North East technology consultancy Opencast is to host an event exploring how businesses can benefit from unlocking the potential of military veterans.
Byker-headquartered Opencast will host Military to civilian career switches: how we can all benefit, at Hoults Yard on March 18. A live audience of employers and military veterans will join a panel discussion and an interactive breakout session. The panel will include Ammar Mirza, executive chairman of the AmmarM Group and Honorary Colonel of 101 Regiment Royal Artillery; Ben Read, founder and CEO, Redeployable; Richard Handley, client leadership director, Opencast; and Louise Kennedy, founder and managing director at Oculus HR.
Richard Handley, Opencast’s client relationship director and a former captain in the Royal Artillery, said: “Our event is aimed at both companies thinking about employing ex-services personnel and also military veterans looking to meet regional employers. Throughout the event our focus will be on the benefits of employing veterans but also how to break down the barriers to make it simpler for ex-services people to enter the civilian workforce.”
The panel, taking place from 2.30pm to 6pm next Tuesday, will be moderated by Opencast’s chief people officer Cate Kalson.
Hygiene and health business Essity, which has a factory in Prudhoe, has announced its most impactful year yet in product donations as part of its mission to tackle hygiene poverty in the Ƶ. In collaboration with charity partner In Kind Direct, Essity donated over 5.5m essential hygiene products in 2024, supporting more than 3,322 charitable organisations nationwide. Donation milestones from 2024 include donating more than 1m toilet rolls, helping support 62,500 families for a month; donating over 4m Bodyform period pads and distributing over 19,000 units of period underwear.
Essity said it is dedicated to making a difference in the regions where it operates and charities near its mills and offices have directly benefited from these efforts, including 13 charities within 10 miles of its Prudhoe mill.
Gareth Lucy, communications director at Essity, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the impact we’ve made this year, but it’s about more than just the numbers. Behind every donation is a person whose life is made a little easier, whether that’s a parent struggling to afford essentials, a young person accessing period products with dignity, or a charity able to offer better support to its community.”
A project created to nurture the North East’s young film and music-making talent has received a £75,000 funding boost.
The Tyneside Talent Unit is the brainchild of Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema and aims to create a dynamic home for young content makers to explore, develop and support creative skills in the screen and music industries. The unit will support more than 150 young people a year and carry out a range of activities designed to encourage and develop working-class talent in film and music.
The Sir James Knott Trust, which works to support charitable activity in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and Hartlepool, has given Tyneside Talent Unit the five-figure grant to kickstart the programme this year. As well as supporting 150 young people a year, the unit will nurture up to 10 individuals annually to help progress careers and provide them with industry mentors; commission up to 100 hours of new screen content, and fund a library of new content telling the stories of the North East through young people’s perspective.
Tyneside Cinema CEO and custodian, Nic Greenan, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have secured such a vital source of funding and are extremely grateful to everyone at the Sir James Knott Trust for their fantastic support. The need to nurture and retain film and music-making talent in the region is vital and we want to support the next generation with the skills, space, confidence, networks and opportunity to create and showcase their talent in the heart of the city at the Tyneside.”
Barratt and David Wilson Homes North East has reported significant social, economic and environmental contributions to local communities last year.
In 2024, the housebuilder built 616 new homes across the region, supporting 1,368 direct and indirect jobs. The new builds led the company to support a £12m spend in shops and services within the region, while also making £55,600 in charitable donations.
Meanwhile, the business create four hectares of greenspace across the region, equivalent to six football pitches, helping to support wildlife on and around its sites. It said its commitment to environmental sustainability saw it reduce CO2 emissions by 31% against its 2018 benchmark, and reduce its construction waste by 43%.
Carl Sobolewski, managing director for Barratt and David Wilson Homes North East, said: “We’re so pleased that we have been able to make such significant contributions to the region over the past year. Our customers remain at the heart of our work, which is why creating communities to support their needs sits at the forefront of our goals. We look forward to building on these results throughout 2025.”
