College welcomes Hospitality Minister

HUGH Baird College was delighted to welcome Business Minister Paul Scully MP to its L20 Hotel School as part of Hospitality Apprenticeships Week.

The L20 Hotel School is home to students studying Hospitality and Catering courses at the College. It is recognised within the Liverpool City Region as a hub for generating future talent for the sector.

The Minister's Government portfolio includes responsibility for hospitality, local growth and small business. His visit was part of a broader visit to the Region, which included the Bootle Canalside redevelopment project with representatives from Sefton Council, which, once completed, will consist of an urban garden, food and drink offer and events spaces.

Mr Scully was joined on the visit by Stuart Barnes, Head of Economic Growth and Housing, at Sefton Council. The group spent time with students, tutors and staff from Hugh Baird College's L20 Hotel School, and he also visited its training kitchens and restaurant.

The visit came during Hospitality Apprenticeships Week 2021, which took place between:- 18 October and 22 October 2021; a nationwide celebration showcasing the career pathways the sector offers.

Hugh Baird College Principal, Rachael Hennigan, said:- "We were pleased to welcome the Minister to our College today and demonstrate to him how we support and equip our learners with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in the Hospitality industry. The sector has been through an incredibly tough period due to the Covid19 Pandemic. Through the L20 Hotel School's engagement with hospitality employers, we will endeavour to ensure that their needs are fulfilled with highly skilled, work-ready individuals in years to come."

Business Minister Paul Scully said:- "Through our Hospitality Strategy, the Government is working hand in hand with the sector to help it build back better from the Pandemic. It was a pleasure to meet the students and staff of Hugh Baird College during Hospitality Apprenticeships Week to see how from bars to bistros, Bootle is leading the way in providing the skills young people need to forge great careers in the sector. I'm encouraging both new and existing workers to explore all the opportunities the sector has to offer, and for businesses to explore all that an apprenticeship programme can do for them."

To find out more about Hugh Baird College's L20 Hotel School, visit:- HughBaird.AC.UK.
 

Energy and Climate Change Minister visited HyNet

UK leading industrial decarbonisation project, HyNet, have recently welcomed Energy and Climate Change Minister, Greg Hands, to the North West Region. The visit comes just a week after Government selected the project as a Track 1 cluster to fast track the decarbonisation of the North West England and North Wales, cementing Government's commitment to the Region.

During the visit, Minister Hands, learnt more about the economic and environmental benefits which will be felt across the Region as businesses decarbonise through connecting to HyNet's infrastructure.

The visit combined 2 North West businesses that are committed HyNet partners. 1st stopping at Novelis' plant, in Warrington, Minister Hands saw how the world's largest recycler of aluminium, will use HyNet hydrogen, produced at the UK's 1st hydrogen production plant, to reduce its carbon emissions.

2nd on the agenda was Viridor's Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) site in Runcorn. Viridor will capture around 900,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year at the Cheshire facility which will be transported and safely stored beneath Liverpool Bay using HyNet infrastructure.

Tim Rotheray, Director of ESG and External Affairs, said:- "We were delighted to be able to show the Minister 1st hand the difference our project could make to HyNet. Runcorn operates over 90% of the time, treating waste that can't be recycled, so can supply a steady flow of CO2 into HyNet's infrastructure. Viridor is serious about making carbon capture work to decarbonise our business. That is why we announced ambitious plans last week at the Prime Minister's Global Investment Summit to install CCUS across 7 of our sites, enabling us to reach net zero emissions by 2040. Runcorn is the foundation of those plans, capturing nearly 1 million tonnes of carbon a year. We can't wait to get started."

After touring the factories and learning more about how the businesses will be transformed through HyNet, Hands said:- "It was fantastic to visit the North West today to see the HyNet carbon cluster project 1st hand. As we set out in our landmark Net Zero Strategy, carbon capture will be key to helping industry decarbonise as we chart our path to net zero emissions by 2050. Backing Hynet as 1 of UK's 1st carbon clusters will put the North West of England and North Wales at the forefront of the UK's Green Industrial Revolution, safeguarding and creating new jobs, while driving economic growth across both Regions as we build back greener."

Andy Carter, Warrington MP, added:- "I often hear people say we don't make anything in the UK and, actually, it's quite the reverse. There are some 340,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector in the north west alone, where wages are on average much higher than the equivalent service sector. We're also seeing increasing global investment into manufacturing in the Region providing huge economic benefits for our communities. The challenges faced by the sector include reducing carbon emissions. Last week's decision to fast track HyNet project will allow for investment and development of ground breaking carbon capture and storage technology, something we can use to help businesses like Novelis in Latchford as well as manufacturing plants around the world to cut harmful emissions and protect jobs."

David Parkin, HyNet Project Director said:- "It has been fantastic to show the Minister 1st hand how HyNet will unlock a low carbon economy for the North West, putting the Region at the forefront of the UK's drive to net zero. Not only will the project produce, store and distribute low carbon hydrogen to industry such as Novelis, it will capture and store carbon from those industries which we all rely on, but that produce carbon dioxide as part of their vital activities, such as Viridor. This game changing project has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 million tonnes every year by 2030; the equivalent of taking 4 million cars off the road. By achieving this, HyNet will create and maintain thousands of local jobs, as well as enable long term sustainability for businesses and financial security for communities across the Region."

For more information about HyNet, visit:- HyNet.Co.UK.