British Gas Business Case for Apprenticeships
British Gas provides gas servicing and installation products to 3.3 million customers every year. In order to meet growing customer demand the British Gas Engineering Academy recruits circa 450 apprentices per year.British Gas calculated the business benefits of apprenticeships as: Increased competitiveness Without new recruits and their ideas the business would be too inward looking […]
BT Business Case for Apprenticeships
BT is a UK wide communications solutions provider with 20 million customers. The company trains around 600 apprentices every year in telecommunications engineering, motor vehicle maintenance, customer contact centres, information technology and business administration. BT's business benefits of apprenticeships include: ROIBT have calculated a net financial benefit when taking into account the total labour cost […]
Selecting the Right LMS
Bruce Duff senior vice president of Pathlore sets out 10 steps to securing a learning management system that fits your organisation’s needs. A learning management system (LMS) is a true “enterprise” application that can benefit employees, customers, suppliers, and learners. Although the selection process can be time-consuming, shortcuts can be fatal. A careful, methodical selection […]
The Way I See It… Beyond Evaluation of Leadership Programmes
Godfrey Owen of Brathay argues that a short-term evaluation of a leadership development programme is unlikely to reveal its true business benefits. Instead he maintains that leadership development needs a far-sighted approach to recognise its long-term benefits.Narrowly defined evaluation measures for leadership programmes are as wasteful as having no measures at all. The MD who […]
Glowing Half-Term Report for CoVEs
More than four in five employers praised the training provided by the Learning and Skills Council’s Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) as “excellent’” or “good”, according to an independent report.The report, Impact of the Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) programme, interviewed employers involved in the scheme about the quality and value the training provided.Three quarters […]
Chickens Provide Egg-cellent Team Training
Herding chickens, separating grains of salt and pepper, totem pole carving are all in a day’s training, according to the people behind this week’s World of Learning Conference and Exhibition.World of Learning found that unusual training formats being used in the UK include how to:– Herd chickens – Belly dance– Create a human bridge– Break […]
IIP Tell Business ‘Develop Staff to Boost Productivity”
Investors in People is warning British business leaders to prioritise employee development if they are to meet their own ambitious business goals.The call follows research to mark IIP week, which shows that while three-quarters of managers say staff development is the key to improving their businesses productivity, just one-in-three put this ahead of all other […]
Business Skills at a Premium in IT Market
IT professionals need business skills as well as their technical knowledge to get ahead in the current job market.According to a survey by IT company Computer People, 68% of IT professionals feel that business skills would give them the edge.While technical skills remain paramount, with 89% saying they are under immense pressure to keep these […]
Workers Must Up-Skill to Beat Offshore Risk
Unskilled workers may be left on the jobs scrapheap in a few years, according to a report by employers organisation the CBI.The Confederation said that a “huge culture change” was needed in the UK to make sure youngsters were prepared for the world of work otherwise they would face a life of unemployment. The warning, […]
Self-Service Learning
Chris Robinson of Knowledgepool looks at how software can reduce the administrative burden associated with training and the success factors that can make an automated system work. I have had the pleasure of meeting dozens of training professionals over the years, but am yet to meet one that enjoys training administration. This is no surprise, […]
Acas Guide to Workplace Stress
Acas is offering a new advisory booklet to help employers and employees avoid work-related stress following new guidelines from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The HSE’s ‘Stress in the Workplace’ guidance puts the onus on employers to control stress indicators in the workplace. It encourages employers to complete a risk assessment, then to implement […]
Lack of Equal Opportunities Training Leaves Employers Vulnerable
Only 37% of employers actively train new recruits in their equal opportunities policy, leaving companies open to compensation claims, according to a new survey.The poll of 100 employers, by employment law specialist Thomas Mansfield LLP, looked at sexual harassment at work and found that of those who did cover equal opportunities at the induction stage, […]
Merseyside Force Scoops CIPD Award
A Police force has won the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) People Management Award for a managment training programme.The Liverpool North Area leadership accreditation scheme, ‘Prepared to Lead’, focused on developing its performance culture and understanding staff needs, with training line managers an essential part of the scheme. Chief superintendent Mike Langdon said: […]
Acas Launches Free Consultation Training Guide
A free, web based good practice advice and training package for organisations wanting to know more about new information and consultation (I&C) regulations is available from Acas.The material – available at the Acas website – aims to help employers, employees and their representatives reach agreements under the regulations coming into force on 6 April 2005. […]
Workers Quit After Induction Nightmares
Workers are quitting their jobs after bad inductions, according to research by recruitment site reed.co.ukIn a survey of 5,700 workers, one in 25 had quit after a bad induction, with employees in the media and public sector being the most likely to quit – one in 17. While nearly all – 93% – respondents said […]
Online Bank Launches HCI
Online savings bank ING Direct has become the latest company to sign up for the Home Computer Initiative.The bank is rolling out Futuremedia’s Learning For All on-line learning programme with an internal marketing campaign and a series of road shows.The HCI scheme gives employees access to a computer at home at a subsidised rate.Jennie Monon, […]
Multi-Million Project to Help Refugees Plug Skills Gap
A £4m project has been launched to help refugees into work and plug the widening UK skills gap.Headed by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) the Progress-GB Partnership will involve work place learning for those already in employment, and help employers meet skills shortages by recruiting skilled staff from refugee communities. Sue Waddington, […]
Employers Using Training to Retain Talent
Employers are investing in learning and development rather than wages to hang on to talent in the current tight labour market, according to a report by the CIPD.The latest Human Resources Quarterly Trends and Indicators Survey found that more than half (52%) of employers plan to increase their number of employees by the end of […]
Union Call for Skills Investment
Unions are calling on government to help employers invest more in skills to help the UK compete against low-cost economies.Speaking after Royal & Sun Alliance announced its plans to transfer 1,100 jobs to India, Amicus and Unifi warned that offshoring posed “an unprecedented threat” to the UK economy.Amicus national secretary David Fleming, said that over […]
Learning the Corporate Way
Business strategy consultants SDL conducted in-depth interviews with 30 major UK companies about their attitudes to training. Here Frank Proud of SDL gives his analysis of what those companies said and what it means for the future of training. Training has often suffered from being perceived by others in senior management as a ‘Cinderella’ in […]
