Glass ceiling blocks skills diversity
England’s local authorities are losing out on senior skills from black and ethnic (BME) communities because of the ‘glass ceiling’, according to new government research.
Almost half of the country’s local authorities do not have a single person from a BME background in a top position, and the situation is worsening.
The report from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Audit Commission shows that 189 local authorities do not have a BME employee in their top five per cent of earners. This figure has risen from 181 in 2003-4.
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London wins bid for skills ‘Olympics’
London has beaten Sweden and Australia to host the 2011 WorldSkills games, billed as an Olympic-type event for showcasing vocational skills.
Around 40 nations will compete in the £22m event. The UK government is providing £11m funding.
Education Secretary Alan Johnson called it “wonderful news” saying it would raise the profile of skills training.
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‘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 fill this gap.
Almost half of the potential ‘returners’ surveyed (46%) felt concerned about a lack of skills required. Twenty-eight per cent of employers shared this worry.
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Doctors Challenge Change to Training for Overseas Medics
More than six in ten doctors are opposed to the government’s plans to stop permit-free training for overseas medics.
According to the British Medical Association (BMA), almost all respondents (92%) said that overseas doctors who had already started training in the UK should be able to complete it without deportation.
Doctors quizzed by BMA News magazine said that “doctors earning an honest living are being discriminated against”.
Radiologist Kwang Chin said these new training rules were grossly unfair: “We are objecting to the swiftness of the sweeping changes brought about with absolutely no warning.
“The government is now showing how it rewards hard work – by kicking you out of the country and effectively finishing off your career.”
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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 KPMG reveals.
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