Business calendar Münsterland

The shortage of skilled workers is the No. 1 business risk for companies in North Westphalia. The supply of qualified workers available to the labour market was at a peak in 2019. Since then, their number has been falling continuously. Skilled workers from abroad can be a building block of staff recruitment to mitigate the problem. As part of the joint webinar by the employment agencies, the Münster Chamber of Crafts and the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce, opportunities for companies arising from the immigration of skilled workers will be made clear with basic advice and many practical tips and examples.

Whether transporting children, shopping or going on an excursion: cargo bikes are very much in vogue and have great potential for the transport revolution. The fun and advantages of cargo bikes can now be "experienced" in practice on 31 May 2022 at the Cargobike Roadshow in the Kardinal-von-Galen Park in Haltern am See.

The Cargo Roadshow offers twelve different
e-load bikes from twelve manufacturers for extensive testing
from 1 to 6 pm.

In addition, there will be manufacturer- and dealer-neutral advice from the experts of the roadshow team. "We are pleased that the Cargobike Roadshow is making a stop in our city to draw attention to the many possible uses of the bikes," says Mayor Andreas Stegemann: "It is important to promote this sustainable form of transport."

The Cargobike Roadshow is visiting ten North Rhine-Westphalian cities from 25 May to 3 June on behalf of the Working Group of Pedestrian- and Bicycle-Friendly Cities, Municipalities and Districts in NRW. All stations and the test bikes of the Cargobike Roadshow can be found at

cargobikeroadshow.org

To gain access to new expertise, companies often rely on working with a professional consultant. But while external consultants are a matter of course for large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises often hesitate for cost reasons. The federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia support consulting for small and medium-sized enterprises with various subsidies that are intended to help significantly reduce consulting costs.

Technological progress, global competition and the protection of one's own new developments - only three challenges that companies have to face. Future expectations and needs of customers as well as technological developments are to be recognised ever earlier and converted into innovations and protected in the long term. How can companies strategically prepare for this and at the same time pursue efficient innovation and patent management appropriate to the size of the company? This will be explained clearly during this evening. The speaker, Dr Thomas Müller, is the managing director of ATHENA Technologie Beratung GmbH and, among other things, a project partner for the WIPANO funding programme.

The VDI Münsterländer Bezirksverein e.V. invites all interested parties to topics of digital transformation as part of the lecture series "VDI Forum Industrie konkret". The kick-off event will take place on Tuesday, 31 May 2022 at 6 p.m. at Münster/Osnabrück Airport (FMO) and is being held with the kind support of the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Digitalisation will be the focus of two expert presentations.

Dr Francisco Rodriguez, Head of IT and Communications Management at FMO, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at his many years of project experience in implementing digitalisation. Also speaking will be Hubert Brüning, Managing Director of Bruening-RP Entwicklungs- und Beratungsgesellschaft mbH in Münster.

The statutory Corona rules apply. Participation is only possible after prior registration.

Registration at: bv-muenster@vdi.de

People who cope well with crises do not necessarily have "nerves of steel". Rather, they possess character traits,

that enable them to deal with crises more quickly and easily. What can we learn from these people? How can we better master crises? In this impulse lecture you will receive concrete tips for coping with crises and how you can strengthen your resilience.

You want to digitise your business processes, invest in IT security or research a new product and bring it to market? And you would like to access publicly available financial support, but you can't quite find your way through the funding jungle yet?

Then make a reservation for our IHK expert consultation day. Our funding expert Dr. Kai Pflanz from NRW.BANK's Advisory Centre for Economic Development will answer your questions about grant funding for innovation and digitisation projects in a 30-minute initial meeting.

The offer is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises that want to invest in innovation or digitisation topics.

Even before you start your own business, you should get an overview of the types of business taxes. In order to gain an initial insight into this complex topic, the Münster Chamber of Skilled Crafts and Small Businesses, in cooperation with the Westphalia-Lippe Chamber of Tax Advisors, offers a consultation day as an introductory consultation.

In a confidential one-on-one meeting lasting up to half an hour, you have the opportunity to discuss tax issues with a tax advisor. The offer is free of charge and is aimed at start-ups and potential successors of craft enterprises.

Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, IT security is often a major challenge. Often the knowledge is not available in the companies, risks and dangers are not always correctly assessed, measures and emergency plans are not well thought out or do not exist at all. So where to start when IT security in the company needs to be brought up to scratch? The AIW Unternehmensverbans is therefore launching a new interest group "IT security in the organisation" in cooperation with the business development agencies of the districts of Coesfeld and Borken. The first meeting will take place on Wednesday, 1 June, from 10 to 11.30 a.m. at the AIW in Stadtlohn, Industriestrasse 4 to 6.

As of 1 December 2022, according to Section 26a (1) WEG, anyone who has proven before a chamber of industry and commerce by passing an examination that he or she has the legal, commercial and technical knowledge necessary to act as a WEG administrator may call himself or herself a certified WEG administrator.

