UK skills supremo Chris Humphries returns from China today (Tuesday) after a five-day trip to help the fast-growing economy with its own training problems. Humphries, chief executive of the Commission for Employment and Skills (CES), spoke at a Chine  More...
01 July 2008 00:07

The government is set to unveil a series of skills 'compacts' that will channel millions of pounds into training initiatives in specific sectors. Employers in the construction and hospitality industries will be the first to benefit from these new dea  More...
25 June 2008 08:00

Residents of a quiet Yorkshire street got a surprise recently when TV presenter and former lingerie model Carol Smillie and a posse of Learning and Skills Council (LSC) experts banged on their doors to ask them about their skills and ones they'd l  More...
13 June 2008 08:53

HR news and analysis including: Imelda Walsh talks exclusively to Personnel Today on the flexible working review to extend the right to request flexbile working to parents of children aged 16 and under HR directors from Topps Tiles and   More...
16 May 2008 16:58

Gordon Brown used the draft Queen's Speech to announce a new right to request time off work for training. Revealing his plans for the next parliament, Brown said every adult should have the right "to make the most of their potential". He sai  More...
14 May 2008 14:00

Skills minister David Lammy has expanded the National Skills Academy network with the approval of three new academies: Sport and Active Leisure, Creative & Cultural, and Hospitality. The new academies aim to reach more than 400,000 learner  More...
08 May 2008 09:24

The government wants a major rise in the number of apprenticeships on offer - and it's willing to subsidise their training through employers Prime minister Gordon Brown signalled his commitment to modern apprenticeships with an announcement to busin  More...
22 April 2008 10:00

A new strategy aimed at boosting skills in the Civil Service has been launched. Civil Service head Gus O'Donnell said the 'Building Professional Skills for Government' programme would help departments improve value for money and ensure employees   More...
02 April 2008 13:39

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has agreed to support the government's skills pledge, despite its recent criticism of the closing of its main skills funding vehicle, the Learning and Skills Council. However, David Frost, director general of th  More...
27 March 2008 09:45

Employer groups have expressed "utter amazement" at the government's decision to close the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), its chief skills funding vehicle. The government last week announced that the LSC, which has an annual budget exceeding £11b  More...
24 March 2008 08:29

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC), with an annual budget exceeding £11bn to improve UK skills, is to be closed down by 2010, as revealed by Personnel Today. The government announced its intentions in a White Paper which underlines de  More...
17 March 2008 15:44

Training cash for the social care workforce should bypass local authorities and go straight to the skills council to deliver funds where they are most needed, according to senior figures in the sector. Skills for Care, the body responsible for impro  More...
17 March 2008 08:30

Speculation that the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is to be wound up in the near future has increased after the government announced a review of its performance. Industry sources have suggested LSC management have been preparing for the worst, wi  More...
17 March 2008 08:00

Senior business leaders from the new UK Commission for Employment and Skills (CES) have announced their first 'listen and learn' visit to a leading company. CES chief executive Chris Humphries and other commissioners are to visit the BMW Group Ac  More...
07 March 2008 10:51

HR news and analysis including: Birmingham City Council's decision to cut some employees' salaries what staff want to do on 29 February 20 years of Personnel Today - we talk to HR directors about what they wish they knew back in 1988 and&n  More...
22 February 2008 20:29

Nearly half of UK employees believe their bosses overlook staff training, according to research. A survey of 1,000 workers, conducted by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), found that while 42% of employees think their employer is unlikely   More...
19 February 2008 09:00

The skills council for the nuclear, oil and gas and chemicals sectors will push ahead with a skills passport scheme, despite the failings of similar initiatives. Cogent is to launch a pilot scheme in June with a target of issuing 2,000 passports to   More...
12 February 2008 09:29

The world's workplaces are filling with a healthy stream of graduates. India and China between them produce five million every year for example. By comparison, in terms of the proportion of the population with 'higher skills', qualifications at degree l  More...
11 February 2008 12:13

The Sector Skills Council for fashion and textiles has launched a nationwide campaign to highlight the increasing skills crisis in the UK fashion and clothing industry. Skillfast-UK says there is a lack of skilled recruits entering the fashion   More...
08 February 2008 14:34

