Capital Set for Mayor’s Skills Strategy
Mayor of London Ken Livingston plans to plug the capital’s skills gap with the first ever London skills and employment strategy.Backed by the £560m London Learning and Skills Council’s annual adult skills budget, the final strategy will recommend the steps that must be taken to meet the skills and employment challenges facing workers and businesses […]
Facilitating Training
When it’s your job to ensure training co-ordinators get the best out of their training sessions, it can often be stressful. No matter what the size of the group or the theme of the day, the pressure’s always on to make sure the training event hits the spot. Joanna England offers some insight into the […]
New Qualification in Disability Awareness
The first qualification in disability awareness has been launched to help employers comply with legislation.The level 1 ‘Award in Disability Awareness’, from awarding body Education Development International (EDI), was created due to requests from many organisations who were anxious to ensure they fully complied with current legislation.Until this point, no occupational standards for disability awareness […]
Pick Your Mix to Improve Qualifications
A one-stop guide to help food and drink manufacturers design vocational qualifications for their staff has been launched on-line. The launch of the ‘Pick Your Mix’ interactive tool coincides with the introduction of a new framework for National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (N/SVQs), which aims to make the qualifications more relevant to the workplace. The […]
Skills Shake-Up for Tourism and Leisure
People 1st, the sector skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, is promising a radical shake-up of qualifications in consultation with employers in its arena.The skills council is conducting a series of 75 meetings across the UK to get employers’ views on what they would like to see included in qualifications for the industry. […]
Minister Blames Employers for Gender Gap
Skills minister David Lammy has blamed British employers for the failure of government schemes to better women’s employment prospects.The London Level 3 pilot project, for example, designed to provide working women with A-level equivalent training, has attracted only 750 attendees. The £20 million project has a target of 12,000.“Some of these pilots have got off […]
Consultation Begins on the Future of IT Skills
E-skills UK is hosting a series of half-day consultation events throughout the UK, starting this month to help shape the national frameworks for the IT profession and for IT user skills in all sectors of industry. The Sector Skills Council for IT and Telecoms aims to put together a set of National Occupational Standards (NOS) […]
Cities Hit by Brain Drain
Major UK cities are likely to be affected by a ‘brain drain’ as over half a million graduates flock to London, Jobsite has warned.The approaching exodus of qualified individuals to the capital was revealed in a survey that showed one in three current students was planning a move to London in search of employment.Worst hit […]
There’s a Write Way
From the confused email that leaves its recipient scratching their head to the over-long document that has the reader heading for the coffee pot, writing business documents can be a minefield. In this article Janet Basdell, who has designed her own system for business writing, passes on some essential tips to consider before you hit […]
£5m Olympic Boost for London Skills
An additional £5m is beng invested in training opportunities for Londoners ahead of the 2012 Olympics.The government funding will be targeted on training sports coaches, construction workers and 200 extra apprenticeships in customer services and hospitality ahead.Skills minister David Lammy said: “We must get more people into skilled jobs in construction, customer services and hospitality, […]
Interview Skills Letting Companies Down
Job seekers are turning down offers from UK companies because of the poor standards of many interviewers.A survey released by T-Mobile found that 56% of people who had suffered a bad interview laid the blame on the interviewer, accusing some of lateness, rudeness, sexism and even drunkenness.Around 40% of interviewees said they were asked questions […]
The Write Stuff
Business’ reliance on written communication is greater than ever with the advent of email, but at the same time more organisations seem to feel that their staff don’t make the grade when it comes to writing clearly and accurately. This case study looks at how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office used training to boost staff […]
HR ‘Lacks Strategic Skills’
The biggest challenge that HR departments face in their bid to become more strategic is a lack of skills, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Institute of Employment Studies.In a poll the CIPD found that 53% of organisations had restructured their HR function in the last year and […]
The Harrogate Pilgrimage: A Journey Worth Making? By Annie Hayes
The all together more palatable September, term-time slot is one reason why many are attending this year’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) annual conference. Annie Hayes finds out who is going and why. Practitioner keynotes and inspirational speakersThere’s no doubt that the glitz, glamour and fame that speakers in past conferences brought has […]
Podcasts Focus on Training Trends and Best Practice
E-learning specialist Learn.com has launched a new Podcast series for HR and training executives. Hosted by Don Cook, senior vice President of Marketing and Michael Sabbag, director of Talent Management Services at Learn.com, the series will focus on industry trends, successful strategies, best practices, new and innovative technologies. “You will leave each Podcast with fresh […]
Half of Adults Recognise Value of Training
Over half (57%) of adults consider training a worthwhile investment of time and money, while a quarter are currently involved in training, a government survey shows.There are significant regional variations across England in perceptions of the value of training, with those in the West Midlands most in favour, at 65%, compared to 50% of those […]
Managers Stress Importance of Political Skills
Political skills are increasingly being seen as vital to career success, but many managers admit they have room for improvement when it comes to influencing others. A study by the Chartered Management Institute and Warwick Business School found that most individuals believe the political skills that build alliances will grow in importance in the next […]
How to: Avoid presentation and training disasters when using technology
Murphys Laws of media If anything can go wrong it will Equipment knows when you are nervous No two plugs are compatible Slides are always upside down Computer files are always incompatible If it worked yesterday, it will not work today Ian Hart, University of Hong KongIt has happened to the best of trainers: you […]
How to: Set a fee for your services
This Expert Guide has been written for freelancers and small companies delivering consultancy and training services to clients and who want to review the process by which they charge for their work. These notes will be helpful to people who are new to the business or who wish to re-examine their present fee-charging arrangements. The […]
Training and Development Top Priority for Graduates
Graduates rank training and development over salary when selecting their first employer, a new survey claims.The online poll for Ernst & Young, which registered over 1000 votes, found that that nearly half (44%) of graduates view a company’s provision of training and development as the most important consideration when weighing up a potential employer.Other considerations […]
