TrainingZONE LearningWire #104 - Mandelson 'too old to learn', battle over New Deal figures, extra pay or training?

TrainingZone

TrainingZONE LearningWire #104 – Mandelson ‘too old to learn’, battle over New Deal figures, extra pay or training?

By TrainingZone

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TrainingZONE LearningWIRE - Issue 104
5 June 2000
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk
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LATEST HEADLINES ***** LATEST HEADLINES ***** LATEST HEADLINES

1. Secretary of State is too old to learn
2. Extra pay or training? the jury is out!
3. New Deal covers costs, but its success is in doubt
4. Investing in on-line learning: benefits and limitations
5. Get your name in print!

***** LATEST HEADLINES ***** LATEST HEADLINES ***** LATEST

Latest News
===========
Send us news for inclusion at
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/news

Secretary of State is too old to learn
--------------------------------------
Stop press! As this wire is being put together, TrainingZone
member Hazel Edmunds (who obviously has her ear to the ground!)
reports that Peter Mandelson has managed to strike a blow against
the idea that learning is for life. At the official opening of St
Patrick's High School, Keady, County Armagh on 31 May, the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said: ... "the pupils of
St Patricks. This school was built for you. I know it doesn't
always seem this way, but the school wasn't built for your
teachers or your parents or your politicians - we're much too old
to learn anything".
No doubt the DfEE will be delighted to hear that!
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18501&d=1

Extra pay or training? the jury is out!
-------------------------------------------------------------
It just goes to show that there are lies, damn lies and
statistics...................
Several weeks ago, TrainingZone reported that 60 percent of Scots
would be willing to accept a lower salary if they were given
greater training opportunities. It now transpires in a survey by
IT company AOL that 39 percent of employees would move jobs for a
pay rise, however slight - presumably the other 61 percent are
holding out for improved training.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18245&d=1

New Deal covers costs, but its success is in doubt
--------------------------------------------------
According to research commissioned by the government, the New
Deal scheme for young people aged 18-24 is close to paying for
itself. Although the actual figures to support this were not
released, Employment Minister Tessa Jowell said that the
statistics show the government has reduced the number of young
people out of work for six months or more from 170,000 to just
over 50,000 in the first two years of the New Deal scheme.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18004&d=1

However, it seems the figures which are being used to support the
success of the New Deal are in question. This week, the
conservatives launched an attack on the New Deal for Lone
Parents, expressing their intention to scrap the scheme
altogether yesterday after publishing figures which they say show
the scheme would take 26 years to find jobs for the 410,000
single mothers.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18357&d=1

Plan to succeed or suffer the consequences
------------------------------------------
A study by USA-based HR consultancy DDI, which specialises in
management development has found that given the chance, only 62
percent of organisations would re-appoint their current managers.
If this is the case, it suggests that companies will be looking
for a successor with different skills and competencies, but the
report from the DDI suggests that it's unlikely they have
considered this. The survey of 260 companies found that only half
of them have formal plans in place for managing succession,
despite the fact that if an organisation's chief executive leaves
and is not immediately replaced, it can have big repercussions
for the company.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18264&d=1

Tesco training scheme helps long-term unemployed
------------------------------------------------
Unemployed people living near a soon-to-be-opened Tesco store in
Leeds are being offered the chance of a job there on the
condition that they undertake 16 weeks of intensive classroom-
based training. The scheme is part of the Seacroft Partnership,
a regeneration project aimed at tackling the high rate of
unemployment in Seacroft, East Leeds, one of the most deprived
areas in western Europe.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18291&d=1

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Capita to administer ILAs
-------------------------
The DfEE has chosen professional and educational services
provider the Capita Group as the their preferred partner for
administering the Individual Learning Accounts scheme.
Capita expect to handle over 10 million enquiries about the
accounts in the first year, either through their call centres or
through web-based interactive services.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18279&d=1

Call for consolidation in training and education programmes
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Federation of Small Businesses is calling for a radical
overall of the present range of government-funded education and
training programmes. The Federation claims that the current
situation is confusing, overlapping and virtually impossible to
navigate. Throughout the UK there are more than 70 education and
training programmes initiated by government or government
agencies; a total of 23 agencies have a funding remit for these
programmes.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18418&d=1

6 out of 10 work in poor learning climate
-----------------------------------------
Initial findings from the Campaign for Learning's Learning
Climate Quiz show that 60 percent of respondents work in a poor
learning climate. The findings from the survey, which has been
available on the website for the past month and has already had
400 responses, were released this week to coincide with Learning
at Work Day.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18069&d=1

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TrainingZONE workshop - Tuesday 6 June: Continuous Improvement
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce McKenzie looks at ways for the organisation and the
individual to develop good quality practices in the workplace and
ensure that the quality of workplace effectiveness continues to
improve. Why not use the workshop to raise issues about Investors
in People, quality circles, workplace auditing and monitoring
techniques, the role of training in improvement and a range of
related topics. TrainingZONE online workshops are entirely
free. Join in from 13:00 - 13:45 BST each Tuesday by going to
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/workshop