This week's Friday Podcast is a special edition on the news story that broke at the beginning of the week regarding McDonald's, Network Rail and Flybe providing employee training accredited to A-level standard . Louisa Peacock interviews McDon  More...
01 February 2008 15:24

Skillsmart Retail, the sector skills council for retail has appointed Anne Seaman as chief executive, filling a slot that has been vacant for some time. Seaman said she will focus on engaging more employers to work alongside the sector skills cou  More...
28 January 2008 10:43

Nick Mitchell, newly appointed chairman of GoSkills, the sector skills council (SSC) for passenger transport, has made gaining re-licensing his top priority . From April, the new Commission for Employment and Skills will take responsibility for ove  More...
21 January 2008 09:56

News and analysis in the human resources sector including: alarming news on news EU proposals for health and safety the potential for shared HR services in the higher education sector the decision of the employment tribunal brought by a CBe  More...
18 January 2008 14:55

Transport firms are missing out on millions of pounds of government funding for staff training, according to Skills for Logistics. The organisation has launched a campaign to raise awareness about a £720m package that is available to a variety of in  More...
18 January 2008 09:14

The Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC), the sector skills council for the financial services sector, has appointed Roy Leighton as its new chairman. Leighton, a member of the Chancellor's High Level Group, takes over from Stuart Bernau, reta  More...
17 January 2008 15:59

Skills secretary John Denham has conceded the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills will have no excuses if it does not meet the targets set out in the Leitch Review . Denham told MPs on the Innovation, Universities and S  More...
17 January 2008 10:19

News and analysis in the human resources sector including: a look at the possible establishment of a new diversity association shocking statistics on the number of equal pay claims lodged and brain training and how it should - or perhaps should  More...
11 January 2008 15:29

Shell, BP, utility Scottish & Southern Energy and disability employer Remploy are part of a group of eight companies which have signed up to the skills pledge in the New Year. The pledge fulfils a key recommendation made in the Leitch Rev  More...
10 January 2008 14:30

The Nursing and Midwifery Council's reforms are threatening the future competence of OH nurse practitioners. Nic Paton reports.  More...
02 January 2008 08:00

Human resources news and analysis including: Latest HR news and analysis including: some interesting predictions regarding the career path of the new HR recruit a growing trend in making money out of your hobbies a look at the new Commis  More...
14 December 2007 11:41

A leading motor industry association has pledged to double the number of apprenticeships in the sector, following research showing that 120,000 skilled workers were needed within the next decade to prevent a major skills crisis. The Institu  More...
12 December 2007 11:19

The government has revealed the 20 commissioners who will be members of the new UK Commission for Employment and Skills (CES). The members include a broad range of representation from the private, public and third sectors, and from trade unions. Th  More...
11 December 2007 13:00

More small construction companies should be able to offer free training to staff next year if Parliament agrees to raise the training levy paid by building firms. A Bill to raise the threshold at which construction firms pay a training levy wil  More...
06 December 2007 10:59

Human resources news and analysis including: Employer opinion on the Leitch Review of Skills one year since it was published The latest news from the CBI conference, including the role of HR in forthcoming Labour policy Office Christmas par  More...
30 November 2007 17:25

The threat of mandatory skills training for employers has receded just a year after it was a key recommendation of the Leitch Review . Chris Humphries, chief executive of the Commission for Employment and Skills (CES), told Personnel Today that   More...
30 November 2007 16:45

Unions have urged the government to up its response to a call for increased training provision in the construction industry, which is blighted by skills shortages. In his submission to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Refor  More...
30 November 2007 12:57

Jean Llewellyn has been appointed as the chief executive of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear. The academy was approved by skills minister David Lammy at the end of September, after a business case was put forward by the Northwest Regional   More...
22 November 2007 09:04

Occupational health standards have been published for the construction industry, giving employers benchmarks against which to measure their activities for the first time. The standards have been developed by Constructing Better Health (CBH) t  More...
20 November 2007 00:00

