HRZone Interview: Jason Holt on apprenticeships
Most UK businesses are missing a fantastic growth opportunity by failing to offer apprenticeships, believes jeweller and entrepreneur Jason Holt, who has just completed a government report on how to make such schemes more manageable for small-to-medium enterprises. Holt took over the family jewellery business in 1999 and subsequently set up Holt’s Academy of Jewellery […]
News: Youth Contract alone not up to tackling unemployment, warn MPs
The government’s flagship scheme to cut youth unemployment will simply not be enough to tackle the current scale of the problem, according to a group of MPs. Although the Work and Pensions Select Committee said that the £1 billion ‘Youth Contract’ was a good start, measures such as providing subsidised work and training placements […]
News: Top internship and work experience employers revealed
Financial services firms have taken the first three slots in a league table ranking the UK’s best employers for work experience placements and internships, with professional services organisations dominating the top 10 overall. Number one in the survey compiled by RateMyPlacement.co.uk, a student review website, was Barclays Investment Banking arm, which leapt up 13 places […]
News: Holt Review calls for overhaul of SME apprenticeship system
Less than 10% of UK small-to-medium enterprises ever take on apprentices because existing programmes are “misunderstood and inaccessible”, according to a government report. The review into how to make apprenticeships simpler and easier for SMEs to get involved with, which was undertaken by jewellery entrepreneur Jason Holt, found that the entire system needed overhauling. […]
In a Nutshell: Five ways to run a successful apprenticeship programme
The world of higher and further education is changing. Graduate unemployment rates are up and recent reports reveal that applications to English universities are down by 8.8% compared with 2010. As a result, young people are looking for alternative ways to enter into a career and, after opening their A-level results today, more than […]
The HR Headmistress: Is it time to change the way we train HR pros?
There has always been debate about the best way to train entry-level workers in the necessary skills for any given occupation. Historically, there have been three ways of learning a trade. These are: qualification by experience, which is gained over time a mix of experience and study carried out while working intensive study, followed […]
News: Surrey contract bidders asked to offer NEET apprenticeships
Contractors bidding to work for Surrey County Council are being asked to hire apprentices in an effort to combat the high number of young people currently not in education, employment or training. The move comes only weeks after the local authority pledged to create a £3,000 pot to fund apprenticeship places at small-to-medium enterprises for […]
News: Employers to be paid £2,000 to hire young disabled people
Employers will be paid more than £2,000 to take on severely disabled young people following the government’s decision to close two thirds of Remploy factories, leading to UK-wide industrial action today. Under a three-year government scheme entitled ‘Work Choice’, financial incentives of up to £2,275 for each employee working 30 or more hours per week […]
Living Leader Learnings: How can I stop older colleagues putting me down?
The challenge A team manager at a law firm asks: “I am a manager in a family-run firm of lawyers. I joined the company a year ago and my first impression was that everyone was really nice. However, since then, I’ve noticed that lots of comments are made about my age and perceived lack […]
News: Disabled Remploy workers to strike over 2,800 proposed job cuts
Disabled workers are to stage two 24-hour strikes in protest at plans to close 36 of the 54 Remploy factories that employ them, leading to 2,800 job losses. Members of the GMB and Unite unions will walk out on Thursday 19 and 26 July to express their “disgust” at the coalition government’s proposals to axe […]
News: Employers in jobless blackspots to get ‘speeded up’ youth subsidies
Employers in 20 areas of high unemployment across the UK are to be given wage subsidies in order to encourage them to hire 18-to-24 year olds who have been out-of-work for six months. The initiative is part of the government’s £1 billion Youth Contract announced in November in a bid to tackle record levels of […]
English apprenticeships come under entrepreneurial review
Along with today’s accusations about figures being massaged in Scotland, the government has launched a review of apprenticeships in England to ensure the schemes deliver the training and skills employers need. The review is being led by entrepreneur Doug Richard and will seek to define what makes a high-quality apprenticeship after the government concluded that […]
Scottish Government accused of apprentice con
More than 10,000 publicly funded apprenticeships to help unemployed people have been given to people already in work, according to figures released by the Scottish Labour Party. In its election manifesto, the SNP pledged 25,000 apprenticeships to help young Scots struggling to find work. But four out of ten apprenticeships have gone to people […]
Talent Spot: Community blogger, Bob Bannister
Being stuck at airports for hours on end is one of the most energy-sapping and irritating things about traveling. Yet for Bob Bannister, managing director of training provider, iManage Performance, it proved to be fortuitous. He explains: “In the mid-90s, I was working for Philips and doing a lot of sourcing from Eastern Europe, which […]
News: Food employers join campaign to tackle youth unemployment
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer are among 23 organisations in the food and grocery industry to have signed up to a campaign intended to provide pre-employment skills training to unemployed young people. Thinktank IGD has launched a nationwide initiative entitled “Feeding Britain’s Future – Skills for Work Week” and is calling on other employers […]
News: Major UK employers sign up to CIPD youth work experience campaign
Leading employers such as Marks & Spencer, Nestle and Deloitte have signed up to a campaign to provide young people with work experience in order to make them more employable. The aim of the ‘Learning to Work’ initiative, which was launched today by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, is to work with both […]
Video Interview: Bright Purple Academy aims to inspire next generation business talent
I spent last Thursday touring Edinburgh promoting entries from Scottish entrepreneurs for our small business competition The Pitch 2012 with £50,000 worth of business support up for grabs. During the day, I visited several organisations to discover how they are supporting small business owners. The first meeting was at the offices of recruitment company Bright […]
News: Some apprenticeships of “no real benefit” to anyone, rule MPs
Some apprenticeships are so short as to be “of no real benefit” to anyone, while the amount and quality of training provided by others is questionable, a parliamentary committee has warned. The Public Accounts Committee pointed out that, of the schemes that it had evaluated, about 20% lasted for only six months or less – […]
Why local government’s approach to temporary labour may be in trouble
Local government’s attempt to reduce spend on temporary labour is being hit by the Agency Worker Regulations. Our analysis shows that the use of temporary workers across 79 of our longest-term local authorities and public body customers – which collectively spend over £300 million a year on short-term help – has dropped by 15% over […]
News: Big brand retailers urged to employ ex-offenders
The Justice Secretary plans to call on big brand high street retailers later this month to try and encourage them to recruit former prisoners in a bid to cut reoffending rates. The move comes on top of the coalition government’s decision in March to make former prisoners join its Work Programme immediately on their […]
