i-FM: The online resource for facilities professionals

Steve Coppin has been appointed Compliance Manager for VINCI Facilities.

Christian Pauritsch has been appointed Operations Director, South West at the independent contract catering company.

Paul Richards, QSHE Director at Interserve, has been appointed chair of the Health and Safety Working Group of the Facilities Management Association.

The building to support services group reports that 17 employees started the Kier Foundation Degree in Integrated Maintenance and Facilities Services in January.

Oxfordshire County Council is to abandon its own schools catering operation and wind the service into a property and facilities deal currently being tendered.

The latest organisation to identify a need for pre-Olympics guidance is the Local Government Association.

The University of Oxford's Said Business School is to host a leadership academy for civil servants responsible for major government projects.

The M&E specialist has been awarded multimillion pound contracts to provide services for the redevelopment of Reading station for Network Rail and the upgrade of Victoria station for London Underground.

The vacant property management group has won nearly £1.5m worth of contracts to secure properties and deliver specialised clearing services.

There is no simple answer to that question: it depends on the opportunity and how it fits into your marketing strategy. But there are some opportunities that are probably best avoided.