The sector skills council for the construction industry claims there is no shortage of applicants to the industry, despite comments from the lead on government's migration policy that migrant workers would be needed to help get London ready for the Olym  More...
19 November 2007 11:27

New skills supremo Chris Humphries has vowed his team will "give it their best shot" in working with employers to solve the UK's skills crisis. Last week, Humphries was appointed chief executive of the new Commission for Employment and Skills   More...
13 November 2007 08:00

This week we bring you a taste of what’s making the headlines in human resources, including: Sainsbury's HR chief Imelda Watson to lead independent review of flexible working the numerous bills relevant to human resources from the Queens Speec  More...
09 November 2007 16:26

A national skills academy for the process industries won approval from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). The academy will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Cogent, the sector skills council for the chemicals, pharmaceutica  More...
08 November 2007 10:15

Louisa Peacock presents the latest human resources news. This week we bring you a taste of what’s making the headlines in HR, including a councillor who got into trouble over Christmas shopping, latest news from the disability employer Rem  More...
26 October 2007 14:16

Skillsmart Retail , the sector skills council for the retail sector, is showcasing its proposed skills academy on a recently launched web site. The site has been developed with backing from several retail giants including John Lewis Partners  More...
26 October 2007 14:14

Employers fed up with confusing IT qualifications can have their say on new national benchmarks throughout November. Sector skills council E-skills UK is holding meetings with firms to seek their views on how the updated National Standards for IT sh  More...
23 October 2007 12:06

The government has pledged an additional £5m investment to improve skills and training opportunities for Londoners ahead of the 2012 Olympics. Skills minister David Lammy announced the funding on a tour of the Olympic Park in Stratford, east   More...
05 October 2007 10:17

A national skills academy for the nuclear sector has been approved by skills minister, David Lammy . The academy joins those already established for construction, manufacturing, financial services and food and drinks manufacturing. It is expec  More...
25 September 2007 09:03

A senior Leitch Review adviser has offered to rescue the government's skills drive that stalled when Sir Digby Jones left the skills envoy post in July. Little more than 50 companies have signed the Leitch pledge to train their employ  More...
25 September 2007 08:26

Work and Pensions Minister Mike O'Brien may welcome the news that the EU is to finance training schemes in the UK, but he is concealing the reality of the situation ( 'Minister welcomes EU investment in skills for England ', Personnel Today , 4 Septe  More...
24 September 2007 12:56

This week's round-up of HR news including how one in four dismissals in the civil service doesn't stick; and more on the Leitch Review skills pledge. Rob Moss is joined by Greg Pitcher and Louisa Peack to discusss the above, and by Helen McCormick w  More...
14 September 2007 16:02

HR news including: How human resources departments in Manchester are helping to tackle gang culture How the police are trying to expand their industrial rights, and How the Leitch skills pledge is still failing to capture the imaginati  More...
07 September 2007 17:10

A £2bn investment in jobs and skills in England over the next seven years from the European Union has been welcomed by work and pensions minister Mike O'Brien. The European Commission has agreed proposals for a new European Social Fund (ESF) p  More...
04 September 2007 16:00

Comments from the equalities 'tsar' Trevor Phillips that diversity should be taken away from the HR function ( Personnel Today , 21 August) prompted some forthright responses from our readers. Here's a selection of your views. I read with i  More...
03 September 2007 12:56

The opening of a second national skills academy in the financial services sector next month is expected to trigger a flood of regional centre start-ups during the autumn. The £5m academy in Norwich aims to raise skill levels in the region's financial  More...
31 August 2007 10:10

The multi-million pound Train to Gain scheme is being held back by the way its much-vaunted 'skills brokers' are selling the service, according to business leaders. Neil Carberry, CBI head of pensions and employment, told Personnel Today that broke  More...
21 August 2007 08:53

The dangers of the rush towards skills passport schemes have been highlighted by the former project manager of the failing Driver's Skills Passport initiative. Launched in 2003 by the then transport minister Alistair Darling, as part of the Freight Tr  More...
21 August 2007 08:48

