Last week we announced that NCC had been shortlisted from hundreds of nominees across the North West to become a finalist for the E3 Online Business of the Year Award.

 

Some of the NCC Team with our E3 Awards certificate. 

Last week we announced that NCC had been shortlisted from hundreds of nominees across the North West to become a finalist for the E3 Online Business of the Year Award.

Following a rigorous selection process which involved completing a detailed application, NCC were invited to attend an interview yesterday at the Salmesbury Hotel, Preston, where a panel of five judges quizzed NCC’s MD, Tony Smith, on the application and the company.

The panel of expert judges comprised of a number of industry specialists along with a past winner of the E3 Business Awards, Jemma Taylor (Business Development Manager of Winning Pitch), Danny Callan (Director of Ice Box Designs), Emma Elston (Founder & Director of UK Container Maintenance), Paul Foster (Development Manager of Federation of Small Businesses) and Kath Lord-Green (Director of Insight Training, Coaching and Media).

NCC can also claim to be one of only three companies who have been nominated at the last three E3 Business Award events, achieving the following accolades:

– Business Education Collaboration Award 2013
– A finalist position for the ‘Skills, Education and Training Award 2014’
– A finalist position for ‘Online Business of the Year 2015’

Tony Smith, Managing Director and Catherine Appleton, Office Manager, NCC Resources Limited were pleased to receive the 2015 Finalist Certificate for the Online Business of the Year category.

 

Mr. Smith said, “We are naturally delighted to have been selected as a finalist for the E3 Business awards 2015 and we look forward to the event, not just for a fantastic evening, but also in the hope of reigning supreme and being selected as the winner of the Online Business of the Year category.  NCC Resources has represented St Helens at the Awards for the past three years and I would hope that we can for many years to come”.

NCC are a developer, publisher and supplier of learning resources to the adult education sector and provide educational materials for qualifications, interest courses and short awareness courses in either online or paper based formats across a great many sectors. For additional supporting information relating to NCC, please visit the following websites:

www.ncchomelearning.co.uk

www.ncctrainingresources.co.uk

Plaid Cymru, meaning Party of Wales, were formed in 1925 in order to campaign for the rights of Wales and Welsh people.

Party History
Plaid Cymru, meaning Party of Wales, were formed in 1925 in order to campaign for the rights of Wales and Welsh people. The party’s main goals when they were founded were to promote an independent wales, revive the Welsh Language and build an equal society based on socialism.

The party’s popularity grew in the early 20th century. Party members David John Williams and Lewis Valentine set fire to an RAF base in Penyberth in 1936, a move which landed them both in prison, but also gave the party much needed public exposure. As a result, party membership had doubled by 1939. The party took a neutral view to the Second World War

In the 50’s the party’s popularity grew again due to the campaigning against the flooding of the village Capel Celyn to create a reservoir in order to supply the city of Liverpool with water.

Plaid Cymru won its first seat in the House of Commons in 1966 at a by-election in Carmarthen.

Since the late 20th century the party has steadily increased in popularity, receiving mixed results over the last few elections. They are still viewed as the third most popular party in Wales behind Welsh Labour and Welsh Conservatives respectively.

Leader – Leanne Wood AM
Leanne Wood has been the leader of Plaid Cymru since 2012, replacing Ieuan Wyn Jones. She is a member of the Welsh Assembly representing South Wales Central, a region she has represented since 2003.

Leanne attended the University of Glamorgan studying Public Administration and later attended Cardiff University, qualifying as a probation officer.
Before working in Politics full time, Leanne worked as a probation officer for Mid Glamorgan Probation Service and lectured at Cardiff University.

Quick Facts about Leanne Wood AM:
– She is the only leader of Plaid Cymru to be a non-native speaker of the Welsh Language
– She once slept rough on the streets of Cardiff to highlight immigration issues.
– She is the first female leader of Plaid Cymru in its 90 year history.

Party Colour – Green

Current Number of Seats
3 seats in Commons. 2 seats in Lords. 11 seats in the National Assembly of Wales.

Main manifesto policies as set out by Plaid Cymru:

“Working for Wales”
– “A fairer economy:” increase the minimum wage to a living wage for more than 250,000 workers and zero business rates for over 70,000 Welsh companies.
– “To save and strengthen our NHS:” Extra 1,000 doctors for Welsh NHS
– “To get Wales working again:” 50,000 jobs through more public contracts for Welsh companies
– Scrap Bedroom Tax
– Transfer control of criminal justice system – including policing – to Wales
– Oppose renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system
– Wales to get same powers as Scotland. Also similar funding – additional £1.2bn each year
– Reintroduce the 50p tax rate for high earners

 

The Conservative Party were founded from the Tory Party in 1834. This is why they are often referred to as the Tories today.

