Lack of Training Leaves Staff Demotivated
The Campaign for Learning has warned that one of the key demotivators for employees is the perception that learning and training opportunities are available to others within their organisation and not them. The findings are being highlighted in advance of this month’s Learning at Work Day on 26 May. The Campaign for Learning, which co-ordinates […]
Coaches Diary: Fit for Business
This week coach Olivia Stefanino faces an IT trainer who is finding self-employment hard going. Tom sat in front of me, his face grey with tiredness as he spoke of how hard he had been working in the three years since he set up his IT training company. Finding clients had been a lot tougher […]
Inter-Tel Scoops Training Award
Business communications firm Inter-Tel has received recognition for its dedication to training and development by winning the award for ‘Best Training Operation’ at the Comms Channel Awards 2005. Inter-Tel’s training school, the Inter-Tel Academy, was established to address the growing need for specific telecoms training both for technicians and users. Set up in 2001, the […]
Return-to-Work Mothers ‘Need More Support’
Mothers returning to work after maternity leave need greater help integrating back into working life, according to a helpline company.Validium, which operates confidential telephone helplines on behalf of companies says it has experienced increased calls from mums returning to work after an absence of more than six months. Validium says that the most common areas […]
FSSC Consults on New Anti-Money Laundering Standards
The Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) is seeking views on its new draft industry performance standards for compliance and money laundering prevention roles. The consultation is the culmination of a 12-month project to develop the draft standards.Lucy Courtenay, Standards & Accreditation Director at the FSSC, said: “Compliance issues are under the spotlight as never before. […]
Key Skills Qualifications Rise
The number of people getting Key Skills qualifications rose by nearly a quarter last year.Almost 332,000 certificates were awarded – two thirds of them to 16 to 18-year-olds – up 23% on the previous year. In the four years since Key Skills qualifications began, 940,000 have been awarded to 572,000 learners. Some 108,000 people have […]
Companies Neglect Board Development
Companies spend more effort on recruiting and developing graduates than their board members, according to management development group Roffey Park.The company said that new Board members should have the ability to challenge, a ‘can do, will do’ attitude, technical expertise and an affinity with the organisation’s culture and values. While new non-executive directors should be […]
Food Industry Awards Seek Excellence in People Development
IGD the charity that promotes excellence in the food industry is challenging companies to demonstrate their commitment to people development through its Food Industry Awards.The John Sainsbury Award for Learning and Development recognises excellence in people development. Last year’s winner, Musgrave Budgens-Londis, took the prize for its ‘Fresh Food Training for Fresh Food Teams’ initiative, […]
Case Study: Mecca Improves its Winning Ways with LMS
Once the exclusive preserve of the nation’s gaming grans, bingo is grabbing a wider audience today, prompting significant growth within the sector. One of the UK’s leading bingo brands is Mecca Bingo, where fast-moving expansion and development is being managed using a learning management system (LMS). Mecca Bingo has 120 clubs spread throughout the UK […]
Dyson Signs up for HCI
Dyson is the latest company to sign up for the government’s Home Computer Initiative.HCI schemes, enabled by the Government’s 1999 tax exemption on loaned computers, allow employers to implement a tax-exempt loan scheme for computer equipment for their employees to use at homeThe vacuum manufacturer sign up will give employees the opportunity to lease a […]
Skills Gap Hits 12 Year High
Skills shortages are at a 12-year peak, according to the Business in Britain survey from Lloyds TSB Corporate. Over half (52%) of the companies who responded said they had faced sustained difficulty in recruiting skilled staff in the last year – the highest level since the survey began. Across the sectors, finding skilled employees is […]
Black Workers Miss Out on Training
Black workers are less likely to get training despite often being better qualified than their white counterparts, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC). A new TUC report launched today to coincide with the TUC’s annual Black Worker’s conference entitled Workplace training – a race for opportunity, reveals that even though job related training is […]
BLA Publishes Best Practice Guide to Support Learners
New learner support guidelines aimed at training managers and providers are available from the British Learning Association (BLA).The best practice guide 10 Steps to Develop Learner Support – a guideline through the key issues gives an overview of what is meant by learner support and the different options. The free guide also includes a step-by-step […]
Case Study: Health and Safety Training at Scottish Power
Scottish Power is an international energy company providing electricity and/or gas services to around six million homes and businesses in the UK and the western US. Scottish Power has long made use of tutor led training in the classroom alongside generic on-line courses. However, with increasing pressures on staff time, a consequent rise in course […]
Coaching and E-Learning Grow as Demand for Skills Rises
Demand for skills is set to rise with coaching and e-learning continuing to gain favour as methods of training and development, according to a new survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The CIPD says that although traditional forms of learning such as formal education courses and off-the-job instructor-led training are still used […]
The Way I See It… Bridging the Skills Gap
The UK skills gap is a serious problem for many companies. In a recent survey, the CBI warned of UK firms’ growing dissatisfaction with the quality of school leavers. Peter Nicol, EMEA vice president, OutStart, discusses the options. It’s the biggest business hangover of the decade: the UK skills gap is widening and a recent […]
Deal to Promote Volunteer Skills
Skills for Business and UK voluntary sector organisations have signed a pact to boost skills development.The agreement means that Skills for Business and vountary bodies will work closely more closely together to promote skills development and good employment practices.According to Skills for Business, it will affect the 560,000 paid employees and 11 million unpaid regular […]
Feature: Making E-Learning Accessible
Steven Price managing director of Cylix, looks at the key issues to bear in mind when developing accessible e-learning. Accessibility is now a major issue for e-learning. Under the Disability Discrimination Act, organisations have a legal responsibility to make “reasonable adjustments” in order to make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities. And […]
UK Managers Are No Role-Models
Only one third of UK employees (34%) see their manager as a role model, with many resenting their boss’s failure to involve them when developing new ideas, according to a new MORI poll. The research, commissioned by Investors in People (IIP), found that nearly a quarter of employees (24%) feel that their line manager takes […]
UK’s First Skills Academy
The UK’s first skills academy – focussing on fashion retail – is expected to be launched this autumn.The UK Fashion Retail Academy is to be a joint venture between the Government and Arcadia Group, with an initial intake of 60 16-18 year-olds.Arcadia’s Philip Green, who said the eventual intake would be nearer 350.Green said: “The […]
