Civil service slashed in spending review
Gordon Brown has outlined plans to axe more than 100,000 civil service jobs across the UK. His spending review – which covers the period 2005/06 to 2007/08 – sets the priorities for Labour’s general election manifesto.Spending is up – to £301.9bn next year, £340.5bn the following year and the same again the year after. As […]
Successful Bidders for learndirect Contracts
Ufi has announced the successful bidders for the planning and delivery of learndirect services in England and Wales for nine industry sectors over the next two years.The six organisations responsible for the delivery of learndirect and the nine sectors they will cover are:* ASSA Training and Learning LtdAutomotive components; automotive skills; science and engineering; audio […]
The Future for E-Learning
Steve Dineen, CEO of fuel Group, predicts that mobile technology will revolutionise the way we are e-learning.Although mobile technology may have dramatically transformed in a remarkably short time the way we communicate and live, I think it has had comparatively little significant impact on the way we learn.But that is all about to change. The […]
Business Partners and Control Groups
One subject that often comes up under the heading of ‘evaluation’ is the use of control groups. What is a control group? Well, if you were training 10 teams of salespeople you could choose not to train (or provide less training for) one of the teams. This team would be the control group. You would […]
Government Report Says UK is Closing Skills Gap
Britain is closing the skills gap with its major competitors, according to a government report.Analysis of changes in skills levels in the UK, USA, France, Germany and Singapore between 1994 and 2003, shows that of all these countries the UK had the highest growth rate for qualifications at level 2 (equivalent to 5 GSCEs grades […]
Work-Related Stress
Emma Burrows, employment law specialist at Trowers & Hamlins Solicitors, takes a look at recent research undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive regarding work related stress. According to recent research undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive, up to five million people in the UK feel “very” or “extremely” stressed by their work, with […]
Age diversity – How prepared is your organisation?
Research carried out by The Equal Opportunities Review has revealed that almost half of employers do not have an age diversity/age discrimination policy despite impending changes in legislation. All changes in legislation must be implemented by December 2006 and in order to comply with the measures, employers will have to review all of their employment […]
HR Tip – Breach of notice period
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Q: An employee has just left us. His contract requires him to give us one month’s notice, but he insisted on leaving after only one week because his next employer was not prepared […]
UK’s most prestigious business accolade: The Queen’s Awards
The UK’s most prestigious business accolade is now available:The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2005.Digby Jones, Director General of the CBI, says all successful businesses, regardless of size or sector, should consider applying for an Award:“The Queen’s Awards play a vital role in championing exceptional achievements and advances in all areas of British business. I believe […]
Leadership and branding
Karen Drury from fe3 consulting looks at how senior managers can either be a significant asset to the company brand image – or a liability. Recent newspaper articles on the woes of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia have graphically illustrated the risks of linking the brand with one person – particularly when the carefully-crafted image is […]
DTI to give masterclasses in efficient working
No, it’s not April Fool’s Day in July.The DTI has announced a series of free masterclasses to help companies learn how to overcome inefficient working time practices. The nine masterclasses, to take place throughout the country, will give companies the chance to learn how other organisations have benefited from innovative working time solutions.The specific issues […]
IIP Champions Show Benefits of Staff Development
Sixteen UK companies are to become role models showing organisations how to get business benefits through training and development.The 16 are the first IIP Champions, selected for the way they have boosted the performance of their companies through the way they manage and develop their employees. The Champions will now work with IIP to demonstrate […]
Accountants are they workaholics?
A recent survey has revealed that the number of sick days taken by staff has risen – but accountants are bucking the trend, according to an online survey by accountancy recruitment specialists Nicholas Andrews and Temps Financial. UK workers took 176m sick days last year costing £11.6bn. However estimates of those taken as a result […]
SMEs Face Skills Gap
Two-fifths small and medium businesses have difficulty recruiting the right skills from their local market and find the skills gap a severe business threat, according to a survey of over 300 SME HR managers.The study by Inter-Tel found that workforce availability was exacerbated by poor transport links (23%) proximity of the work force and a […]
Secondhand smoking: HR managers support ban
A survey of HR professionals demonstrated strong support for the British Medical Association’s call for a workplace smoking ban.With Baroness Finlay’s private member bill proposing a smoking ban in public places going forward to the House of Commons, doctors this week delivered 4,500 letters to the Prime Minister calling for a ban.According to the BMA, […]
What do Employees Really Think About E-Learning?
Kevin Young, managing director of e-learning provider, SkillSoft, reports on the findings of a major international survey into employees’ perspectives of e-learning. Between July 2003 and January 2004 SkillSoft interviewed employees in 14 countries across EMEA. Sixteen organisations using e-learning as a critical component of their training delivery agreed to contribute. The skills and knowledge […]
Employers crack down on email abuse
Nearly one-third of UK organisations have dismissed staff for excessive or inappropriate use of email or the internet, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.The survey of 356 employers established that e-mail abuse is a far bigger problem than internet misuse. It found that 60% of organisations reported problems with […]
EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE –START BY RECRUITING THE RIGHT STAFF
A BP CASE STUDY The ChallengeIt was 1990 and BP and the Australian Commonwealth Employment service (CES) had a problem. They were jointly running a scheme to provide long term unemployed teenagers with jobs as forecourt attendants. The government were providing customer service training followed by 3 months subsidised salary, whilst BP were providing full […]
Opinion: ‘HR needs to start thinking like a recruitment consultant’
“HR needs to start thinking like a recruitment consultant.” These are the words from Bill Shipton, Chairman of the Association of Online Recruiters and Commercial Director for Workthing. Now is the time to start aiming for e-recruitment Nirvana – cost-effective and targeted recruitment coupled with retention.Almost half of employers (CIPD Spring 2004 Quarterly HR Trends […]
Work sampling for selection
Work sample tests are now recognised as one of the most effective predictors of future job performance, according to an IRS report released today. Work sample tests replicate the work tools and environment associated with the vacancy, to assess the level of the candidate’s existing skills and knowledge. This involves looking at a sample of […]