It's all very well the government saying it wants employers to promise (that is what a pledge is, after all) to bring all their staff up to level two equivalent, as outlined in the Leitch Review of Skills . But that aim takes no account of the changes t  More...
21 August 2007 00:00

I was concerned by the news story that cites £28m being 'wasted' on our skills campaign, and calls for more awareness of Train to Gain ( Personnel Today, 17 July ). The purpose of the new skills and Train to Gain advertising campaigns is to help addr  More...
21 August 2007 00:00

Gordon Brown is enjoying an extended honeymoon period as the country's new prime minister. But after last week's news that he was working through the summer recess in an attempt to maintain this support, what does HR want to see from Brown? Since taki  More...
20 August 2007 00:00

HR news on diversity, skills and racial discrimination, presented by Mike Berry, Gareth Vorster and Greg Pitcher. Most diversity practitioners believe diversity could operate better outside human resources Another industry's skills programme   More...
17 August 2007 16:44

The leading employer in the catering and hospitality industry has threatened to scale back support for sector skills council People 1st. Ian El-Mokadem, managing director of foodservice group Compass, which employs more than 100,000 staff in the UK  More...
09 August 2007 10:20

The Skills for Business network was set up to boost UK productivity and profitability by identifying and tackling skills gaps on a sector-by-sector basis.The network is made up of 25 sector skills councils covering 85% of the entire workforce. They are employer-led, independent, sector-based and UK-wide.You'll find a sector skills council that represents your industry in this directory.  More...
07 August 2007 08:00

Exclusive A flagship skills scheme for the retail sector has attracted just 2,000 users since its launch last year, with officials admitting it has "a long way to go" to hit its targets. Sector skills council Skill­smart Retail launched the Ret  More...
06 August 2007 08:00

Former CBI chief Dibgy, Lord Jones of Birmingham, has admitted that his skills envoy job was only half finished when he left to become minister of trade promotion - but the government will not confirm whether the skills envoy role will continue. Jo  More...
23 July 2007 07:59

ConstructionSkills , the skills council for the construction industry, has announced that it will provide a record £140m in grants for skills and training development. The grants are available from 1 August, and represent a substantial increase on  More...
20 July 2007 13:35

Health services in the UK will get a major boost through an annual allocation of £100m of additional funds to tackle skills gaps and shortages. Skills for Health , the sector skills council for the public, private and voluntary healthcare sect  More...
20 July 2007 09:21

Past shortcomings in government-led skills and training initiatives will put many employers off signing the skills pledge. Nevertheless, they should grasp the nettle, says Martyn Sloman. O n 14 June , t he first batch of 150 organisations formal  More...
17 July 2007 00:00

HR news including: Government skills campaign receives a frosty reception, and the union chief who disagrees with proposed public sector strikes. Mike Berry, Louisa Peacock and Greg Pitcher review the latest news in the human resources sector. Clic  More...
13 July 2007 12:54

The BBC  will work with Skillset, the Sector Skills Council to promote education and learning across the audio-visual industry. Skillset has signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with the BBC to support skills development across the   More...
12 July 2007 12:00

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has launched the capital’s hospitality skills strategy to boost opportunities in hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism in London ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games. The strategy was prepared by Peop  More...
11 July 2007 10:28

The Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) has appointed Sarah Thwaites as its new director of skills development. Thwaites, who is currently manager, industry training at the Financial Services Authority (FSA), will take up her new role in  More...
05 July 2007 10:10

If sector skills councils are to succeed in their mission to help train the nation and meet demands in the Leitch Report, they will need help from employers and learning and development professionals - and soon. S ector s k ills c o uncils (SSCs)  More...
19 June 2007 00:00

A new alliance aimed at bringing employers and colleges closer together to deliver more economically valuable skills has been launched. The alliance brings together employers, college principals and executives from sector skills councils  More...
05 June 2007 11:32

A £120,000 training facility at London Luton Airport has been approved by the English skills promotion body the Learning and Skills Council . The centre, to be run by Barnfield College Luton , will provide training courses for airport a  More...
21 May 2007 16:21

