Tuesday 21 February 2023

TEENAGER Dan Stevens has already smashed the target he set himself to raise money for the charity Mental Health UK by swimming 3km a day throughout February. With a week to go, pledges to his JustGiving appeal totalled £545 against an original target of £300. And with the addition of Gift Aid, the amount raised for the charity exceeds £600.

Dan (17), a member of Beverley Barracudas swimming club and a Year 13 student at Beverley Joint Sixth Form, is completing 120 length of Beverley Leisure Centre’s pool every day. He says it’s his way of contributing to charity while getting people talking about their mental health. “Mental Health UK offers support and information to people who might otherwise have nowhere to turn for help, so it’s a great charity to support,” he said.

Dan’s JustGiving page can be accessed here

BUSINESSES across East Yorkshire and the wider Humber region are struggling to fill just about every type of job you can think of – that’s according to the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce, who’ve received feedback from firms of all sizes. From micro businesses to big multinationals, the message is the same – “We can’t find enough suitable staff to fill our vacancies”.

The Chamber has been talking to businesses as part of its role in helping deliver the Local Skills Improvement Plan for the area by identifying the key priorities and changes needed to ensure post-16 technical education and training is more closely aligned with employer and local labour market needs. 

Chamber President Mike Whitehead told us: “There is so much going on in the Humber at the moment with so many exciting projects, but we know firms are struggling to recruit the right people to fill these jobs. We need to find a way to bring the long-term unemployed back into the jobs market and equip them with the skills our local businesses need today, so we can be even more successful tomorrow,” he said.