FIT for purpose: Bowel cancer test simplified to encourage take-up

Thousands more people across Scotland will benefit from the roll-out of a new and easier screening test to detect symptoms of bowel cancer. The Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) requires participants to collect one bowel motion sample, rather than the current test which requires samples over three days. Continue reading FIT for purpose: Bowel cancer test simplified to encourage take-up

Corstorphine pilot project bridges generation gap

A six-week pilot project is aiming to bridge the city’s generation gap through organising weekly meet-ups between Gylemuir Primary School Nursery pupils and residents from a local housing association for older people. Continue reading Corstorphine pilot project bridges generation gap

Joint call for new public board members

The Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS 24 have launched a nationwide recruitment drive to fill vacant positions on their public boards. Both organisations are hoping to attract interest from a broad cross-section of society, in every part of Scotland, to further enhance the mix of skills and experience on their non-executive boards. Continue reading Joint call for new public board members

Briggs chairs national cancer conference

The Scottish Cancer Conference has held it’s twelfth event for a range of organisation and people who are involved with cancer to come together and share information, network, learn and discuss the latest developments in the fight to beat cancer. Yesterday’s event was hosted by Cancer Research UK and the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Cancer and held at the Royal College of Surgeons. Continue reading Briggs chairs national cancer conference

Apprentice award for Leonardo’s Lisa

Female Aerospace Industry Apprentice wins Apprentice of the Year Level 4 Skills Development Scotland Award

Leonardo apprentice Lisa Daniel (25) has won an ‘Apprentice of the Year’ Level 4 Skills Development Scotland award. Lisa won the award due to the exceptional levels of commitment and maturity demonstrated in her approach to her work in the Quality Assurance Department at Leonardo’s Crewe Toll Edinburgh site.

Lisa was one of three finalists to reach the final stages of the competition and the award success will no doubt act as a source of inspiration for her future growth within the business where she plans to progress as a Quality Assurance Technician. Lisa was nominated for the award for the impact she made in the Quality Department within a very short period of time.

Lisa joined Leonardo in September 2013, where she began three month rotations through the organisation’s apprenticeship programme. This saw her working in a wide range of departments from Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Radar Test and Electrical Computer Aided Design to Quality.

Lisa’s manager, Head of Quality Assurance Mike Lees, said: “We’re proud of Lisa and we’re delighted she has won this award. She conducts herself with great maturity and demonstrates Leonardo’s values in all of her work. She is thoughtful and takes time to reflect before taking action and is also able to adapt to changing environments and situations.

“Importantly, Lisa drives her own career development and is hungry to contribute even more.  Her customer awareness, team work and coaching skills show the first signs of leadership characteristics which are way beyond what I could have expected from someone who is at such an early stage of her career. It all appears to be so natural or effortless to her.”

Lisa said: “I’m really proud of my accomplishment and I’m looking forward to my future within Leonardo.”

Leonardo is one of the UK’s leading engineering and advanced technology companies, with 7,100 highly skilled employees based at sites across the country. The Company has a strong record of significant investment in UK innovation. It offers a breadth and depth of skills in innovation, engineering, design and manufacture which contribute to the success of the company as well as the UK as a whole, both nationally and regionally. Leonardo is committed to working with the UK supply chain, and with over 400 people on its award winning graduate and apprentice programmes, who will be helping to bring the next wave of UK-based technology.

Festive cheer comes to Castle Street with arrival of Christmas Fair

20 – 26 NOVEMBER in the heart of Edinburgh

Castle Street Christmas Fair comes alive once again this week with festive stalls from Scottish & International producers, with local Castle Street businesses working in tandem to make it an all-round week of fun shopping and eating. Continue reading Festive cheer comes to Castle Street with arrival of Christmas Fair

Greenpeace spoofs Coke Christmas ad

As Coca Cola launch their new ‘Holidays are coming’ Christmas TV advertisement, some of the brand’s fans have been viewing a version that’s a little more realistic. In an attempt to take advantage of Coke’s huge PR push at this time of year, Greenpeace produced their own Coke Christmas ad, launched on the same day, highlighting an unfortunate side effect of bottled fizzy drinks. Continue reading Greenpeace spoofs Coke Christmas ad

Children’s charity celebrates Adoption Week Scotland

Children’s charity Barnardo’s Scotland is supporting Scottish Adoption Week, running from 20 – 26 November, celebrating adoption in Scotland; raising awareness; dispelling myths and encouraging prospective parents in Edinburgh and the Lothians to come forward. Continue reading Children’s charity celebrates Adoption Week Scotland

Eight jobs you just don’t see every day!

At Adzuna, we see every job you can imagine cross our virtual thresholds. With 2017 drawing to a close, we couldn’t resist highlighting a few of the more unique roles we’ve seen recently. Some of these certainly whet our appetites and got us reaching for the application forms!

Chocolate-ologist

A role created especially for that moment at dinner parties where a new acquaintance casually asks what you do for a living, this good-enough-to-eat opportunity looks finger-lickin’ good to us. It’s not for everyone though, as the ideal candidate will need to boast strong knowledge of statistical theory and its application to sensory/consumer research. And iron-clad willpower (we imagine).

Salary: Negotiable

WordPress Wizard

This magic role brings to mind the Hogwarts School Office, but is actually based in a plastic surgery consultancy and the successful applicant will need advanced skills in spellcasting, charms and other organisational abilities. Experience with social media, website management and, of course,, stellar WordPress skills and great communication abilities should come as standard  Muggles, we are told are more than welcome to apply and the interview may or may not include a Sorting Hat.

Salary: £500 p/m

Ice Assistant

Putting the sparkle back in winter sports for the local population, the post-holder will be tasked with helping ice skaters glide, slide and generally enjoy their time on the rink. Putting the customer at the heart of the role, a strong safety sense and some excellent skating moves could bag you this supercool seasonal job.

Salary: Negotiable

Helicopter Inspector

For high fliers with right experience and technical skills, the sky is quite literally the limit, with this inspiring role. Suitable qualifications, and a wealth of experience performing in-depth inspection, testing and maintenance are needed to be cleared for take off in this job.

Salary: £45,000 p/a

Cheese Specialist

Specially manufactured for those with a love of all thing cheesy, this deli is on the search for a Cheese Specialist to serve, advise and delight customers, all the while keeping health and safety and good business sense at the front of the queue. While it’s got to brie a dream opportunity for the right person, think Caerphilly before applying – we imagine things can get a bit emmental!

Salary: £15,000

Blood Labeller

This role isn’t one for the faint hearted. With a job only Dracula could envy, labellers  are tasked with the handling and labelling of blood pots. Piece of cake? Well you’ll also have to be bloody careful as putting the wrong label on the wrong pot could have very negative outcomes – B Negative that is.

Salary: £21,400 p/a 

Egg Collection Operative

Whether you’re team fried, scrambled or poached, we all have these guys to thank for collecting the item that makes breakfast time so eggsquisite. Since raging hens are a possible consideration, operatives have to be fully trained, and even get protective equipment!

Salary: Negotiable

Baby Room Leader

If the thought of being in a room full of babies sounds more delightful than distressing, this may be the job for you. Although leadership skills are a must have in order to manage other nursery staff, the required ‘nappy changing expertise’ is most definitely for the little bundles of joy.

Salary: £23,000 p/a