Labour Market & Apprenticeship Information Newsletter September

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Manchester still the UK’s most ‘liveable’ city Labour Market & Apprenticeship Information Newsletter September 2017

If any National Careers Service Apprenticeship Ambassadors have stories about newly available opportunities or the success of existing

apprentices please send them in for inclusion in future editions. The

contact address is: The Economist intelligence unit (EIU) [email protected] published its 2017 ranking of living conditions in 140 cities around the world on Wednesday, with Manchester the fastest- UK trade deficit widens as fall in sterling fails to falling. It dropped eight improve export sales places to 51st, putting it just 0.3% above London Brexit negotiators urged to in 53rd. safeguard terms of trade

with the EU amid signs that But with the EIU directly attributing the fall to an UK is becoming more increased threat of dependent on deals with the terrorism in the city trading bloc following the bombing of the Manchester Arena on Britain’s trade position with

22 May questions are the rest of the world being asked over the worsened in June as the sharp fall in the value of the pound since the fairness of the criteria. Brexit vote failed to lift sales of UK-made goods abroad.

Melbourne retained the title of the world’s most The trade in goods deficit widened unexpectedly to £12.7bn, from liveable city for the £11.3bn in May, as exports fell by 2.8% but imports rose by 1.6% seventh consecutive year. according to the Office for National Statistics. It was the biggest Despite its fall, deficit in nine months and much wider than economists’ forecasts of Manchester remains the £11bn. UK’s most liveable city – a position it has held The figures are the latest sign that a weak pound is failing to boost since 2011 – and in the top tier globally, with a exports, despite making British goods cheaper abroad. The pound is score of 87.5%. Any city currently 13% lower against the dollar than it was on the day of the ranked above 80 is described as having “few, EU referendum, at $1.2988. It is down 15% against the euro, at if any, challenges to living €1.1093. standards”. Read more here Read more here

UK unemployment falls to new 42-year low The future of jobs: is decent work for all a pipe dream? Unemployment in the UK fell by 57,000 in the three Now everything is up in the months to June, official air. AI is upon us. “The figures show, bringing the robots are coming”. Two jobless rate down to 4.4% distinct visions are battling it - its lowest since 1975. out for supremacy around The squeeze on real this core narrative. In one, incomes continues to the robots will save us; in grow, though at a slower the other they will ruin us – pace. and perhaps even become us eventually. Either we’ll

Average weekly earnings live the life of Riley and increased by 2.1% never have to work again. Or else we’ll all be very poor – except for compared with a year the very, very rich who produce and own the robots. One way or earlier - slightly higher another our lives will change beyond recognition. than last month's 2% increase. The jobs of the future are in tasks like care and education, where But with inflation standing human interaction matters most. Or in renovation and refurbishment, at 2.6%, real earnings still where making and repairing calls on skills that are resolutely human fell by 0.5%, the ONS rather than machine. Or they are jobs that could brighten our lives figures showed and our hopes for the future, giving voice to our creative side and stimulating the imagination with skills and artistry only poorly Read more here reproduced by machines. In short, this economy is one potentially rich beyond our dreams in the need for human labour. Thousands of Asda workers face redundancy or Read more here reduced hours

UK’s third-largest supermarket targets Young graduates reluctant to move for new staffing levels to cut costs jobs, says thinktank after worst annual results since Walmart takeover The Resolution Foundation says there has been a Thousands of Asda marked fall in UK labour workers are facing redundancy or a dramatic mobility since the turn of the cut in their working hours millennium as Britain’s third-largest supermarket chain looks Their study showed that the to cut costs. share of the population

Asda has begun a prepared to switch both region and employer in 2016 had fallen from consultation with 3,257 0.8% to 0.6%. employees in 18 under- performing stores, singled The thinktank said the decline was only partly the result of the deep out as overstaffed relative to their current sales financial and economic crisis of 2007-09 and came despite a number performance. of factors – an increase in renting, a rise in the number of graduates and higher immigration – that would tend to make the country more The stores in the NW mobile. affected are Burnden Park, Bolton, Crewe, It said the evidence was that the decline was being driven by the Manchester Harpurhey, young, particularly young graduates, many of whom were giving up and Radcliffe near Bury. the chance of getting a pay rise by their reluctance to move. A person under 30 who moves job and employer secured an 11% boost to Asda is also looking at their wages, the Resolution Foundation said. staffing levels in a further 59 of its supermarkets, although at present this is The stay-at-home tendency among graduates coincided with an an informal process. The increase in the proportion of those with degrees doing non-graduate retailer is not looking to jobs and, according to the thinktank, was one possible explanation cut jobs in these stores for Britain’s dismal pay and productivity record over the past decade. but wants staff to agree to work in different Read more here departments when required.

