Global retail IT consultancy and technology firm, REPL Group, part of Accenture, has announced plans to recruit over 100 professionals to its business over the course of the next quarter.

REPL’s recent momentum is representative of a year of historic expansion for the organisation. Q1 of 2021 marked its acquisition by Accenture, a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security, offering unmatched skill specialism and experience in more than 40 industries worldwide. The deal brings together the organisations’ retail and supply chain capabilities to lead the business in its next phase of growth.

The recruitment drive as a result of the acquisition will look to strengthen all departments across the organisation, with a priority focus on hiring talented Business Analysts, Solution Architects, Software Developers, Project and Programme Managers, Data Engineers and Test Engineers, as well as Workforce Management and Supply Chain consultants. Plus the Graduate Programme will continue to seek out promising consultants. Further strengthening REPL’s position in the market is its attainment of the Great Place to Work certification for the second year in a row. The firm ranked 13th on the Best Workplaces list for large organisations (251-1000 employees), up from 58th on the 2020 list for medium sized businesses (51-250 employees). The certification followed rigorous benchmarking against some of the most respected global companies.

Cerys Johnson, CEO, REPL Group, commented: “Our organisation has gone from strength to strength over the last 12 months, reflected by the exciting acquisition by Accenture this year and our future plans to greatly expand our talented team, despite the tough economic circumstances that have recently affected the industry. To not only have been awarded the Great Place to Work accreditation again this year, but also to have risen up the rankings is a fantastic achievement and reflective of the commitment to our people and how they drive everything we do as a business.”

A Birmingham-headquartered engineering firm has accelerated its strategic growth with several senior appointments. And the move coincides with an overall boost in employment which has seen the business employ over 50 new employees since the start of the year.

The multi-disciplined adi Group, which covers a broad range of sectors including aerospace and defence, automotive, food and beverage and manufacturing markets, has recently taken on 12 new senior figures at the company, bolstering its 30+ divisional offering. Accelerating its numbers to 700+ staff across the Group, which is situated at Kings Norton, the business has undergone significant growth as it looks to support the manufacturing market throughout the coronavirus crisis and beyond.

“This has been a key time for both the business and the wider manufacturing sector,” said adi Group founder and CEO Alan Lusty, who celebrated the Group’s 30 years of the Grou last year. “Rather than bunker down and hope for the best, we’ve actively recruited in a number of key areas of the business, which has enabled us to continue serving a wide range of manufacturing markets.

“It’s our ears to the ground approach, actively monitoring and responding to changes in the marketplace, that has enabled us to continue our success and birth over 30 specialist service divisions over the years. We now look forward to the future ahead, which will be increasingly shaped by needs to lower carbon footprints, drive production efficiency and lower operational costs, something which is always at the forefront of our minds and business philosophies.”

Joining the adi Group are experienced industry veterans, including new Vehicle Charging Solutions general manager Robert Byrne. Helping to drive electric vehicle infrastructure in the UK, Robert will support divisional director Kenny Green with over 35 years of experience to his name, having led charge point installation projects for big brand names including Nissan and its electric Leaf range.

Elsewhere, new air hygiene manager Gareth Richards is set to bolster adi Environmental’s ranks, having racked up an impressive career in the air and water hygiene sector, with works completed across NHS properties, HM prisons and high security MOD sites across the UK and abroad. Overall, the Group now operates across 12 regional sites in the UK & Ireland, with a manufacturing capacity in excess of 200,000 sq. ft.

The business has also extended its commitment to youth skills development in the sector, continuing both of its apprenticeship schemes throughout the pandemic, as well recently ranking as one of the Best Companies to Work For in the Midlands in The Sunday Times annual survey list. For Group strategic account director James Sopwith, adi’s successes are indicative of its sustainable ethos:

“We’re immensely proud of the success of the Group, particularly given the year that businesses like us have endured in the past year,” he said. “What we’ve been able to do is focus on our foundations, which are fuelled by a belief that building sustainable communities, from regional to nationally, are the building blocks for propelling forward our industry and those that want to work in our sector.

