Biotech Clusters must prevent their pools from drying out.

There is significant competition in the fight for the skills, experience and talent to transform fledgling biotechnology companies into sustainable enterprises with something more than big ambitions. The small and agile biotech company has many advantages to offer the adventurous and entrepreneurially minded life science professional. Using these attractive characteristics effectively to appeal to talented people takes consideration and analysis as well as huge amounts of time and effort if you’re truly going to hire the quality required to drive the business forward and execute your plan.

Because biotechnology companies are largely in clustered hubs across Europe, often supported and backed by an association or group whose mission is to raise awareness of the cluster, these companies have a great opportunity to ride this publicity wave and deliver their message of opportunity to candidates with impact.

Yet to do this, companies need to concede the protectionist attitudes they take to talent they recruit. It is advantageous to all the companies within the cluster to attract great people as it will make all the companies stronger and more successful by attracting other great talent and stimulate stronger International interest.

It is widely acknowledged that people and skills are critical in executing any business plan but to attract high quality talent to the dynamically changing world of biotech, it sometimes requires those same individuals to think about their contingency options should things not work out. Who else is there that can provide them with a career?

This is where clusters have a distinct advantage. By accepting that people will give you good service but will want to move on at some point, they can work on keeping the talent locked into the cluster rather than losing it to external markets. Recruiting is currently so difficult, expensive and competitive that by creating an open talent forum where cluster companies can broadcast their opportunities and open their doors to those people ready for a fresh challenge, you can strengthen the cluster by retaining skills rather than losing out to competitive talent markets.

But how?…Well, as company executives and investors you regularly convene to discuss trends, alliances and industry developments. You network, share ideas and swap contact information and all these prevalent concepts are well ingrained in modern business and acutely employed across these biotechnology clusters. Take these principles, develop them and apply them to recruiting and careers and you begin to provide the connectivity conditions similar to large companies. People can then move around to progress their careers and acquire the experience they feel they need to achieve their longer term ambitions. You begin to build up the loyalty and ties people feel with the area and the companies that comprise it, which can only enhance the ability of the respective companies to attract other great people from the global talent markets. So preserve your talent pool and work with your fellow cluster companies to find ways to offer opportunity and lock in the skills of the world’s best talents.
Karl Simpson
Managing Director
Liftstream
Medical diagnostics recruitment agency
Speciality biotechnology recruitment agency
Life sciences recruitment agency

Dial O for Fashion!

We remember when shopping online was ‘far out’ but now Oasis have become the first high street store to bring fashion to your phone!

Recently Oasis have created an application for iPhones that will enable fashion fans to view new stock daily, scroll campaign images and find their nearest store using a GPS function all at the touch of a screen.

Sharon O’Connor MD of the fashion brand says “We are very excited to be launching our new shopping application with iPhone and proud to be the first UK retailer to offer this exclusive service to our customers.”

As well as daily updates and the store finder options we love the sound of the ‘Shake Your Style’ feature where musthave Oasis items are suggested each time you shake your phone.

Available now from the App Store or online at iTunes. Shopping will never be the same again!

Bella Binns
Look
lookys@ipcmedia.com
Tel: 0203 148 5000
Fashion News, beauty news, style news…

Tess Daly’s Beauty Range For Marks & Spencer

Tess Daly’s beauty range has finally arrived on the Marks and Spencer shelves.

Tess Daly is the latest celebrity to design her own range of beauty products. The ‘Daly Body Collection’ has been designed to bring a touch of glamour to bathtime.

Our favourite pieces include the skin shimmer, bath soak and body moisturiser. If you’re already adding items to your Christmas wish list then we suggest you put the glamour beauty gift set on top of your list.

Tess spoke to LOOK about her new collection and revealed that her favourite product was the cheek highlighter. “ I can’t live without it.”

Despite having a five-month-old baby, Tess has had full input into the designs “ I’ve been involved in the whole process from day one- that’s why I’m really proud of the range, it’s been a journey and it’s like another baby. It was my idea, the packaging is my design, the products are born from passions of mine – products I’m passionate about – I’ve been instrumental since day one. I haven’t just lent my face to it”

Tess also explained that the collection has been a dream come true, “’It’s been wonderful because it’s every girl’s dream, isn’t it – to have a beauty range and be girly? ‘I’ve always been a beauty junkie and love products, so it’s been wonderful and interesting.

Check out this week’s LOOK magazine to see the full interview and the sexy photoshoot.

Sinead 0′Donoghue
Look
lookys@ipcmedia.com
Tel: 0203 148 5000
Look
Fashion Website.
All the high street fashion shops in one magazine.
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Tesco clothing now available online!

Tesco have launched a fully-fledged online store!

We love online shopping and you can pick up an outfit for Friday night along with your groceries. Tesco’s online store features Florence and Fred, Liquorish as well as their mainline range.