Read more here According to a new study, the North is best for Plans revealed for UK graduates. £45m scheme that could bring 1300 jobs The research, conducted by to Burnley property portal TheHouseShop, compiles a Commercial property firm list of 2016 graduate “hot Eshton has unveiled plans for a £45m spots.” extension at its Burnley

Bridge scheme that could Sheffield came out first, with bring 1,300 jobs to the the perfect combination of area. affordable rent, good starting salaries, cheap pints and lots of places to socialise. The development, located at Junction 9 of the M65, London and Brighton were at the bottom of the findings, ranked as currently comprises the two worst places for quality of life. Burnley Bridge and Titanium Park, which span 80 acres. Rounding out the top 10 were: Leeds-based Eshton is 1. Sheffield proposing to expand the 2. Glasgow scheme with new space 3. Leeds on a 32-acre site south of 4. Newcastle the M65 carriageway, 5. Birmingham next to the A679 6. Liverpool Accrington Road. 7. Manchester The extension would be 8. Cardiff known as Burnley Bridge South and offer a mix of 9. Bristol warehousing and 10. Reading industrial accommodation adapted to occupier These results once again reinforce the North/South divide and show requirements. that although London advocates to be the best city for graduates in Read more here terms of employment, its sky-rocketing rental prices undermine its high salaries. Oldham Council and Langtree partnership Read more here to create 760 jobs at

‘key gateway’

Oldham Council and Manchester Airport continues to grow developer Langtree are set to generate hundreds The Secretary of State, of employment Chris Grayling for Transport opportunities by bringing forward the Hollinwood visited Manchester Junction project. Airport on July 21 as work begins on its £1bn The masterplan for the transformation programme. transformation of the derelict 30-acre site will The Manchester Airport include retail space, Transformation Programme leisure amenities and 150 (MAN-TP), currently the family homes, with North West’s biggest private investment, will aim to provide construction expenditure estimated to be £30m. passengers and airlines with facilities combining state-of-the-art services with enhanced customer service. The scheme will create 100 direct jobs during the Once complete, the development will raise the airport’s annual build phase and 20 in the capacity from its current level of around 20 million passengers to 45 local supply chain. In million. total, up to 760 gross operational jobs are Mr Grayling said: “Aviation is central to our future prosperity as we forecast to be created. leave the European Union. As a global, trading nation we want to build on the great industry we have today and create opportunities for Read more here people up and down the country. Are apprenticeships the solution to the “I welcome Manchester Airport Group’s £1bn programme to double UK’s skills gap? the size of Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2 which will create 1,500 jobs. As a nation, we urgently need more professionals “This is great news for the local economy and for passengers who – engineers, designers, will be able to fly to more destinations, more often.” digital wizards and skilled managers – and the new apprenticeship levy has Read more here thrown a lifeline to companies scrabbling for talent. Schools and universities just aren’t Adult social care workforce continues to grow turning out enough people with the right skills to plug gaps in some sectors, say leading graduate New analysis from Skills for employers. Care shows the adult social care workforce continues to In a bid to redress this, grow, with 1.45m people the government has now offering care and committed to creating 3 support in communities and million new apprenticeships by 2020, services across England. paid for in part by a new employer levy introduced Skills for Care’s Size and in April this year. “We’re structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England starting to witness a sea- 2017report reveals that workforce numbers have grown by 19% to change in attitudes,” says approximately 1.58m job roles since 2009. The rate of increase for David Willett, director of adult social care jobs has slowed, however. There was an increase of corporate sales at the 30,000 jobs between 2014 and 2016, compared with an increase of Open University (OU), which now offers a range 70,000 between 2012 and 2014. of apprenticeships, some at degree level. There are now around 20,300 organisations involved in offering “Employers respect social care across England, and around 70,000 adults, older people apprenticeships. They’re and carers who receive direct payments employ their own staff. seen to add real value to a business – having a The report contains a new projection that if the workforce grows positive impact on productivity and proportionally to the projected number of people in the population performance.” aged 65 and over then 500,000 new jobs will be needed by 2030 to meet demand Read more here Read more here Toshiba takes full control of Cumbria's new nuclear company One in five high-street estate agents risk going bust, study claims

