SWBR_v7_issue423August UWTSD

Adolygiad Busnes De Cymru
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Start-Up Nation
Joining the dots:
Andy Penaluna on being
enterprising in education
Connecting
the dots
BeTheSpark’s
Caroline Thompson
wants to empower
Wales’ entrepreneurial
ecosystem
Swansea Business School
Ysgol Fusnes Abertawe
Building an enterprising
economy: UWTSD and the
International University
of Malaya-Wales

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
inside
Autumn
3 Editorial:
START-UP NATION
4 The Big
Interview:
CAROLINE THOMPSON
6 WHAT THE LARGE
PRINT GIVETH,
THE SMALL PRINT
TAKETH AWAY
7 WILL YOUR BUSINESS
SURVIVE BY LUCK
OR DESIGN?
8 BOOSTING LOCAL
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
- THREE INITIATIVES
TO KNOW
13 THE VALUE OF SOCIAL
MEDIA TO START-UPS,
EMMA GRAY
14 BEING ENTERPRISING IN
EDUCATION, WHERE
ARE THE DOTS TO BE
JOINED UP?
16 OUR BUSINESS IS
FUTURE-PROOFING
CONSTRUCTION SKILLS
EIN BUSNES YW SICRHAU
SGILIAU ADEILADU AT
Y DYFODOL
2018
Volume 7 Issue 4
20 BUILDING AN
ENTERPRISING ECONOMY
– THE CASE FOR
MALAYA-WALES
21 Review:
“JUST START: TAKE ACTION,
EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY,
CREATE THE FUTURE”, DR.
COLIN JONES
22 News and Events
24 Next Issue
‘BE MY GUEST’
PRODUCTION TEAM
Editor: Kathryn Penaluna
Editorial Board:
Manjit Biant
Sian Harris
Christopher Thomas
Jayne Woodman
Rebecca Weicht
Design & Print:
UWTSD TEL Department
Editorial:
Start-Up Nation
Kath
Penaluna
Editor
Does it take a village to make a start-up thrive, or could it take the region? In this
issue of South Wales Business Review, we are excited to connect the dots and
celebrate many great home-grown initiatives that support entrepreneurship and
entrepreneurs in Wales! Here at UWTSD we are extremely proud of our graduate
businesses, with 567 businesses in 2016, we were ranked third in the UK. Their
creativity and innovation keep us connected to current thinking, and you can
hear from one of them, Jo Ashburner (page 10).
10 In Conversation:
JO ASHBURNER FARR
ON DOING BUSINESS
In our Big Interview, we hear from BeTheSpark’s CEO Caroline Thompson and get
a personal insight into her vision to empower Wales’ entrepreneurial ecosystem.
BeTheSpark wants to ensure that innovation and commercial opportunities are visible,
that key influencers, decision makers and financiers connect with each other, and
make the entrepreneurial landscape in Wales as simple as possible to understand and
navigate for everyone. It’s a vision for all.
Also in this issue, we discuss the importance of contracts (page 6), networking (page
7), and social media (page 13) for start-ups. We highlight three organisations that
boost entrepreneurship (page 8).
Alternative formats
If you require this document in an
alternative format (e.g. Welsh, large print
or text file for use with a text reader),
please email swbr@uwtsd.ac.uk
Fformatau eraill
Os hoffech y ddogfen hon mewn fformat
arall (e.e. Cymraeg, print mawr neu ffeil
tesun i’w ddefnyddio gyda darllenydd
tesun), anfonwch e-bost i:
swbr@uwtsd.ac.uk
ISSN 2049-5544
Disclaimer: The articles in this publication represent
the views of the authors, not those of the University. The
University does not accept responsibility for the contents of
articles by individual authors. Please contact the editor if you
have further queries.
Ymwadiad: Mae’r erthyglau yn y cyhoeddiad hwn yn
cynrychioli barn yr awduron, nid rhai UWTSD. Nid yw’r
Brifysgol yn derbyn cyfrifoldeb am gynnwys erthyglau
awduron unigol. Cysylltwch â’r golygydd os oes gennych
gwestiynau pellach.
© Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant / University
of Wales Trinity Saint David 2018. All rights reserved/
cedwir pob hawl. Registered Charity Number / Rhif Elusen
Gofrestredig 1149535
Cover image: ©Rawpixel.com/shutterstock
CONTACT US /
CYSYLLTWCH Â NI
Web/Gwefan: www.uwtsd.ac.uk/swbr
Email/E-bost: swbr@uwtsd.ac.uk
Twitter: @SWBusReview
Post:
Kathryn Penaluna
South Wales Business Review
Adolygiad Busnes De Cymru
Swansea Business School
Ysgol Fusnes Abertawe
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant
High Street / Stryd Fawr
Swansea / Abertawe
SA1 1NE
But learning to start up does not just begin with kicking off an entrepreneurial venture!
Did you know that Wales and its UWTSD is among the leading regions in Europe on
entrepreneurship education? Exciting entrepreneurial skills-building already takes place
in our primary schools (page 14). And we are exporting our knowledge far afield
(page 20)!
In our next issue, you are invited to Be My Guest, as we explore the tourism and
hospitality industry. If you are interested in contributing, please email us at swbr@
uwtsd.ac.uk.
Best wishes,
Kath Penaluna
2 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 3

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
The Big Interview:
Caroline Thompson
SWBR Editor Kathryn Penaluna
met BeTheSpark’s CEO Caroline
Thompson to talk about
BeTheSpark’s vision to empower
Wales’ entrepreneurial ecosystem.
SWBR: Tell us a bit about your
background and career history?
CT: Prior to taking up my position as CEO
with BeTheSpark, I was the NatWest lead
for the Entrepreneurial Spark accelerator
hubs in both Bristol and Cardiff. I have over
28 years of experience in banking with
NatWest in variety of roles – cross division
– ranging from Risk & Regulation to Human
Resources, and 12 years of experience in
leading teams.
SWBR: What is BeTheSpark and
how/why was it formed?
CT: BeTheSpark is a movement to
stimulate and engage everyone in the
Welsh ecosystem to drive entrepreneurship
through innovation across the whole
country. In achieving these aims we want
to ensure that innovation and commercial
opportunities are visible; that the key
influencers, decision makers and financiers
connect with each other; and make the
entrepreneurial landscape in Wales as
simple as possible to understand and
navigate for everyone.
SWBR: What is BeTheSpark’s
vision and how do you plan on
achieving this vision?
CT: BeTheSpark’s vision is to embed a
national imperative for entrepreneurship
and innovation across Wales by all
stakeholders to create more home grown
profitable companies creating wealth. In
order to achieve this we need to identify
and engage a core set of stakeholders
that will be energised and enthused to
start a movement around the twin pillars of
innovation and entrepreneurship.
4 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
SWBR: BeTheSpark is made up of;
government, corporate, academia,
risk capital and the entrepreneurial
community – how do each of these
stakeholders play their part in
driving the movement forward?
CT: Each of our stakeholder groups have
their own knowledge, skills and network
– the power is not in one but connecting
these. To date, we have received over 330
pledges from each of our stakeholder
groups. These pledges range from open
spaces, mentoring, specific expertise
and resources to seconding or allocating
members of their team to BeTheSpark as
part of their development or to help drive
specific initiatives in line with their existing
CSR activities and goals. People have
also pledged to promote BeTheSpark
via their Newsletter and/or social media.
