Latest employment figures
The continued fall in unemployment was welcomed by Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Alistair Darling today. The latest UK Labour Market Statistics show that ILO unemployment has dropped by 134,000 on the year and by 14,000 on the quarter. The claimant count has also fallen to 950,300 – the lowest for over 25 […]
A quarter of the workforce feel insecure in their jobs – but not HR!
In the light of the recent flood of redundancy announcements, particularly in the IT, telecommunications and manufacturing sectors, one quarter of the UK’s workforce (6 million employees) feel insecure in their jobs. These are the findings of an NOP survey commissioned by recruitment company newmonday.The flurry of negative press reports concerning these ailing industries has […]
DfES response to teacher workload study
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) have commented on the initial findings of a major independent study of teacher working practice and workload, commissioned by the Department and being carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). PwC’s findings were presented yesterday afternoon to the group steering the review – which includes representatives from all the teacher […]
Global slowdown hits SMEs
Small and medium-sized manufacturing firms report a further fall in business confidence, with small firms less confident than medium-sized companies, according to a Confederation Of British Industry (CBI) survey published on Monday.Fifteen per cent of small and medium-size firms (SMEs) said they were more optimistic about their general business situation while 43 per cent were […]
Six ways to help line managers support internal communication
Lynn Fraser of The Wayland Partnership is the contributor of the following guest article which follows last week’s article Managers as CommunicatorsOrganisations – senior managers, and Communication and HR departments – need to take positive action to maximise the effectiveness of managers as communicators. Below are six suggested ways of doing this.1. Give managers powerBe […]
Stakeholder pensions: Do you know what to do?
It’s less than two months until 8 October – the deadline by which 400,000 UK employers need to set up workplace stakeholder pensions for their staff.The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) is responsible for enforcing this new requirement. Wishing to reassure employers that it’s not nearly as difficult or time consuming as many bosses fear […]
High-tech prison training scheme launched
Home Secretary, David Blunkett has announced that Her Majesty’s Prison, Leeds, is to be one of six prisons to pilot an innovative, computer based education project.The aim of the project is to drive up standards of prison education, prepare prisoners for work on the outside and break the cycle of reoffending. The Government’s aim is […]
Temporary workers could miss out on equal rights
Temporary workers in the UK could miss out on equal rights to pay and pensions if the Government waters down the implementation of the EU Fixed-Term Contracts Directive, the TUC warned today (Tuesday). Although the Government plans to comply with the 1999 Directive by next July, the TUC is concerned that equal treatment on pay […]
Stockport College judged inadequate
The overall quality of further education provision at one of England’s largest colleges – Stockport College – has been judged inadequate by a team of inspectors from OFSTED and the Adult Learning Inspectorate.According to their joint report published today Stockport College, which has over 12,800 students, six out of the 13 curriculum areas were judged […]
Inflation falls
The underlying rate of inflation fell by 0.2% last month to 2.2%.July’s headline inflation rate, which excludes mortgage interest payments, fell by 0.3% to 1.6%.The figures have been issued by the Office for National Statistics.
Death announced of Jimmy Knapp
Jimmy Knapp, General Secretary of RMT, died at noon today after a year long fight against cancer. Jim was 60 years old.There will be a celebration and requiem mass for Jimmy in London next week, details of which will be available shortly (through the RMT), followed by a private burial in Kilmarnock.Vernon Hince, Senior Assistant […]
Family Business
FTdynamo takes a sideways glance at some well-known companies which are in fact family businesses in this week’s columnThe reorganisation at Ford Motor, which has created an “office of the chairman and CEO”, effectively puts chief executive Jacques Nasser and chairman Bill Ford (great–grandson of founder Henry Ford) into joint harness and will allow Ford […]
Basic skills for adults with learning difficulties or disabilities
A consortium led by Skill, NIACE and the Learning and Skills Development Agency published the Freedom to Learn Report in May 2000. The report contained ten recommendations to address the main barriers faced by adults with learning difficulties or disabilities who want to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. The consortium has now arranged a […]
Ufi and NTOs join forces on workforce development
The National Training Organisation National Council (NTO National Council), which represents the UK’s National Training Organisation (NTO) network, and the University for Industry (Ufi), which is creating the learndirect e-learning network, have agreed an approach to joint working which puts the individual at the heart of workforce development. Ufi and NTO National Council both have […]
Managers as communicators
Lynn Fraser of The Wayland Partnership is the contributor of the following guest article which will be followed on Wednesday with “Six ways to help line managers support internal communication”.Line managers in many organisations hold the key to effective communication with staff. They can build a bridge – or erect an eight-foot brick wall – […]
Employers Handbook: What it should contain
I am grateful once more to colleagues on sister-site BusinessZONE for the use of the contribution from Vicky Williams of Mazars Neville Russell. The article reminds me of that TV advert, you know, the one where the chap with tin of varnish in his hand says, "It does exactly what it says on the tin!" […]
Oops! The National Record of Achievement Team seem a little behind
News has filtered through this week that the National Record of Achievement team has recently launched a new NRA website that will enable users to download templates (complete with logos if required) for inclusion in the National Record of Achievement folders fiorst introduced some eight years ago.So much for the good news! Telephone orders for […]
The real cost of training
The fully inclusive cost of delivering an advanced modern apprenticeship ranges from some £28,100 for a retail apprenticeship to £51,500 for a craft engineering apprenticeship. The news comes from a report produced for the Association of Learning Providers and the Learning and Skills Development Agency by JM Consulting.The report results focus on training provided by […]
Erasing the rubber health risk
At least 100,000 NHS staff at risk from a potentially life-threatening allergy to latex, could be protected if hospitals and ambulances provided an alternative to the potentially deadly rubber glove, the TUC says in a report today (Wednesday).The TUC report, Rubber banned – the case against latex, says that the number of sufferers includes at […]
Rubber Banned – case studies
The following are case studies extracted from the TUC publication Rubber Banned – the case against latex, issued as a part of their campaign against the use of latex where it can develop serious health risks for employees and the general public.Link to the ‘Erasing the rubber health risk’ articleCase 1Jacqueline Kershaw, a practice nurse […]