It’s perfect for snapping up a t-shirt or an emergency pair of tights, but there’s also some good trend pieces. Give their jumpsuit a try with a wide belt, we also like the foil-print tee and the orange heels give instant impact to an outfit!
Isabelle O’Carroll
Look
lookys@ipcmedia.com
Tel: 0203 148 5000
Look
Fashion Magazine.
All the high street fashion shops in one magazine.
All the latest fashions from high street clothes shops across the UK.

Beauty Product Of The Week: Remington’s Wet2Straight Slim Straighteners

Want sleek and shiny hair to rival Jennifer Aniston’s? Then here’s a new way to achieve A-list hair without spending hours in the hairdressers!

Sleek, glossy hair is always on-trend and looks great whatever your face shape or hair type. With the party season soon upon us, it’s great news that you can now achieve a long-lasting silky-smooth style, with the new Remington Wet2Straight Slim.

Forget spending hours with the hairdryer or in the salon, as long-lasting, silky-smooth hair can be achieved in seconds, without ruining your luscious locks.

All you have to do, is simply run the new Remington Wet2Straight slim over wet hair and it will instantly straighten hair while drying. Genius!

According to Remington’s research, 82% of women who tried the new starightners preferred them to their current ones.

So if you want a straightener, hair dryer and conditioner rolled into one, then it’s time to make the Remington Wet2Straight your new must-have essential!

Sinead O’Donoghue
Look
lookys@ipcmedia.com
Tel: 0203 148 5000
Look, the high street fashion magazine.
Check out the latest fashion & beauty news.

H&M’s Latest Fashion Collaboration

Yippee! H&M have revealed that their latest collaboration, will be with fashion designer, Sonia Rykiel.

Yes ladies, you have read correctly, H&M have indeed announced yet another fabulous fashion collaboration!

We jumped for joy when we found out about the Jimmy Choo collection, earlier this year, and now we’re just as excited to read about their designer partnership with Sonia Rykiel!

‘Queen of Knits, ’ Sonia Rykiel, will be the next guest H&M designer for winter 2009 and spring 2010. The first collection will hit stores on the 5th December and will consist of a range of lingerie and related accessories, a first for H&M.

The second collection will feature an iconic knitwear collection for women and girls and will hit stores on the 20th February.

Nathalie Rykiel, president and artistic director of Sonia Rykiel spoke about her excitement, ‘the Sonia Rykiel pour H&M lingerie collection is the ideal way to offer the essence of Rykiel to a great number if women around the world, and a beautiful way to close the year. The knitwear collection is perfect for welcoming a colourful new season.”

See you in the queue!

Sinead O’Donoghue
Look
lookys@ipcmedia.com
Tel: 0203 148 5000
Look, the high street fashion website.
Check out the latest fashion & beauty news.

Topshop’s Gone Dotty!

Polka dots have been a huge hit on the spring/summer catwalk and luckily Topshop has already gone polka dot crazy.

Love being ahead of the fashion pack? Then Topshop is your one-stop shop this autumn. Not only are they bang on trend with this season’s hottest designs, they’re also well ahead of the high-fashion designers, as their rails are already packed with must-haves for spring/summer.

Luella’s catwalk show was full of polka dots, from mini skirts and bags to dresses and tops. We wanted the whole collection!

Unfortunately our budget doesn’t extend to the latest designer must-haves so we’re relying on good old Topshop to come up triumphs.

We’ve fallen for their sequin polka-dot pieces and their dotty frocks, not only will they take you through the party season, they’ll also be fashionable come July. Snap up these three statement pieces now- they’ll be the best investment pieces you’ll buy all month!

Sinead 0′Donoghue
Look
lookys@ipcmedia.com
Tel: 0203 148 5000
LooK, the high street fashion magazine.
Check out the latest fashion news.

Sleep Solutions for your Baby or Toddler

Of all the challenges parents face, getting your kids to sleep properly is possibly the biggest.

Whether it’s a screaming 6-month-old or a scared two-year-old, a full night’s sleep is a goal that can sometimes seem almost impossible to achieve.

If your baby won’t sleep through the night or you want to know how to get your baby to sleep in the first place.

Baby sleep solutions

Follow these steps to help your baby learn to settle herself without leaving her to cry it out.

Step 1: Watch for your baby’s sleepy signs: yawning, eye-rubbing and general crankiness.

Step 2: Put your baby in her cot while she’s drowsy but awake.

Step 3: If your baby cries, pick her up and comfort her with a ‘shhh’ sound until she stops crying, then put her down.

Step 4: Continue with picking her up if she gets upset. Eventually she’ll realise that although you’re there to soothe her you’ll put her down once she’s calm, and she’ll learn to fall asleep by herself. She’ll begin to associate the ‘shhh’ sound with sleep so that if she wakes the sound alone should help her settle.

This is the gentlest way of teaching your baby to fall asleep by herself. It can take a long time unless you’re really tuned in to spotting when your baby’s tired. Plus, constantly bending to pick up your baby can be hard on your back.

Tough out the tears

Try leaving your baby to cry for progressively longer periods of time until she settles herself.

Step 1: Put your baby in her cot awake, say goodnight to her, then leave the room.

