PROJECT FOCUS

A Fresh Approach to Supporting Business

ICE is working with the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to deliver marketing and communications for talentmap, a new online tool to help companies nationwide develop workbased talent and skills and improve competitiveness.

A Fresh Approach to Supporting Business

Talentmap also aims to help employers find new recruits and engage with education and support industries. It has been developed by a coalition of government departments, public sector organisations and partners including BusinessLink, the Confederation of British Industry and the Federation of Small Businesses amongst others.

ICE is working with the UK Commission, on behalf of the coalition, ahead of the main website launch in July. We are supplying marketing, communications and training, support and materials and as part of the project, our Marketing and Communications Manager, Paul Williams, has been seconded to UK Commission’s London office.

He says, “We were delighted to be awarded the contract and I have taken great pride in representing both talentmap and ICE. The website will benefit businesses throughout the UK and it’s great that there’ll be one central point for employers to look at developing and recruiting talent.”

Project Director Graham Hasting-Evans added, “When markets are shrinking and order books falling, now is the time to invest in the talent and skills of the people we employ. It is the commitment, productivity & ability of our people that will keep us competitive and ready to benefit from the recovery.”

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OPINION PIECE - from Page 1

Scales Scottish ministers recently advocated the introduction of minimum prices to deter risky or harmful drinkers, with a pricing system calculated according to alcohol strength.

Opinion, however, is divided. The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland is backing the plans, but the Portman Group has warned that the focus should be on behavioural change rather than ‘punishing’ drinkers.

Indeed, people could see the idea as just another way of taxing a population already in the midst of a recession. After all, many of us enjoy a relaxing drink after a hard day at work! Surely addressing the reasons why people misuse alcohol and tailoring bespoke approaches to educate and engage our communities would be more effective?

I believe that’s why many PCTs and Local Authorities are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of social marketing in reducing alcohol related crime and health issues. In Liverpool, for instance, the ‘Pssst! Be Alcohol Aware’ campaign has produced some exceptional results in targeting inner city communities linked to a range of health inequalities.

For me, the key is addressing the specific motivations and barriers to behaviour change experienced by different age groups.

A social marketing approach focused on ‘hard to reach’ groups would certainly be more appropriate than price increases across the board and could help prevent any backlash from the general population.

The same goes for suggestions that chocolate should be taxed in the same way as cigarettes and alcohol; on the basis that it is high in calories, fat and sugar, and is one of contributory factors to the obesity epidemic. A motion put forward at the British Medical Association (BMA) conference advocating the move was defeated by just a handful of votes earlier this Spring.

But who’s to say people wouldn’t just move onto other high fat foods instead? Again, the long-term solution must ultimately be to use social marketing to develop better education and information, thus promoting healthier food choices. Encouraging people to get fit through better access to local leisure centres and sports clubs would be another key priority.

A person running

Social marketing can be aligned with what Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein describe in ‘Nudge’ as ‘libertarian paternalism’: less about government coercion (taxes) and more about freedom to choose. We just need to ‘nudge’ people towards making better choices. Barack Obama and David Cameron get it.

To date, the Prime Minister has resisted calls for tighter financial restraints on both alcohol and high fat foods in England and Wales. However, those calls are getting louder and now is the time for social marketing to really prove it’s a healthier alternative to taxing the public.

Richard Forshaw,
Business Development Director
ICE South West
richard.forshaw@icecreates.com