NEW OPPORTUNITIES---NEW OPPPORTUNITIES----NEW OPPORTUNUNITIES
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for customer in Liverpool. Based Liverpool, salary negotiable.
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The CareerZone at TrainingZONE is building steadily into a top
quality directory of high calibre training and HRD vacancies.
Check CareerZone out at:
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Get your name in print!
-----------------------
A TrainingZONE member writes: Have you always wanted your ideas
in print for the world to see?
I am an author of 3 successful books and my publisher has asked
me to write a book on top tips for trainers. She is keen that it
draws on the experience of successful trainers around the world.
If you would like to be included please email me (no attachments
please) and I will email you further details.
mailto:[email protected]

European money funds CDROMs for Glasgow
---------------------------------------
European Social Fund Objective 4 money is funding a project run
by Greater Easterhouse Development Company, Glasgow, to provide
9,000 hours of free training on CDROMs, as part of a six-month
project to build the skills and expertise of local individuals
and businesses.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18204&d=1

Whatever happened to Instructional Design?
------------------------------------------
At a recent conference, the UK's foremost organisation of
professionals involved in e-Learning, The eLearning Network,
investigated the future of Instructional Design in a world that
has become increasingly focussed on the messenger rather than the
message. Judith Christian-Carter, Director of Effective Learning
Solutions, investigated whether Instructional Design was dead or
merely dying.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18426&d=1

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A quarter of all NVQs on offer ignored, says QCA
------------------------------------------------
Question: What do agriculture (hatchery production), funeral
services, controlling aircraft operations and iron-making have in
common? Answer: They are all NVQ qualifications which have yet to
be awarded to a single student. Statistics published in the
Annual NVQ Statistics Supplement 2000 by the Qualifications and
Curriculum Authority show that nearly 250 of the 870 National
Vocational Qualifications available have never been finished.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18403&d=1

Investing in online learning: benefits and limitations
-------------------------------------------------------
Why are institutions across the world investing so much in
online learning? Is the investment justified? This paper
attempts to answer these questions by examining preliminary
findings from a cost-benefit research project conducted at the
University of British Columbia (UBC) and federally funded by the
Canadian TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE-
Telelearning).
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=18443

Any Answers?
============
If there's something you need to know, why not take advantage of
the combined knowledge of 15,000 TrainingZONE subscribers?

* Question of the Week *:
How do you measure an organisation's culture?
---------------------------------------------
There is a huge amount of theory espoused but does anyone know of
some real PRACTICAL tools/questionnaires that will help me get at
an organisations culture. By culture I am talking about the
underlying assumptions, beliefs, perceptions etc that drive a
company. I am particularly looking for questionnaires but
recommended books and URL links would also be of help

Thanks in anticipation
Stuart Dyson (MSc student)

A selection of other questions:
- New ice-breaker/energiser ideas wanted
- Help in devising TNAs
- Advice on moving into training and development

To respond to the questioner, visit
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/anyanswersand reply using the
Comments facility.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PRIZES FOR PROFILES - TELL US MORE ABOUT YOURSELF
After our recent overhaul, which gives you the ability to choose
what you want from a menu of our services, TrainingZONE is
offering prizes for members who use the new Profile facility.
Members updating their details on the site will be entered into a
prize draw that includes a pair of plane tickets to New York,
new Compaq Palmtop/PDAs, shirts from Thomas Pink and free copies
of Harden's Restaurant Guides. Get profiling now!
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/profile
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenders
=======
The tenders for work have been tumbling in this week. Here
is a taster of what's on offer:

- Fairlawn initiative would like to hear from professionals who
have expertise in or a belief they can deliver in negotiating,
telephone sales, leadership and problem solving.
- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is
looking for a consultant to join a small in-house team to design
and develop a distance learning programme to train staff in all
aspects of its refugee operations.

Read more about these and other opportunities at
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/tenders/

WebWatch
========
The weekly webwatch has turned up these gems - we've kept an eye
on the internet for you at at
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/webwatch

600 free on-line courses available from freeEdu.com
----------------------------------------------------
www.freEdu.com is an Internet-based learning company whose goal
is to offer free on-line education to the general public. Through
free access to hundreds of on-line courses FreeEdu.com are aiming
to establish the Nets most extensive e-education environment',
albeit by exposing would-be students to a fair amount of
advertising!
http://www.freedu.com

DfEE's Skills Unit database goes live
-------------------------------------
The Skills Unit database, Skillsbase, has been set up by the
Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) to improve the
availability of labour market information. Skillsbase is one of
a number of other sites falling under the umbrella of the DfEE's
overarching Website - access to all will be available from 14
June on the DfEE's site
http://www.skillsbase.dfee.gov.uk/

Worst website of the week!
--------------------------
The Training Standard's Council's website gets our vote for the
most boring training-related website in the world - let us know
if you've seen worse!
http://www.tsc.gov.uk/news/newsframe0.htm

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