“Our pre-apprenticeship scheme really is the best example of this, a partnership with a local school that educates young people on the rewards our industry has to offer at an early age, dispelling outdated perceptions of the sector and going some way to fulfilling an ever-growing skills gap that we as business face and tackle head on. It would have been quite easy to postpone our apprenticeship schemes in light of the difficulties the pandemic posed, but we simply couldn’t take away that opportunity for young people to get on the careers ladder at a time they needed it the most.

“At adi, we continue to grow and diversify our workforce, with the Midlands and regions across the UK integral to our ongoing business aims.” With household food and drink brands, automotive giants and aerospace experts part of its ever growing client list, adi continues to build in a stature as a one of top engineering firms in the UK, a status upheld by its top ten ranking in the construction and engineering sector in the Best Companies 2021 sector lists.

Birmingham City Council's improvements in its financial management have been described as exemplary in a new report from the leading professional institute for local government finance.

An independent report from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) is based on a review of financial management capability against CIPFA’s five-star model and ranked the city council as a three-star authority – up from the one-star rating awarded in 2019 and delivered a year ahead of schedule.

The latest review, carried out in April and May 2021, stated: “Over the last two years the core finance function at Birmingham has moved on from delivering the more traditional stewardship aspects of financial management that had evolved through keeping the operational services ‘safe’, ensuring that the organisation works within its approved financial targets, to a much more mature and dynamic supporting and enabling service that drives diffused financial management.

“In summary, Birmingham City Council has made great strides in addressing the issues that constrained overall financial management capability. We would conclude that this progression highlights a highly commendable response to issues arising from our April 2019 assessment.

“It would be our considered view that Birmingham City Council should be considered to be an exemplar in the transformation of financial management capability given the extent of improvement achieved over the last two years.”

The council’s previously-stated aim was to achieve a three-star rating by March 2022. In a double boost for the city's taxpayers, the rating comes in the same week it was confirmed the council achieved a balanced budget last year, despite the challenge of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Councillor Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “Over the last decade we have had to deal with years of austerity and uncertainty, but in more recent times, thanks to a renewed focus and effort from all involved at the council, we have begun putting in place firm financial foundations.

“The unprecedented circumstances of the last 18 months could have easily knocked us off course, but it is greatly encouraging to hear from the highly-respected source of CIPFA that we are doing things in the right way for the citizens of Birmingham, who fund the services and activities we provide on behalf of the people of the city.

“We are realistic – we are still on a long road to recovery from the financial impact of COVID, but, as recognised by CIPFA, we will keep a very sharp focus on budgets and continue making our case to Government for every penny of help this city needs in the months and years ahead.”

Three stars is a significant improvement on the previous one-star score received from CIPFA in July 2019, which indicated the council was only at the basic ‘securing stewardship’ level. A full report detailing CIPFA's findings is due before the council Cabinet on June 29 - along with an outturn report on the council's balanced budget for last year.

Cllr Tristan Chatfield, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, added: “As guardians of the public purse, we have to make every penny count when improving the lives of people in all parts of Birmingham.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, there is much for the city to be optimistic about, with many opportunities arising from the likes of HS2 and the Commonwealth Games.

“This will be underpinned by sound financial management, and we stand ready to build on the progress that we are grateful CIPFA has witnessed and acknowledged, with an ambition to add to our three stars.”

The North West is seeing the fastest growth in electric car ownership of any region in the UK, according to DVLA car registrations data analysed by car leasing comparison website LeaseLoco. The latest figures provided by the DVLA reveal that electric car (EV) registrations have more than tripled - up 214% - in 12 months in the North West, with 21,993 EVs registered at the start of 2021, compared to 7,005 a year earlier.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) submission was made by LeaseLoco to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in June 2021, requesting the most up-to-date figures on BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) registered in the UK. Three other regions have seen electric vehicle registrations more than double over the past 12 months; with registrations up 142% in the South West, 132% in Yorkshire and the Humber, and 128% in the South East.