Almost 5,000 estate agents are showing signs of “financial distress”, said accountancy firm Moore Stephens.

Traditional companies are likely to have higher property and staff costs and are struggling to compete with Toshiba has taken full low-cost, fixed-fee online control of NuGen, the agents, said the report. The company behind plans for growth in property websites a £10bn Cumbrian has also undermined the nuclear new build. role of estate agents, it suggested. It has completed the purchase of the 40 per cent stake in the firm - with plans for a power plant at Moorside, near A separate study has found that planning applications for new shops Sellafield - which formerly have fallen to an eight-year low amid continued growth of e- belonged to French firm commerce. ENGIE.

Added to the 60 per cent There were 6,525 applications in England in the year to March, Toshiba already held, the almost half the number in 2008/-09 and down by 11% on 2014-15, Japanese giant is now the said Lendy, which provides property finance and development loans. company's sole owner. Greater Manchester recorded the biggest fall in retail planning Read more here applications last year, it said. Tech firm Sorted Read more here doubles headcount with 50 jobs

UK economy is about to surge back to life, says leading forecaster

Economic think tank NIESR predicts boom in exports A Manchester and higher wages will lead entrepreneur is to GDP growth of nearly 2% celebrating a booming and interest rate rise year which has seen his company revenues The National Institute of increase by more than 500 per cent. Economic and Social

Research (NIESR) said a David Grimes is the boom in exports after the fall founder and CEO of in the pound and a return to bumper wage rises next year would be Sorted Group (formerly enough to increase GDP growth to almost 2% and convince the The MPD Group). central bank to increase the cost of borrowing.

It operates an online Jagjit Chadh, the institute’s director, said a rise interest rates would parcel delivery also have the effect of supporting efforts by high street banks to comparison and boost their profits and the reserves needed to protect them against management website another financial crash. from its HQ in Manchester city centre. NIESR’s forecast comes despite growing concerns that Brexit The firm, which has uncertainty is discouraging companies from investing in the UK and undergone a full rebrand, hampering a bounce-back from low growth in the first six months is set to double its headcount and roll out the Read more here technology globally.

They have also added major brands including Staff shortages are pushing up pay, recruiters Missguided, Matalan, Lush and Arsenal to its say books.

Sorted has had to significantly increase its head count to facilitate The UK labour market is these new business wins. tightening, with employers finding it harder to recruit The business is currently staff, according to a survey hiring another 50 new of employment agencies. recruits into roles across The survey says that pay the company – mainly in its expert software rates for both permanent and temporary staff are development teams. Other roles include rising quickly due to a project managers and continuing fall in the number of job applicants. business analysts. Last year's Brexit vote is also driving some EU nationals home, Read more here making it harder to fill a wide variety of jobs. Leyland Masterplan unveiled Official figures have shown employment levels in the UK at record highs. A document outlining proposals to build more The monthly survey of employment agencies was carried out by than 850 new homes, market research firm Markit for the Recruitment and Employment community and Confederation (REC). employment facilities at the former Leyland The survey, which has been going since 1997, looked at the Motors test track site has experience in July of 400 UK recruitment and employment agencies. been approved by South Ribble Borough Council. The report's suggestion that pay rates for permanent jobs are now The masterplan, prepared rising as a result, and are at a 20-month high, will raise some by developer Property eyebrows. Capital, will shape future planning applications for Official data from the Office for National Statistics has indicated that the 120-acre site in the the growth of average weekly earnings across the UK has been Moss Side area of slowing down. Leyland.

