City of Wolverhampton Council yesterday (Monday) welcomed representatives from the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to the city.

It was the start of a three-day visit as part of an international exchange programme with Access to Business and the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.

The ten Bulgarian delegates were greeted by the Deputy Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Phil Page, Leader of the Council, Councillor Roger Lawrence, Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor John Reynolds, and Managing Director, Keith Ireland, at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

They heard a presentation on regeneration in the City of Wolverhampton and were also given an overview of the Black Country’s enterprise teams.

The aim of the visit is to exchange experience, good practices and models for promoting self-employment and entrepreneurship.

Rositca Antonova, Shumen Municipality Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, said: “We have had a fantastic welcome and we are really impressed with the regeneration in the City of Wolverhampton.

“We were also surprised by the strength and importance of the Wolverhampton economy to the region and the UK, in terms of manufacturing.

“The organisations in the city also seem well connected in helping young people gain the skills that businesses need.

“It is clear there is strong political leadership and we have learnt many things.”

Councillor Reynolds said: “We were delighted to welcome our visitors from Bulgaria.

“We are always keen to share our knowledge and spread the word about our great city on a global stage.

“This is just one of many international delegations we have welcomed to the city.”

The remainder of the trip will see the Bulgarian delegation visit Black Country Chamber of Commerce, the new University of Wolverhampton Science Park, Black Country Growth Hub, and Access to Business.

From a succulent roast dinner with all the trimmings to fruit-laden puddings, cakes and chocolates - not to mention nuts, mince pies and smoked salmon - Christmas Day is all about eating.

And it’s not just as we like to indulge, but our much-loved four-legged family members too. It’s hard to resist slipping them scraps or even their own Christmas dinner from our leftovers, however, we need to be mindful that not everything on the Christmas menu should be shared.

With this in mind, and to give pet owners a helping hand this festive season, insurer MORE TH>N’s qualified vet Andrew Moore has devised the ultimate Christmas dinner guides for cats and dogs, ensuring all the family can join in safely on the fun and the food this year.

Andrew Moore, MORE TH>N’S veterinary consultant, explains: ‘We all overindulge at Christmas, but festive food in human-sized quantities is more no no no than ho ho ho for our pets. Most festive food is fatty, rich and can sometimes even be downright poisonous to cats and dogs. However it’s not all Bah Humbug, there are certain foods that are fine to feed your pet for one festive meal. When it comes to our pets and food, it’s all about moderation - so the one occasion you should act like Scrooge is to keep the festive treats small and then your pet can enjoy their very own Christmas meal this year, without any nasty repurr-cusions.’

Christmas Dinner Guide For Dogs

Starter

FISH: Whilst salmon is a favourite amongst us, humans, it’s also a great starter for your dog as it is high in protein and Omega 3 fatty acids, which help support a dog’s immune system and also add shine to a dog’s coat. Choose plain salmon in spring water over smoked salmon though.  Prawns - as long as they are well cooked and shelled - will also go down very well.

Main

MEAT: Treat your pooch to some turkey this Christmas. Choose small amounts of boneless and skinless breast meat, which can be added to your dog’s meal in moderation. 

VEGETABLES: To bring a bit of variety to their Christmas bowl, add some sprouts, swede mash, potatoes, green beans and parsnip, ideally served plain – before any butter or oil is added. 

Dessert

Pudding is just as important as the main in our opinion and there’s no need to leave your dog out once the dinner is over. Low in lactose desserts like yoghurt and ricotta cheese in moderation are a great option, as they are excellent sources of calcium and protein. You could also swap grapes and raisin-based desserts for blueberries and dried cranberries, which are both safe for dogs.

TOP TIP: Don’t forget to remove a little bit of their normal food to even things out!

Christmas Dinner Guide For Cats

Starter

FISH: Cats too can tuck into a fishy starter with small amounts of canned tuna, which is a great source of protein in moderation 

Main

MEAT: Small amounts of lean meats like skinless turkey breast can add some variety to their moggy menu 

VEGETABLES: Sprouts, swede, carrot and parsnip mash add some colour to their festive feast, but just make sure they don’t contain butter, seasoning or anything toxic such as onions or garlic.

