ImagesMagUK_November_2021

INDUSTRY NEWS www.images-magazine.com 26 images NOVEMBER 2021 Sunak pledges business support In his speech at the Conservative Party conference in October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged to rebuild the economy after it was hit by Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns. He announced that the Kickstart scheme, which provides paid placements for people aged 16 to 24 on universal credit, will be extended by three months to March 2022. Launched in September last year, the scheme was allocated £2 billion in funding to create 250,000 jobs by the end of 2021 but, according to the latest figures, only 76,900 have actually started Kickstart roles and only 196,300 roles in total have been made available for youngsters to apply for. Participating businesses include Edinburgh garment decorator Get Branded, profiled in the October issue of Images magazine. He also announced an extension to the Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) scheme – for those who have been unemployed for more than three months – by another year. Other actions include extending the £3,000 incentive for firms to take on apprentices until the end of January 2022. In addition, Rishi Sunak has promised more help for people coming off the furlough scheme, which closed at the end of September 2021. imagesmag.uk/sunak-kickstart Rishi Sunak has extended the Kickstart scheme until March 2022 Successful return for Promotion & Branding Shows The organisers of the Promotion & Branding Shows have reported good attendance at this autumn’s events. Starting in Peterborough, the show visited Bristol, Newcastle upon Tyne, Greater Manchester and Glasgow during September and October. The events gave visitors a welcome opportunity to view a variety of embroidery, printing and transfer machines and to meet major apparel and accessories suppliers. Alongside the show’s host GS UK, it included textile companies and apparel brands including BTC Activewear, Result Clothing, Fruit of the Loom, Russell, Henbury Brands, Regatta, Beechfield Brands, AWDis, Pro RTX, Stormtech and United Brands of Scandinavia. There were demonstrations on embroidery machines from GS UK and direct-to-film (DTF) printing from Dye Sublimation Supplies. Innotex Transfer Technology presented innovative ways to decorate a vast range of textiles, and MiRiCal Emblems showcased its selection of garment decoration products. imagesmag.uk/promo-show21 BPIF Training names apprentice of the year Becky Springell of MiRiCal Emblems was named apprentice of the year by the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) in October. The 26-year-old joined MiRiCal Emblems as an apprentice in its customer service team in February 2020, just before the first Covid lockdown, and undertook a Level 2 Business Skills apprenticeship with BPIF Training. Despite being furloughed for six weeks from April 2020, Becky continued with her studies at home and successfully completed her course in summer 2021. MiRiCal Emblems’ MD, Jonathan Dul, said: “That she has achieved this success against the backdrop of the pandemic says a lot about her as a person and we’re very happy that she will remain with us.” imagesmag.uk/mirical-apprentice The Promotion & Branding Show visited Manchester in September 2021 Ripples receives Scottish Prestige Award Ola Adeyemi, the founder of Ripples Custom Designs and Prints in Aberdeen, has received an award on behalf of her team in Scotland’s Prestige business awards. The company, which specialises in garment printing and embroidery, was named embroidery service of the year for the Aberdeen area in the 2020/21 Scotland Prestige Awards. Winners received their trophies at an event for Scottish businesses at Norton House Hotel & Spa in Mumbles in September. Ola said: “This award means so much to me and the Ripples team as it validates our hard work. I have been running Ripples Prints for over eight years now, and to be recognised for our services as we enter our ninth year, shows we are not stopping any time soon.” Ripples Custom Designs and Prints was profiled in the June 2021 edition of Images magazine. imagesmag.uk/ripples-prestige Ola Adeyemi of Ripples Custom Designs and Prints with the company’s Prestige Award Check out our Decorator Reports: www.images-magazine.com Becky Springell with her award