They provide us with news stories about
business successes as well as send
us thought leadership pieces relating
to innovation, intrapreneurship,
and entrepreneurship.
SBWR: Tell us more about the
generational change that you are
trying to achieve?
CT: We want entrepreneurship to be
accessible to everyone. The only way we
are going to create more prosperity within
Wales is to create a generational change.
At the start of the year we brought together
over 120 people from higher and further
education institutions across Wales to share
best practice and ideas on igniting that spark
while people were still in education.
SWBR: What does a visible, simple
and connected ecosystem within
Wales ideally look like?
CT: I refer to BeTheSpark’s vision again:
we want to ensure that innovation and
commercial opportunities are visible; that
the key influencers, decision makers and
financiers connect with each other: and
make the entrepreneurial landscape in
Wales as simple as possible to understand
and navigate for everyone.
There are so amazing things that contribute
to the Welsh ecosystem including support
opportunities, funding, co-working spaces
and mentoring , that we want to connect
and amplify each of these to help create a
visible, simple and connected ecosystem
which is easy to navigate.
SWBR: BeTheSpark promotes
and encourages innovation-driven
entrepreneurship throughout Wales
but as CEO how do you stay
innovative and ahead of the curve?
CT: I spoke on this topic recently at the
BioWales conference – I believe you should
schedule time in your diary whether that
be daily or weekly for innovation. It’s so
easy to get caught up in work and forget
to take step back and look at how it could
be done differently or who you could speak
to/collaborate with to make things easier.
Everyone has the ability to be creative and
innovate, it’s just about making time to do so.
I also attend events regularly which gives
me the opportunity to learn what others are
doing within the innovation entrepreneurship
space and talk to like-minded people within
the industry.
SBWR: What’s next for BeTheSpark?
CT: BeTheSpark are working on amplifying
the movement and bringing it to life. To
do this we are sharing success stories,
case studies, news articles and promoting
events via our social media platforms. We
will be attending several events like the
Digital Festival 2018 and Wales Festival of
Innovation to further amplify our vision of
creating a visible, simple and connected
ecosystem across Wales.
In addition, we are also focusing on several
long term generational changes that were
raised at the BeTheSpark launch event
under the headings of ‘Must Win Battles’.
These encompass all five of our stakeholder
groups and cover a wide range of
actions helping to drive forward innovationdriven
entrepreneurship.
SWBR: How can each of us play
our part in BeTheSpark?
CT: To date we have received over 330
pledges ranging from open spaces,
mentoring, specific expertise and
resources. People have also pledged to
promote BeTheSpark via their Newsletter
and/or social media. Provide us with news
stories about business successes and
alike as well as sending us some thought
leadership pieces on anything innovation,
intrapreneurship, entrepreneurship.
With so much going on in Wales, let's
amplify what's happening.
Register today via
www.bethespark.wales
“BeTheSpark’s
vision is to embed a
national imperative
for entrepreneurship
and innovation
across Wales by all
stakeholders to create
more home grown
profitable companies
creating wealth.”
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 5

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
What the Large Print Giveth,
the Small Print Taketh Away
Michael Green, Phillips Green & Murphy Solicitors
Will your Business Survive
by Luck or Design?
Starting and running a business can be
very exciting and challenging. Being
an entrepreneur and your own boss
is seen by many as an attractive goal.
It can also be extremely rewarding.
However, there is another, much more
mundane, if not downright boring,
analysis of starting and running a
business. That is to see the process for
what it is, a series of legal contracts.
Running a business largely
relies on contracts
Everything you do from buying your first
stationary, renting your premises and
taking on your first employee involves
entering a contract. Contracts are two
(sometimes more) sided agreements
where one party agrees to do something
for the other party usually in exchange
for money. Buying a cup of coffee, from
your favourite chain of coffee stores, is a
contract. The Coffee shop provides you
with the coffee and you pay them. Most
other business contracts are, however, far
more complex than that. They contain
lots of what lawyers like to describe
as terms and conditions, and
can be quite complex and
boring to read. Largely
because they have
been written
by lawyers.
Reading them is, however, a
must if you are not to fall foul of
unexpected consequences.
Take, for instance, a recent example I
came across. It involved a lady who set
up a business. She needed a website
to sell her goods. She entered into a
contract with a website provider. They
were a smaller, independent company
who agreed to build the website and
provide hosting for a period of five years.
There were detailed terms and conditions
on their website, which, presumably, she
did not read.
After a couple of months the website
crashed. It is her case that she lost
around £10,000 worth of business over
Christmas and the problems continued.
Reading the contract revealed that it
contained a force majeure clause. Force
majeure is French for “superior force” and
relates to matters which are beyond the
control of the parties. It relieves parties
of their liabilities for breach of contract
if the contract cannot be performed for
specified reasons. These clauses relate
to such matters as war, earthquake and
“acts of God”.
In this contract for the provision of an
e-commerce website and hosting,
hacking and malware were listed among
the examples of force majeure. So
the website providers seemed to be
suggesting that having their system
hacked or infected by a computer virus
is in the same category as items which
are genuinely beyond their control such
as loss of power from the National Grid
and earthquakes.
Such a clause should raise alarm bells
with any potential purchaser of their
services. But as most people don’t read
contracts before they enter into them, the
majority will never know until it is too late.
Why reading your contracts
pays off in the long-term
There are very few business contracts
into which you will enter that do not have
alternative suppliers. That gives you an
opportunity to negotiate the terms of the
contracts before you enter into them. The
cheapest might seem appealing at first,
but that is not the only criteria against
which a supplier should be judged.
Go through what you are signing up to
carefully, and if you need clarification,
seek it by email rather than telephone
so you have a record of the questions
you asked and the responses you
received. If the contract is particularly
significant in terms of the importance to
your ability to run the business (as in the
website example) or is of high monetary
value, it may well be worth you seeking
professional advice.
That might seem an expensive option
initially, but in the long run, it is better to
be safe than sorry.
Day one. You have invested time and
money in designing your website. You have
designed your logo and business cards. You
have designed your social media presence.
But have you designed your network?
I opened my company nine years ago, and
during that time I have seen many people in
my network take the plunge and open their
own business. Of those people, I can count
on one hand the number still operating after
three years. The question is, why? There are
many reasons, but there is one in particular
that is critical.
How your network of
contacts contributes to your
business success
Imagine your world as a network, where
every person you meet is a node in that
network. Now, imagine each node as a
magnet. You, as a node, will attract people
and other nodes will attract you. That
strength of attraction is based on a synching
of knowledge, skills, experience and needs.
The problem is that when starting out in
business too many people focus on building
networks of strong ties - people with high
levels of similarity (strong magnetism), who
reinforce their view of the world. At this point
you might be thinking, where’s the problem;
if people have a similar view of the world
then it naturally follows that they are more
likely to engage you? However, those strong
ties can serve to constrain your ability to
survive and thrive.
David Griffiths
MSc (Edin), PhD (Edin), CMgr FCMI
For example, meet Richard. Richard was 43
and had worked for ten years as an internal
Learning and Development consultant
for a multi-national firm in London. After
being worn down by years of restructuring,
he opted for voluntary redundancy and
opened a consulting practice. He networked
with consultants who delivered similar
services and mined his existing network
for opportunities. Within eighteen months
Richard had exhausted opportunities in his
network and found that instead of being
collegiate, his fellow consultants were
cutthroat (after all, they were competing
in the same space). Within another twelve
months, Richard had gone back to work as
a Learning and Development Manager in a
medium-sized company in Birmingham.
