IT Skills – Experience Rated Over Qualifications
Many organisations see IT management experience as more important than qualifications, according to a new British Computer Society (BCS) survey.Almost 90% (88%) of organisations surveyed said that it was the experience of their IT managers that was important to them rather than their IT qualifications (41%).When recruiting IT managers, 69% of companies put a high […]
The Independent Route
Renee Mackay, CEO of Derigo Consulting, an Edinburgh-based management, training and HR consultancy, discusses whether the UK’s SME sector is losing its competitive edge due to a lack of integrated training. Hundreds of thousands of pounds are spent by employers each year on training courses, fuelled by a multi-billion pound industry that promotes all aspects […]
Employers Invest in Training as Skills Shortages Bite
Over half of employers say that it is more difficult to recruit skilled workers now compared to five years ago.A report by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found that 55% of employers found it harder to recruit people with the skills they need today compared to 2002. However they were committed to ensuring their […]
Brown Invests in Apprenticeships
Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced more money for apprenticeships, training wages for teenagers and grants to help train staff in basic skills.In what is expected to be his last budget speech, the Chancellor said that some of the 5% increase in the education budget pledged for the next three years, would go into doubling the […]
Ten Ways to Boost Your Creativity
In need of a creative spark? Paul Sloane suggests some innovative ways to achieve a solution to those perplexing problems. Let’s say you are wrestling with a tough issue – maybe at work, at home, with your children or in your social life. You have been stuck for a while and you can’t seem to […]
Companies Focus on Customer Service Training
Customer service training looks set to be a big story for the coming year as more organisations look to gain a competitive edge.A study, by Investors in People, shows that improving customer service is a priority for employers of all types and sizes during 2007.Nearly six in ten organisations (59%) said they planned to invest […]
Tax Breaks ‘Would Boost Training’
New research from the Forum of Private Business (FPB) has highlighted the need for a rethink of training in the workplace. The PFB says owners and managers of smaller firms are overly-burdened with excessive tax and regulation and therefore find it difficult to pass on their skills to employees.A survey of 600 owners of smaller […]
Europe Failing to Invest Enough in Skills
Europe risks being left behind by emerging economies if it continues to under-invest in education and skills development, according to a new study. The report, Skills for the Future, calls for a more collaborative approach to education, with business taking a more prominent role in helping shape the provision of education services. It also states […]
Training Difficult People
From time to time trainers face the ‘difficult’ participant: the one who doesn’t want to be there, or doesn’t care; the one who won’t shut up, or won’t speak up; the misery guts, or the joker, the know-it-all, or the ‘doesn’t want to know’. TrainingZONE members share their experiences and coping strategies with Dawn Smith. […]
Trainer’s Diary: The Big Picture
When facing a barrage of questions, it is easy to doubt your own ability to communicate. Byron Kalies offers this reassuring tale. A long time ago a colleague was running his very first consultancy session. It was particularly stressful for him as he was training a group of economists in team building over two days. […]
Disparity in Personal and Organisational Definitions of Success
Managers across the UK believe there is a discrepancy between how individuals and their organisations judge success. According to the results of surveys conducted by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), managers achieve personal success by making an impact at work and developing their colleagues, but think their organisations are more focussed on market leadership and […]
Training Business News in Brief
Helmsley Fraser Commits to TAPLearning provider Hemsley Fraser Group has announced a policy commitment to the TAP (Trainer Assessment Programme) Learning System, the training skills certification programme administered by The Training Foundation.Under the requirements of the TAP Partners Programme, Hemsley Fraser’s learning professionals will achieve TAP certification following participation in a skills refresher and assessment […]
College Courses ‘Must Become More Relevant to Work’
College and university courses must become more relevant to the needs of the work place, the government’s Trade and Industry Select Committee inquiry into the future of UK manufacturing has been told. Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, was giving evidence at a session investigating skill shortages when […]
Thriving Under Pressure By Dawn Smith
Stress Down Day on 1 February aims to encourage people to take small steps to reduce stress in the workplace. Dawn Smith looks at approaches to stress management training, and some of the barriers to success. Recent research from the TUC cited stress as the number one workplace problem, while the Health & Safety Executive […]
Employers Urged to Give Financial Lessons
As the post-festive spending hangovers hit home, employers are being urged to give staff lessons in financial management.In a new report the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) argues that employees who are worried about their finances are less likely to concentrate at work – so providing lessons in financial management pays everyone.The report, […]
Work Experience Boosts Pay and Prospects
Skills learned on the job can have a dramatic effect on a young person’s employability and pay, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has found.In a survey nine out of 10 (89%) recruiters said they considered relevant work experience an important part of a CV and 13% said they would not interview a candidate without […]
One-in-Three Graduates ‘Did Wrong Degree’
Those looking to study a degree need more information about the skills employers need, a new survey suggests.Graduates in the workplace – does a degree add value? from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, found that a third of graduates feel they did the wrong course. Almost a quarter (23%) of those who graduated […]
Skills Bid to Put Offenders on Straight and Narrow
The government hopes to cut crime by getting offenders into training and jobs.Education and skills secretary Alan Johnson has promised £500,000 funding for pilot schemes in two regions to drive forward reforms to improve offenders’ skills and jobs prospects to stop them re-offending.The scheme is part of the government’s Next Steps document which implements actions […]
‘Phenomenal’ Improvement in Learning and Skills
Standards of publicly-funded training for six million adults in England have improved dramatically, according to the Adult Learning Inspectorate.However In his Annual Report, the Chief Inspector of Adult Learning David Sherlock warned that the progress made over the last five years could be reversed if constant changes to the infrastructure continue.Sherlock also warned that completion […]
CIPD Says Leitch Has ‘Echoes of the Past’
While the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) welcomed the 2020 vision outlined by Lord Leitch, its learning and development adviser Eileen Arney says it remains to be seen whether the review’s blueprint will prove any more successful than similar past exercises. There is much to commend Lord Leitch’s review of skills, but improvements […]