EV registrations have almost doubled in Scotland (97%) since the start of 2020, while registrations in London are up by more than two thirds (69%). The West Midlands is languishing at the bottom of the EV table, with the slowest growth in registrations, EV registrations are up just 45% since the start of 2020, suggesting car owners are showing resistance to early switching to electric.

Table: UK regions ranked in order of fastest growth in BEV registrations, 2021 vs 2020

John Wilmot, CEO of car leasing comparison websiteLeaseLoco comments: “These DVLA figures show a huge disparity between regions where consumers are showing commitment to early switching to electric vehicles, and regions where electric car switching needs a jump start. 

“The Government will start feeling the pressure if EV registrations don’t show signs of accelerating and momentum is lost on its journey to “Road to Zero” emissions. The demand is definitely there - we have seen electric car enquiries on our site almost triple this year and we have hundreds of thousands of EV deals available to consumers.

“But EV registrations still make up a very small percentage of the total number of new car sales. While they are cheap to run and most owners are keen to drive less-polluting cars, too many people who rely on their vehicles for work and leisure, are holding off making the switch while there are question marks around the charging infrastructure and the initial cost of an electric vehicle.

“The Government needs to take advantage of the growing popularity of zero emissions motoring, but the worry is that without more focus, investment and education, demand will not translate into sales and momentum will be lost. With the sale of new diesel and petrol cars banned from 2030, the next two to three years will be critical in ensuring that the switch to greener motoring stays on track.”

New research has revealed the UK regions which have benefited the most from working from home (WFH), with people in Scotland and London feeling least positive about the experience. The research was conducted by money transfer experts Xendpay, which analysed the latest ONS data from a study of UK adults in work.

Overall, when asked to assess how working from home had affected them both negatively and positively, people in London had the lowest net positive score out of the English regions. Taking into account all of the UK, only Scotland rated lower than the capital. One in four Londoners (25%) say they have suffered from reduced wellbeing due to WFH, and the capital also had the highest percentage of people - 28% - who say their work life balance has reduced.

In addition, 34% experienced more distractions while WFH in London and 19% were slower to complete work. London also had some of the highest numbers of people who felt that home working made it harder to think of new ideas (19%), and to work with others (49%)

Only one area of the UK has felt more negatively about working from home than London, with 36% of people in Scotland experiencing reduced wellbeing, and 22% reduced work life balance. In total, negative sentiment outweighs positive feelings among Scots, resulting in the lowest score on the index.

People in Scotland have also found it the hardest to focus when WFH in the UK. 38% have experienced more distractions and 20% found they were slower to complete work. Alongside Scotland and London, South West England has had the third most negative WFH experience.

One in five in the region (20%) have suffered from reduced work life balance, and 32% have felt a reduction in their wellbeing. The South West is also home to the highest percentage of people who have found it harder to work with others (52%).

The West Midlands sits at the top of the rankings – in total, 66% of people in the region experienced an improved work-life balance, and 43% had increased well-being.  Wales ranks a close second, and has the highest percentage of people who feel working from home improved their work-life balance, at 77%.

The North West placed third overall, with 47% of people noting an improvement in wellbeing. The West Midlands, Wales and the North West have seen the biggest increased focus at work, due to WFH. 57% of people in the West Midlands are completing their work faster, while in the North West, 47% experienced fewer distractions as a result of home-working. 

A spokesperson from Xendpay said: “It’s fascinating to see the discrepancies in different UK areas when it comes to people’s experiences of working from home. While many of us have been in this situation for over a year, it’s clear that - when it comes to home-working - not every area is equal.” 

The research was carried out by Xendpay, which aims to reduce the cost of international money transfer while maintaining the best possible customer service. It provides a no-fee international money transfer service to bank accounts, offering exchange rates usually only available to multinational corporations, without compromising on transfer times or reliability.

Government transport minister Rachel Maclean MP has been shown how more than three million pieces of data a day gathered from the region’s roads network is helping to reduce traffic congestion and keep people moving.