Read more here Earnings are now only 1.8% higher than a year ago - the slowest rate of increase since late 2014 - which has contributed to a cut in real Two hotel brands will incomes because the rate of inflation has been higher. open under one roof in the first of its kind Looking at its own survey results, the REC said some of its members in the north of had noted that employers were indeed offering higher pay rates to England. lure the right recruits.

"Permanent starting salaries rose across all monitored UK regions, with the steepest rate of inflation seen in the South of England," the REC said.

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New Research highlights Lancashire’s number one position within UK aerospace sector

Lancashire reinforced its Located just off Oxford position as the UK’s biggest Road, the Crowne Plaza region for aerospace activity and Staybridge Suites will at last month’s Paris be unveiled to the public early 2018. Airshow highlighting a new report confirming the county Read more here employs more people within the sector than any other in

Government revises the UK. 29 apprenticeship framework funding The international expo, which ran from June 19-25, was attended by rates representatives of Aerospace Lancashire, the joint initiative between the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Lancashire County The agency announced Council (LCC) which was launched at the Farnborough International today that a total of 29 funding bands for Airshow last year. framework pathways had been “revised” to ensure A new 28 page report: Lancashire: Number One For Aerospace providers can “deliver Jobs, analysed local, regional, national and global aerospace quality training and markets and assessed Lancashire’s current and future growth employers are getting opportunities within the sector. value for money”. Twenty six of these have seen an increase in It found that not only was Lancashire still the UK’s number one region funding, but three have for Aerospace employment, with around 17,000 directly employed in experienced a decrease. the sector, it is the only place in the UK to have the skills, resources and capacity for the end-to-end manufacturing and servicing of a Health and social care complete aircraft for its entire life-cycle. had been a particular framework that people in Read more here the FE sector had felt was being under funded. Its band has now been increased from £1,500 to MediaCityUK's plan to double in size given a £2,000. £10m boost It is one of 26 bands which will increase with The £1bn plan to expand the the new funding being site was given the go-ahead applied for new starts by planners last September. from August 1 this year.

Phase two will ultimately Other frameworks double the size of the hub, included in these 26 are vehicle maintenance and including 10 new buildings, creating over 50,000 square repair, exercise and fitness, equine and public metres of business relations accommodation, 1,871 residential units including town houses, over 4,400 square metre of retail and leisure space and around 1,800 car Read more here parking spaces. Works start on three Read more here units at Logistics North

Sellafield deal means new jobs for Cumbria

Recycling Lives is due to open a metal recycling

facility on Isabella Road after securing a contract with Construction has begun Sellafield to recycle metal for at one of the largest the nuclear site. distribution sites in the north west. The scrap buying and

Steelwork is now out of processing facility will also the ground on the next open to the public and other businesses from September and create phase of Harworth new jobs. Group’s Logistics North development in Bolton, The company will also set up the Food Redistribution Centre to which will deliver 4m support charitable organisations to tackle food poverty and work with square feet of new vulnerable people. distribution and management space. Read more here Read more here

Lancashire has more than 70,000 Troubled Cumbria new nuclear backer Toshiba companies in the declares multi-billion loss county for the first time Recycling Lives is due to open a metal recycling facility on Isabella Blackburn with Darwen Road after securing a contract with Sellafield to recycle metal for the has the third-highest nuclear site. number per borough, with 7,051. The scrap buying and processing facility will also open to the public and other businesses from September and create new jobs. Preston leads the way with 8,768, followed by The company will also set up the Food Redistribution Centre to Fylde with 7,708. support charitable organisations to tackle food poverty and work with vulnerable people. At the end of June some 70,214 businesses were registered, according to Read more here company secretarial software specialist Inform Direct. £434m masterplan proving the real deal as it The lists were based on reaches its key targets statistics from Companies House and the Office of National Statistics.

These positive figures follow on from Lancashire enjoying a record year for new business in 2016, when 10,600 were registered in the county compared to 10,080 in Lancashire’s pioneering City 2015. Deal has reached the third anniversary of its launch and Read more here authority bosses say the 10- year “real deal” scheme is Robotik Technology UK, a pharmacy hitting key targets. automation company, has become the first The ambitious masterplan – tenant in the new worth an estimated £434m – flagship Techspace has already delivered more One development at than half of its 20,000 jobs target and vast new housing Sci-Tech Daresbury. developments are becoming a common sight across the city region.