 

Party History
The Liberal Democrats, or Lib Dems for short, were formed in 1988 from the merger of two other parties, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. In the early 20th century the Liberal Party were one of the two main parties in the UK, the other being the Conservatives. Known as the Whigs, the Liberals held power in several governments. Well known political figures such as William Gladstone, Henry Asquith and David Lloyd George are a few individuals who have held the office of Prime Minister under a Liberal Government.

After the formation of the Labour Party in 1900 the popularity of the Liberals declined. At the end of the First World War and expansion of suffrage to all men over 21 years of age the Labour Party overtook the Liberals as the main opposition to the Conservative party. From here the popularity of the Liberals continued to decline throughout the rest of the century until the merger with the Social Democrats in the late 80’s.
The Social Democratic Party was originally founded from a split with the Labour Party in 1981. The SDP believed in a more liberal view than that of Labour, who they accused of being too Left Wing.

Since the merger the Liberal Democrats have endured mixed fortunes, being viewed as the “Number 3” party in the UK and by some as the Protest Vote party. The success of the Liberal Democrats at the last general election led to them entering into a coalition government with the Conservatives, something that has not happened in the UK since 1940 due to the Second World War and the need for a united front.

Leader – Nick Clegg MP (Current Deputy Prime Minister)
Nick Clegg has been the Leader of the Lib Dems since 2007, replacing Sir Menzies Campbell. He represents the constituency of Sheffield Hallam.

He attended Cambridge University and studied Archaeology and Anthropology, later also studying at the University of Minnesota for a year. Before becoming an MP Mr Clegg was a Member of the European Parliament between 1999 and 2004, representing the East Midlands for the Liberal Democrats.

Quick Facts about Nick Clegg MP:
– He supports Arsenal FC
– He speaks 5 European Languages
– His luxury item to take on a desert island would be a “stash of cigarettes”

Party Colours – Yellow/Orange

Current Number of Seats
57 seats in Commons. 105 seats in Lords. The liberal democrats are currently the third largest party in the House of Commons and are currently part of the ruling coalition government alongside the Conservative Party.

Main manifesto policies as set out by the Liberal Democrats:
– “Stronger Economy. Fairer Society. Opportunity for Everyone.”
– A Stronger Wales – Deliver Home Role for Wales with further powers and fair funding
– Prosperity for all – Balance the budget fairly and invest to build a high skill, low carbon economy
– Fair Taxes – Cut your taxes by an additional £400 by raising the tax free allowance to £12,500
– Opportunity for Every Child – Invest in our schools through our Pupil Premium
– Quality Health Care for all – Increase resources for our NHS and ensure safe staffing levels.

 

The Labour Party was founded in 1900 as a result of the growing Trade Union movement at the beginning of the 20th Century.

 

Party History
The Labour Party was founded in 1900 as a result of the growing Trade Union movement at the beginning of the 20th Century. The party to this day, still has strong ties to Trade Unions and consider them as core supporters of the party. Labour were initially formed to represent the interests of working-class people as suffrage was being increased in the 1900’s the vote was given to a wider range of people and the working classes needed a party who stood for what would benefit them most.

After the First World War the Labour party quickly became the 2nd largest party in the UK, taking over from the Liberals who were recovering from a split. Since then the Labour Party and the Conservatives have remained as the two most popular parties in the UK in terms of membership and votes.

Famous Labour Leaders of the past include: Harold Wilson, Clement Atlee and Michael Foot to more recently Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Labour held power in government for 13 years between 1997 and 2010 with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown leading the party through this successful period. Since Gordon Brown stepped down as leader in 2010, Ed Miliband took over as leader of the Labour Party

Leader – Ed Miliband MP (Leader of the Opposition)
Ed Miliband has been the leader of the Labour Party since 2010, when he stood for the post alongside his older brother, David. He represents the constituency of Doncaster North.

He attended The University of Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He then completed a Masters in Science at the London School of Economics. Before becoming an MP he worked as a researcher for a Channel 4 politics programme. He was appointed to the role of Chancellor Gordon Brown’s special adviser in 1997.

Quick Facts about Ed Miliband MP:
– Ed is a fan of the baseball team, the Boston Red Sox.
– On ‘Desert Island Discs’, Ed chose a wide range of different styles of music, from the South – African National Anthem, to ‘Take On Me’ by A-Ha and ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams.
– His father, Ralph Miliband, was a famous Marxist author, who came to the UK in 1940 to escape the armies of Nazi Germany.