One of the secrets to longevity is the
diversity of your network. A diverse network
of strong and weak ties (think of this as lower
levels of attraction or magnetism) will allow
you to challenge your thinking about your
service or product offering. Such diversity
allows you to sense and anticipate changes
and opportunities in the market, which leads
to growth and resilience.
How I built my professional
network to help my
business grow
In contrast to Richard, I took the design
approach to network development. I
started by observing the market space,
building a political, economic, socio-cultural,
technological, environmental and legal
network. I took an empathetic approach,
engaging on social media to understand
what people were saying, what they were
hearing and what they were seeing and
what they were feeling. Such an approach
enabled me to build a sustainable business
model of emergent opportunities that has
allowed me to work in 17 different countries
over a nine-year period.
Longevity, resilience, can happen by luck
or design; if you want to out perform the
competition, invest the time and money in
designing and developing a diverse network.
On the other hand, you could leave it to luck.
David Griffiths is the former Programme
Director for the part-time Doctor of Business
Administration at Swansea Business School.
If you are interested in resilience (longevity
by design), check out the UWTSD part-time
DBA. Contact gareth.hughes@uwtsd.ac.uk.
6 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 7

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
Boosting Local
Entrepreneurship –
Three Initiatives to Know
The Centre for African
Entrepreneurship
Boosts Ethnic Minority
Entrepreneurship in
South Wales
The Centre for African Entrepreneurship
is a south Wales based organisation that
aims to inspire, support and promote
ethnic minority entrepreneurship and
leadership. Our offices in Swansea offers
a Business Community Space with a
meeting room available for business
workshops and meetings for up to 14
people, and IT suite with computers
available to use by the public. Our
main project is funded by ESF through
WCVA Active Inclusion Fund, and it
aims to provide a supportive platform
in which economically inactive aspiring
entrepreneurs connect with local active
entrepreneurs to form a network where
participants can thrive by learning from
each other. Activities include one to one
business advice, mentoring, training,
networking, and swapping skills events.
The CAE is in the process to create a
Youth Entrepreneurship Network (SYEN)
for University students and it is about
building a platform for young people
interested in entrepreneurship and based
in Swansea to connect and support
each other.
Franck Banza is the Founder and CEO of
the Centre for African Entrepreneurship.
Learn more at www.caentr.org
Indycube and TechHub –
Two Innovation Spaces
in Swansea
Many articles have been written about
open innovation, network models of firms
and industry clusters, but what happens
in a small city like Swansea? Indycube
and TechHub are successfully providing
co-working and business incubation
space in the heart of Swansea. These
facilities offer working space on flexible
terms, from one desk up to a full office
and are helping dozens of new firms to
establish themselves in the region and
across the globe.
Indycube focuses on building
regional resilience
Indycube was established in Cardiff in
2010. When that facility proved a success
in its first year, it sought to expand
and, to Mike Scott, one of Indycube’s
directors, Swansea appeared the ideal
place. After Mike championed the idea,
Indycube opened on Wind Street in
2012. Indycube’s philosophy is that whilst
they provide co-located, flexible space
for businesses, they will leave users
very much unmolested. Very little direct
support is offered, although working in
the same office with professionals from
all kinds of areas provides users with the
opportunities for collaboration, knowledge
sharing and mutual support. How they
choose to use these opportunities is
entirely their own choice.
Indycube places a great emphasis
on the regional resilience that can be
built when the right support for new
businesses is provided. Not only are the
start-ups based in Swansea providing
a direct economic benefit to the city by
being allowed to expand the business
community and attracting investment,
the local entrepreneurs are deriving a
personal benefit in that they do not have
to travel far afield to a remote office in
another (likely bigger) city. This enhances
their quality of life in that they spend less
time commuting, leading to more leisure
time and time with their families. In fact,
Indycube allows users to bring their
children to work, which in turn normalises
this kind of working and so helping it to
perpetuate itself.
Mike believes that if a country like Wales
focusses solely on attracting inward
investment, she leaves herself vulnerable
to economic shocks in other economies
which cause those investors to withdraw
from Wales to concentrate on their own
markets. The best chance for Wales is
to grow her own industries so that she is
better prepared to look after herself.
www.indycube.community
Centre for African Entrepreneurship
TechHub supports tech-focussed
start-ups in various ways
After establishing itself in London in 2010,
TechHub opened on Swansea’s High
Street in 2015, its first UK location outside
of London. It currently occupies four
floors at the award-winning Urban
Village development.
Its offering is distinct from that of
Indycube in that it focusses solely upon
tech industries, currently supporting over
750 companies around the world. Whilst
the model was established in London,
Sarah Fogel, community events manager
at Swansea notes that transplanting
the model to the south Wales region
presented many challenges. The market
was very different to that in London, as
TechHub quickly discovered that the base
of tech companies whom they wished to
attract was not as extensive as hoped.
TechHub had to adapt, considering
whether to expand their offer to more
established companies which hoped to
scale up or even to loosen their
definitions and offer their services to
non-tech businesses.
TechHub is very much engaged with its
service users, offering numerous support
events throughout the year. These events
are tailored to the requirements of service
users; for example should they ask for
advice about finance, tax or marketing,
then free sessions will be arranged with
industry experts which are held at their
High Street base so that any interested
member can benefit. TechHub also
partners with both local higher education
institutions (Swansea University and the
University of Wales Trinity Saint David) and
the DVLA, which has its UK headquarters
in Swansea.
Although based locally, TechHub’s service
users are part of a global community, in
which members’ needs are understood
and met in order to foster the next
generation of high-value companies.
www.swansea.techhub.com
8 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 9

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
In Conversation:
Award-Winning
Entrepreneur Jo Ashburner
Farr on Doing Business
“When your heartfelt
passion transfers to your
customers who are your
crucial investors, it will
be the courage of your
convictions that translates
into success, the courage
to be different.”
Manjit Biant
Manjit Biant met Jo Ashburner
Farr, CEO and Operations
Director of Red Dragon
Flagmakers. Jo graduated with
a First Class Honours degree in
Surface Pattern Design BA(Hons)
from UWTSD in 2004 as a single
parent. She developed her brand
Noonoo during the degree and
won a European Social Fund
scholarship to do a Masters
degree in Enterprise at the
University of Manchester. Soon
after, Jo established an ethical
manufacturing hub in Vietnam
and went on to win
Wales Regional and UK
National Businesswoman of
the Year award in 2006. Jo is
driven by ethical and social
enterprise manufacturing.
SWBR: Jo, tell us a bit
about yourself.
JA: There are three types of people in
business. Those who talk about it, those
who teach it and those who do it. I’ve
tried to be all three of these in my life and
the most pleasure has come from ‘doing’,
so when you asked me to think about
how I ‘do’ it’s tricky having to think about
it, break it down and put it to paper. The
headlines about my experiences of being
in business are pretty brief: be focussed,
work hard and don’t pretend to be
anything you’re not. But that doesn’t fill
the page so here’s to digging deeper.
