Hear directly from Michael Cawley on Fáilte Ireland’s plans to support continued growth in the tourism sector and how they are preparing to approach potential future challenges such as the impact Brexit will have on UK visitor numbers.
Michael was appointed as Fáilte Ireland Chairman in 2014 when the tourism industry was just beginning to emerge from a period of contraction during the recession. Since then, Fáilte Ireland have launched numerous successful initiatives to help develop tourism products around the country, such as the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East and the rebranding of Dublin as well as a large number of other smaller regional projects.
Promotion
Why Cork?
Via our Connecting Cork initiative we were delighted to partner with Savills recently in order to support an event in their London office, aimed at showcasing some of their Irish properties and promoting the opportunities available for people considering relocating or returning to Ireland. We joined forces to produce this fantastic ‘Why Cork?’ brochure, which contains over 50 facts and stats about Cork - check it out here.
#StrongerTogether – Cork Chamber’s Business Impact Map
Cork Chamber is proud to be part of the Business in the Community initiative to map our business impacts. Since joining BITC in 2017 we have worked to map what we have been doing across our wider community and social environment. At the recent launch, the latest Business Impact Maps for Ireland, BITC showed that in total almost €12 million was given in cash donations; €9.7 million was contributed through in-kind donations and over €5.6 million was raised through employee fundraising from businesses across Ireland.
Employees also volunteered over 231,668 hours to local groups and projects during the year. Cork Chamber are delighted to participate in this initiative and are busy making progress for 2018. For a closer look, click here.
CSR Awards 2018 now open for applications
The CSR Awards 2018 are now open for applications!
The Chambers Ireland website is now live with lots of helpful information for applicants including:
Closing date for applications is Tuesday 17th of April 2018.
Policy
Morrisons Island Public Realm Project
Take a walk through what’s planned under the Morrison’s Island Public Realm and Flood Defence project. The scheme is open to consultation until April 12th and we encourage members to have their say by emailing.
Cork City Council, Cork Smart Gateway and Enterprise Ireland launch €70k Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Challenge to tackle graffiti.
This seed fund challenge invites applicants to deliver innovative ways to prevent and mitigate against instances of graffiti across Cork City. The SBIR challenge is a joint initiative between Cork City Council and Enterprise Ireland and is open for applications from 12 noon on 4th April 2018 until 12 noon on 1st June 2018. Successful applicants will be selected by an open competition process run in two phases.
Working with the British Embassy in Dublin, we are looking to gather feedback and ideas, to identify future opportunities for collaboration between the South West of Ireland and the UK regions. Click here to inform our future trading relationship.
Your feedback will help us to better understand the levels of awareness of the activities currently underway in these locations, and to identify the perceived strengths of each location. Our aim is to identify a programme of work to create links and support activities that will benefit the business, academic and research communities in each location.
Government opens applications for €300 million Brexit Loan Scheme for Irish Businesses
Last Wednesday, 28th Government opened the Brexit Loan Scheme for applications, a loan fund worth a total of €300 million provided by the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Business Enterprise and Innovation, and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s share of funding ensures that at least 40% of the fund will be available to food businesses. The Scheme is open to eligible businesses with up to 499 employees and has the potential to benefit over 5,000 companies.
Should you have any questions about the scheme, please contact Chambers Ireland EU & International Affairs Manager Emma Kerins directly via email.
The equivalent of 20,000 wheelie bins of raw sewage is released into Cork Lower Harbour every day. Irish Water, in partnership with Cork County Council, is working to end this practice and clean up the harbour through its investment in the Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project.
The workplace is changing rapidly. Innovations in technologies like automation, robotics and AI cause constant disruption and the most effective ways to attract and retain valuable talent are ever evolving.
Cork Chamber and the National Recruitment Federation (NRF) will join forces to co-host an evening seminar on The Future of Work where we will examine how the latest workplace trends impact on business today. We’ll also be looking at global trends in the recruitment industry and how the dynamic nature of attracting and sourcing talent is changing rapidly and significantly. At this event you will hear from industry experts Peter Cosgrove, Founder of The Future of Work Institute, Susan Manning, Partner, The People Practice and Edward Heffernan, NRF. Book your place now for this hugely popular annual event!
Cork Chamber and The Crawford Art Gallery invite you to come Networking at Noon this April; a new lunch-time event where you can take a break from the desk but still be working on building your network and growing your business! Escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and discover alchemy, enchantment, and mystery as you meet with fellow members amid the stunning paintings, sculpture, and ceramics of the Music, Myth, and Magic exhibition in The Crawford’s Upper Gallery.
The Crawford Art Gallery will open Sundays & Bank Holidays 11am - 4pm from Sunday 8th April.
International
FOW Trading Dublin
Connecting Cork and Cork Financial Services Forum is supporting the upcoming FOW Trading Dublin event that has been launched this year, and takes place on 3rd May 2018 at The O'Callaghan Alexander Hotel, Dublin. Ireland is set to further grow its importance to the European trading community following Brexit. Aimed at the local trading and buyside community the event will focus on the latest issues and how the country can capitalise on Brexit and establish itself as a key European trading jurisdiction.
Key topics for 2018 include:
• Boom or bust? The future of derivatives trading in Europe
• Mifid II review: what’s changed, what needs to change
• Changing execution strategies and the evolution of liquidity
• Brexit: the challenges and opportunities for Ireland
A limited number of complimentary delegate passes are available to banks, brokers, funds, asset management firms, prop. traders and CTAs. For more information and a full agenda see the website or contact Katherine by email.
Growing the IFS Cluster in the South-West - towards 5,000+ jobs by 2025
Cork Chamber is partnering with Financial Services Ireland to hold an event in Cork that will bring together thought leaders in finance, business and education to consider Cork and the South-West's exciting potential to grow the IFS cluster in the region. The event takes place on Friday, 20 April 2018, in The Clayton Hotel, Cork City and An Tánaiste, Simon Coveney TD, will give the keynote address.
Speakers joining the panel discussions on 'Skills and Innovation' and 'Growing the Regional IFS Cluster' include:
Joe Duffy, FSI Chair and Country Executive, BNY Mellon
Deirdre Giblin, Head of Professional Education and Training, National College of Ireland (NCI)
David Brosnan, Managing Director, Clearstream Global Securities Services
Gerard O’Donovan, Head of Faculty of Business and Humanities, CIT
Ruth McCarthy, CEO, FEXCO Corporate Payments
Kieran Donoghue, Head of Intl Financial Services, IDA Ireland
Tom O’Brien, CEO, Brookfield Renewable Europe
For more information or to register see the website or contact Katherine by email.
Subsidised Training
Lean Six Sigma Starts April 26th - €980 for Chamber Members!
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.
Building and Leading High Performance Teams Starts April 16th - €750 for Chamber Members!
This 5-day workshop on Building and Leading High Performing Teams is designed for professionals who seek to develop their skills in the areas of leadership and communication, in order to build better performing teams, particularly in cases where effective team-work is a fundamental pre-requisite for success. It is highly suitable for those who want directly applicable learning which they can apply immediately on return to their workplace.
The participants also have an opportunity to have 1-1 coaching as part of the process
The People Practice: DisruptHR Cork, 17th April - read more
Irish Management Institute: Essential Skills of Management, 17th April - read more
Mercy Hospital Foundation: Golf Classic 19th & 20th April - read more
BizExpo 2018 - City West Hotel, 25th April - read more
Triskel Christchurch: Fionnuala Moynihan lunchtime concert series, until June 8th - read more
All upcoming member events are listed on our website. You can add your upcoming event details to our website through the Member Information Centre (MIC).