“Groundbreaking” national skills audit published

The first year anniversary of the government's strategy to put Britain at the cutting edge of industrial development has been marked by the publication of a “groundbreaking” national skills audit. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) audit of UK skills sets out current trends and what skills will be needed for the economy to grow in the coming years. View More >

Health sector workforce skills need to be utilised more effectively, report finds

Skills for Health, the sector skills council for the UK health sector, says employers must find new ways to utilise the skills of existing staff if they are to deliver greater productivity and higher quality care. Its Sector Skills Assessment 2009/2010 report says that while the sector enjoys a high skills base, employers urgently need to consider how these skills can be utilised more effectively in preparation for a period of further financial restraint. View More >

Millionth worker completes training through Train to Gain

A chemical manufacturer’s worker, Chris Scott, has become the millionth person to gain a qualification through the government’s Train to Gain programme. The process operator at William Blythe Ltd, in Accrington, completed his level 2 NVQ in Business Improvement Techniques earlier this year. View More >

Last week to apply for cash in return for help in NEET survey

Cash incentives are being offered to learning and skills providers who can help in a research project into why a record number of young people and adults are outside of education, employment or training (NEETs). A sample group of the one million NEETs in England will be interviewed as part of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) research in a bid to find out their aspirations and help them back in to training and education. View More >

‘Inpats’ increasingly being used by organisations to bridge skills gaps

One in five personnel development professionals believe immigrant workers bring a higher level of experience to their jobs than UK recruits. The NatWest survey of more than 100 companies also found British businesses are hunting globally for fresh talent in an effort to bridge the domestic skills gap. View More >

New academic centre to boost employees’ performance at work launches this month

City University London is set to launch a new interdisciplinary Centre for Performance at Work, in recognition of the billions of pounds that organisations spend every year to recruit, develop and retain staff. The centre hopes to work with businesses to shape new thinking and develop evidence-based solutions on leadership, performance, well being at work and talent management. View More >

Pioneering Welfare to Work programme praised by learners and politicians

Learners and politicians have praised a new concept in Welfare to Work training launched in the London borough of Croydon this month by charity Careers Development Group (CDG). CDG uses dedicated training rooms with high-tech visual learning aids including smart boards, a bank of internet connected laptops for job searching and access to high quality training provision in an effort to integrate training with employment. View More >

Employers urged to take part in national skills survey

Employers can air their views on the state of the UK’s skills system by taking part in a national survey that closes at the end of this month. The Education and Skills Survey is sponsored in part by business lobbying organisation the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which says it will place the results of the research directly before the government. View More >

UK skills shortage forcing employers to take on migrant workers

Employers are being forced to turn abroad to fill positions with migrant workers due to skills shortages in the UK and a significant number of jobs are now being outsourced, according to figures released this week. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and KPMG Labour Market Outlook survey found around one in five employers recruited migrant workers in the past three months, with public sector employers more likely to hire migrant workers than private sector ones. View More >

Access to vocational training boosted by new online government resource

Employers and learners interested in vocational training are set to benefit from new online resources being introduced by the government. As part of its plans to create a simpler skills system the free government backed business support website, Business Link, now provides information about vocational qualifications. View More >

Failing to train staff in negotiating skills is costing companies millions

Organisations with no negotiating processes in place have suffered large financial losses in recent years compared to companies with well developed capabilities, a study has found. Researchers from behavioural change consultancy Huthwaite International found that companies with no negotiation processes saw their profitability plummet more than 60 per cent between 2007 and 2008. View More >

Leitch skills targets branded “wishful thinking” by CBI

Government skills targets have been branded “wishful thinking” by the head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Richard Lambert (pictured), the director general of the CBI, says that the ambitions set out in the government commissioned Leitch report - that the UK should be in the upper quartile of OECD countries for skills by 2020 - are currently unattainable. View More >

Unions urge employers to play their part in skills investment

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is urging employers to invest more in skills, warning there is a huge unmet demand among workers for access to higher level training. Brendan Barber (pictured), the TUC's general secretary, said he welcomed the government's skills strategy, which emphasises industrial activism, but said that with public finance cuts looming more needed to be done to ensure employers played their part. View More >

Sector Skills Councils found to provide a 20-fold return on investment

Sector Skills Councils can achieve up to 20 times the return on investment in them, researchers have found. A report by business advisors Baker Tilly, which sampled four out of the 25 licensed SSCs, says the findings “show the depth, reach, and significant public benefit from the SSCs’ activities”. View More >

Government highlights value of older workers’ skills

Older people bring skills and experience to the workplace and are an asset to business, the government says. Speaking at a Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) seminar in London on Wednesday, business minister Pat McFadden said older people's spending power could also boost the wider economy. View More >

Young people seeking training and education leads to surprising drop in unemployment figures

A surprising fall in UK unemployment figures has been attributed to increasing numbers of young people turning to training and education to avoid the dole. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) says the latest figure of 2.46m jobless for the three months to November, which is down 7,000 on the figure for the previous three months, is due to swelling numbers of what are considered economically inactive students. View More >

Labour puts fairness at the heart of plans encouraging social mobility

Labour today outlined plans to improve social mobility by encouraging the professions to take on more people from poorer backgrounds. The plans are in response to Unleashing Aspiration, a report from the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions, which made 88 recommendations for the government to do more to ensure that people with ability, creativity and talent can succeed in the professions regardless of their social or economic background. View More >

Grassroots digital inclusion projects set to benefit from government cash boost

Hundreds of grassroot digital inclusion providers can now bid for government cash thanks to a new grant scheme. It is being introduced by UK online centres a government organisation set up a decade ago to provide public access to computers in a bid to reduce social exclusion. View More >

Soon workers will have right to request time for training

From April this year 11m workers in the UK will have the right to request time to train from their employers and this right will be extended to cover employees in all businesses from April next year. Employees will be able to request training on accredited programmes leading to a qualification, or for unaccredited training to help them develop specific skills relevant to their job. View More >

Qualification to improve trainers’ commercial skills introduced

The Learning Practitioners’ Association, which represents individuals engaged in the design, development and delivery of training, has today introduced a new BTEC level 5 professional certificate in Learning Practice Management. The qualification is aimed at satisfying what the organisation says is a growing need for commercially-focused trainers. View More >

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Skills News

• Business heads call on employers to do more for jobless young people
• Improved learner accounts on promising road to return
• NEETs given a chance by top Entry to Employment training company
• L&D skills gap responsible for slow learning technology take up
• UK lacks skills to become top-class innovator
• Calls from banking sector for universal financial training
• CIPD head outlines her vision for institute’s future
• Mandelson takes axe to quangos in radical government skills shake up
• Building a better future for jobless workers
• Bad untrained managers giving workers no choice but to quit
• Government moves to dispel negative public attitude towards maths
• US-style internship scheme launched to help people with learning disabilities
• Action needed to improve quality and relevance of vocational training
• MBAs say they are the right people to lead us out of financial crisis
• Learning accounts set for possible comeback
• Employers urged to recognise migrant and refugee talent
• Mandatory training introduced for long-term unemployed
• FSB hails government pledge to boost graduate internships as “a victory for small businesses”
• Labour’s strategy response to Leitch criticised at Lib Dem conference
• Britain strikes gold at skills Olympics

Latest News

• New award recognises organisations that invest in employee wellbeing
• Employers failing to Integrate talent management and diversity
• Health sector workforce skills need to be utilised more effectively, report finds
• Millionth worker completes training through Train to Gain
• Last week to apply for cash in return for help in NEET survey