Acas Report Shows Need for Diversity Training
A new policy discussion paper from Acas highlights the need for more diversity and equality training in the workplace.Back to Basics – Acas’ experience of equality and diversity in the workplace, found “vast misunderstandings” among employers with the main barriers being a lack of awareness, entrenched attitudes and embarrassment to discuss the issues.Based on the […]
Ex-CBI Chief Takes on Skills
Former CBI director-general Sir Digby Jones is the man with tasked with warning employers that they are in the “last chance saloon” when it comes to boosting staff skills.The unpaid role of “Skills Envoy” comes in the wake of Lord Leitch’s final report on skills. It will see Sir Digby trying to persuade public and […]
The Way I See it: Quangos – Just a Merry Dance?
Quangos and other government-sponsored organisations can help companies source training and grants, but in the internet age is that enough? Simon Derry, director of Project Leaders International, argues that government quangos need to offer businesses something more. Last week I was contacted by a very nice person who wanted to set up a meeting to […]
Skills Biggest Boost to British Competitiveness
Two-thirds of people believe more investment is needed in skills and education for the UK to maintain competitive, according to a new poll.Sixty-five per cent of those surveyed cited skills as essential to competitiveness, followed by more encouragement for small business start-ups and entrepreneurialism (57% of respondents).The survey also found that most people see offshoring […]
£10m to Develop Women in ‘Men’s World’
A new £10 million project aims to get women into male-dominated industries.Up to 10,000 school-leavers and women returning to work will be offered training, personal development programmes, mentoring schemes and special bursaries for technical qualifications.The two-year initiative is being spearheaded by five sector skills councils and forms part of the government’s action plan to implement […]
Unionlearn Calls for Time Off to Train
Employers and government are failing Britain’s workers by denying them paid time off to improve their skills, according a survey by unionlearn.The report, Making a real difference – union learning reps: a survey, reveals that nearly half (46%) of representatives said that lack of access to paid time off was the biggest barrier to training […]
Graduate Development Programmes: Making it Work
In the last of this three-part series, Mike Morrison reveals how to make graduate management development programmes work for your organisation. Running a development programme for graduate recruits requires a number of decisions – so what works best?In-house, external or accredited? This is the perennial question asked by learning and development managers all over the […]
Flying Start for Train to Gain
The government’s new flagship employer training programme has reached 50,000 employees, Skills Minister Phil Hope has announced.Speaking at the National Business Awards this week, Hope said that Train to Gain, Launched earlier this year, had a “very successful start” with 10,000 employers using the scheme.But the scheme still has a long way to go to […]
Free Diversity E-learning Tool
In just over seven years, only a fifth of the workforce will be white, able-bodied, male and under 45, according to Acas, which today launches its first equality and diversity online learning tool.The e-learning focuses on sexual orientation and gender reassignment and aims to assess an organisation’s position and how any issues can be further […]
Government Launches First Trio of Skills Academies
The first three National Skills Academies have launched today, aimed at driving up the standard of industry training, improving productivity and tackling skills shortages across England.The new academies are in Financial Services, Construction, and Manufacturing. A fourth, representing the Food and Drink sector is also close to being approved.Employers will fund half the academies’ capital […]
HSBC Invests in Learning Pods
HSBC is rolling out specially designed ‘learning pods’ in 1200 branches across the UK in a bid to offer just-in-time learning to its staff.The new workstations are dedicated to staff training and development and aim to offer fast, easy access to a comprehensive range of learning tools covering professional and personal development. HSBC’s head of […]
Opinion: Something Old, Something New – Successful Team Building
With the ever-changing face of the ‘team’ today – project teams, matrix working, remote teams, cross functional working groups and virtual teams – the need for effective team building is without question. So, what’s new in team building? Well…everything and nothing. Steve Marriott of Kaizen Training reports on the latest team building innovations, reflecting on […]
Graduate Management Development Programmes: You’ve Recruited Them – Now What?
Recruiting graduates can prove expensive, especially if you don’t work hard to keep them. In the second of a three part series on graduate development, consultant Mike Morrison explains how a management development programme can produce real business benefits. Recruiting graduates can be an expensive process. This cost is doubled if you have the wrong […]
Briefing: Improving Training Sessions and Presentations With Technology
Training departments and professionals are constantly under pressure to deliver engaging, relevant and inspirational programmes in order to maximise knowledge transfer and retention of information; Steve Dracup, Managing Director of Promethean (AV Distribution) reports. To be effective, presentations must retain audience attention, which means the content must be motivating and powerful. Often working to strict […]
The Way I See It … Crafting the Perfect Induction
This week Brightwave’s James Cory-Wright, Head of Learning Design shares his ideas on how to get off to the right start with a new employee. A successful employee-employer relationship often depends upon how a new employee settles into their job to start with. “Most labour turnover is among new employees, and work efficiency is reached […]
New Skills and Employment Board for London
London mayor Ken Livingstone is to head a new skills and employment board for the capital, the Department for Education and Skills has announced.The move is part of a wide ranging overhaul of the mayor’s powers and gives him a statutory duty to promote adult skills in London.The new board, including top London business leaders […]
What Happened Next? The Training Mutiny. By Sarah Fletcher
How do you manage new employees who criticise your training methods, complain to senior staff and take the induction into their own hands? What training strategies will win back control and keep it? By Sarah Fletcher. How do you train after the staff have criticised your methods? We are a manufacturing and distribution company with […]
Time Management: For Trainers
Training consultant Rich Lucas outlines four ways to effectively organise your tasks to produce efficient, effective results. Time management is a funny thing – its basis in “to do” lists and the worldand its friend claiming to have the greatest time management tool availableand claim to make you work smarter, not harder.The only problem is […]
Skills Shortages are Biggest Barrier to Business in Capital
A shortage of skilled staff has overtaken transport issues as the biggest barrier to business in London, new research shows.Sixty-one per cent of employers are suffering from a lack of key skills, an increase of 11% since 2005. Companies in the property, professional services and transport sectors are worst affected, the report from CBI and […]
‘Returners’ Will Ease Skills Crisis
Mothers, carers and retired people should be encouraged back into work to ease the UK’s skills crisis, a new report states.Britain will need 2.1 million new entrants to its workforce between 2010 and 2020. The research from City and Guilds claims that training is essential to increase the quantity of people returning to employment to […]