For many years I wasn’t sure where I
was supposed to fit and I discovered by
default rather than design that having my
own business gives me the confidence
and strength to be me. I grew up on a
Welsh hill farm mentored and influenced
by good working class people with
strong-as-steel spines and colourful
vocabularies and at the age of eight was
unceremoniously uprooted and sent
away to boarding school to smooth the
edges, banish my strong Neath accent
and groom me into some form of social
acceptability. For a long time I felt like
the perpetual people watcher, curious
to see how others live, love and work
and that with the volume turned to mute,
so many look like they’re going through
the motions, treading water, waiting for
something to happen. I’ve made sure the
mute button is on so that when they turn
to look out at me with pursed lips and
a whiff of distaste as I whizz by at 100
mph skidding and bumping and charging
along living my life to the absolute full
laughing all the way, I don’t have to hear
what they have to say about it. It doesn’t
matter what they say anyway.
Through being borderline agoraphobic
– or perhaps it’s just that I just work
really well on my own – I’ve learned to
surround myself with good people. By
good I mean honest; and those who tell
me when my bum does look big in this,
those who make me laugh, make me
think, those who trust me enough that
they can rely on me, and they in turn then
become my go to team. By happily not
fitting in anywhere in particular, I welcome
those that bring on the differences -
pink Mohican, tats and piercings over
conventional dress and image any day if
I had to choose. In my book anyone who
has the honesty to embrace and express
who they really are instead of cloaking
themselves underneath the restraints of
social convention is real and intriguing
and I want to know more.
SWBR: What advice would you
give to someone starting up?
JA: I do admire determination, grafters,
and triumph over adversity and people
who stand out because of their
individuality. I don’t trust easily – I used to
but learned the hard way – and have no
time for procrastination, politics and other
nonsense, all of which you have to learn
to identify in business and the connection
you make with others.
Continues Overleaf
10 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 11

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
The Value of Social
Media to Start-Ups
Connection with your peers, your
customers and your audience, some of
whom you’ve never met but who read
about you, hear about and see what you
are by your actions and feel they know
you, is empowering. Drawing in others
to invest in you and your business is vital
and as much as your business has a USP,
you as a person must also stand out and
have your own USP. To achieve this you
have to be open to learn, to change and
adapt. People have to like you for you as
you really are; don’t be the chameleon,
you’ll lose their trust and they will walk
away. When your heartfelt passion
transfers to your customers who are your
crucial investors, it will be the courage
of your convictions that translates into
success, the courage to be different.
Make no bones about it, you have to be
prepared to go without, you have to take
responsibility for your actions and learn
not to blame others when something
goes wrong – a bad reputation is a
terrible curse on a person and a business,
but it happens. Accept the trials as a hard
lesson and then work out how to avoid it
happening again. Always hold your nerve;
walk away and distract yourself if that
works for you (it does for me) and when
you return to your desk the universe will
have rebalanced itself and all will be right.
SWBR: How would you advise
managing money?
JA: When you’re planning, budget for the
unpredictable and never underestimate
how much running a business costs –
don’t owe your suppliers any money and
if you can’t pay on time, explain it to them
up front close and face to face or on the
phone to diffuse any misunderstandings.
To sleep well at night I highly recommend
consolidating what you have and
avoid debt. Keep it small and trim and
economise. Work smart and if that
involves saving a small fortune in travel
expenses, lunch and coffees throughout
the day and not having to be suited and
booted by working from your kitchen
table, so be it. I still now avoid having to
keeping up appearances and apart from
what I throw on to walk the dog on the
beach in the fresh air under blue skies
while I take that call with a client (who is
sitting in an office most likely staring at a
wall), I do my own thing.
SWBR: What would be your final
thoughts and things to look
out for?
JA: Having a business is like having a
cool kid. You watch him learn from his
mistakes as he grows and flourishes
into a person you and those around you
enjoy being with. You can’t force him to
do anything he doesn’t want to do, but
you can steer him. And the outcome of
this learning path? The confidence in
your/my own ability to achieve something
good and the courage to create and run a
business with a social mission.
Society is changing. It’s calling out
the selfish arrogance of the few and
demanding a fairer distribution for the
greater good. While consumers lazily
distribute chewing gum graffiti on our
streets and continue to ignorantly
propagate the plastic pollution in our
seas, I look at what should be the social
responsibility of the original manufacturers
of the pollutants to clear up the mess
they’ve created. I mean how many cars
and houses and holidays will it take for
you to be happy? And you can’t take it
with you.
We all absolutely know this and yet
human kindness and charity are left
to clear up the mess of pollution and
poverty and bad politics and it all boils
down to what you choose to do. So in a
small way my business is my version of
creating positive change and my personal
contribution to redressing the balance
of unfairness in society. Every day I see
businesses shouting loud on social
media and on the news about being the
‘official’ this and that to rights for this
and rights for that and I applaud their
contribution. But make no bones about
it, that contribution has been entered into
the ledger as PR expense and its short
lived. It’s used as a promotional vehicle
and it creates a short-lived ‘blink and you
miss it’ feel good noise for that business’
branding, nothing more. It’s definitely not
the same as making a product and being
totally reliant on sales of that product,
then using the profits made from those
sales to train skills to those who have
fallen on hard times, at no cost to them
and then help them get back on their feet
and into sustainable employment.
That’s my take on being successful.
That’s ‘doing’.
www.reddragonflagmakers.co.uk
Social media is a valuable resource
to any business, irrespective of size.
It is even more important, however,
to start-ups and entrepreneurs at the
start of their journey for connecting,
influencing and growing their desired
brand. Social media remains your best
and easiest way to reach a large global
community to grow your business.
Whether you offer a service, running
a lifestyle brand or have created a
ground-breaking piece of tech there
are some basic rules of play when it
comes to the world of social media.
Think before you act: What are you
trying to achieve? You need to answer
this question before you jump in and try
to conquer the world of social media.
Create your strategy before you create
your profiles. Before you start choosing
the right channels, think of your business
goals and objectives and how social
media can help achieve these. It’s ok to
not have presence across them all.
Pick and choose what works best for
your business.
Create your online persona:
What kind of company do you
want to be on social media?
Align your social media
presence and persona with
your company culture – is
this serious and factual,
or playful and fun? Or
perhaps a degree of all
the above? People love
to get to know the people
behind the brand so
don’t forget to add that
human element.
Work smart: Creating
and having an effective
social media presence
can help new companies
create meaningful,
lasting relationships with
customers. Using your
social media platforms
for customer service
and gaining valuable
feedback can help put
your company ahead of
the game.
Know your data: As well as looking
great and being a valuable platform to
connect with your potential customers,
social media also offers you a wealth
of data and insight into how to target
prospectives. Use this data to your
advantage and align your content with
images/posts your audience wants to see
and add value.
Keep your audience engaged: Set
aside time each day to check your
accounts and keep them populated
regularly with good quality content
(use your data to help discover what
‘good’ content is for your brand). If your
platforms lie dormant for weeks at a time,
it is likely that you are going to lose your
audience as they will become disengaged
with your content and brand.
Build strong online relationships:
Behind every successful social media
strategy is genuine human connection.
Show your audience the team of people
behind your product/business. Take your
audience along on the journey with you –
don’t use your social platforms as another
obvious sales push, be tactful and smart
about building those relationships. Use
your platforms to listen to what your
customers need and want then offer a
genuine solution by introducing them to
your business.
Emma Gray is BeTheSpark’s Digital
Communications Manager.