A new raft of vocational qualifications in food manufacturing is set to be unveiled to employers by Improve, the sector’s skills council . Improve will launch its framework for National Vocational Qualifications and Scottish Vocational Qualifica  More...
14 May 2007 08:17

Research conducted by Energy & Utility Skills has found that only one-quarter of the energy and utility sector workforce are women, compared with 43% within the broader UK economy. Moreover, the sector skills council (SSC) for the electricity  More...
04 May 2007 14:20

The government is urging closer working ties between skills brokers and employers in an effort to increase the take-up of the Train to Gain initiative . The Learning and Skills Council scheme offers employers free training for staff to achiev  More...
25 April 2007 08:00

Time is running out for British businesses to tackle the burgeoning skills famine threatening to blight the economy, UK skills envoy Sir Digby Jones has warned. Speaking at the British Chamber of Commerce annual conference earlier   More...
20 April 2007 15:50

The skills crisis is worsening despite the time and money the government has thrown at it, employers have warned. David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) , told Personnel Today that UK training system reforms were   More...
21 March 2007 06:42

David Fairhurst, vice-president of people at McDonald's, has been appointed vice-chairman of People 1st, the sector skills council for the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries . Fairhurst joins fellow HR professional Mi  More...
01 March 2007 08:49

Water companies are working with schoolchildren, the Armed Forces, ex-offenders and Eastern Europeans in a bid to ease a recruitment crisis. The industry's sector skills council revealed the radical trials as it warned of the need for a "fundamenta  More...
28 February 2007 07:45

A major drive  to revitalise apprenticeships in food and drink manufacturing has been launched by the sector skills council Improve. Consultation with employers starts next month on plans for a new framework for apprenticeship programmes, which   More...
22 February 2007 10:00

More than 1.6 million people have gained basic skills qualifications through the government's Skills for Life  strategy, official figures have revealed. Skills for Life provides free literacy, language and numeracy tuition for adults in England  More...
21 February 2007 08:40

The government has approved the launch of a national skills academy for food and drink manufacturing. The academy will open in April 2007 to provide vocational education and training for about 28,000 employees during its first four years  More...
01 February 2007 09:38

The Learning and Skills Council has spent more than £100m on redundancies and reorganising over the past six years, it has been revealed. Redundancy costs at the council, which is being restructured for the fourth time since 2000, reached £54.4  More...
04 January 2007 10:26

This week’s Personnel Today is a bonus issue brought to you in partnership with Skills for Business, the Sector Skills Development Agency. The features pages are dedicated to analyses of the recent Leitch Review of Skills, as well as numerous ca  More...
02 January 2007 08:49

The Leitch Review, published last month, was asked to: identify the UK's optimal skillset for 2020 to maximise economic growth, productivity and social justice outline who is responsible for delivering it and propose a policy framework required to support it.Mike Campbell, director of development at the Sector Skills Development Agency, summarises the report's findings.  More...
02 January 2007 08:18

Welcome to this special edition of Personnel Today , which is themed around the issue of training and skills development. Lord Leitch's  recently-published Review of Skills called for the transformation of the education and skills system in the UK.  More...
02 January 2007 08:03

They think it's all Rover … it isn't now. Redundancy spelled opportunity for MG Rover workers, thanks to a government-funded skills programme.  More...
02 January 2007 08:00

A new qualification aims to improve the quality of lifelong learning trainers.   More...
02 January 2007 08:00

Office Depot teamed up with Skills for Logistics to dispel the 'white van man' image of the industry.  More...
02 January 2007 08:00

A passport to success: keeping track of skills in the retail sector is a challenge, but a new skills passport allows both staff and managers to have an accurate record.  More...
02 January 2007 08:00

Accidental heroes: training emergency care practitioners to handle non-critical conditions could save the NHS £51m a year.  More...
02 January 2007 08:00

One-third of employers do little or no training at all, so it is no surprise that a key chapter of the Leitch Review focuses on employer engagement. Mike Campbell, director of development at the Sector Skills Development Agency, sets out what is expectedof employers.  More...
02 January 2007 08:00

