TUC helps migrant workers
Thousands of Portuguese migrant workers are being encouraged to come to the UK to fill vacancies in agriculture, cleaning and the hospitality industry, but language problems and a lack of understanding of UK employment law is giving unscrupulous employers a licence to exploit, the TUC warned today. The TUC is concerned that if the same […]
Government must expand access to higher education – Hodge
Education and Skills Minister, Margaret Hodge, yesterday reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to widening participation in higher education and announced an expansion of the Summer Schools programme to help more students get to university.Speaking at the Universities UK Annual Conference in London, Mrs Hodge said:“This year, over 5,500 young people will get a taste of university […]
ODL QC grants Applicant Status to the International Centre for Montessori Education and re-accredits Tiller School
The Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (ODL QC), the official body for standards in distance learning, has granted Applicant Status to the International Centre for Montessori Education. Applicant Status is a way to help providers who are beginning to develop more flexible methods of delivery. Applicants work with ODL QC to achieve the standards […]
How to: Contribute articles to HR Zone and TrainingZONE
HR Zone and TrainingZONE frequently publish articles of wide interest to an HR and Training audience, and we welcome submissions from all members of those communities. The following notes are intended for guidance to people and organisations wishing to submit articles for possible publication.General GuidelinesAll submitted articles are free to be edited by editorial staff […]
Who’s responsible in the DfES?
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) yesterday set out details of the responsibilities of its new Ministerial team.Education and Skills Secretary, Estelle Morris has overall responsibility for the Department and its policies and strategy. In particular Ms Morris will have responsibility for finance and public expenditure matters, including local authority finance, economic issues and […]
What would you have put in the Queen’s speech?
So amid fine pomp and circumstance Parliament is open for business once more. Her Majesty the Queen has outlined what business her government hopes to deal with during the next session – for detail see Queen’s speech gives education a priority.But has Her Majesty and her government got it right? What legislation would you like […]
Queen’s speech gives education a priority
The Queen’s speech today gave proposals for 20 new Bills and four draft Bills when it was delivered in Parliament today.Overhauling the secondary school system would appear to be the Prime Ministers top priority, with intentions to create more city academies, and legislation permitting the private sector, voluntary groups and religious organisations to run their […]
EEF: Engineering pay settlements fall
Engineering pay settlements have fallen sharply, to the lowest level for nearly 12 months, according to the latest figures from the EEF (Engineering Employers' Federation). This reduction is believed to reflect the deteriorating trading conditions that much of manufacturing is now facing. The average settlement for the 3 months to May 2001 was 2.6%, compared […]
As skills shortages worsen, job security increases
Company bosses believe employees feel more secure at work for the first time in four years but skill shortages have become dramatically worse. These are the main findings of a survey of employment trends by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and William M Mercer, the human resources and employee benefits consultant. Twenty seven per […]
Enterprise for all – the Chancellor’s speech
New measures to tackle the productivity gap with Britain’s major competitors were set out yesterday by Chancellor Gordon Brown, Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, and Education and Skills Secretary Estelle Morris:reform of the UK’s competition regime;a Capital Gains Tax regime that is overall more favorable to enterprise than that of the USA;modernisation of insolvency […]
Coping with disaster – Are you a master?
Hillsborough, Zeebrugge, Hatfield, Lockerbie, Selby, Dunblane… the litany of disasters which have scarred the United Kingdom in recent years seems to get longer and longer.With Lord Cullen’s public enquiry report into the Paddington Rail Crash due to be published by the Health and Safety Executive today, and Home Office minister Keith Bradley saying that they […]
New research tools access for the education (and training) community
CHEST and ISI ResearchSoft announced an agreement to offer site-wide licences to Higher Education Sites, Further Education Sites, Research Councils and selected Associated Sites in the United Kingdom (UK) for EndNote®, ProCite® and Reference Manager®, bibliographic software tools for researchers, students and librarians. The software is also likely to be of interest to members of […]
New LSC website and Bitesize Learning
The LSC has had its website at www.lsc.gov.uk re-designed and the revamp has been used to add a number of new information features.Several weeks after the Bite Sized Learning launch, the LSC has now provided basic information about this initiative. These are available:For learners: www.learndirect.co.uk/bitesize/For employers www.lsc.gov.uk/bitesizecourses/employers.htmlFor course providers: www.lsc.gov.uk/bitesizecourses/organisers.htmlAlthough the information for course providers […]
Unhappy workers lead to high staff turnover – what a surprise!
Website This is London reports on a Hays Management Consultancy report that says that a third of employees plan to resign within the next two years, although low pay is not the main reason.The report apparently results from a survey of over 1 million workers in 330 companies across 50 countries.The main reason for wanting […]
Machines take control of Humans, say UNISON
“Call monitoring systems have increased pressure on call centre staff making them feel less like human beings and more like an extension of technology” is the main finding of a new UNISON report.The stresses facing staff in call centres is examined in the report ‘Holding the Line’ which highlights the dramatic increase in the use […]
Nice recruitment site, shame about the CVs!
This week’s guest column from FTdynamo suggests that whilst online recruitment is set to grow there is room for developing things much furtherRecruiters in the UK like web-based recruitment sites – except for the number of poor CVs posted there.A recent study by US research firm Forrester Research of UK employers with 100 or more […]
National Learning Disability Week
This year, National Learning Disability Week which runs 18-24 June 2001, is all about choice. People with a learning disability are often denied:Choice in the things they want to do and who they want to do them with.Choice in where they live and who they live with.Choice through being involved in decisions which affect their […]
DTI: Ministerial Responsibilities
The Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Minister for Women and Government e-Minister:Overall responsibility for the Department, the Office of Science and Technology, the Export Credit Guarantee Department and the Women’s Unit.Douglas Alexander, Minister of State for e-Commerce and Competitiveness:Responsibility for e-Commerce, the communications and information industries, the Radiocommunications Agency, […]
Congratulations to AccountingWEB!
TrainingZONE and HR Zone offer congratulations and a well deserved “well done” to sister site AccountingWEB for their success in the New Media Awards last night.Read on for details!Last night in London, AccountingWEB won the best business website prize in the 2001 New Media Age Effectiveness Awards . Those of you who remember Ben Heald’s […]
So, How do you motivate people?
The following article is a guest feature from Tony Latimer When the market gets tough, when layoffs abound, when reorganization is a regular event, when business is hard to come by…You need a sharp team to stay committed to your organisation. A team that can think “out of the box” and be creative in finding […]