12 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 13

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
Being Enterprising in
Education, Where are the
Dots to be Joined Up?
Andy Penaluna is the Director of the International Institute for
Creative Entrepreneurial Development at UWTSD. His clients include
the United Nations, OECD and European Commission. The Institute of
Enterprise and Entrepreneurs and Maserati are amongst those who
have acknowledged his work, and in 2015 he received a personal
Queens Award for Enterprise from her Majesty the Queen.
As a former small business owner and
academic who subsequently ended
up teaching students to be more
entrepreneurial, I often get asked by
small businesses what universities are
doing, and can't they do more?
Businesses call for 21st
century skills
Big picture news is all around us,
from the Global Economic Forum to
The World, Bank, United Nations and
European Commission. The new call is for
entrepreneurial 21st century skills, right
across the piece. In Wales this has led to
a new school curriculum being developed,
new forms of teacher training and perhaps
most importantly, new ways of evaluating
learner performance. In Professor Graham
Donaldson’s ‘Successful Futures’ review
of the curriculum and assessment
arrangements in Wales, one of the four
‘purposes’ and cornerstones for this
change in schools asks for “enterprising
creative contributors” who are skilled in
connecting and applying their knowledge,
identifying and grasping opportunities and
teamwork. Sounds a little like a business
does it not?
A few years ago I was lucky enough
to be invited to present some of my
ideas in Parliament to a delegation of
micro businesses, the net result being a
publication for the All Party Parliamentary
Group (APPG) for Micro Businesses
entitled ‘An Education System for An
Entrepreneur’. What became clear was
the lack of joined up thinking, with pockets
of excellence and little reward for those
involved. Some schools, for example
those working with Sir Rod Aldridge or
those working in deprived areas such as
Rotherham, are developing new metrics
to measure success, but they have to sit
alongside more traditional examinations
and tests. If we do not get the testing and
marking right, how can we support learner
progression and improvement?
Take this simple example, an entrepreneur
or founder rarely knows for sure where
their next customer is coming from, or if
the business will succeed. Sheer grit and
determination is important, as are the
abilities to be flexible and adaptable in
response to change. Unique selling points
are also important, which means doing
something different to the norm –
in order to obtain some kind of
competitive advantage.
We need new assessment in
schools to help learners
be innovative
Now move our thinking to education
where students and pupils, especially
beyond primary school, are tested
through written exams that check that
they know the right facts and the right
people to quote, can regurgitate theories
and practices that have been accepted
as good by academics, and as long as
they hit the ‘standard’, get a good grade.
Standard of course, means the same, so
in effect we are calling for learners to think
alike, and to not question the accepted
norms that they are presented with. Add to
this that as I frequently comment, riding a
bike is not the same as writing about riding
a bike, and we can see that something is
truly amiss.
Fortunately this message is starting to get
through, and researchers for the European
Commission’s Science Hub, Joint
Research Centre, have been busy working
some of the issues out. My department
at UWTSD was singled out as one of only
two European universities that had a head
start in the way that they thought, and this
was because our thinking started in the
School of Art and Design. Here everything
can be challenged, silos and artificial
boundaries such as subject areas can be
pushed aside to join up fresh ideas and
to think far and wide. Designers use their
creativity to solve other people's problems,
as you will know when you want a website
designed or a new product developed.
In my case it was Advertising, because
where else does business to business
activity take place that is wholly reliant on
creative responses to potential markets?
This message is important, because all
too often universities choose to support
their brilliant few, the ones who already
have ideas to develop and motivation
to succeed in business. This is great,
but only responds to a tiny proportion
of students who have learned to learn
for themselves, and can be trained in
business processes. Frankly, that is the
easy bit.
Business have a role to play
when it comes to education
So, attention has turned to other
competencies and abilities; the ones
so often assumed, and have therefore
remained relatively unsupported in any
formal manner. How can you learn and be
evaluated on your opportunity alertness?
What about visioning for the future,
especially when you’ve nearly always
been studying the past?
Business has its role to play here. If
businesses want to help, they need to
engage. It is not good enough to sit back
and leave it to educationalists, because
they too are a stakeholder whose voice
needs to be heard. However, if education
does not seem to understand business,
the other side of the coin suggests that
businesses do not understand education,
or the shifts and changes that need to
be addressed.
These are just some of the dots that
can be joined up to make more sense
of education, and as an educationalist,
support the learners who need these
competencies to succeed. I recently
shared the stage with Lord Karan
Bilimoria of Cobra Beer fame, and his
words “there is a huge opportunity here”
are ringing in my ears.
Update: Craigfelen Primary, a leading
entrepreneurial school, that Andy
Penaluna often engages with, has
recently been acknowledged for
their great work on entrepreneurship
education taking home various prizes at
BigIdeasWales’“Enterprise
Troopers National Primary
School Competition”!
Andy with entrepreneurs from Craigfelen Primary
14 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 15

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
Our Business is Future-
Proofing Construction Skills
Julie Evans
CWIC Administrator
When it comes to growth predictions,
construction is on track to be the
leading industry sector in Wales.
In 2016 the sector’s output was
estimated to have reached £55.4bn
with around 8% of the total Welsh
workforce employed in the industry
(source: WG 2014 via Careers
Wales website).
According to Welsh Government,
Wales has almost 13,000 companies
employing circa 112,000 with significant
growth predicted for the industry. In the
Construction Industry Training Board’s
(CITB) latest Construction Skills Network
report (February 2018) Wales leads UK
construction growth for the fourth year
running and the sector is set to grow by
4.6% on average per annum up to 2022.
By then, an extra 12,250 jobs will boost
the workforce to an estimated 121,500.
Much of this growth is a result of
significant infrastructure projects such as
Yr Wylfa Newydd the new nuclear power
station in Ynys Mon, the M4 relief road
and the South Wales Metro as well
as a much increased building
programme which aims to deliver 20,000
affordable homes.
Construction Wales
Innovation Centre trains the
worksforce for growth
The challenge for the Construction Wales
Innovation Centre (CWIC) is to help
meet the workforce skills this growth
will demand. One of its main roles is
to ensure that Wales has a fully trained
workforce - the right people, in the right
place, at the right time and with the right
capabilities. As its name and strap-line
suggests, its aim is to improve skills,
encourage new entrants into the industry,
lead on innovation and ensure industry
continues to improve its performance.
Set up as a Hub and Spokes model
in 2016 with funding from the CITB,
Construction Wales Innovation Centre
works in partnership with Coleg y
Cymoedd, Coleg Cambria, Coleg
Ceredigion, Coleg Sir Gar and the
Building Research Establishment to
deliver specialist construction training
at all levels. Keen to be inclusive and to
address the needs of the whole industry
in Wales it has also started offering
training via its wider network such as at
Pembrokeshire College, Coleg Llandrillo
and Coleg Gwent to name a few. CWIC
is also working collaboratively with
federations and professional bodies
such as the Federation of Master
Builders and the Chartered institute of
Building, Construction Excellence Wales,
Construction Future Wales. Additionally,
working with trade bodies, advisory
groups and construction businesses,
CWIC is well placed to understand the
training needs of the sector.
Meeting the needs of industry
CWIC is going to be a key player
in supporting the significant growth
predicted for the sector. Having
established a strong benchmark in its
first 18 months, CWIC has successfully
delivered a wide ranging training
programme benefiting most occupations.