Party Colour – Red

Current Number of Seats
256 seats in Commons. 218 seats in Lords. The Labour Party are currently the main opposition to the coalition government in the House of Commons.

Main manifesto policies as set out by the Labour Party:
“Britain can be better”

Key Policies:
– Ban Zero hour contracts
– Freeze energy bills
– Scrap non-dom tax status
– Reduce tuition fees to £6,000
– Raise the minimum wage to more than £8 by October 2019
– Freeze all rail fares for one year
– Protect tax credits for working families so they rise with inflation
– Introduce a new National Primary Childcare Service
– No increase on the basic or higher rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT

The Conservative Party were founded from the Tory Party in 1834. This is why they are often referred to as the Tories today.

Party History
The Conservative Party were founded from the Tory Party in 1834. This is why they are often referred to as the Tories today. The party has been one of the two dominant parties since the early 19th Century. Originally their main rivals were the Liberal Party, then with the introduction of universal suffrage in the 20th Century, the Labour Party emerged as their main rivals.

There have been some well-known political figures who were members of the Conservative party, such as Benjamin Disraeli, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.

A highlight of the early history of the Conservative party was the rivalry between the Conservative Benjamin Disraeli and the Liberal William Gladstone. These two political giants were on opposite sides of the Commons for most of the late 19th Century. Disraeli is notable as the only Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Jewish Birth.

Probably one of the most recognisable names in British Politics is Winston Churchill. Churchill took over as Prime Minister of the UK from Neville Chamberlain in May 1940, but only the leadership of the Conservative party in the October, as the country was at War with Nazi Germany. Churchill went on to lead the UK throughout the Second World War, and also secured a second term as PM from 1951-1955.

Later in the 20th Century, Margaret Thatcher became the party’s first female leader in 1975, and subsequently the first, and only female Prime Minster of the United Kingdom in 1979. The party under Thatcher’s leadership saw a surge in popularity after two terms of Labour government. This period in British history has many notable milestones such as the miner’s strike, Falkland’s War and increase in the troubles in Northern Ireland. Thatcher resigned as leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister in November 1990, being replaced by her Chancellor John Major.

David Cameron took over the leadership of the party in 2005 and continues to lead the party to this day.

Leader – David Cameron MP (Current Prime Minister)
David Cameron has been the leader of the Conservative party since 2005, replacing Michael Howard, and is the current Prime Minister after replacing the former Labour Leader Gordon Brown. Cameron is also the MP for Witney in Oxfordshire.

He attended Oxford University studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). Before becoming an MP, Mr Cameron worked for the Conservative party in an advisory role throughout the 90’s.

Quick Facts about David Cameron MP:
– He supports Aston Villa Football Club
– He is a distant relative of King William IV
– If he could take one song with him on a desert island it would be Bob Dylan – Tangled Up In Blue

Party Colours – Blue

Current Seats
302 seats in Commons. 293 seats in Lords. The Conservatives are currently the single largest party in the House of Commons and are ruling the coalition government alongside the Liberal Democrats.

Main manifesto policies as set out by the Conservative Party:
– “Strong Leadership, A Clear Economic Plan. A Brighter, More Secure Future”
– An Economic Plan To Help You And Your Family
– Jobs For All
– Cutting Your Taxes, Making Welfare Fairer And Controlling Immigration
– The Best Schools And Hospitals For You And Your Family
– Securing Your Home And Your Neighbourhood
– Dignity In Your Retirement
– Keeping Our Country Secure

Yesterday we posted the first part of our General Election Jargon Buster.

 

Yesterday we posted the first part of our General Election Jargon Buster. Please find part two below!
Remember if we have missed anything off please let us know!

Polling station – This is where people go to vote. These are normally schools or community centres.

Prime Minister – This is the person who runs the country. He is the leader of the party who wins the election or who has the most votes in a coalition government. The current Prime Minister is David Cameron. (Conservative Party)

Deputy Prime Minister – This is the person who is “second in command” and steps in for the Prime Minister if they are otherwise engaged. The current Deputy Prime Minister is Nick Clegg. (Liberal Democrats)

Chancellor – also known as Chancellor of the Exchequer. This is the person who is in charge of finance for the country and works for the Treasury. The current Chancellor is George Osbourne (Conservative Party)

Manifesto – This is the name for the all the policies each party lays out before an election. These polices are effectively what the party say they will do if they are voted into power.

Party – This is the name given to each group who are looking to gain power in the election. There are many parties in the UK each with its own policies.

