Ask the expert: Technology time saving tips

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In response to Rus Slater’s request for technological time saving tips, Simon Hurst reveals his favourite rules, tricks and short cuts. Rus Slater recently asked on our Any Answers forum: I was recently told that you can set up a special inbox into which all email will go if you are a cc or bcc […]

Reaching the top of the training career ladder

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Scaling the sheer face of a training career takes more than just experience and qualifications, says Donald H Taylor – business acumen also plays a part. So, you’re a trainer, or maybe you’re thinking about becoming a trainer, and you’d like to know what the profession has to offer in terms of a career structure? […]

A week in training: News round-up

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This week, just as TrainingZone.co.uk publishes its definitive guide to training qualifications, there’s a new kid on the block, courtesy of the Institute of IT Training. Meanwhile, a third of pharmacy staff are judged ‘poorly trained’ by Which? and a global survey finds that seven in ten workers feel under-trained. IITT offers trainer assessment and […]

Full of Middle Eastern promise: Top tips for smooth working in the Middle East

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Although the Middle East is still struggling with political turmoil and conflict among differing ideologies, much of the region is thriving, with immense opportunities for foreign investment and continued economic growth. Cathy Wellings gives her advice on getting the most from any business dealings in the area. The diverse countries of the Middle East each […]

How to: Be a masterful communicator

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By using some of the core tools of neuro-linguistic programming, you can transform your impact and your ability to communicate, says Clive Lewis. If you were asked to improve your communication, how would you go about it? Would you try to develop your PowerPoint presentation skills? Pay more attention to the way you write emails? […]

A week in training: Open season for learning

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As little cherubs across the land trudge back to school, the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) is hoping their parents will do the same. Drawing on the ingrained desire for learning that September brings, NIACE are running the Sign up Now campaign to get adults learning. Inspiring stories include the tale of 36-year-old […]

The audience is never wrong

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According to film director Billy Wilder ‘an audience is never wrong’. It’s clear that as a trainer you have to forge a connection with your audience by pitching appropriately. The question is: when do you make those decisions about pitch – at the point of delivery or at the point of planning? Louise Birkett investigates. […]

Free thinking: Memories are made of this

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Why is it that we can remember some things without even trying, while other things never seem to stick? Martin Shovel examines what grabs people’s attention and explains how to make your communications and presentations hit the spot. Why do we remember some things effortlessly and yet struggle desperately to remember others? It’s as if […]

Redcoats graduate to university training

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Famously a training ground for stars, Butlins has now teamed up with a university to offer its Redcoats a degree in musical threatre.Redcoats in the Sussex coastal resort of Bognor Regis will be able to train for a two-year foundation degree run at the University of Chichester, also in the town.Students will be able to […]

Fitness guide for mobile workers

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BT Business has launched a downloadable guide – Get fit for mobile working – to help mobile workers to avoid back, neck and arm problems.Official figures show that back, neck and arm problems are the most common occupational illnesses in the UK. BT says that a fifth (20.6%) of its employees’ sickness absence is caused […]

A week in training – the long view

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As a sector well and truly bitten by the Credit Crunch, it seems counter-intuitive for ConstructionSkills to be urging its industry to invest in thousands more apprentices. As the sector contracts, is there any reason to train new starters for a job that may not be there for them when they finish their apprenticeships? But […]

IT offshoring trend sees UK skills shortages grow

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The trend for offshoring lower-level IT jobs is creating skills shortages within the UK, according to research.The Pay in IT 2008 report by Incomes Data Services (IDS) found a leap of 9.5%-13% in average pay for mid-level jobs over the past year. Salaries for IT user-support technicians increased by 13% to £24,177, while systems engineers’ […]

ConstructionSkills urges its sector to keep training

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As the downturn in the housing market deepens, employers in the construction sector are being urged to continue to take on apprentices.With thousands of would-be apprentices struggling to find employers ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the industry, said that the economic downturn was affecting its industry, particularly house building sector, thousands of new staff […]

How to: Stop fear getting in the way of speaking in public

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Did you know that more people are scared of speaking in public than are afraid of dying? If you’re one of them, don’t worry, with these 10 tips you’ll soon have them eating out of your hand, giving you a standing ovation and demanding an encore. It’s true – standing up and speaking in public […]

Trainer’s tip: Productivity boosters

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These six tips from Ehsan Honary to help trainers work smarter come from a thread asking for technology-based time saving tips. Click on the link at the foot of the article to read some more suggestions. There are many possible tips on time management and workflow which is something you need to work on continuously.I […]

Training event aims to start a customer service revolution

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Training company, Leaps and Bounds will be stretching people’s imagination with the introduction of an ‘open space’ event, encouraging call centre staff to start a revolution in open thinking.The open space event, to be held on 9 September at the Thames Innovation Centre in the London Borough of Bexley, is cost free and aims bring […]

In-house development that’s a degree better

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Munters Limited, a property damage prevention and restoration specialist, is set to offer staff degree level qualifications within the workplace. Using the web-enabled The Working Manager (TWM) platform, employees from the company will be among the first in the country to benefit from working towards Foundation Degrees in Leadership and Management via a work-based learning […]

Breaking down the language barrier

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With the demand for being multi-lingual becoming more common in the global marketplace, Chris Moore reveals how to get your message across and ensure training is quick, efficient and accountable. It is no longer sufficient for UK businesses to depend on the assumption that English will be the universal language of business. As offices themsleves […]

News summary

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As house prices fall and gas prices rise, there are further arguments for keeping training spend going during the economic storm. It’s also apparent that the credit crunch could provide a temporary bonus for some. In fact, there are growth areas around – as the world’s fastest-growing profession, it’s a case of: project managers – […]

Do you want the bad news?

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Most ‘bad news’ training focuses on the reaction of the receiver. But, says Jan Hills, more emphasis needs to be given to training the giver to know how to handle the information they are to impart. We all know how difficult it can be to give bad news and keep someone focused on the positive […]