Opportunity Wales

Help businesses to grow

Is IT Skills what Wales need?

computerkeyboard

According to billionaire Terry Matthews Wales lack business skills to make the most of technology.

He said: “We don’t lack people who are innovative. What we lack is turning that into a commercial operation.”

IT skills are pretty much needed in all departments of a business whether it be to write a report or to put together a spreadsheet.

Also computer need maintaining which creates jobs in the IT sector for technicians which is always great for the economy.

Sir terry thinks that Wales could add £1.5bn to it’s IT sector over the next five years.

Sir Terry said:

“Our hope is that, with guidance, they will end up having very significant technology companies and employ a lot of people.

“We don’t lack well-educated people and we don’t lack people who are innovative. What we lack is the commercialisation.

“As an example, where’s the venture capital?

“My sort of thing here is, if you can tease people with a little cash and people with a lots of experience into being mentors or board members and better still investors, then you get a lot of support [for entrepreneurs].”

A Great Season for Wales in terms of Football

As the footballing season came to an end on the weekend we reflect at how well Wales done as a nation in terms of football in England.

We start with Cardiff who bossed the championship which is regarded one of the hardest league’s in England because so many teams are closely. Cardiff finished at the top of the table picking up the trophy and gaining automatic promotion into the premier league where they will join fellow Welsh team Swansea.

Which brings me to Swansea who have continued to impress this season with their passing football and not only managed to avoid the drop comfortably they won the Carling Cup which also gave them a gateway into the Europa Cup so European football will be coming to Swansea. Also one man who was probably the buy of the summer, Michu who was amazing all season with his goal scoring talents and arguable should of had a nomination for player of the year.

Lastly we look at one man who has had a sensational season, Gareth Bale who has got alot of attention this year picking up all awards including both Player of the year and young player of the year. He also scored the most goals from outside the box in Europe with some amazing solo goals and now he is arguably the third best player in the world behind Messi and Ronaldo respectively.

10 popular tourist destinations for Welsh people

london image

There are many popular places to go both near and far. July and August seems to be the most popular months to go abroad from Cardiff and other cities. Below are the most popular holiday destinations for Welch people.

1. London: Still on top of the list for many Welsh people. Go to visitlondon.com to learn more.
2. Paris: The French capital got excellent food and historical building to see.
3. Barcelona: A long term favourite for Welsh teenagers and adults between 18-32.
4. New York: It might be a bit further away than London and Paris, but cheap shopping and tourist attractions makes it well worth the flight. Find out more at NY.co.uk.
5. Dublin: Rather nearby and cheap flights can easily be found.
6. Marbella: South of Spain feature excellent weather and lots of things to do.
7. Rome: The Italian capital got more to do than most cities in Europe and many flights go there.
8. Amsterdam: Less than 1 hour away, Amsterdam can be both relaxing and cultural.
9. Milan: Excellent if you want to taste amazing food or watch top class football.
10. Ibiza: The best party island in Europe? At least during July-August.

Bonus: Even if it’s not on the top 10 list of most, Patagonia in Argentina is a historical destination since many with Welsh heritage settled here in the 19th century.

 

 

Child neglect referrals up by 67% in Wales

NSPCC said that 575 calls were made between the period of April 2011 and March 2012. Out of the 575 calls 434 needed police to handle the case. NSPCC has also added that neglect ion has also doubled since 2009 in the UK.

The figures from one charity were 1,265 children need child protection in place last year and the year before the figure was 1,180. One member of the chrity Des Mannion said: “If families cannot or will not improve, children must be protected and action be taken at the earliest opportunity.

“But our experience shows that with the right support many families can improve their behaviour.

“The costs in both financial and human terms for supporting most families to change are far lower than the costs of taking children into care.”

 

 

Wales scraping GCSE?

Significant cuts need to be made on the number of courses on offer said the former principal heading. Welsh government also wants to simplify the system; their asking their self the question of should GCSE should be replaces by NEW qualification.

This new review was stated on Thursday to replace what is happening in England. The government wants to have a better way on accessing people on their English and math’s skills. Most employers told the assessment panel that they only thought A to C was the pass park and that the mark that should you had the ability.