Dessert

Sugar, spice and everything nice hold no interest for a cat, so don’t feel guilty when tucking in to your fourth dessert of the day – cats would much prefer to be eating savoury foods

TOP TIP: Don’t forget to remove a little bit of their normal food to even things out!

It’s not just the Christmas dinner our dogs and cats want to get involved with during the festive season. Andrew Moore’s veterinary team has recalled some funny tales from clients who had to “paws” the festive fun to deal with some pets who took it a step too far during the festive season…

‘I once pulled a very long string of tinsel out of a Labradors throat, which never seemed to end’.

‘A dog ate an entire Christmas cake (seconds after they had drizzled it with brandy and lit it on fire) while it was still engulfed in flames!’.

‘A very small sausage dog came in after eating an entire box of Twilight dark chocolate mints in their wrappers on Boxing Day…three years in a row – setting quite the Christmas tradition for the family’. 

John Ellenger, Head of Pet Insurance MORE TH>N, added: “Eating the Christmas dinner has to be one of the most exciting parts of the festive period, so we wanted to make sure the whole family, including those with four legs, could come together and join in this year. We are, however, aware that there are also a lot of don’ts when it comes to feeding pets over the merry season, so we have also developed guides online with information on what our pets should avoid to ensure trips to the vet are kept to a minimum!’ 

We can’t forget that there’s a number of festive no-no’s that need to be avoided on dogs and cats festive menus this Christmas - the main foods being grapes, raisins, nuts, onions and chocolate. 

Three-quarters (75%) of students and recent graduates in the West Midlands feel that emotional rewards in their future career are equally – or more important – than practical ones. New research released today shows that millennials, the newest entrants to the job market, are looking for personal fulfilment in their careers with 53% wanting to feel their job is worthwhile.

The survey of over 3,000 students and graduates, for the national Get Into Teaching campaign, found that this generation are motivated by altruistic goals with 38% in the West Midlands wanting to make a positive contribution to society. Over a third (34%) are also looking for a job that will make them feel proud.

Coming of age during the recession, and the changing world of work, may have influenced West Midlands-based millennials - 53% report that good job security is an important practical element of their future career, with a further 35% saying clear progression routes are a key consideration.

Given these factors, the research found that this audience view teaching as a career positively with almost two-thirds (61%) feeling that being a teacher would provide more daily emotional rewards than most other careers. Moreover, two-fifths (40%) of current degree-level students and recent graduates in the West Midlands say they have experience of working with young people on a voluntary basis, and over three-quarters (79%) believe they would make a good teacher. Over half (52%) of all the West Midlands respondents felt a teaching career would offer the opportunity to make a positive impact every day.

Commenting on the findings, Roger Pope, spokesperson for the Get Into Teaching campaign, and Chair of the National College for Teaching and Leadership, said:

“As a lifelong teacher myself, I see how young people’s attitudes and ambitions change with the generations, which is something that helps to keep the teaching profession fresh too. It’s fantastic to hear that so many students and graduates believe they would also make a good teacher.

“The research also shows that students and graduates in the West Midlands are looking for secure, fulfilling and impactful careers, which is why teaching should be a real consideration for them. It marries the things that this cohort cares most about: helping make a difference to other people and the world around us, whilst also allowing committed and dedicated professionals to pursue their own career goals. Pupils in school today will go on to do jobs that haven’t been invented yet, so this generation of tech-savvy, passionate graduates would do well in teaching, guiding our children and young people as they enter a world which is changing at a faster rate than we’ve ever seen.”

Furthermore, 92% of students and graduates in the West Midlands also believe teaching would be a fulfilling career most or all of the time, with 37% believing teaching to be in the top five jobs that make a positive impact on society.

Craig Smith, a newly-qualified PE teacher from Ark Kings Academy in Birmingham, said:

“Teaching is a job that I’m incredibly proud to do. As a graduate I had lots of choices of potential careers, but I was drawn to teaching. Ultimately, I wanted a career that was rewarding and teaching ticks all the boxes – I get to inspire people in a subject I’m passionate about, it is full of emotional rewards and I feel like I’m doing something worthwhile every day. It is also a structured profession where I am supported and encouraged to develop my skills and look to progress. I would encourage anyone looking for a truly meaningful career to find about more about teaching.”