Ballot – This is how people vote in the election. It is a secret vote where people choose who they want to vote for on a slip of paper and post it into a ballot box. The results of the ballot across the country determine who will win the election and run the country.

General Election – A General Election is the name given to the national vote to decide which party will be the government in power and run the country.

By-election – This is a special election held to fill a vacant position outside of a general election. This usually happens due to death in post, retirement etc. of a member of parliament.

Constituency – This is the name given to an area or group of people who are voting. A constituency is generally a local area and each constituency votes for its own MP. This in turn leads to the party with the most MP’s winning the election.

Electoral register – This is the list of people in the UK who are entitled to vote in the general election.

Landslide – This is when there is an extremely large majority of votes for a single party or candidate in an election.

Majority – This is when a party or candidate has more votes than the other candidates or parties.

Opposition – This is the name given to the party with the 2nd most votes in a general election after the ruling party or coalition.

Referendum – This is the name given to a vote on a single issue. Recently there was referendum for Scotland to see if they wanted to stay in the UK or not. It is a separate vote from the general election and is usually a promise made by parties on serious issues.

Suffrage – This basically means the right to vote. The true definition of the term would be the right to vote gained through democratic process but if you think of it as purely the right to vote it is easier to remember.

Universal suffrage – Where suffrage means the right to vote, universal suffrage in turn means the right to vote for all adult citizens. This is regardless of race, gender, religious views, wealth or social class. In the UK universal suffrage came about through social and political changes in the early 20th century including the Suffragette movement who were women, mainly members of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), campaigning for the right to vote for women in the UK.

There has been a lot of talk in the office recently about the upcoming general election and to be quite honest some of us have been left confused by some of the terms used!

 

There has been a lot of talk in the office recently about the upcoming general election and to be quite honest some of us have been left confused by some of the terms used!

To help with this NCC have decided to write a series of blogs to give a background on the general election including the main political parties, the leaders and how the election works.

To start we will be producing 2 Jargon Buster blogs on common political terms. These will help you understand the confusing terminology used in the media. If we have missed any terms from our list please let us know and we will do our best to include them next time!

Left Wing – This terms comes from the French Revolution where supporters either chose to support the existing king (right) or support the revolutionaries (left). It is generally applied to political parties who are looking to the future and want to promote equality for every individual in the system. Left wing parties are usually labelled as socialist as they look to redistribute wealth across the whole country rather than to a select few.

Right Wing – As with Left Wing this term originates from the French Revolution. Right wing beliefs are generally applied to parties who are looking to preserve tradition and who believe in individualism. Right wing parties are usually labelled as conservative as they look to promote individuals rights and believe that people should look after their own interests.

Parliament – This term has two political meanings and one general:
1. Parliament can refer to the parliament buildings. Parliament buildings contain the two main bodies of government, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Commons is where the Members of Parliament meet and the House of Lords is where Peers and Lords meet.
2. Parliament can refer to the body who have the power to make changes to law and legislation in the UK. This is made up of the MP’s and Lords who decide what changes to make.
3. Parliament outside of politics is also the collective noun for a group of Owls.

MP – also Member of Parliament. This is the name given to the person elected to represent an individual constituency in the House of Commons. The difference between an MP and a member of the House of Lords is that every MP has been elected by the public whereas Lords are chosen to sit by the party in power.

Cabinet members – These are MP’s who have been voted into government and hold an office in government. It consists of the Prime Minister and 21 cabinet members. An example of a cabinet post is the Chancellor of the Exchequer or the Secretary of Work and Pensions.

Shadow Cabinet – Each cabinet member has a corresponding member in the opposition party who take the Shadow role. In effect if the opposition were in power then the Shadow Cabinet would make up the Cabinet. E.g the current Chancellor of the Exchequer is George Osborne (Conservative Party), the Shadow Chancellor is Ed Balls (Labour Party).

Hung Parliament – This means that after a general election there is no party with an overall majority of MP’s (more than half). This usually leads to a coalition government with two or more parties working together to run the country.

Coalition – This is when two or more parties enter into an arrangement to form a government. This usually happens when there is a hung parliament.

Electorate – These are the people who vote or are able to vote in the election.

Backbencher – This is a type of MP who does not hold a position in the government or opposition cabinets. The term is used as backbench MP’s generally sit behind the MP’s who hold offices.

First past the post – This is the type of voting system that is used in the election. The system works when the winner is decided by the candidate who has the most votes in each area. All other votes cast from that area don’t count towards anything further.

Whitehall – This term is used to describe the British Civil Service.