Iestyn Davies, from the Federation of Small Businesses in Wales, said he supported the review.

“What we need to do is get the core skills right, the basic skills right, and make sure we have rounded individuals in schools.”

 

 

 

Savings of £300m have been made but NHS spending must be cut further

The detailed picture for end-of-year finances won’t become clear for another few weeks, but recent indications show that health boards have made savings of £300m during 2011-12. This is a huge achievement for NHS staff – all of whom have had a role to play.

he savings the NHS has made this year were achieved through a range of measures designed to improve efficiency without compromising services for patients.

The NHS knows it must keep within its budget as it meets the ever increasing demand for health services at the same time as improving the quality, safety and timeliness of care.

That means the NHS in Wales will be required to make 5% savings every year for the next three years.

For example, health boards saved £49m by finding better ways of buying prescription medicines and £66m by joining up how stocks and equipment are ordered across different departments and organisations.

The expertise and advice of clinicians will be central to how we respond to this question, and a lot of work is going on to gather their views on how we deliver the best service possible within the resources available.

The NHS has a demanding 12 months ahead, but hopefully, by next April, we will be reflecting on another year of improving care while living within our means.

Wales flanker Dan Lydiate has been named Six Nations player of the tournament

Lydiate, who won man-of-the-match awards in wins over Scotland and France, took 25% of the 30,000 votes.
He beat Ireland fly-half Jonathan Sexton, who secured 12% of the vote, while Italian captain Sergio Parisse finished third with 11.6% of the vote. Lydiate’s reputation was enhanced during the tournament for his number of big defensive hits culminating in an impressive display in Wales’ 16-9 Grand Slam clinching triumph over France And Wales captain Sam Warburton hailed Lydiate’s displays, especially against France. Wales dominated the Six Nations player shortlist as captain Sam Warburton, wing Alex Cuthbert and scrum-half Mike Phillips were nominated.

These are some words he added

“It’s something I didn’t expect to be honest,” said 24-year-old Lydiate.
“The feeling of being a Grand Slam winner, I thought nothing could top that.
“To receive this award now I can’t put words to it. I’m so happy and so chuffed.

Eisteddfod 2012 Welsh language cultural festival

The National Eisteddfod is a big Welsh language cultural festival that takes place annually, alternating between north and south Wales. In 2009 it was held in the town of Bala, Gwynedd. In August 2010 it will be held in Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, and then in Wrexham, in 2011.

It’s the largest cultural festival of its kind in Europe, and a key event in the Welsh calendar. Although events are conducted through the medium of Welsh, the festival itself attracts Welsh and English speakers. It is a mixture of daily talent competitions and evening concerts performers in 2009 included Rhydian X Factor and Only Men Aloud choir Last Choir Standing amongst other big names), gigs, plays and exhibitions. Competitions in the main pavilion vary from dance to recitation, singing to brass bands.

Everyone’s welcome; you’ll receive a warm welcome at the Eisteddfod, regardless of whether or not you can speak Welsh. As a celebration of Welsh culture, Welsh is the official language of the Eisteddfod, but a translation service is available. As you arrive at the Maes, those who require a translating kit can pick one up for the day. You can still enjoy arts, crafts, music and dance and soak up the atmosphere, without an in-depth knowledge of the language.

This year 2012 Eisteddfod will be in august 4-11th.

We will Keep you updated

Convenient error denies access too the welsh government’s web use

Under the act of Freedom of information the welsh government were asked to reveal what websites there staff had been on but unfortuantly due to an error in their logging system the websites could not be made public as it was impossible to get the information.

Also they have stated that there filtering system would have blocked any inappropriate websites from being accessed

Liberal Democrat AM Peter Black has claimed that the error was very suspicious and convenient and the A Welsh government spokesman responded by saying : “These allegations are complete nonsense. We take IT security and inappropriate use of government IT systems very seriously.”

Wales entitled to £1.9bn

Wales are entitled to £1.9bn as a result of englands plans to build a new railway according to Plaid Cymru.

The claim was made as Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillancame under fire for selling a house which was locaed 500 yards from the new rail track.

Spokesmen Jonathan Edwards calculated that they were entitled to £1.9bn as a result of the investment in the HS2 plan.