Handelsbanken Chesterfield has appointed a new member of staff in response to increasing demand for its local relationship banking services.

Fraser Kirkman joins the fast-growing relationship bank, following his graduation in Business and Management last year. He will be involved in the operational side of the branch, supporting and serving existing customers, as well as welcoming new customers to Handelsbanken’s bespoke approach to local banking.

Fraser commented: “I am delighted to be joining Handelsbanken Chesterfield. What attracted me to Handelsbanken was its focus on close personal relationships with its customers, its reputation for high levels of service and its traditional values. I will be joining a team of experienced bankers who have the power to make decisions that matter to our customers here in the branch. It will be great to start my banking career in my local branch.”

The branch, established in 2012 and located at Spire Walk, has developed a reputation for traditional banking, financial strength and high standards within the local business and professional services community.

Phil Walker, Branch Manager, added: “I am very pleased to welcome Fraser to the Chesterfield branch team. This is a great local story – a local lad who has graduated and chosen to start his Handelsbanken career in Chesterfield. His appointment means that we can continue to meet the growing needs of both existing and new customers in and around Chesterfield, whilst maintaining the high levels of service for which we are renowned.”

Originally from Sweden, Handelsbanken now has over 820 branches in 24 countries, and has been judged one of the world’s strongest banks by financial information provider Bloomberg.

SEO CoPilot presented a technical masterclass to digital and creative students at Chesterfield College last week to give them a competitive edge when applying for work.

Guy Tomlinson, Founder of SEO CoPilot, took students through some of the high-level techniques and procedures for understanding search engine optimisation and website traffic, as well as looking at the decisions businesses need to make when setting up online.

Guy, who is keen to help students gain practical experience said:-

“There are so many different technology models that students need to understand to be able to compete in industry and so I am very happy to offer my support and experience to compliment the curriculum covered at Chesterfield College.

“If a website isn’t optimised for the search engines the site will not show up when people search for products and services relevant to their business. As this is the lifeblood of any business it’s essential to get it right first time.

“Through this masterclass I was able to explain to students the importance of building elements of online marketing strategy into the website design and I hope this knowledge will help them to stand out from the crowd when looking for employment.”

Digital and Creative Industries Lecturer at Chesterfield College, Julia Allen said:-

“We’re all for industry experts coming into College and passing on some of the latest and greatest in skills and knowledge that will help students progress in their future careers.

“The session proved to be particularly popular as it geared the students with a solid understanding of how to provide future clients with a fantastic service.”

SEO CoPilot is based in the heart of Chesterfield and delivers bespoke search engine optimisation, pay per click and social media campaigns to help businesses increase traffic to their website and boost the amount of sales and enquiries they receive.

Shorts Chartered Accountants are delighted to announce the recent appointment of Ceri Lewis as Healthcare Director. Ceri will work in both Chesterfield and Sheffield and brings with her over 28 years of experience working with the healthcare sector, with a specific specialism in advising GP Practices.

Partner, Andy Irvine commented, “Ceri has a proven track record of providing quality advice to clients based within healthcare and her background and experience align perfectly with our commitment of ensuring our clients receive the very best advice and service. Ceri’s decision to join Shorts adds further strength to our rapidly expanding team and as we settle into our new Sheffield office we are looking forward to an exciting and busy 2015.”

Ceri said: “I am thrilled to be joining Shorts and look forward to supporting the continuing growth of the firm’s healthcare offering. Shorts is a highly regarded independent practice who are clearly focused on meeting all aspects of their clients’ needs I am looking forward to being instrumental in the future development of the firm.”

A recruitment drive has begun to find four volunteer business advisers who will share their experience and enthusiasm with Chesterfield and Derbyshire pupils to help them succeed in a national competition.

Run by the UK’s largest enterprise and education charity, the Young Enterprise Company Programme challenges students aged 15-19 to set up a business for an academic year while developing transferable employability skills that would be an asset to future employers.

This year’s local Young Enterprise Area Final will take place at the Winding Wheel in Chesterfield in March with the winning company going on to the Derbyshire County event in April. Winners here progress to the national HSBC Young Enterprise Innovation Awards in London to battle it out to become the UK’s Young Enterprise Company of the Year.

Hazel James, a recruitment and training officer at Rykneld Homes has been volunteering as a business adviser since 2008. Sharing her enthusiasm for the role and encouraging others to join, Hazel said:-

“I remember my first meeting well. I struggled to see this room full of sixth formers ever being able to pull themselves together and build a business from nothing! At first I couldn’t understand my role in the room but in time developed a style that has worked for both of us.

“I had to resist the temptation to jump in too early and take over when things went wrong or looked like they were going wrong. It’s all about learning by doing, and there is no better way to learn than from mistakes (because you won’t make the same ones again!). The company does not have to be successful to be a great learning experience – business/work failure is going to happen at some point in everyone’s life (even the likes of Sir Richard Branson) so it might as well be in the safe environment of Young Enterprise.

“Being a business adviser is an incredibly rewarding and exciting experience both for yourself and for the local community. You make a real difference to the lives and potential of young people in their area by helping them to understand the world of business and to prepare them for their working lives.”

Vice Chair of the Young Enterprise North Derbyshire Area Board, Steve Taylor comments:-

“We all have a responsibility to support young people in making the transition from school to the workplace and I am looking forward to expanding our current business adviser team this year.

With no qualifications or business start-up experience required, this is a great opportunity for anyone seeking to get involved with the local community and work with and inspire young people, at the same time as developing their own skills and broaden their knowledge.”

Business advisers are asked to commit to an initial one hour per week for the first month of the project and then one hour per fortnight, with most activity during the autumn and spring terms.

There is also comprehensive support for the advisers and students and there is a detailed handbook as well as access to the Company Programme website.

Anyone interesting in becoming a Young Enterprise Business Adviser should contact Steve Taylor at Start Financial Planning on 01246 268527 or email steve@startfp.co.uk.