The Certified Property Manager Examination Ordinance (ZertVerwV) has been in force since the end of 2021. In this context, a DIHK framework plan was developed as a basis for the preparation of examination tasks and preparatory seminars. This defines the sub-items for the individual topics specified in the ordinance and specifies what depth of knowledge is to be expected from the examinees.

Successfully recruiting staff is becoming increasingly difficult - the labour market in Germany is very tight. Hiring people from abroad can be helpful. But what do companies have to consider in order to offer legally secure training or work perspectives? And what is the current situation with regard to people from Ukraine? Annika Hagedorn, Head of the Legal and Foreigners' Office in Münster, provides answers to these questions. The expert explains the possibilities and requirements of legally secure employment and provides insight into the work of the Foreigners' Registration Office.

For the 2nd Digital Café in the Steinfurt district, the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce invites you to a "barbecue" at FabLab Lengerich. In addition to delicious barbecue food, two exciting keynote speeches from the Digital Hub münsterLAND await the participants. The event will take place both online and in person at FabLab Lengerich, Bahnhofsstraße 43. The 2G rule applies for admission on site.

Setting up your own business should be well prepared in advance. This online event will provide answers to the most important questions: What belongs in a business plan? Which funding programmes can I take advantage of? What does company and private insurance look like? And what registration formalities do I have to go through?
This one-hour online seminar is designed to give founders an introduction to the topic and an overview of the next steps. The speakers are the experienced business consultants of the Münster Chamber of Skilled Crafts.

Speaker: Christian Zito

The project is already in your head, but what do you need to consider in the final steps? Where do common mistakes lie?

The chances and opportunities for women to become entrepreneurs have never been greater, yet the proportion of female successors remains low. Shaping society in the future from a social, sustainable and equitable perspective means that women will increasingly design and lead businesses. This workshop helps women to plan and pursue their entrepreneurial goals and serves as a networking tool.

Many comprehensive further training courses such as the Master Craftsman, the Business Administrator HwO or the Designer in the Crafts are eligible for funding through the Upgrading Training Assistance Act (Aufstiegs-BAföG). In the event, you will learn what you need to consider when applying for the funding, which requirements you need to fulfil and how the funding is structured in detail. You will also be shown step by step where to find the application forms and how to fill them out correctly.

Do you want to found a start-up or would you rather be the successor in an existing company? Both paths to self-employment are possible. But which is the right one for those interested in founding a company? Dr Stefan Borchert will address this question in this workshop, which is part of the joint project Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland.

In the workshop, the speaker will compare the two start-up paths. Dr. Borchert goes into more detail about the different personalities and motives of people who want to start a business and classifies which ones speak more in favour of one path or the other. Participants will also learn about the advantages, challenges and special features of start-ups and company takeovers.

Exciting impulses, ideas from practice for practice and many opportunities to exchange ideas with others on healthy working and occupational health management: We invite you to the annual meeting of the GesundArbeiten network on Thursday, 2 June 2022, at the d.velop Campus in Gescher.

To make the exchange as interactive as possible, the event will take place as a bar camp. Each visitor can give short, practice-oriented impulses in so-called sessions and then enter into conversation with the participants. The topics are proposed by the guests themselves - and they also decide who is allowed to present their topic. Of course, simply listening is also allowed!

Innovations are the key to market success. They enable long-term growth and thus secure the existence of your company.

However, new ideas often arise only by chance, are too closely oriented to the existing business or lie beyond the development intentions and possibilities of the company. A large part of innovation resources is therefore invested in projects that never reach market maturity or turn out to be a flop soon after their introduction. At the same time, the real 'big ideas' often have a hard time not being nipped in the bud at early stages of development.

Discuss with other company representatives the reasons for this and how companies can professionalise their innovation management.

Innovations are the key to market success. They enable long-term growth and thus secure the existence of your company. However, new ideas often arise only by chance, are oriented too closely to the existing business or lie beyond the development intentions and possibilities of the company. A large part of innovation resources is therefore invested in projects that never reach market maturity or turn out to be a flop soon after their introduction. At the same time, the real 'big ideas' often have a hard time not being nipped in the bud at early stages of development. As part of the #Chefsache: Digitalisierung series, the TRAIN initiative and WESt mbH together with Münster University of Applied Sciences cordially invite you to the innovation workshop.

Good ideas bring companies forward, innovations are the key to market success. But how can flops be recognised early on before a lot of energy is put into the project? How can companies prevent the real "big ideas" from being dropped at an early stage of development? This is what the two-hour workshop "Innovation Management: Recognising 'Big Ideas' and Avoiding Flops" from the event series #Chefsache. The TRAIN initiative and WESt mbH, together with Münster University of Applied Sciences, invite you to attend on 2 June from 3 to 5 pm.