Tees Business Tees Business issue 11 | Page 67

Serving the Teesside Business Community | 67 / STOCKTON NEWS Young people get foot on career ladder Teesside Shopping Park is giving young people the chance to embark on a free five-week training programme. T eesside Shopping Park is giving 16-to- 24-year-olds in the region the chance to embark on a free five-week training programme, designed to provide them with the skills they need to build a successful career in retail or hospitality. The ‘Bright Lights Starting Out in Retail and Hospitality’ programme gets underway in October and will combine classroom teaching alongside work placements at one of Teesside’s retail, food and beverage or leisure brands. At the end of the scheme, trainees will receive their formal qualifications at an official celebration event later this year. Throughout the course, trainees will also get access to training from industry experts, support with interviews and CV writing, as well as a personal mentor. The free programme follows the success of last year’s course which saw 75% of graduates land a job in retail or hospitality. ‘Bright Lights Starting Out in Retail and Hospitality’ will again be funded by Teesside Shopping Park’s owner British Land, and delivered in partnership with The Source Skills Academy – a leading centre of excellence for retail and customer service training. To take part, young people need to sign up to the taster session on October 4, which will provide them with a flavour of what the programme will involve and an opportunity to speak to some of the course leaders. Mike Clarke, centre director at Teesside Shopping Park, said: “This programme is a fantastic way for young, unemployed people to discover their potential and gain valuable experience of what it’s like to work in the dynamic retail and hospitality sectors.” BULLDOZERS CLEAR SITE FOR HILTON HOTEL Work to clear a site for Stockton’s new Hampton by Hilton hotel is progressing as the demolition of a former garage is now under way. Bulldozers have taken down the former Kwik Fit building on Church Road before construction firms moved in. The Kwik Fit building forms part of the hotel site along with the neighbouring car park and former dairy site. The new Hampton by Hilton hotel will be Hilton’s first in the town, and will be owned by Stockton Council. DRONE FIRM LANDS IN TOBAGO Landmark 100,000th order since formation A drone company based in Stockton has opened its first international office in Trinidad and Tobago. Rectrix Drone Services has built a sizeable customer base since its launch in 2014, providing inspection, surveying and cinematography solutions to companies in a diverse range of sectors, from oil and gas, utilities, emergency response and construction. The team, led by business development director Chris Young, 31, and founder Alex Westwood, 21, has launched a satellite arm on the Caribbean islands to service numerous sectors in the region but primarily the thriving oil and gas industry. The Rectrix team flew in three staff from the islands to train at its Stockton base in the digital technology hub, Fusion Hive. A workwear supply firm has celebrated passing a landmark milestone in the number of orders it has processed since forming nearly 12 years ago. M.I. Supplies, based at Teesside Industrial Estate in Thornaby, recently completed its 100,000th order. The firm, which supplies a wide range of workwear clothing and accessories, started out selling a handful of units a week when it was launched in November 2005. But it’s now processing 25,000 orders involving more than 600,000 individual products a year. Sign up to the weekly Tees Business enews via www.teesbusiness.co.uk £4.5m lottery cash for Stockton’s Globe project As the Heritage Lottery Fund confirmed a £4.5m National Lottery grant, ambitious and much expanded plans to transform Stockton town centre’s Globe into a live music and comedy venue costing £15m were revealed by Stockton Council. Once restored, the neglected Grade II listed Art Deco Globe will have a capacity of 3,000, firmly positioning it as the largest venue between Newcastle and Leeds, bringing an estimated £18m to the local economy each year and creating more than 250 jobs. Global leader in live entertainment, The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), will operate the Globe for the next 25 years. /TeesBusiness @Tees_Business