The Get Into Teaching team organises a whole calendar of online and face-to-face events where students and graduates can speak to those within the profession and find out more about the teacher training options, school experience and the benefits a career in teaching offers.

Last month the funding available to trainee candidates in a range of subjects was announced. You could get a £26,000 tax-free bursary to train as a teacher in key subjects including science, computing, geography and languages. This year candidates could get £30,000 to train to teach maths – a £20,000 tax-free bursary while training as a teacher and a further £10,000 after tax once in teaching. Alternatively, prestigious scholarships of up to £28,000 are available in priority subjects for graduates with a 2:1 or above who are passionate about their subject and have the potential to be teachers.

Black Country Chamber of Commerce is officially named a ‘Fairtrade Workplace of World Changers’. This is following the launch of the Black Country Chamber Social Impact document that was released back in June at a special event.

The Chamber is committed to supporting businesses to better their social impact whilst also implementing a plan of action internally. With this in mind, following conversations with the local Wolverhampton City Fairtrade Partnership about how they can engage more with local organisations, the Chamber decided to lead by example and become a Fairtrade workplace.

Becoming a Fairtrade workplace is a straight forward process that all businesses could achieve, by visiting the Fairtrade website and certify your workplace as Fairtrade by providing coffee, sugar and tea products carrying the Fairtrade Mark available to staff and visitors.

Barbara Gwinnett, Chair of the Wolverhampton City Fairtrade Partnership, commented: “Wolverhampton City Fairtrade Partnership congratulates the Black Country Chamber of Commerce on becoming a Fairtrade Workplace of World Changers. They are giving inspiring leadership to other businesses and helping to ensure that farmers in some of the world's poorest countries will get a fair price and a social premium for their produce. Well done to the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.”

Corin Crane, Chief Executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, added: “We want to lead by example with our social impact work and this is our first step towards more responsible business practices. We are proud to be supporting such a great initiative that helps to make a difference to the lives of the people who grow the things we love, and would encourage other businesses to do the same.”

Britain's boozers, already amongst the heaviest drinkers in Europe, are responsible for one of industry's biggest headaches – how to deal with the waste products of both production and consumption.

These are the findings of one of the UK's leading waste management companies, which says that alongside the familiar sight of bottle banks and tin recycling, brewers and distillers are having to cope with the ever-growing mountain of by-products from their business.

While bottles and tins are easily and readily recycled, some brewers have traditionally just poured away their waste products, the BusinessWaste.co.uk company says.

"The consumer would be shocked if they knew of the waste behind their favourite tipple," says BusinessWaste.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall, "but the truth is that they're only just coming to grips with a centuries-old problem."

According to official statistics, every year Britons get through

• 1.5bn bottles of wine
• 108m bottles of vodka
• 70m bottles of Scotch
• 30m bottles of gin

Around 70% of British people say they drink alcohol on a weekly basis, with larger numbers of younger people bucking the national trend which had previously shown a decline in adult drinkers.

"Aside from the obvious health risks, we can report that up to 50% of alcohol containers aren't recycled and end up in general waste bins," says Hall. "As an environmental health check for the nation, that's not particularly good.

"That means millions of tons of glass and aluminium not being recycled every year, and that's a terrible waste."

But it's in the brewing and distilling trade that waste is just as pressing.

Figures show that the Scotch whisky industry alone produces 500,000 tons of solid waste every year, and a staggering 1.6bn litres of waste liquids. While the solid waste (called "draff") is usually spread on agricultural land, the liquid ("pot ale") is sometimes just poured down the drain.

There's hope that chaff and pot ale can be turned into other products, and a process has just been revealed that turns the two into useful chemicals such as acetone, and fuels like butanol and ethanol.

"That's the kind of 'out of the box' thinking that could save the distilling industry thousands every year," says BusinessWaste.co.uk ‘s Mark Hall. "Not only in cutting their waste bills, but selling their by-products as a premium product."

BusinessWaste.co.uk says that other sectors of the drinks industry should take a look at their by-products to see if there is a viable alternative to waste.

"With raw commodities becoming more expensive every day, it means that the gap between waste and value is narrowing," Hall says.

"New processes could save the booze industry from a financial hangover, but they've got to invest first."