Civil Service – These are the people who are employed to work for the government but they have no party affiliation and are not voted into roles.

Westminster – This term, when used in politics, refers to the Government of the UK. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster where Parliament is located.

Just because you’re adept at speaking a language does not mean that you understand it.

 

Just because you’re adept at speaking a language does not mean that you understand it. For a lot of native English speakers, basic skills and knowledge of writing, spelling, grammar and speaking are left far behind in their school days.

These are essential skills that are easily lost if they’re not used regularly. Writing and grammar skills are things that people assume they have covered, but quite often get wrong. You might not realise it but these basic skills are key to success in everyday life; you use your English skills on a daily basis, when writing emails, letters and even holding a conversation on the phone so it’s something you need to have a fair grasp of if you’re to come across as an authoritative figure in your field.

Everyone remembers the primary school lessons on ‘there, their and they’re’, ‘our and are’ and ‘your and you’re’, but very few people remember the correct uses for each one. It’s not just the use of words that people get hung up on though, punctuation and capitalisation are also huge issues.

It doesn’t matter how high your position in a company, you automatically lose credibility if your English skills aren’t up to scratch. Spelling skills are perhaps the simplest and most obvious thing to tackle, followed by sentence structure, punctuation, word types and organisation. Only after mastering all of this can you progress your English further and start using it in persuasive and promotional ways.

There are plenty of ways to improve your English and it doesn’t need to take a lot of time. In fact, you can do it 100% in your spare time and at your own pace with a home learning course.

Our new English Skills (Basic) course covers spelling, reading, writing, speaking, grammar and punctuation and receiving and responding to information. Take our diagnostic test to find out whether this is the course level for you. If you’re more advanced, you could consider taking an online English GCSE course.

NCC are pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2015 E3 Business Awards.

 

NCC are pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2015 E3 Business Awards.

We were selected from hundreds of nominees across the North West to become one of the finalists for the prestigious Online Business of the Year award.

This award follows our achievement at the E3 Business Awards in 2013, when we were awarded the Business Education award.

MD, Tony Smith said: “We at NCC are pleased to hear that we are finalists in the Online Business of the Year category. It has been a great year for us, since the successful launch of our brand new website we have experienced an excellent growth in sales and are receiving positive feedback. Being nominated demonstrates that the hard work was worth it.”

“Any finalist this year has already achieved something special,” said Mubarak Chati, managing director of 1 Events Media, which hosts the E3 Awards. “Each year, we notice a marked increase in the number of nominations and, in 2015, we’ve seen a huge leap. Numbers were up more than 30% on 2014, and it’s clear that the standard is rising steadily, too.

“We’ve had hundreds of nominations from across the whole of the North West. We always get a strong turn-out from the cities – Manchester, Liverpool and so on – but this year, I’m delighted that we’re getting a lot more entries from rural areas and smaller towns.

“Given the high number and the high calibre of entries, we certainly presented the Nominations Panel with a very difficult challenge. For NCC to have been named as a finalist is an achievement of which it should be very proud.”

The awards will take place on the 11th June at the Macron Stadium in Bolton.

More information about the E3 Business Awards, including a full list of finalists, can be found at www.e3businessawards.co.uk.

It’s always great to spill the gossip on a new course; in fact, it’s one of our favourite things to do, so here goes…

 

It’s always great to spill the gossip on a new course; in fact, it’s one of our favourite things to do, so here goes…

Last week we released a course perfect for those looking to develop and enhance their English skills. English Skills (Basic) covers all the important stuff: spelling, grammar and punctuation, reading, writing, speaking, and receiving and responding to information.

Learners will study six units over the course of twelve months and will gain an understanding of how the English language is structured, as well as developing their language foundations.

With no previous knowledge necessary it’s the perfect course for beginners and is welcoming to all, regardless of your previous understanding. If you find that you struggle with the course itself or merely with the commitment of learning at home, you’ll have access to your own tutor support for a twelve month period.

What’s even better is the fact that there’s no need to commit before knowing for sure that this course is for you. Take our diagnostic test to find out your level of English and whether this course is the one you’re looking for. Once submitted we’ll evaluate your answers and let you know whether your level of English is basic (in which case you’re perfect for this course), intermediate or advanced.

If it’s one of the latter two then don’t be dismayed because we’ll be adding the English Skills (Intermediate) and English Skills (Advanced), to go with our Mathematical Skills courses, in due course.

On completion of this course you’ll be awarded with a Certificate of Achievement from the awarding body ABC Awards, which may then be used as evidence towards a regulated qualification in the future.