Well groomed: few staff in the equestrian industry have the time to pursue formal qualifications, but a new skills passport will help employers to recognise experience.   More...
02 January 2007 08:00

The construction sector needs half a million new entrants by 2010, but they won't train and recruit themselves.A large-scale apprenticeship scheme may be the answer.  More...
02 January 2007 08:00

Andrew McDonald has been appointed the new chief executive for Government Skills, the sector skills council for central government. Government Skills covers the skills and development of about half a million civil servants and one-quarter of a millio  More...
02 January 2007 07:45

British people need a major injection of skills to beat migrant workers to London jobs, according to leading commentators. Research by employers’ group the CBI and professional services firm KPMG has found that two-thirds of companies expect skills s  More...
02 January 2007 07:41

Catering for employer needs: small and medium-sized hospitality employers now have access to HR expertise that could set them apartfrom the competition.   More...
02 January 2007 00:00

Nine in 10 (89%) recruiters said they considered relevant work experience an important part of a CV and 13% said they would not interview a candidate without relevant work experience. The survey of 412 UK employers by the Learning and Ski  More...
20 December 2006 08:00

More than 15,000 employers are now using ' Train to Gain ' , the new service offering advice on training for businesses, according to the Learning & Skills Council (LSC). Demand for the service, which is run by the LSC, has soared, with an eight-f  More...
15 December 2006 10:10

The government has announced that the skills and training expertise of the Automotive Academy are to be applied across the whole of the manufacturing sector. The academy is to become part of the government's new National Manufacturing Skills Aca  More...
08 December 2006 12:36

Lord Leitch has published his long-awaited final report about the UK’s long-term skills needs. It recommends employers be made to sign up to a pledge to voluntarily train more staff. If insufficient progress has been made by 2010, a s  More...
05 December 2006 16:02

Many column inches have been devoted to bemoaning the skills of young people today. But what of the skills of those who left school years ago and are working? Despite the perception in some quarters, business is investing heavily in skills, spending an   More...
10 October 2006 08:00

The EEF organisation, which represents manufacturers and engineering organisations, has called on the government to address the UK's skills gap and reform the skills training system in a report published today. There is clear evidence of flaws in the U  More...
11 September 2006 08:02

IT in public sector shows huge growth in past four years.  More...
26 July 2006 08:39

Skills agencies branded a 'waste of time' by HR chiefs.  More...
21 July 2006 09:01

Education and skills secretary Alan Johnson has announced that the Mayor of London will lead a new skills and employment board to drive forward London's continuing economic growth.  More...
13 July 2006 14:21

Semta acts to ensure no skills crisis in marine industry.  More...
13 July 2006 08:54

Sector Skills Council Proskills has embarked on a UK-wide consultation with employers which will shape the future of skills provision and funding for industries in its sector  More...
03 July 2006 10:15

Skills for Health, the sector skills councils for health, has revealed the members of its new board  More...
03 July 2006 09:45

Skills for Care, the sector skills council for social care work, has received £3m from the Department of Health to launch phase two of a programme to shape the sector’s future workforce  More...
29 June 2006 11:28

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has warned the CBI that its repeated attacks on further education bodies will do nothing to improve the sector’s relationship with employers.  More...
27 June 2006 08:00

Skills champion will work with businesses and government to ensure skills needs for 2012 Olympic games are met  More...
18 May 2006 09:39

Nine months before London stages the Olympic Games it will also host the international skills olympics   More...
10 May 2006 11:15

Sector skills council spends £3m on diversity projects for the Audio Visual Entrepreneurship programme  More...
08 May 2006 14:50

Union claims job cuts could be avoided at Learning and Skills Council.  More...
28 April 2006 09:00

The link between education providers and employers must be improved to tackle the UK's skills gap, business leaders urged last week  More...
12 April 2006 09:14

The Learning and Skills Council has launched a new training service aimed at helping UK employers cope with the skills shortage  More...
04 April 2006 15:01

Union condemns LSC for lack of skill in handling job cuts  More...
24 March 2006 09:01

The Cabinet Office, Department for Education and Skills and further education colleges are to work together to reduce the red tape faced by lecturers.  More...
07 December 2005 12:18