During this period 1,550 staff have
benefited from training, support has been
provided to in excess of 350 companies
and more than 220 courses, events and
other activities have been completed.
A diverse programme of training has
been industry led, usually requested
through Construction Industry Training
Board's training advisory groups and has
included courses on using excavators
and telescopic handlers, heritage
plastering, basic lead welding, the repair
and maintenance of sash windows, road
construction, site surveying and the
installation of sprinklers. Recognising the
challenge of attracting young people to
construction, a four week intensive boot
camp has been successfully delivered, all
of whom are likely to start work with
local contractors.
In terms of innovation Construction
Wales Innovation Centre has introduced
new courses on the use of drone and
laser scanning technologies which
demonstrate their use in surveying
construction projects and is looking
forward to developing further courses
using new technology.
Educational engagement is also one
of CWIC’s priorities. To capitalise on
live construction sites, it introduced
a new on-site learning initiative called
‘Skills on Site’ for Further and Higher
Education students. Since the initiative
was launched last year, students have
been able to learn from contractors
such as Kier Construction about current
working practices such as Mechanical
and Electrical Connectivity, Contractual
Procedures, Tender Bids and Site
Logistics and from TAD Builders about
their Pre-construction procedures for the
new Performance and Innovation building
being built at their Graig Campus.
Gerald Naylor, Director of CWIC said that
the “response from employers has been
very encouraging with both large and
small contractors offering to open their
sites to full-time students eager to learn
from those actually delivering construction
projects. This CWIC-CITB initiative aims
to help full-time students become work
ready through short and structured
learning experiences."
Wales’ first
construction centre
Construction Wales Innovation Centre is
not missing out on the construction boom
as it is moving from its current location
to a brand new purpose-built home this
September. This is when the £6.5m
Construction Industry Training Board
funded innovation Hub will open. It will be
the new base for CWIC forming part of
the new Swansea Waterfront campus of
the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
It will offer visitors state of the art facilities
including a Constructzone, workshop
space, and digital learning suite, as well
as conference, seminar and
meeting spaces.
The CWIC development will also see
the establishment of a nearby Access
Hall (scaffolding facility) supporting
employers and apprentices from Wales
and beyond. The Access Hall is due to
open in September 2018 and will deliver
introductory courses, apprenticeship
programmes as well as short courses
demanded by industry.
In addition to its specialist training remit,
CWIC is a partner in a number of CITB
funded industry-led projects promoting
the construction industry throughout
Wales to the education sector. These
include working with Bouygues UK on the
development of educational resources for
the careers service and school teachers
and with Kier Construction on employereducation
engagement tools. CWIC is
also partnering with the Civil Engineering
Contractors Association on improving
recruitment into higher education though
sustainable engagement. Currently,
CWIC is involved in two further CITB
collaborative projects again for the benefit
of promoting careers in construction as
well as enhancing training methods.
CWIC in partnership with the UWTSD,
Construction Industry Training Board and
Construction Industry Training Board
are actively developing new Level 5
Higher Apprenticeships in Construction
Management and Quantity Surveying as
a result of employer demand in Wales.
These are due to start September 2018
and work has started on developing
Degree Apprenticeships ready for 2019.
Mark Bodger, Partnership Director,
Construction Industry Training Board
Cymru Wales, said: “Construction
Wales Innovation Centre is a landmark
project for CITB and represents the
new partnership approach for us as
organisation as outlined in our Vision
2020 – The Future CITB programme. The
opening of the CWIC hub in the autumn
of this year comes at a good time for the
Welsh construction industry with strong
growth forecast and a positive pipeline of
work predicted. CWIC will help to provide
training that is most needed in our sector,
working in partnership to create the skills
for now and for the future.”
For further information about CWIC
please visit www.uwtsd.ac.uk/cwic/ or
contact them at cwic@uwtsd.ac.uk.
16 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 17

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
Ein busnes yw Sicrhau Sgiliau
Adeiladu at y Dyfodol
Pan mae hi'n dod i ragfynegiadau twf,
mae adeiladu ar y trywydd tuag at
fod y sector diwydiant blaenllaw yng
Nghymru. Yn 2016 amcangyfrifwyd
bod allbwn y sector wedi cyrraedd
£55.4 biliwn gydag oddeutu 8% o
gyfanswm gweithlu Cymru yn cael eu
cyflogi yn y diwydiant.
Yn ôl Llywodraeth Cymru, mae gan
Gymru bron i 13,000 o gwmnïau sy'n
cyflogi tua 112,000 a rhagwelir twf
sylweddol ar gyfer y diwydiant. Yn
adroddiad diweddaraf Rhwydwaith Sgiliau
Adeiladu Bwrdd Hyfforddi'r Diwydiant
Adeiladu (CITB) (Chwefror 2018) mae
Cymru'n arwain twf adeiladu'r DU am y
bedwaredd flwyddyn yn olynol a disgwylir
i'r sector dyfu 4.6% ar gyfartaledd bob
blwyddyn hyd at 2022. Erbyn hynny
bydd 12,250 o swyddi ychwanegol yn
codi'r gweithlu i tua 121,500 erbyn 2022.
Mae llawer o'r twf hwn yn ganlyniad i
brosiectau isadeiledd sylweddol megis
Yr Wylfa Newydd, yr orsaf bŵer niwclear
newydd yn Ynys Môn, ffordd liniaru'r M4
a Metro De Cymru yn ogystal â rhaglen
adeiladu tai gynyddol sy'n anelu at
ddarparu 20,000 o dai fforddiadwy.
Yr her ar gyfer Canolfan Arloesi Adeiladu
Cymru (CWIC) yw helpu i gyflenwi
sgiliau'r gweithlu y bydd y twf hwn yn
galw amdanynt. Un o'i brif rolau yw
sicrhau bod gan Gymru weithlu wedi'i
hyfforddi'n llawn - y bobl iawn, yn y lle
iawn, ar yr adeg iawn a gyda'r galluoedd
iawn. Fel y mae ei enw a'i is-bennawd yn
awgrymu ei nod yw gwella sgiliau, annog
newydd-ddyfodiaid i'r diwydiant, arwain
ar arloesedd a sicrhau bod y diwydiant yn
parhau i wella ei berfformiad.
Wedi'i sefydlu fel model Prif Ganolfan a
Lloerennau yn 2016 gyda chyllid oddi
wrth y CITB, mae CWIC yn gweithio
mewn partneriaeth â Choleg y Cymoedd,
Coleg Cambria, Coleg Ceredigion, Coleg
Sir Gâr a'r Sefydliad Ymchwil Adeiladu i
ddarparu hyfforddiant adeiladu arbenigol
ar bob lefel. Yn awyddus i fod yn
gynhwysol ac i fynd i'r afael ag anghenion
y diwydiant cyfan yng Nghymru, mae
hefyd wedi dechrau cynnig hyfforddiant
trwy ei rwydwaith ehangach megis yng
Ngholeg Sir Benfro, Coleg Llandrillo a
Choleg Gwent i enwi ond ychydig. Mae
CWIC hefyd yn cydweithio â ffederasiynau
a chyrff proffesiynol megis Ffederasiwn y
Meistr Adeiladwyr a'r Sefydliad Siartredig
Adeiladu, Rhagoriaeth Adeiladu Cymru,
Dyfodol Adeiladu Cymru. Yn ychwanegol,
gan weithio gyda chyrff masnach,
grwpiau cynghori a busnesau adeiladu,
mae CWIC mewn sefyllfa dda i ddeall
anghenion hyfforddiant y sector.
