WISE, the campaign for gender balance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), carried out a research that showed the UK is on track to have 1 million women working in core STEM roles by 2020. There are over 900,000 women working in STEM currently and an estimated 200,000 women
Anco&co, a build-to-rent (BTR) development, has just launched in the heart of Manchester with the help of me&dave that created an innovative language-led brand identity for the company. As the development is located in a popular up-and-coming neighbourhood – Ancoats – the fly-poster campaign was inspired by protest placards. me&dave
An MSP will be raising a further motion addressing the ongoing campaign to confer statutory recognition on Scotland’s professional electricians in the Scottish Parliament later this month. The move, by Jamie Halcro Johnston, Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for the Highlands and Islands, is the latest in a determined campaign
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
WISE, the campaign for gender balance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), carried out a research that showed the UK is on track to have 1 million women working in core STEM roles by 2020. There are over 900,000 women working in STEM currently and an estimated 200,000 women with STEM qualifications will reach working age within the next 2 years. The news was announced at WISE 2018 Awards presented by the Patron of WISE, HRH The Princess Royal. WISE’s annual Awards recognise inspiring individuals and organisations who are actively working to promote STEM to girls and women and drive change. Costain, Network Rail, EDF Energy, and BAM Nuttall were among some of the companies who collected Awards. “We need UK employers to do more and follow the great example of our Award winners who are leading the way. They have managed to get more women into engineering and technology, removed barriers preventing women moving up through the ranks and seen the benefits of doing so in terms of improved business performance. The great news is that there are more women than ever before coming onto the labour market with engineering and technology qualifications. If employers manage to recruit just half of these women, the UK will have achieved a major milestone,” explained Helen Wollaston, Chief Executive Officer for WISE. WISE also wants to see an increase in the proportion of girls choosing maths, physics, computer science and engineering, as well as making it easier for women who did not study these subjects at school, college or university, to obtain the relevant qualifications later in life. “A girl studying A level electronics told WISE recently that she feels her generation is on the cusp of finding new and better ways of creating things – in a sustainable way. Science and engineering and tech are fundamental to the future of the planet, we need women to take their rightful place in creating that new future,” concluded Helen at the end of the evening.
Anco&co, a build-to-rent (BTR) development, has just launched in the heart of Manchester with the help of me&dave that created an innovative language-led brand identity for the company. As the development is located in a popular up-and-coming neighbourhood – Ancoats – the fly-poster campaign was inspired by protest placards. me&dave has also referenced Manchester’s world-famous music scene – the iconic bands, and gig posters by artists like Peter Saville of Factory Records fame. me&dave were asked by real estate investors DTZ Investors to create a strategy that would demonstrate how Anco&co is moving the rental sector into a new era. To achieve this, the brand takes a cheeky dig at some of the problems that old-school tenants face, highlighting the benefits of this new ‘hotel style’ living. The campaign has been deliberately designed to pique interest and get people talking. Hoardings surrounding the whole site have been covered in fly posters and a dedicated website has been set up so that people can register interest. Some of the messages are explicit, such as ‘There’s a new landlord in town’, while some are intentionally abstract, such as ‘Sorry Billy, we’re over’. As well as being humorous and aesthetically striking, the campaign stands for a cause: “It’s saying, ‘We’ve had enough of being fobbed off with old mattresses, exploitative landlords and damp, substandard accommodation,” said Mark David, co-founder and creative director of me&dave. Anco&co tenants, who will be able to move in next summer, will enjoy ready-to-live, fully furnished one- and two-bedroom apartments with en-suite bathrooms, private kitchens and living rooms. They’ll also have access to communal bars, cafés, co-work spaces, a common room, cinema, rooftop terrace and concierge service. Everything has been conceived to strike the perfect balance between the need for privacy and hanging out with neighbours. “There aren’t many schemes like Anco&co out there, so when it came to branding and marketing there was no blueprint. We knew that me&dave was the right agency as it nails what’s right for a brand, even if that means breaking the ‘rules’. This project needed a creative team to think outside the box and disrupt the rental sector, and me&dave delivered,” said Christian Birrell of DTZ Investors.
An MSP will be raising a further motion addressing the ongoing campaign to confer statutory recognition on Scotland’s professional electricians in the Scottish Parliament later this month. The move, by Jamie Halcro Johnston, Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for the Highlands and Islands, is the latest in a determined campaign by representatives of both employers and employees to secure official, legal recognition of qualified and competent electricians in the interests of public safety. Pat Rafferty, Scotland Regional Secretary of Unite the Union has expressed its full support for the long-running campaign for recognition of the skills, knowledge, training, experience and qualifications of electricians and the vital role they play in the functioning of modern society: “Unite has already contributed to the establishment of the Electricians Working Group which was convened at Holyrood following a concerted awareness-raising push by electrical employers’ association SELECT, the Scottish Joint Industry Board and the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust, together with Unite.” “The Government’s own statistics disclose that 69% of all accidental fires in Scottish homes are caused by electricity and it is clear that work carried out by unqualified operators poses a distinct threat to community safety. This motion is a crucial next step in our campaign for recognition and we are optimistic that it will be carried,” Pat added. Due to be debated in parliament on Thursday, the 25th of October, Mr Halcro Johnston’s motion will ask Holyrood to note the calls supporting the principle of the regulation of electricians and will point out also that, while more than 100 regulated professions exist in the UK –– there is no protection afforded to electricians. Moreover, it will again ask Parliament to appreciate that improperly-installed electrical work creates a significant risk of fire as well as other harm to householders and that the installation of electrical work by unqualified or only partly qualified individuals carries a safety risk. Finally, it will ask for acknowledgement of calls for the Scottish Government to consider how the Parliament’s powers over protection of title can be utilised to reassure the public of the safety of electrical work in domestic and non-domestic premises. “Recognition of the vital role that trained and qualified electricians play in safeguarding all parts of Scottish society is long overdue. These are highly-trained, competent and qualified professional people whose contribution to Scotland’s economy and modern life is immense,” concluded Fiona Harper, The Secretary of the Scottish Joint Industry Training Board.