Step 2: If your baby cries, wait five minutes before going in. Stay for a few minutes to reassure her, then say goodnight and leave the room.

Step 3: If your baby is still crying after five more minutes, go back in and repeat the process. This time, wait for 10 minutes before going back in, and extend the time between visits by two minutes until she falls asleep.

It’s probably the quickest sleep-training method. This short, sharp shock treatment takes a will of iron, because you have to wait while your baby cries and every instinct is telling you to comfort her. Although this technique works for many parents, some health professionals feel it may be emotionally and psychologically harmful to leave your baby to cry for any length of time.

Louise O’Connell
Good to Know
Good to Know features loads of great advice on families, health and food.
Checkout our new recipes section which includes somegreat quick and easy recipes including a delicious rocky road recipe.

September Exhibition Geneviève Dolle – 18th – 28th September

Genevieve was born and lives in France, working from her studio near Mulhouse in the Alsace; she has developed her highly respected artistic career with a fine sense of colour, and a direct brushstroke revealing the skilful handling of her subject. Her paintings evoke the joy of nature with a vibrant palette balanced with mellowness and shadow.

Genevieve has been regularly exhibiting with the Gallery; she has also shown at the Salon de Paris, the Grand Palais, the Salon d’Automne and Pantheon Paris. She was also awarded first prize at the Wittelshiem Salon.

This will be Genevieve’s first showcase at the Gallery. The exhibition includes a series of her Floral works and also a selection of her Fruit Series of Still Life paintings.

Lesley Carpenter
Advocate Art
mail@advocate-art.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 8879 1166
An Illustration Agency with a large number of greeting card designers.
Founded as an artists’ co-operative, Advocate Art retains the core principle that set us apart from conventional illustration agancies: Fairness, Ability, Creativity and Trust. four f.a.c.t.s, which enable us to attract the most creative greeting card illustrators and artists.

New research shows grads set to leave employers after recession

Results from independent research show that 67% of graduates surveyed are likely to consider leaving their current employer when the economy picks up.

The results offer a snapshot of how graduates are viewed and valued in the workplaces of some of the UK’s largest employers, including the NHS, Thomson Reuters and the Lloyds Banking Group.

Focusing on graduates two and a half to three and a half years into their scheme, the report investigates the perceptions and reality of graduate retention, recession impact and valuation issues for graduate programmes, both from the organisation and graduate’s perspective.

Key findings

Retention

• 49% of HR managers highlighted the difficulty of retaining graduates for long enough, with 22% reporting that on average they lose graduates within two years of their employment.
• 57% felt that there was more they could do to retain these graduates – the ability to identify and retain the right graduates will be a crucial success factor as the economy comes out of recession.
• 75% of HR managers saw most graduates leaving between two and a half and three and a half years after starting their graduate programme, or one year after the end of the programme.
• 78% of HR managers agreed or agreed strongly that a specific development programme to increase retention of graduates one year after the end of their graduate programme would be of benefit.

Return on investment

• The research uncovered the many difficulties HR managers face in measuring the return on investment of graduate schemes. 16% of respondents didn’t know when a company’s investment in a new graduate reached the break-even point and, in most cases, this figure is an estimate rather than a reliable piece of management information – 57% stated that this occurred before three years.

Recession

• While some respondents stated that graduate programmes had been scaled down, the majority of HR managers viewed stopping schemes altogether as a mistake that would lead to a disproportionate gap in the talent pipeline amongst new graduates.
• A big effect of the recession has been a shift in application patterns, with the financial services seeing a drop-off and public sector organisations, such as the NHS, seeing a massive rise — 7,000 applicants last year compared with 16,000 in 2009.
• HR and graduate managers thought the recession could have a significant impact on the attitudes of graduates starting work now, that ‘Generation Y’ may feel less secure and change their long-term career plans as a result.

Hana Searson, Head of Talent Management for IDG, said: “The information we have gathered highlights a lack of measurement in terms of return on investment and a need for companies to get better at identifying the right graduates for their business. It seems that many companies view the high turnover of graduates at this crucial two to three year point as inevitable.

“Organisations need to identify potential stars early on in their placements in order to map out clear plans to retain these individuals. How companies measure the value of a graduate also needs examining.

more…

It is not all about monetary return — the enthusiasm and fresh-thinking that graduates bring to an organisation is definitely beneficial and can be reaped throughout the duration of the graduate programme, even if individuals decide to leave once this is over.

Those businesses that have cut or greatly reduced their graduate schemes are short sighted. Graduates remain a vital source of future capability for organisations. Yes, there’s a short-term cash flow gain from removing or reducing the scale of a graduate programme, but the long-term gap in the pipeline of young, energetic, affordable, mouldable graduate talent will be much more painful in the end.

Evidence was gathered from over 150 graduates in the second or third year of their employment within companies that employ 500 or more staff. Also surveyed were 65 HR managers/directors across a range of industry sectors, including banking, engineering and public and private sectors. In addition, face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 HR managers.

Bob Jones
IDG
Leadership Training Courses & Team Leadership Training.