Training Used to Aid Recruitment
Training is being used as a key method of attracting staff, according to research from the Recruitment Confidence Index.The RCI survey found that almost all employers (90%) believe training impacts their business’ bottom line and two in three now include skills training in job offers to prospective employees.One in three employers surveyed predicted major changes […]
Employers to “Steer” Reformed Apprenticeships
Employers are to be put in the “driving seat” of designing and developing apprenticeships, Education and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke said today.Mr Clarke made the promise while unveiling reforms to apprenticeships that will allow under-16s and over-25s to join in the schemes.The reforms will mean: • Young Apprenticeships for 14-16 year olds – with up […]
Campaign to Increase Modern Apprenticeships
A national marketing campaign is set to start next month to encourage employers to create new Modern Apprenticeship opportunities. Currently, demand from young people is three times the level of supply from employers. The marketing campaign, due to begin on 10 May, will be run by the Learning and Skills Council, and involve national television […]
English Language Training for Immigrant Workers
Immigrants working in Britain’s booming building industry need English training to boost site safety and productivity, surveyors have warned.The Construction Industry Training Board predicts that the UK construction industry will need an extra 83,000 workers annually. However, a decline in British trade apprenticeships has left the UK unable to service the demand for skilled labour […]
Case Study: Management Development at Dairy Crest
The business benefits of new management programmes are already being felt at chilled foods manufacturer Dairy Crest.Executive education specialist Roffey Park is running separate competency-based programmes, for Dairy Crest’s leaders and managers, featuring Development Centres, business-related projects and one-to-one mentoring. As well as supporting the brand portfolio and ‘maximising talent’, the programmes also promote cross-functional […]
First Graduates for Vodaphone Marketing Course
Vodaphone has set up an in-house certificate in direct marketing in a bid to build a greater focus on customer relations across the group.The Vodaphone Certificate in Direct Markting consists of five one-day modules, created and accredited by the Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM). The first 31 Vodaphone employees to take the certificate have now […]
Plenty of Jobs But Not Enough Skills, Says Manpower
The UK skills shortage and low unemployment is making it hard for employers to take on staff, according to research by recruitment company Manpower.The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey found that UK job prospects were positive for the second part of the year, with 16% of employers looking to add to their payrolls.However, Hazel Detsiny, Director […]
Charity Sector Training “In Crisis”
“There is a crisis in training in the voluntary and community sector,” a leading charity analyst is set to warn the sector.Professor Ian Bruce, head of the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at City University’s Cass Business School plans to make the statement in a lecture this evening (Wednesday 24 March) on “Charities: too Amateur or […]
Study Finds E-Learners ‘Get What They Need’
Almost all IT e-learners in a new study said they got what they needed out of their course, regardless of whether they finished it.The survey, by e-learning provider SkillSoft showed that many wanting to update their IT skills tended to learn on-the-job and apply their new skills immediately, according to a new studyOnly 23% of […]
Co-ordinating E-Learning with IT Development
Which comes first the training or the new IT system? Adval Creative Director Richard Bunning argues both. Here he demonstrates how to overcome the hurdles of developing a training package for a new IT system while that system is still in development. Companies planning to introduce or upgrade their IT systems face a challenge: how […]
From the Chalkboard to the Chatboard
Jacqui Harper of Crystal Business Training charts the way training has moved on from the days when trainers talked and learners listened. There was a time when training was all chalk and talk. Thankfully the formal traditional ways are probably best for the classroom, where the techniques are right for developing the minds of young […]
Balanced Approach to Leadership
Leadership consultant Simon Batty of Maple Associates explains how values, effectiveness and influence are the three dimensions of successful management. There are three dimensions to effective leadership – values, effectiveness and influence. Effective leadership is about developing ability in each of the three dimensions and then applying these skills and abilities in a balanced, three-dimensional […]
Learning Technologies: Trainers Must Talk “Human Capital”
Training professionals must talk in terms of human capital not human resources Professor Andrew Mayo told delegates at the Learning Technologies Conference.Prof Mayo said: “HR departments use terms like human resources and headcount, it is up to us as professionals to fight this idea that people are costs walking around.”He said that terms such as […]
Management Training Must Think Global
In a business environment that is increasingly global, David Head, Professor of International Business Communication at the University of Plymouth Business School, argues that management training in the UK must look beyond the shores of this small island. Just over a decade after completion of the European Single Market and with the business context firmly […]
Bitesize No. 2 – Putting a £ Value on Training
It is amazing how much training takes place and how much money is spent without any effort being made to put a real value on what such training is worth. This is a pity because training can make a significant difference and generate very considerable pound signs. Also, if managers do not really consider the […]
Bitesize Business Partners: Introduction
Business partners, with training expertise, are a new but rapidly growing breed of professional. They are in great demand and can command a premium when it comes to salary package because they can demonstrate the value they add. But what distinguishes a trainer working as a business partner from traditional trainers or management development specialists? […]
Managers Need to Understand Finance
In the business world post Enron, finance trainer John Kind of John Kind Learning argues that managers need to get to grips with the accounting basics. Accounting and finance remain the ‘ugly ducklings’ of management subjects because they have a reputation for dullness and complexity, which many accountants fail to dispel in discussions and meetings […]
Leaders – Born or Bred?
Terry Russell, partner of Intouch Management Consulting LLP argues that with enough will, training and practice anyone can become a leader. So much has been written about leadership in businesses. Some theories suggest that a leader stands alone like a superman or superwoman and creates their own heroic visions. Other theories believe in distributive leadership, […]
Staff resolve to change jobs
Around 13% of workers are planning to change jobs in the New Year, citing the fact that they feel trapped in their current position.The People in Work Monitor survey by Pitman Training showed that nearly half of respondents – 47% – said they felt trapped in their current role. Pitman said this showed a need […]
Accelerated learning – the next big thing for 2004?
Accelerated learning is not new, but Robert Chapman of The Training Camp argues that its time has come. Accelerated learning is anti-method, and anti-technique and therefore challenges the ‘one size fits all’ approach of conventional learning. The modern notion of accelerated learning has been formed by a number of 20th century influences, notably Bulgarian psychiatrist […]