Bodloni anghenion
y diwydiant
Mae CWIC yn mynd i fod yn chwaraewr
allweddol wrth gefnogi'r twf sylweddol a
ragwelir ar gyfer y sector.
Wedi sefydlu meincnod cadarn yn ei 18
mis cyntaf, mae CWIC wedi llwyddo
i gyflwyno rhaglen hyfforddiant eang
sydd wedi bod o fudd i'r rhan fwyaf
o alwedigaethau. Yn ystod y cyfnod
hwn mae 1,550 o staff wedi elwa ar
hyfforddiant, rhoddwyd cymorth i 350 o
gwmnïau a chwblhawyd mwy na 220
o gyrsiau, digwyddiadau a
gweithgareddau eraill.
Mae rhaglen hyfforddiant amrywiol wedi
cael ei harwain gan y diwydiant, ar gais
grwpiau cynghori hyfforddiant y CITB
fel arfer, ac mae wedi cynnwys cyrsiau
ar ddefnyddio cloddwyr a thrinwyr
telesgopig, plastro treftadaeth, weldio
plwm sylfaenol, atgyweirio a chynnal a
chadw ffenestri sash, adeiladu ffyrdd,
tirfesur safleoedd a gosod chwistrellwyr.
Gan gydnabod yr her o ddenu pobl
ifanc i adeiladu, cyflwynwyd bwtcamp
dwys pedair wythnos yn llwyddiannus,
ac mae pob un ohonynt yn debygol o
ddechrau gweithio gyda chontractwyr
lleol. O ran arloesedd mae CWIC wedi
cyflwyno cyrsiau newydd ar ddefnyddio
technolegau sganio drôn a laser sy'n
dangos eu defnydd wrth dirfesur
prosiectau adeiladu ac mae'n edrych
ymlaen at ddatblygu cyrsiau pellach gan
ddefnyddio technoleg newydd.
Mae ymgysylltu addysgol hefyd yn un o
flaenoriaethau CWIC. Er mwyn manteisio
ar safleoedd adeiladu byw, cyflwynodd
fenter ddysgu ar-safle newydd o'r enw
'Sgiliau ar y Safle' ar gyfer myfyrwyr
Addysg Bellach ac Uwch. Ers i'r fenter
gael ei lansio y llynedd, mae myfyrwyr
wedi gallu dysgu gan gontractwyr megis
Kier Construction ynghylch arferion
gwaith cyfredol megis Cysylltedd
Mecanyddol a Thrydanol, Gweithdrefnau
Contractiol, Cynigion Tendr a Logisteg
Safle ac wedi dysgu gan Adeiladwyr
T.A.D. Cyf am eu gweithdrefnau
Cyn-adeiladu ar gyfer yr Adeilad
Perfformiad ac Arloesi newydd sy'n cael
ei adeiladu ar Gampws y Graig.
Dywedodd Gerald Naylor, Cyfarwyddwr
CWIC, "Mae'r ymateb gan gyflogwyr
wedi bod yn galonogol iawn gyda
chontractwyr mawr a bach yn cynnig
agor eu safleoedd i fyfyrwyr amser llawn
sy'n awyddus i ddysgu gan y rhai sy'n
cyflwyno prosiectau adeiladu ar hyn o
bryd. Nod y fenter CWIC-CITB hon yw
helpu myfyrwyr llawn amser i ddod yn
barod am waith trwy brofiadau dysgu byr
a strwythuredig."
Canolfan adeiladu
gyntaf Cymru
Nid yw CWIC yn colli allan ar y ffyniant yn
y byd adeiladu gan ei fod yn symud o'i
leoliad presennol i gartref newydd sbon
a adeiladwyd yn bwrpasol ym mis Medi.
Dyma pan fydd yr hwb Arloesi £6.5m a
ariennir gan CITB yn agor. Dyma fydd
y lleoliad newydd ar gyfer CWIC sy'n
ffurfio rhan o gampws newydd Glannau
Abertawe Prifysgol Cymru: Y Drindod
Dewi Sant. Bydd yn cynnig cyfleusterau
o'r radd flaenaf i ymwelwyr, gan gynnwys
Parth Adeiladu, gofod gweithdy, a swît
ddysgu ddigidol, yn ogystal â mannau
cynadledda, seminar a chyfarfod.
Bydd y datblygiad CWIC hefyd yn gweld
sefydlu Neuadd Fynediad gyfagos
(cyfleuster hyfforddi sgaffaldio) a fydd yn
cefnogi cyflogwyr a phrentisiaid o Gymru
a thu hwnt. Mae'r Neuadd Fynediad i
fod i agor ym mis Medi 2018 a bydd yn
darparu cyrsiau rhagarweiniol, rhaglenni
prentisiaeth yn ogystal â chyrsiau byr y
mae'r diwydiant yn galw amdanynt.
Yn ychwanegol at ei gyfrifoldeb i ddarparu
hyfforddiant arbenigol, mae CWIC
yn bartner mewn nifer o brosiectau a
arweinir gan y diwydiant ac a ariennir
gan CITB sy'n hyrwyddo'r diwydiant
adeiladu ledled Cymru. Mae'r rhain yn
cynnwys gweithio gyda Bouygues UK ar
ddatblygu adnoddau addysgol ar gyfer
y gwasanaeth gyrfaoedd ac athrawon
ysgol a gyda Kier Construction ar offer
ymgysylltu cyflogwyr ac addysgwyr.
Mae CWIC hefyd yn cyd-weithio gyda'r
Gymdeithas Contractwyr Peirianneg Sifil
ar wella recriwtio i addysg uwch drwy
ymgysylltiad cynaliadwy. Ar hyn o bryd,
mae CWIC yn cymryd rhan mewn dau
brosiect cydweithrediadol CITB
arall er mwyn hyrwyddo gyrfaoedd
mewn adeiladu yn ogystal â gwella
dulliau hyfforddi.
Mae CWIC,
mewn
partneriaeth â
PCYDDS, CIOB
a CITB,
wrthi'n datblygu
Prentisiaethau Uwch
Lefel 5 newydd mewn
Rheolaeth Adeiladu a Syrfeo
Meintiau o ganlyniad i alw
cyflogwyr yng Nghymru. Mae'r
rhain i fod i ddechrau ym mis Medi
2018 ac mae'r gwaith wedi dechrau
ar ddatblygu Prentisiaethau Gradd yn
barod ar gyfer 2019.
Meddai Mark Bodger, Cyfarwyddwr
Partneriaeth, CITB Cymru Wales,: "Mae
CWIC yn brosiect pwysig iawn ar gyfer
CITB ac mae'n cynrychioli'r ymagwedd
bartneriaeth newydd i ni fel sefydliad a
amlinellir yn ein Gweledigaeth 2020 -
rhaglen CITB y Dyfodol.
"Mae agoriad y ganolfan CWIC yn yr
hydref eleni yn dod ar amser da i'r
diwydiant adeiladu yng Nghymru gyda'r
rhagolygon ar gyfer twf yn gryf a llif
cadarn o waith yn cael ei ragweld.
