This week's round-up includes Train to Gain turns two, news of delegates compulsively consulting their smart phones, preliminary findings from a trainer rates survey and the CIPD finds that management innovation is low on the priority list for many businesses.

Management innovation 'not a business priority'
A CIPD study of 500 senior managers found that organisations are failing to embrace management innovation. The research, conducted by the MLab at London Business School, found that less than a quarter of respondents stated that management innovation was given a high level of attention in their organisations, compared with two-thirds (65%) who said their organisations were giving a high level of attention to product or service innovation. This is despite eight out of ten agreeing that management innovation is a driver of long-term success. Managers are seen to not have the necessary tools, experience or time to fully implement management innovation. The full report is available at the CIPD website.

Managers confident amid economic gloom
UK managers are keeping a cool head in the face of looming recession with 55% being optimistic or very optimistic about the next 12 months for their business. A poll of over 11,000 managers, by the Chartered Management Institute, found that while more than half felt that work was more stressful, 75% said the downturn presented ‘greater challenges’ and 37% felt they were more focused at work. A third of respondents said their organisation had already frozen recruitment, with 44% focussing on developing the skills of core internal staff. A focus on management and leadership skills was seen as key to helping their organisation survive the recession by 82%. The Chartered Management Institute will be launching a micro-site at the end of this month to provide employers and individuals with resources to help lead them through the downturn at www.managers.org.uk/however.

The phones are smart, but are the delegates?
The trend for delegates to multi-task by reading and responding to emails and texts during conferences is affecting their levels of concentration, a recent survey carried out by conference and training centre Wyboston Lakes found. The poll of 875 delegates, between August and September, found that three quarters (75%) of all participants ignored requests to switch off their mobile devices during sessions. Of this 75%, a further 40% admitted to checking PDAs, BlackBerrys, iPhones and mobile phones at least every 30 minutes; and 10% said that they check their phones every 10 minutes. Nearly all - 91% - of those who checked their phones every 10 to 30 minutes said that they felt anxious when unable to access emails.

Train to gain landmark
DIY store B&Q has become the 100,000th company to sign up to Train to Gain, as the flagship service marks its second year of helping to boost the nation's skills. Since its launch in 2006, Train to Gain has helped over 570,000 employees in England get training, and over 291,000 learners have achieved a qualification. An evaluation published this year revealed that some 43% of people who had completed their training reported having received a pay rise, and 30% reported having had promotion. Funding for Train to Gain will increase from £520 million in 2007-08 to over £1 billion by 2010-11.

World of Learning Awards finalists
The shortlist for the eighth World of Learning Awards is available here. The BBC features in several categories, while Charles Jenning of Reuters, Laura Overton of Towards Maturity and Neil Lasher of Trainer1 are all up for the Outstanding Contribution to the Learning Industry award. Voting is still open for the Learning Provider of the Year award, to register your vote, click here. The awards will be presented in front of 500 members of the training industry on 19 November at the Paragon Hotel, Birmingham.

Specialist and bespoke? Name your price
In its fifth annual Trainer Rates survey, TrainerBase, the marketing portal for freelance trainers, asked purchasers what had the biggest impact on the rates they would pay for training. Specialist expertise of the trainer was the top answer (41% of respondents) followed by bespoke design for the organisation (25% of respondents). The full results of the survey are expected next month.

Is your company the best?
Registration for the Best Companies Accreditation and The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For competition closes at the end of this month. Organisations interested in taking part should visit www.bestcompanies.co.uk or call 01978 856222. Announcements of Accreditation successes will be made in January 2009 and The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For competition winners will be announced next March.