Cable announces funding for on-job training

Business Secretary Vince Cable has unveiled plans to increase annual funding for on-the-job training by £222 million to hit £1.4 billion this year in a bid to create 100,000 new places.   To mark the start of National Apprenticeship Week, Cable has also urged employers to follow the lead of firms such as British Airways, […]

Windpower breathes hope into ‘jobless recovery’

Despite warnings that the UK risks a US-style ‘jobless recovery’, one bright spot on the horizon is the wind energy sector, which has seen a 91% leap in employment over the last three years.  A report commissioned by industry association RenewableUK and EU Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the power sector, revealed that the […]

HR development not prioritised in budgets

Although three quarters of UK managers see staff development as a key priority over the year ahead in order to generate organisational growth and competitive advantage, HR personnel are not being included in the mix.  According to a survey of 2,500 HR and non-HR senior managers from private and public sector organisations employing more than […]

Negative figures raise fears of double dip recession

“Astonishingly poor” economic growth figures for the fourth quarter of 2010 have led to fears of further jumps in unemployment, particularly in the crucial services sector, over the year ahead.  According to initial figures from the Office of National Statistics, December’s snowy weather conditions were partly to blame for an unexpected 0.5% contraction in the […]

Work experience for young NEETs ‘blighting’ Britain

Employment Minister Chris Grayling will unveil a programme aimed at extending work experience opportunities for young people today in a bid to tackle the “blight” of youth unemployment.   With unemployment rates among the under 25s now standing at around 20%, the Minister will reveal plans to extend the length of time that young unemployed […]

Training a priority in budgets, say managers

A huge 83% of UK managers expect their training budgets to either remain static or increase over the year ahead, with two thirds saying that they have been unaffected by the difficult economic conditions.  Moreover, according to a survey among 96 business decision-makers undertaken by e-learning provider SkillSoft, a massive 95% said that they now […]

Union blasts ‘outrageous’ county council cost-cutting plan

Proposals by Dorset County Council to make thousands of workers take 12 days’ unpaid leave per year as part of plans to save £55 million by 2013/14 have been branded “outrageous” by the union.  The unpaid leave, which would be implemented among the local authority’s 6,500 staff in calendar years 2012 and 2013 on top […]

Job Centre Plus call centre on strike

Thousands of call centre workers at Jobcentre Plus are starting a 48-hour strike today in a dispute over “oppressive” working conditions and claims of “excessive monitoring”.  Some 3,500 members of the Public and Commercial Services union at seven of the newest Jobcentre Plus call centres in Newport, Glasgow, Bristol, Norwich, Sheffield, Makerfield near Wigan and […]

Youth unemployment hits new high – and set to worsen

As official figures revealed that the number of people out of work had risen to 2.5 million, experts warned that youth and female unemployment was only set to worsen over the months ahead.  According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, unemployment rose by 49,000 in the three months to November, putting […]

Work Programme targets are “over-ambitious”

The Association of Learning Providers has called on the government to rethink the way it structures its Work Programme-related contracts, warning that the current system could put small firms out of business.     The move comes only a week after a Select Committee inquiry heard evidence that the targets set for providers to help […]

Parental leave shake-up “ignores needs of business”

Coalition government proposals to overhaul the current parental leave system have been slammed by employers’ groups as an example of "rushed thinking" that "fundamentally ignores" the needs of business.     Speaking yesterday at the launch of a report on parenting by thinktank Demos, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed that measures formulated by the […]

Healthcare unions hit out at two year pay freeze proposals

Health service unions have rejected “divisive” proposals to introduce a two-year freeze on increments for all staff in England from April in return for an “extremely limited” guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.  The British Medical Association joined The Royal College of Nursing and Unison in throwing out suggestions made by the NHS Employers body that […]

Recruitment levels remain tough as employers exercise caution

Although private sector recruitment slowed only slightly in December, the next few months are likely to be “very tough” employment-wise as employers remain cautious while they wait to see the impact of the coalition government’s austerity measures.  According to a study undertaken by management consultancy KPMG on behalf of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the […]

Employment law leniency won’t help employment stability, says CIPD

Coalition government plans to make it easier for employers to sack staff in their first two years of employment without facing unfair dismissal claims will do little to create hoped-for jobs but may destabilise the labour market, an HR body has warned.  Under Prime Minister David Cameron’s new so-called ‘employers’ charter’, workers will also have […]

Economic recovery concerns for 2011

Much worse than expected labour market figures have reinforced fears that economic recovery could falter in 2011, experts have warned.  According to the Office of National Statistics, unemployment rose by 35,000 to 2.5 million in the three months to October – the period before Chancellor George Osborne announced details of his spending cuts and VAT […]

It’s snow joke for employers and the economy

This week’s snow has seen staff absence levels leap four-fold rise compared to last year, with the cost to the economy expected to hit as much as £1.2 billion per day in lost business.  According to FirstCare, which provides absence management services, employers in Scotland and the North of England have been most affected as […]

Treasury probe into CSR fairness impact

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is to carry out a formal probe into whether the Treasury met its legal obligations to consider the impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review on racial minorities, women and the disabled.  The move follows the filing of papers with the High Court in August by the Fawcett Society, a […]

Uncertainty despite private sector coming up with jobs

Although private sector job creation will offset public sector job cuts in the last quarter of this year, widespread uncertainty as to the future means that employers remain cautious about prospects for the year ahead.  According to the Labour Market Outlook survey undertaken by researchers Ipsos-Mori, some two out of five public sector bodies currently […]

Unemployed: take work or lose benefits

Under a new ‘three strikes and you’re out’ rule due to be announced later today, unemployed people who refuse to take up offers of work will lose their unemployment benefits for three years.  The sliding-scale penalty will be triggered automatically on the third occasion that claimants on Jobseekers Allowance turn down a job offer, fail […]

Ministers defend ‘work activity’ scheme

Ministers have been forced to defend plans to compel the long-term unemployed to undertake manual work or lose benefits after the Archbishop of Canterbury branded the proposals unfair.  In a surprise intervention, Rowan Williams, the head of the Church of England, said he had “a lot of worries” about the coalition government Work Activity scheme, […]