Dear colleagues,

I hope this message finds you all well.

I’d like to start this week with my congratulations to our three newest qualified social workers. Lisa Bowen, Donna Hiley, and Emily Price, who are all based in Children and Young People Services have been studying  with the Open University whilst also working at the same time. Combining work and professional study is not easy and takes dedication and commitment. I am proud that our organisation finds ways to support those colleagues that want to develop and even more so to work alongside people like Lisa, Donna, and Emily who show such commitment and enthusiasam, both to their profession and to our organisation. Well done all, and I hope you enjoy your new roles. 

Getting more people into work is a big focus of many of our teams and it is great to hear that after a two-year hiatus the Council will be running an in-person Jobs Fair this weekend. For a wide range of reasons we know vacancy rates in the Vale are very high and employers are having real difficulties getting the staff they need to keep both small and large businesses running. To help address this our Communities for Work team has brought together 30 employers and organisations for the open-air event in King Square. Our teams will be there to offer advice and support on finding work and changing careers, as well as discussing the many career opportunities local government can offer, particularly in social care. Our libraries, parks and events teams have all been involved in putting on the event, as has the Big Fresh Catering Company. It is great to see so many teams working together on an initiative that will bring benefits both in terms of economic development and to many residents’ lives.

A number of our colleagues have also been working on job creation this week in a very different way. The Council’s plans as part of the city region for Aberthaw Power Station, the Barry Transport Hub, the Bro Tathan business park, and investment opportunities at Nells Point are all being featured at the international investment conference MIPIM in the South of France this week. While our Regeneration team and others involved are all working locally, it is great to know their efforts are being showcased on the world stage.  

Hopefully by now you will all have seen Wednesday’s announcement about the launch of Miles for Ukraine. You can read all about it on StaffNet+. It has been fantastic to see the idea develop and be brought to life in the space of a few days.  I have previously expressed my gratitude to colleagues within Social Services who came to the Council’s Strategic Leadership Team with the idea.  I also need to pay tribute to all those who worked together to make the concept a reality – in particular to all within our Communications team who ensured we were ready to ‘go live’ on Wednesday this week. 

It is also great to see the miles and donations start to come in.  Our PPE team who have been working hard throughout the pandemic, have been at Cosmeston today dressed to raise awareness as they run and walk their way around a three mile route. With the help of our Country Parks team they are leaving markers as they go so others can use the same route. Da iawn pawb.

The weather forecast looks great for this weekend so if you have anything planned please consider if you could use it to raise awareness for our campaign. If you do, please share it with us on StaffNet+ or by using #MilesForUkraine on social media. You can log your miles after you’ve done them, however often, or tell us in advance what you have planned. Whatever you are doing, whatever the distance, just make sure to share and record your efforts on our StaffNet+ pages so that others can see what can be achieved when we work together.

If this weekend comes too soon or you’re looking to get out again next week our PPE colleagues will also be out on Monday marking routes at Porthkerry, Barry Island, Romilly Park, and Penarth Esplanade.

However, you choose to spend the weekend I hope you enjoy. As always thanks for your efforts this week. Keep up the great work.  Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Rob.