Established in 2012, The headline figures for the 10-year plan are £430m of investment, Robotik Technology uses robots to automate four major new roads and a motorway junction, the creation of one manual packaging million square metres of commercial floor space, 20,000 private processes at pharmacies sector jobs and 17,000 new homes. To support all this are pledges to across the UK. reduce congestion, improve the environment, stimulate economic growth in addition to new schools and health facilities. Following a period of growth, the Warrington- Read more here based company selected the new Techspace office and laboratory development at Sci-Tech The charity Buttle UK warns that more children Daresbury, for its new headquarters. are living in poverty now than at any other time in the past 10 years. Techspace One is a three-storey, self- Many lack childhood contained building comprising 33,000 essentials such as beds and square. feet of wet and friends visiting their homes dry laboratories, grade A to play. office accommodation, meeting hubs and break Almost 4 million children out areas. across the UK are now living below the breadline, with Read more here many families having to PNE Training Ground choose between paying bills gets the go ahead and eating, according to a report published today. The revised planning application for a first-team The report, by charity Buttle training centre for Preston UK, says that more children North End FC, along with are living in poverty now a new public park and than at any other time in the 450 homes, has been past 10 years. approved. Gerri McAndrew, Buttle UK PWA Planning, working chief executive, said: “While this is not a state of emergency, it is with architecture practice beginning to look like one. Urgent action needs to be taken.” FWP, helped secure consent for the development on behalf of In its annual report, Buttle UK highlights the fact that 3.9 million the club at the 172-acre children in the UK are now living below the breadline. Ingol Golf & Squash Club site. Two-thirds of these disadvantaged families have at least one parent The new training centre in work, raising questions about low pay, zero-hour contracts and aims to support PNE’s benefits cuts, the charity said. ambition to reach the Premier League. Read more here Meanwhile, more than

100 acres of the site, 60% of the total area, will be turned into a park and Logistics company launches £10m hub in public open space. There will be 135 affordable Wigan homes in the development. Pallet-Track said its hub, based at Ashton-in- The intention is for the Makerfield, will strategically first team to be training at serve the north of England. the facility in time for the 2018/19 season and so Pallet-Track said its hub, be occupied in August 2018. Construction is based at Ashton-in- Makerfield, will strategically expected to commence on site almost serve the north of England. immediately. The company will initially create 20 new jobs, but is likely to expand Read more here staff numbers as it builds greater pallet capacity. Contactless transactions take UK The jobs will be for managers, administrators and forklift truck debit and credit card operatives to help load vehicles for night trunking across the north of use to record high the UK – from Stoke-on-Trent upwards through Scotland and including Ireland - as part of Pallet-Track’s ‘local to local’ delivery A record number of strategy. payments took place by credit and debit cards in Read more here June, fuelled by the continued popularity of contactless transactions. Could Liverpool Land the 2022 Commonwealth UK Finance, the new trade body for the banking Games? industry, said almost 1.4bn card payments With Liverpool bidding to were made during the host the 2022 month. The 12% increase Commonwealth Games, the was the biggest annual city has been given a timely growth in the number of boost after being named as payments since June 2008. the UK’s number one sports

city by ESPN. The data follows recent figures from the British Working with the University of Bath on a sporting research project Retail Consortium that launched in 2015, the global sports media outlet bestowed the found cards now make up more than half of all retail accolade on Liverpool with its North West neighbour Manchester purchases. coming runner up.

Read more here The news comes as Liverpool enters the final phase of competition to be nominated as the UK’s Candidate City to host the 22 Games. Overseas investment in the North West If successful, Liverpool 2022 will then bid with international cities skyrockets before a final decision is taken by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) towards the end of the year.

Everton’s new stadium, at Bramley Moore Dock, will be the centre piece of the Games hosting athletics, while a new £50m swimming pool would be built in Liverpool docks. In turn, estimates suggest the city could generate up to £1bn should it host the international event.

