The chief executive of the UK's biggest supermarket chain has insisted in-house training is the way forward for apprenticeships, contrary to government recommendations to use external providers. Skills secretary John Denham last week said businesses   More...
26 November 2007 11:10

Skills minister David Lammy will reveal expansion plans for the ailing Train to Gain scheme in the next fortnight, he has told Personnel Today. Lammy said the flagship skills service would grow to include more providers, easier delivery and se  More...
16 November 2007 10:03

School dropouts will face £50 on-the-spot fines as part of a major shake-up of the school year , it has emerged. Ed Balls , the Children, Schools and Families secretary announced details of new legislation to raise the school-leaving age from   More...
05 November 2007 16:39

Working as an independent OH consultant can be a great way to develop your career, but it's not for everyone, says Gail Cotton.  More...
30 October 2007 08:00

The government has still not agreed staff numbers or a budget for the new Commission for Employment and Skills despite there being under six months to go until its launch. Responding to a written question in Parliament last week, employment minist  More...
08 October 2007 09:19

Mike Berry hosts this week's programme which includes: News from the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth The Commision for Racial Equality responds to claims of racial discrimination from its own staff And the CIPD's Linda Holbeche's pla  More...
28 September 2007 15:23

Government is to provide an additional £1.2m to train van drivers in greener, safer driving techniques. The Safe and Fuel Efficient Drivers (SAFED) initiative aims to encourage driving techniques to cut costs and CO2 emissions. The scheme, a one-  More...
13 September 2007 15:45

CBI director-general Richard Lambert has branded the government's attempts to tackle the skills crisis as "lame". He told Personnel Today that the government had failed to act quickly or decisively enough since the Leitch Review identified   More...
31 August 2007 08:59

The average graduate will earn £100,000 more over their working life than people with A-levels who choose not to go into higher education, the government claims. The Department for Innovation Universities and Skills revealed the six-figure sum differ  More...
20 August 2007 12:00

The government's flagship Train to Gain programme is "too bureaucratic" and overly complex, according to the Commons education and skills committee. The report on post-16 skills described how firms had to sign 14 forms and use training agencies of  More...
03 August 2007 00:00

The Employability Skills programme has been launched today by employment minister Caroline Flint and skills minister David Lammy. The scheme is designed to help people improve their skills, find a job and progress at work. It is a joint initiative d  More...
01 August 2007 12:03

The government has called for a 'skills revolution' in its official response to the  Leitch Review , setting out what it will do to tackle the looming skills shortage in the UK. Skills secretary John Denham told MPs that the government would   More...
19 July 2007 09:51

Business groups have dismissed the government's message that employers should accept shared responsibility for training staff in basic skills. New skills secretary John Denham called for businesses to change their attitude towards skills, by   More...
16 July 2007 00:00

The government’s multi-million pound advertising campaign to drive up UK skills has been called into question by business groups over whether public money has been well spent. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has launche  More...
16 July 2007 00:00

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has warned the government against forcing the human resources function into a ‘corporate policeman’ role, following Gordon Brown’s draft legislative programme unveiled yesterday  More...
12 July 2007 10:30

Lord Digby Jones is no longer the government skills envoy, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has confirmed. As Jones was appointed minister for trade promotion in prime minister Gordon Brown’s government of ‘all   More...
11 July 2007 14:00

Alan Johnson has been appointed health secretary by prime minister Gordon Brown, following the resignation of Patricia Hewitt. The former postman moves across from his position as education secretary and was the runner-up in the Labour Party  More...
28 June 2007 14:00

The government is to invest £90m into the national skills academy network in a bid to drive up the standard of industry training and address skills shortages across England. Twelve academies, which will provide vocational education and tr  More...
19 June 2007 16:31

Education and skills secretary Alan Johnson has announced the first batch of organisations to sign up to the much hyped Leitch Review of Skills . More than 150 organisations, including all central government departments , McDonald’s , Sains  More...
14 June 2007 12:20

The government’s higher and further education policy has been slated by the joint general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU) . Paul Mackney branded the Department for Education and Skills the Fag Packet Institute and warned   More...
01 June 2007 10:50