"Bydd CWIC yn helpu i ddarparu'r
hyfforddiant sydd ei angen fwyaf yn ein
sector, gan weithio mewn partneriaeth i
greu'r sgiliau ar gyfer nawr ac ar gyfer
y dyfodol."
Am ragor o wybodaeth am CWIC
ewch i cwic.wales neu cysylltwch
â nhw ar 01792 481273 /
cwic@uwtsd.ac.uk.
18 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 19

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU |
Building an Enterprising
Economy – the Case for
Entrepreneurship Education at
the International University of
Malaya-Wales (IUMW)
Review: “Just Start: Take
Action, Embrace Uncertainty,
Create the Future”
Compared with many other countries
in the region, Malaysian economic
development including business
start-ups, growth rates, applications
for patents and attraction of foreign
enterprises has been impressive and
on the rise since the Asian economic
crisis of 1998.
To keep this momentum going and
continue to build the country’s vision for
2020 – a knowledge economy, 2018 is a
crucial year. It is now that the paradigm
may shift as the currency is stabilising if
not appreciating, and Malaysia is facing
a potential “brain drain” of enterprising
Malaysian, Indian and Chinese citizens.
Bureaucracy, risk averse regulations and
the government’s job creation scheme
may also lead to disincentives to be selfmotivated
in creation of enterprises.
Education as the driver
to build an enterprising
economy
Therefore the challenge is to create an
enterprising economy. Education has
been tasked to develop the skills that can
transform Malaysian culture to embrace a
real enterprise generation. But education
is seen as traditional, slow to change and
driven by old performance indicators,
which often are at odds with the best
practice of enterprise education.
For 25 years, UWTSD, guided by the
ubiquitous entrepreneurship educators
Kath and Andy Penaluna, has pioneered
these developments. UWTSD believes
that class sessions should be active,
problem solving, encouraging wide
varieties of solutions, engendering
self-sufficiency, self-confidence and
team building; and of course traditional
skills and knowledge are important but
"learning by doing’’ should be the mantra.
IUMW has been inspired to follow
UWTSD's example. It has introduced
Entrepreneurial studies as a compulsory
module across the curriculum to foster
the knowledge of how to set up a
business and prepare a business plan.
Teaching business model canvas needs
to be supported by enhancing innovative
and technological skills. However, simply
preparing a business plan may not be
the true spirit of creating entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurial education also needs
to focus on enhancing innovative skills
for students in technological matters,
something lacking in the Malaysian
education landscape. IUMW ran a
"Dragon’s Den’’ pitch competition and
tied it in with UWTSD’s long standing
Robert Owen Challenge, part of the
annual Enterprise Week activity. IUMW
participated by video link and despite not
winning a prize, all 86 IUMW students
who entered, were enthusiastic and
positive. In addition, Foundation students
produced videos of their start-up ideas,
which were shared with UWTSD. An
Entrepreneurs Club has also been
established. IUMW already has a BA
Business in Entrepreneurship where
students enjoyed practical hands-on
experience, fun and some even have
initiated real business start-ups!
However, it it would be a shame if after
these experiments, students simply
returned to their traditional forms of
learning and assessment. IUMW students
have demonstrated their ability to be self
managing in their learning and creative
in finding solutions to problems. To be
a truly enterprising organization, there is
a need to imbue the whole curriculum
in this same ethos. This is true for all
disciplines and all levels. We cannot
predict what knowledge students will
need in the future but we can develop
the skills to help them thrive in a
dynamic environment.
Steve Griffiths, Deputy Vice
Chancellor, International
University of Malaya-Wales
Sharmila Sethu, Senior Lecturer,
International University of
Malaya-Wales
In an age when the next generation is expected to be
more entrepreneurial than its predecessors, we are awash
with advice on developing this new entrepreneurial class.
However, with so much attention directed to mindboggling
technology, disruption and hustling, too little
consideration is given to just getting this generation
started with the process of creating ‘simple’ value. A
gem of a book on this topic, Just Start, published several
years ago provides a clear pathway for all on the process
of dealing with uncertainty. The authors note that
many serial entrepreneurs take action, coping with the
ambiguity common to most value creating processes,
whilst having very little specific initial information.
Framing this process as moving from ‘the known’
towards ‘the unknown’, the authors bring the start line
closer for all. The idea of smart steps, using current
resources, moving forward, reflecting and learning;
offer a simple, yet effective means of taking action
on one’s ideas. There are echoes of the effectuation
process present throughout, but the readability
divorces the ideas here from those infected with
academic prose. Consequently, there is support for
‘thinking of acting’, rather than ‘acting on thinking’.
The authors ask the potential value creator to act,
in order to know: 1. It is possible? 2. Can I do it? 3.
Is it worth doing? 4. Do I want to do it? The action,
or creation, orientation is a timely antidote to the
over-hyped prescriptions that the next generation
of entrepreneurs are increasingly exposed to; do
yourself a favour, just start!
“Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty,
Create the Future” by Leonard A. Schlesinger,
Charles Kiefer, Paul B. Brown, 2012
Dr. Colin Jones, Senior Lecturer in
Entrepreneurship at Queensland University
of Technology Business School and Visiting
Professor at the International Institute of
Creative Entrepreneurial Development,
University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
20 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Vol 7 Issue 4 2018 | 21

| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
News and Events
Online Business Degrees at UWTSD
Let your
Mind do the
Travelling
University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) has
embarked on a new collaboration with Ducere Global
Business School to deliver undergraduate business
programmes online.
Ducere is an Australian-based online education organisation
that offers courses in business and management. Their courses
combine comprehensively developed content with the expertise
and experience of some of the world’s most successful leaders.
The portfolio of BA programmes in Applied Business with three
pathways (Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship) will
be delivered on-line via a sophisticated and well supported
Virtual Learning Environment full-time, over three years or
fast-track over two years.
Roger Maidment, Dean of Faculty of Business and
Management, said: “The Wales-Ducere Office significantly
enhances our portfolio of on-line business courses extending
our project-based work with businesses in Swansea into a
global learning environment. It is great to be working with
Ducere in such a creative way.”
The courses offer a flexible alternative to full-time campusbased
study for independent self-starters who have work or
family commitments.
For further information please contact: chris.thomas@uwtsd.ac.uk
Join our new online MBA
programme in Sustainability
Leadership at UWTSD
Carmarthen Business School
We are reaching a point
where sustainable business
practice is becoming
a key strategic priority.
Organisations that have
begun to realise that not
only do future practices and
economic models need to
transform in line with the
dynamics of social and
environmental change, but
that actually sustainable
thinking makes a business
more successful.
The programme is aimed
at individuals engaging in
sustainable practice within
any organisation. Learners
will re-think business
approaches by engaging
together online, sharing
practice, interrogating
existing practice and
driving change through an
online collaborative
learning community.
Through a collaborative
online learning experience
you will respond to a
growing global need for
re-thinking leadership, this
programme aims to develop
creative leaders who will
collaboratively address
present global challenges
and opportunities with the
insights, skills and influences
to shape an inclusive
and sustainable future for
business and society.
UWTSD and Ducere Global Business School launch a creative collaboration.
22 | Vol 7 Issue 4 2018
Other options to study:
MBA
MBA (distance learning)
MBA (Tourism Management)
MBA (Hospitality Management)
Please contact
Dr. Alex Bell (Programme Director)
a.bell@uwtsd.ac.uk

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