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Investment into North West-based companies in What are the UK's highest paid apprenticeships the first half of 2017 has surged compared to the of 2017? same time last year with inbound deals nearly 1 Financial services trebling according to apprenticeships (starting pay Deloitte £15,000-£21,966) 2 Business and accountancy The total number of apprenticeships (SP transactions in the region were also up, rising to 25 £17,000-£20,000) from 21 last year which 3 Legal apprenticeships (SP has seen the average approximately £17,000) deal value skyrocket to 4 Creative or digital £46m, a near threefold marketing apprenticeships (SP approximately £18,000) increase year-on-year. 5 Computer hardware apprenticeships (SP £15,000 plus)

Read more here Read more here Trouble at Wilko’s

Thousands of jobs at Loans Company expanding retailer Wilko are at risk after the firm confirmed it has entered redundancy Evolution Money has consultation with nearly revealed it is planning to 4,000 staff, weeks after embark on a major bemoaning a rise in costs expansion drive at its as a result of the pound's Manchester base with a Brexit-induced collapse. recruitment drive for new roles right across its The discount chain said, business. following a review of its operating functions, changes are required to The firm, which is part of the "ensure it is best placed Darwin Group, will create 29 to continue to thrive within new roles from director level an ever-changing retail right the way through to entry level and management roles in landscape". business development, compliance and quality, customer services and finance at its Portland Street office. Read more here

Founded in 2011, the loans company works with consumers who A developed M6 corridor would create have been turned away from high street lenders to offer secured and thousands of new unsecured loans under its Evolution Money and sister brand jobs in Cumbria, Progressive Money. according to a major new report In the intervening six years the finance business has grown its loan portfolio to over £140m and placed 29th in the 2016 Sunday Times Cumbria Local Enterprise Fast Track 100, recognising it as one of the fastest growing Partnership (LEP) has companies in the UK. published a prospectus highlighting development opportunities for the area, Read more here which included recommendations for road and rail improvements. £40m worth of US orders for Accrington based firm Read more here

Leek United Accrington-based wallcovering machinery manufacturing company Apprentice Victory Emerson & Renwick has secured orders from the US worth about £40m in total. Leek United customer assistant Harry Griffiths is The business has grown sales rapidly since launching its Genesis well on his way to vacuum coating platform in November 2016. Genesis is used to coat becoming a success in functional layers in high vacuum onto plastic film, foils and even his job – after winning one flexible glass. of his college's top honours. A £10m order has now been signed with a new customer in Silicon

Harry, aged 20, was Valley for delivery this year. The equipment supplied under this named Apprentice of the contract uses high-definition printing and vacuum coating techniques Year by Buxton and Leek to create printed flexible electronics. College – part of the University of Derby – A further contract, worth in excess of £30m, has been placed for a where he is studying for a number of machine systems due for delivery in 2018. Level 2 Diploma in customer service Chairman Colin Hargreaves said: "There are exciting times ahead for alongside his day job at the society's Ashbourne us and for a number of other companies who supply key components branch. to us. These contracts will require a substantial amount of sub- contract work to be placed with businesses in the Hyndburn area and He was nominated by his across Europe. branch manager and received his award during "We will be investing in additional capital equipment and further the college's annual recruitment of personnel to ensure that we meet the necessary presentation ceremony in delivery schedules." July

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A Level Results: ‘Apprenticeships aren’t only for other people’s children’

A former exam board boss, now a training leader, has urged parents of pupils about to receive their A level results not to put their children off from considering a high level or degree apprenticeship as an alternative to going to university.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, says that big name employers offering apprenticeships, the student debt mountain, too many graduates ending up in non-grad jobs and the career progression and high earning opportunities available through most apprenticeships have completely transformed the debate around what successful A levels students should do next.

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Licking the Competition!

An independent Chester-based family-run ice cream farm is celebrating substantial business growth after taking their business online with the help of Reaseheath College.

Launched in 2009, Backford Belles is one of the North West’s most popular ice cream parlours and dairy farms. Home to more than 40 Jersey cows, the farm uses their Jersey milk as the main ingredient for the family’s luxurious and award-winning homemade ice cream.

Owner of Backford Belles Mark Littler recently completed a digital marketing workshop with Cheshire-based Reaseheath College to learn how to promote the business online and connect with new customers through social media.

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