Chambers Ireland CSR Awards calls for Nominations

Applications are now open for this year’s Chambers Ireland CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Awards. Now in their tenth year, the Awards are run in association with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, partnered by Business in the Community and kindly sponsored by BAM.

These Awards recognise the commitment of the Irish business community to the values of corporate social responsibility and provide multinational corporations, large indigenous companies and SMEs with an excellent opportunity to showcase their commitment to CSR. Participation in the CSR Awards enables companies to lead by example and demonstrate the positive contributions that businesses can make to the civic environment in which they operate.

Award categories include:

• Excellence in the Environment
• Community (divided into Charity, Volunteering and Community Programme)
• International CSR
• CSR Communications
• Best SME
• The Overall Outstanding Achievement in CSR Award

Previous winners include Telefonica Ireland (operator of the O2 brand), Microsoft, Vodafone Ireland, Abbott Ireland and IBM.

The closing date for nominations is Thursday 25^th April 2013.

For further information please feel free to contact Siobhan Bradley, Policy & Research Manager or please see here. To apply go directly to www.csrawards.ie

Bus Transfers in Operation between Mallow & Cork from 3rd to 12th May 

Iarnród Éireann will operate a bus transfer between Mallow and Cork from 20:00hrs on Friday 3^rd May 2013 to final service on Sunday 12^th May 2013, to facilitate planned maintenance and improvement works on the Monard Viaduct, near Blarney.

Service arrangements during this time include:

-      Bus transfers between Mallow and Cork in both directions for all services.

-      Cork Mallow Commuter services will operate as a bus transfer.

-      Bus transfers for Kerry and Dublin services departing Cork will leave 25 minutes earlier than the scheduled train departure time to ensure a timely connection with services departing Mallow to Dublin and Kerry.  Mallow to Dublin and Kerry services will operate to a normal schedule.

-      For the duration of the works car parking will be free at Mallow.

-      Normal Commuter services will operate between Cobh/Midleton and Cork during this time.

-      Full services will resume on Monday 13^th May.

Further information and full timetable details are available at www.irishrail.ie or call our customer information line 1850 366222.

Why train with us? We have small class sizes of an average of 10 persons per class (individual attention guaranteed) Top Trainers (all are leaders within their respective fields), locally delivered and exceptionally good value for money.

Certificate in Supervisory Management (FETAC Level 6)

Course Dates: 24^th April, 1^st, 8^th & 29^th May

Member Rate: €450.00

The transition from an individual team member to a supervisory role is one of the most critical and difficult career moves. Most are promoted because they are good at doing their job, not because they are good at supervising others. Representing the largest pool of management in most companies, supervisors prove vital to an organisation’s success and investment in their development is crucial. Following the completion of this 4 day programme, you will have:

• Acquired the theoretical knowledge enabling you to understand the role and responsibilities of a supervisor
•  Acquired a range of supervisory and management skills
• Developed good interpersonal communication skills
• Demonstrated the confidence to deal with a variety of challenging situations
• Developed good work practices appropriate to your role as supervisor/line manager.

The course is designed for:

•  Existing Team Leaders and Supervisors who wish to gain a formal accredited qualification in Supervisory Management.
• Newly appointed Team Leaders and Supervisors who wish to learn how to manage operations, people and teams.
•  Managers in business who have direct reports and wish to learn best-practice techniques for managing people through teamwork.
• People who wish to gain a professional, accredited qualification in the area of Supervisory Management.

Following successful completion you will receive a FETAC Level 6 minor award in Supervisory Management, and at a cost of only €450.00 for members. Places are limited to 8 so don’t delay, BOOK TODAY!

“Beyond the Basics” – MS Powerpoint 2007/2010

Course Date: 26^th April  

Member Rate: €100.00

This one day programme will teach you how to produce and run professional looking slide shows. The course reviews the basics of PowerPoint to quickly run through shortcuts and speed keys, working through from text based slide content through to alternative options - inserting ClipArt, pictures, photos, diagrams, movie clips etc. The course will then look at formatting the slide show including applying PowerPoint design templates and creating your own design templates for future use. Then learn how to run the slide show in the most professional way possible through the use of some simple keys.

Our “Beyond the Basics” Course, costing only €100.00 includes:

• The Do’s and Don’ts of PowerPoint
• Working with Slides
• Formatting the Presentation
• Logos/Clipart/Pictures
• Working with Charts
• Diagrams
• Drawing Tools
• Multimedia
• Adding the Finishing Touches
• Creating a Slide Show

This course is suitable for those who are already familiar with the basics of MS PowerPoint and would now like to build on that knowledge. BOOK NOW

Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt)

Course Dates: 8 Days:2^nd & 3^rd May, 21^st & 22^nd May, 11^th, 12^th, 18^th & 25^th June

Member Rate: €900.00

In these challenging times, all companies need to ensure that they are controlling current costs and taking the steps needed to enhance their future performance. Lean Six Sigma helps companies streamline operations, increase value and reduce waste. Lean Six Sigma is a prescription for regaining business health and transforming a company, a way to cut waste from its operations and of increasing productivity and improving quality.