This cutting-edge data gathering project, called Network Resilience Live Lab, is funded by the Department of Transport (DfT) through the two-year £22.9m ADEPT Smart Places Live Labs programme, until November 2021. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is using data that is harnessed round-the-clock from Static Automated Traffic Counters (SATCs) backed up by live feeds from more than 2,000 CCTV cameras covering the transport network to build up a detailed picture of traffic and transport movements around the region.

This data stream is being further enhanced with 5G roadside data sensors which relay live information on traffic movements. TfWM, which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), is working with partner councils and transport operators to relieve pressure on the region’s roads. Approximately 50% of the road traffic in the region is carried on 7% of the road network leading to congestion.

Data is compiled by the Regional Transport Coordination Centre (RTCC), run by TfWM in collaboration with local authorities and transport operators, to better direct and manage the transport network around major incidents and large scale events. This data is used to offer instant traffic advice and warnings to the travelling public, such as through the @WMRoads twitter feed, to avoid an incident or find an alternative route. Transport planners are also using the information to act, such as putting diversions in place, to deal with congestion.

Rachel Maclean, who is Redditch MP as well as Department for Transport Minister toured the £22 million Regional Transport Coordination Centre (RTCC), the information gathering nerve centre in Birmingham, where the data is received, along with live information from public transport operators, and analysed.

Transport Minster Rachel Maclean said: “The UK is paving the way when it comes to the future of transport and the development of cutting-edge technology and I’m delighted to see this being embedded in the West Midlands area through the Adept Live Labs project.

“Reducing traffic will cut transport emissions and improve air quality, making our communities healthier, better places to live. That’s why supporting innovation is a priority for this Government, as we look to solve the complex challenge of decarbonising transport and achieving net zero by 2050.”

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street said: “We took this opportunity to show the Minister the ground-breaking work being done with big data to deal with traffic congestion on our roads.

"It is a major issue for many thousands of people a day as they travel about our region which is why we are investing more than £1 billion in improving our bus, train, tram and cycling infrastructure around the region as well as relieving some of our notorious congestion hotspots such as Birchley Island in Oldbury. Alongside this we have introduced the RTCC which uses the vast amounts of data gathered to produce better travel information, and even spot problems before they develop, so people spend less time sat in their cars – saving them time and benefitting our environment in the process.”

Live Labs programme director Giles Perkins said: “The ADEPT Live Labs programme represents the cutting edge of innovation in the local roads sector.

“We are pleased that the Minister and Mayor have been able to see first-hand the great things that our West Midlands colleagues have achieved with their approach to the application of large-scale data processing to help solve challenging congestion issues. Over the coming months we’ll be sharing insights and learnings from the programme widely so that the whole of industry can benefit from DfT’s £23m investment.”

As well as the large-scale data gathering operation in the Live Lab, work is also being carried out, under TfWM’s Future Transport Zone umbrella, to study and research individual travel patterns and behaviour to find ways of better targeting messages to encourage people to change their travel choices – such as choose a better time of day or switch to public transport.

The Minister also spent time with the Future Transport Zone and West Midlands 5G to find out more about their work on innovative projects including the autonomous vehicle testbed. Reducing the traffic congestion on the roads can help cut carbon emissions and improve air quality as part of our #wm2041 plans for a net zero carbon region.

Councillor Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "We're harnessing cutting edge technology in the Live Lab to boost our efforts to reduce congestion and change the way people travel across the region.

"Information gathered from the traffic counters is helping us to better manage our network and design new ways of getting about to reduce gridlock and encourage more walking, cycling and greater use of public transport." ADEPT represents local authority, county, unitary and metropolitan directors.

The ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs programme is a two-year £22.9 million project funded by the Department for Transport and supported by project partners SNC-Lavalin’s Atkins business, EY, Kier, O2, Ringway and WSP. Nine local authorities are working on projects to introduce digital innovation across SMART mobility, transport, highways, maintenance, data, energy and communications.

Live Labs is part of ADEPT’s SMART Places programme to support the use of digital technology in place-based services.