway is a small country on the edge of Europe, and we depend heavily of the rest of Europe and the world. Many Norwegians seem to think that we will get along fine on our own because of the oil; this is definitely not the case. Not many have been to Ireland before, so this will open their eyes to what Ireland has to offer.”

The group returned home on Thursday March 27^th, tired from a full schedule but having learned much about Ireland and Waterford City’s entrepreneurial challenges and skills.

Getting personal with Shannonside FM and Northern Sound

Following a series of focus groups during the summer of 2013, Shannonside FM and Northern Sound radio stations commissioned B2B communications to develop a marketing campaign for 2014.

Working closely with the station’s listeners we got a taste of what’s important to the audience of the region’s award- winning Shannonside FM and Northern Sound radio stations.

The concept of uncovering the real “personalities” of the on-air personalities was brought to life in a fun, imaginative and creative 8 hour photo-shoot.  The on air and news crew were fantastic to work with and the resulting 12 creative concepts were recently rolled out across the regional press, large format 48 sheets and through social media. 

De la Salle College succeeds at the Waterford City Student Enterprise Awards

Deputy Mayor of Waterford Cllr. Tom Cunningham recently presented the Waterford City Enterprise Board perpetual student enterprise trophy to Cathal Daly for his business, Upright Cycles.
   
The winning entry saw the from De la Salle College pupil founda business where he made hardwood cycle stands for bicycles.  The stand with clipless pedals holds the bicycle by the pedal so it does not touch the frame or rims of the bicycle. 

Cathal will now go on to represent Waterford City at the National Finals in Croke Park on April 2^nd.  

Mr. Bertie Rogers, Chair of Waterford City Enterprise Board, praised the teachers, judges and students for all their effort.  He said, “This programme is designed to prepare students for a possible future in Enterprise. As two thirds of students today will be self-employed at some stage in their lives, it is particularly relevant.  Given the quality of entries today the future looks bright for Enterprise in Waterford City”.

The Waterford City Student Enterprise Awards involves over 350 Waterford transition year students every year. It is part of a national competition.  Each year almost 15,000 students from all over Ireland get to find out what it’s really like to be their own boss and run their own business by taking part in the Student Enterprise Awards Programme.

Mr. Ciaran Cullen, Waterford City Enterprise Board CEO (Acting), praised the winning group itself.  “Whether it is student enterprise or SMEs, good ideas always shine. organisation and determination are very important but a good idea will always stand out and Cathal certainly had the idea, the organisation and the determination. We are delighted with this year’s city winner and are optimistic for the National Finals next month.” 

   

Other Waterford Student Enterprise winners included; 

2nd place: Pet Protects by Eimear Buggy, Aisling Fitzgerald, Laura Maher, Heather Doyle of Abbey Community College

3rd place: Banter Bars by Matthew Kelly, Lilly Rose Fitzmaurice and John Jephson of Newtown Secondary School.

Best Display: The Cake Shop by Sophie Lee of Newtown Secondary School

Best innovation: At Your Finger Tips by Sarah Hickey, Niamh Casey and Rebecca Mulhall of Mercy Convent Secondary School

Students’ Choice Award also went to Cathal Daly of De la Salle College

Waterford City Enterprise Board offers support services for start-up and existing SME’s in Waterford city. If you have a new business idea or are running a business that requires assistance you can contact the Enterprise Board by phoning Celia on 051-852883 or logging on to www.waterfordceb.com.