Lean Six Sigma Green Belts are vital assets to any business. They are key employees equipped with specialist tools to make these ‘changes for the better’ happen. Utilizing a vast array of tools, Lean Six Sigma focuses on improving speed and quality of a product or service, regardless of the industrial sector or size of the business, helping a business in becoming better and faster, providing a greater value product to the customer. They are key employees equipped with specialist tools to make these ‘changes for the better’ happen. Utilizing a vast array of tools, Lean Six Sigma focuses on improving speed and quality of a product or service, regardless of the industrial sector or size of the business, helping a business in becoming better and faster, providing a greater value product to the customer.

At the end of this training programme you will be able to:

• Understand Continuous Improvement.
• Understand Lean Six Sigma methodology and DMAIC.
• Understand Change Management and tools used.
• Understand how to use the most important tools in DMAIC phases.
• Identify sources of waste and variation within the business.
• Use Lean Six Sigma as an efficient and effective cost reduction strategy.

This course is intended for those employees within a business who are engaged in daily problem solving and/or project management, for example Process Engineers, Quality Technicians and Engineers, Maintenance, Supervisors, Managers and Project Managers.

Our next Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt) course starts on 2^nd May next and is of eight days duration delivered over three months for ONLY €900 so BOOK NOW!!

 See our full range of courses at www.corkchamber.ie/training

Bookings can be completed through the website and enquiries should be directed to Aoife@corkchamber.ie  (Training Services Administrator)

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs has reopened their call for applications, offering new entrepreneurs in Europe an opportunity to work with experienced entrepreneurs in other countries. This EC-funded programme offers budding entrepreneurs from all over Europe an opportunity to get hands-on experience from a successful entrepreneur in their industry.  Young entrepreneurs are matched with an experienced entrepreneur from their industry and given financial support and guidance. This highly successful programme has proven to increase the resilience of start-ups from all over Europe. The call is open until 9^th November 2013.  For more information see www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu or email Katherine@corkchamber.ie

WIRE Conference 2013

“Regions: leading the way - Research and Innovation for growth and competitiveness”.

The 4th WIRE Conference will take place at University College Cork, on the 6th-7th of June 2013. It is co-organized by Enterprise Ireland and the European Commission and supported by FP7, the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development.  The objective of the Conference is to bring together representatives of European regional networks and clusters, FP7 (Research Potential and Regions of Knowledge) and InterReg communities, industry representative groups and companies with regional policy makers and implementation groups, DG Research, DG Enterprise and DG Regio officials to contribute to the debate on research, innovation and regional policy development and to better position regional actors to enhance policy formation for effective regional development.  The Conference will feature key-note speeches from Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science and Sean Sherlock TD Minister of State, Department of Enterprise, Jobs & Innovation and Department of Education & Skills with responsibility for Research & Innovation.

www.wire2013.eu

EUROSME Conference 2013

This high-level conference which is to take place in Dublin on 11th-12th June 2013 under the auspices of the Irish EU presidency, will take a closer look at what it takes to be a thriving entrepreneur in the 21st century, how small companies can compete effectively in an increasingly globalized world, and how they can gain maximum benefit from existing and future private and public support mechanisms. The event will spotlight Horizon 2020, the EU’s upcoming Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, which is less than one year away from its official launch. It also provides an opportunity to make a difference – or help entrepreneurs to make a difference – and shape the EU Innovation Agenda.

www.eurosme2013.eu

EURONANO Forum 2013

From 18th-20th June in Dublin, meet over 70 high profile international speakers from industry, government and research to discuss solutions for commercialisation of nanotechnologies, exploiting its potential for new applications and taking them further from enabling technologies to end products.

www.euronanoforum2013.eu

The Vodafone Smart StartUp Network is coming back to Cork on Thursday, 25^th April

The Smart StartUp Network is designed and organised by Vodafone specifically for start-ups.  The network consists of a roadshow of events which provide attending entrepreneurs with free access to expert mentors who run digital training sessions in social media, business productivity, e-commerce and marketing planning. 

The next Vodafone Smart StartUp Network event will take place in Vertigo, Cork County Hall on Thursday, 25^th April from 7.00am – 9.30am. Deirdre Collins, the businesswoman and entrepreneur behind Dee’s ‘Eat Well, Be Happy’ Burgers will be sharing her experiences in establishing and growing a business at the event.  

Claire Reynolds, Small Business Manager at Vodafone Ireland said, “We established the Vodafone Smart StartUp Network last year in direct response to small businesses and start-ups telling us that they wanted to build business knowledge, particularly around how technology can enable growth.  So we designed sessions specifically to give small businesses unique access to experts who can help them gain additional skills in areas such as ecommerce and social media, and as a result encourage business development and growth.  The network has been a huge success so far with all sessions fully booked out at each event.  So if you’re a small business or start-up, make sure you register!”

For further information about the network or upcoming events, visit www.startups.vodafone.ie

Vodafone takes a new approach to price plans with Vodafone RED

Vodafone Ireland is taking a completely new approach to mobile price plans byoffering bill pay customers a choice of five new plans with added benefits at no extra cost.  Vodafone RED allows bill pay customers to enjoy an easier and richer mobile life at better value. 

Vodafone RED also offers a new price plan for business customers called Vodafone RED Business Super and priced at €75 a month.

For details on the Vodafone RED plans, visit www.vodafone.ie/RED