Manufacturing, construction, food and drink, and financial services will be the first industries to set up National Skills Academies to address skills gaps.  More...
31 October 2005 15:00

The Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) has been successful in its bid to create a national financial services academy.  More...
31 October 2005 11:27

Literacy, numeracy and level 1 and 2 NVQs have been boosted by a £3m contract awarded by the Learning and Skills Council using money from the Union Learning Fund  More...
13 October 2005 14:45

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) have hit back at claims that they are not engaging employers  More...
19 September 2005 06:55

The Learning and Skills Council is to cut 1,300 jobs as part of a £40m savings programme, it was announced today  More...
16 September 2005 12:45

A multi-million national skills academy for food and drink manufacturing is expected to be up and running by September next year  More...
12 September 2005 15:15

David Russell of the Learning and Skills Council found that listening to staff can define your organisation's objectives and ensure they are met  More...
06 September 2005 01:00

Mark Fisher, business strategy director of Jobcentre Plus, will succeed Christopher Duff as the new chief executive of the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA), it was announced today  More...
16 August 2005 11:30

The government has committed to launching a network of 12 sector-based National Skills Academies by 2008.  More...
14 July 2005 12:20

Manufacturers fear the negative impact of funding bias towards younger apprentices.  More...
27 June 2005 10:00

The Learning and Skills Council has announced an increase in funding for the apprenticeship programme, but will withhold funds from employers in an effort to raise completion rates  More...
23 June 2005 00:00

The employer-led agency e-skills UK has unveiled a nationwide plan to train more people in IT to close the UK's productivity gap.  More...
14 June 2005 14:10

Skills shortages in the UK are now affecting the nation's ability to win and keep contracts in a global marketplace.  More...
24 March 2005 14:54

The government has announced its support for an employer-backed action plan to ensure that businesses have access to the IT staff they need over the next 10 years. The E-Skills Sector Skills Agreement, aims to make business and project management skil  More...
23 March 2005 11:30

The government is to help millions to get the skills they need to get into work, get better jobs and help companies compete with China, India and other emerging economies, it has announced. The new Skills White Paper, unveils the next phase of reforms  More...
22 March 2005 16:00

Consultation is under way to define standards of competence for everyone working in the retail financial services sector   More...
04 February 2005 08:30

The minister for skills and vocational education, Ivan Lewis, has visited the World Professional Darts Championships at Lakeside to promote adult numeracy learning with the British Darts Organisation (BDO). Seven million people describe themselves as   More...
06 January 2005 08:00

"Passionate champion" of vocational training takes over as head of skills organisation   More...
05 January 2005 02:00

Young people lack the customer care and communication skills, employers complain   More...
04 January 2005 16:30

Hospitality bosses should make better use of apprenticeships to tackle the ever-widening skills gap in the industry, according to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). JobCentre figures show there were 43,998 hospitality vacancies in October in the l  More...
01 December 2004 08:00

The need for education and skills is central to the CBI agenda according to its head of HR, but personnel officers were notable by their absence at its annual conference. People issues permeated the two-day event in Birmingham, but there were no HR sp  More...
16 November 2004 08:40

Last week, I sneaked into a conference given by the CBI at its headquarters on London's Tottenham Court Road. After taking the express elevator to the 27th floor, I was greeted with one of the most spectacular views across London I have ever seen. Bel  More...
16 November 2004 00:00

Nearly a third of managers in the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sectors believe skills gaps are affecting their bottom line. The claims are made in a survey by People 1st, the Sector Skills Council set up this May to address skills issues   More...
11 November 2004 08:29

A new programme to develop and improve skills in the Civil Service has been announced by cabinet secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull. The 'Professional Skills for Government' programme aims to turn civil servants into experienced managers as well as expert  More...
21 October 2004 14:32

The development of offshore wind power in could create up to 76,000 jobs in the UK, according to a new report. The report, Offshore Wind - Onshore Jobs, said that up to 38,000 of the jobs would be made in the North East due to its history of manufact  More...
20 October 2004 10:58