Workplace training missing staff most in need
An urgent overhaul of training is needed to address the serious skills gaps crippling many parts of the economy, warns a TUC report. 'Training, who gets it?', reveals that a third of businesses do not offer any training to their staff and almost two fifths (39 per cent) of the workforce received...
European Social Fund boosts employment and skills
More than two million people in the UK seeking to improve their skills and job prospects have been helped by the European Social Fund (ESF), says Work and Pensions Minister James Plaskitt. The Minister told the ESF Conference, held as part of the UK Presidency of the EU, that the fund had...
Tourism skills gap
Tourism leaders have pledged to ensure the UK tourism industry has the skilled workforce needed to maintain its place at the heart of the country's economy. Tourism Minister, James Purnell, has held discussions with representatives from the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries...
Will and skill essential to implementation of flexible working
Line managers need the 'will' and the 'skill' to effectively implement successful flexible working practices Line managers' attitudes are key to effective flexible working and managers must bring policies to life if organisations are to reap the benefits, according to the Chartered Institute of...
e-learning must link to business needs
Recent research, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), indicates that over half of organisations (54%) use e-learning. It is used to deliver up to 10% of current training by time - and this is set to more than double. At this present time employers are concentrating...
2012 Olympic Games can champion learning
Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has outlined new measures to use the 2012 Olympic Games as an opportunity to enthuse youngsters about learning and help unearth potential sporting champions of the future. She said that use of the Olympic Games as part of teaching the national curriculum in core...
Need to develop the ability to change
Inevitability of regular major structural reorganisation in UK organisations means all organisations need to focus on building adaptive capacity One in three major reorganisations fail to achieve the efficiency or effectiveness objectives that lie behind them, 40% are not completed on budget,...
Organisations must change before managers can
Organisations must make changes to their culture if managers are to fulfil the coaching role now expected of them The majority of employers (99%) believe coaching can deliver tangible benefits to both individuals and organisations and 88% now expect their line managers to deliver coaching as...
Psychology of Management
Research indicates that organisations undergo major change approximately once every three years, whilst smaller changes occur almost continually. Yet over 40% of reorganisations fail to meet their objectives. In response to this kind of management challenge, the Chartered Institute of Personnel...
Continuing education popular with HR professionals
Industry experts have been expecting booms in adult and distance education due to growing interest in online degree programs. This seems especially evident in the Human Resources field, where fifty percent of the professionals surveyed by EducationforAdults.com said they planned on returning to...
Skills for Europe
Education and Skills Secretary Ruth Kelly has called on her fellow EU education ministers to join her in the challenge to increase investment in skills for the 21st Century. She told an Informal meeting of Education Ministers being held in London that it is time for them to take centre stage in...
Learning at work on the increase
Trade unions are transforming the lives of tens of thousands of workers in England, according to new figures released by the Trades Union Congress (TUC)at the union learning fund (ULF) conference. The number of people who accessed training at work via the union route in the last 12 months has...
The Olympic skills challenge
With London hosting the 2012 Olympics there is probably no part of our economy or region that will not be affected, says Ruth Kelly. In greatest demand will be higher level technical skills. There will be new opportunities and skills needed in transport, hospitality, logistics, cultural and...
New EU Immigrants are solution to skills shortage
Home Office figures and the Department of Work and Pensions study of people from new EU Member States coming to work in the UK is supported by evidence from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) that EU migrants are benefiting employers and the economy. CIPD research shows...
Recovery will highlight skills gap
The latest Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI) shows that a growing economy is a double edged sword, because as times improve, the number of skilled people required to maintain the growth also grows, and they simply are not available. One out of every two employers is expecting difficulties...
Talent Management starts at the top
Researchers from Conference Board have identified that talent management programmes that are initiated at the top of an organisation are more likely to be successful than when driven from elsewhere in the business. “While the talent mindset must be present throughout an organization, it...
Leadership development still a priority for HR
HR and training professionals continue to address the problem of how to develop new leaders, according to a new survey conducted by the Ken Blanchard Companies. Developing potential leaders was the top priority for 58 percent of the HR and training professionals who responded to the survey for...
Leadership development should be a top priority
A new survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) has identified a huge shortage of effective leaders and suggests that leadership development is now a priority for many UK organisations. Eighty-five percent of the 664 training managers surveyed have made leadership...
Workplace racism in training
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) claim that racism in Britain's workplaces is damaging the career prospects of many black workers because at every level of working life they get less training opportunities, despite often being better qualified than their white counterparts. A new TUC report...
Workers prefer on the job training
A new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) says that 78 percent of workers are receiving training at work and that their performance is improving as a result of it. But the report also found that upto 16 percent of workers regularly turn down the opportunity to...
On the job training is better
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) have found that workers can improve their job performance more effectively by utilising on-the-job training resources than by participating in traditional classroom training courses or acquiring qualifications The research which was...
Basic skills training should be a priority
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have launched a report that explores ways in which organisations can help solve current recruitment difficulties by getting the best out of their existing staff. The report recommends that employers need to look more seriously at the...
Skilled jobs more difficult to fill
The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) have compared two surveys of 6,000 businesses conducted ten years apart, and found that there has been a fifty percent increase in the number of companies who admit to difficulties in finding skilled workers. David Frost, Director General of the BCC, told a...
Training schemes should meet needs of employers
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have responded to the Conservative parties proposals for tackling the skills shortages facing the UK economy. Victoria Gill, CIPD adviser on learning, training and development, said that the priority for government was to ensure that...
Vocational training to get more prominence
Education Secretary Charles Clarke has congratulated colleges and uiversities for making 'strides' since 1997, inlcuding a big increase in apprenticeships and adults gaining early stage qualifications. The Further Education sector, he said, is the engine that drives forward much of our...
Value of management training proven
A survey of 1,000 managers from the Chartered Management Institute that took eight years to complete has provided new evidence of the impact having trained managers can have on a company's bottom line. The report Management Development Works: shows how attitudes towards managers and management...
IT training levels
A survey of 183 UK organisations conducted by the British Computer Society has shown that more than 80 percent of employers in the UK agree that it’s important to develop the professional skills of their IT teams. Although 40 percent of employers considered it was important to provide an...
Skills shortage pressurises pay
The skills shortages that have been predicted for some time are expected to worsen in 2005, putting according to research conducted from Lloyds TSB pressure on pay. One positive side effect of the skills shortage is that workers are feeling more secure in their jobs The survey of 2,000 people...
More support for day release and evening class students
Dr Kim Howells, Minister for Higher Education, has announced increased financial support for part-time students in Higher Education from September 2005. For the first time, the amount of financial help that part-time students may get towards their fees will be linked to the intensity of study so...
LSC guide for Training & Development
A new guide has been created by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to help employers invest in the skills they need for their business. According to the LSC only half of all employees benefit from the £4.5 billion that is invested in training each year by employers. The guide, was...