• Professional services provider FDM Group has announced its partnership with CRM provider Salesforce to help boost the availability and capability of CRM specialists across the Salesforce ecosystem. As a Salesforce Authorised Training Provider (SATP), FDM will train consultants using Trailhead Academy, which consists of expert-led learning content to develop niche skills in Salesforce, before placing and integrating them in selected job roles in industry-leading businesses across the country.

• Digital talent solutions specialist Lorien and MAMA, a coding school for kids, held a free ‘eco-hackathon’ at Lorien’s global HQ in London. Twenty-four children aged five to 11 attended the ‘Green the World’ hackathon on 26 October, where they were challenged in teams to find solutions for change. The students were joined by business leaders and mentors from Lorien and MAMA.codes to inspire and to help them see the real-world applications and potential for their ideas.

Three-quarters of the children attending the day were part of the long-term outreach programme that MAMA.codes set up in 2018 to support families from the community affected by the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, in partnership with local charity Nova New Opportunities.

• London-based executive search firm Norman Broadbent Group has launched its first Scottish offices in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The Edinburgh team will be led by managing director Michael Diamond who will focus on targeting the board, C-suite and leadership market of Scotland’s largest brands and businesses. In Aberdeen, chief operating officer Sean Buchan will be based out of the firm’s new office on Rubislaw Terrace within the city’s West End office district.

• VIQU has moved to a larger office space in Edgbaston, increasing its Birmingham team’s capacity from 18 to 32. The IT recruitment firm was established in Birmingham in 2014, and opened a smaller second office in 2018 in Southampton. VIQU says this office is designed with collaboration and cross-departmental teamwork in mind and plans to fill the space to capacity within 18 months.

• Logistics firm Whistl has announced its Whistl Apprenticeship Fund has funded 251 apprenticeships in 76 different organisations. The company invited small businesses in the areas where it has sites to apply for funding for their own Level 2 to 5 apprenticeship schemes with a focus on early years learning, digital and engineering focused apprenticeships.