Every NHS organisation that receives government cash will have to publish how much it spends on staff training each year, under plans unveiled in Lord Darzi's flagship report on the future of the health service last week. All trusts and NHS bodies wi  More...
04 July 2008 09:59

UK Commission for Employment and Skills chief executive Chris Humphries spent five days in China last week, helping the country seen as the biggest threat to UK jobs with its own skills challenges. Here he tells Personnel Today in his own words about his experience.  More...
03 July 2008 09:30

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

Six out of 10 business leaders in London fear the city's competitiveness is under threat - double the number of a year ago - research has revealed. The poll of 118 senior executives found the credit crunch and poorly-handled tax reforms had badly d  More...
19 June 2008 08:38

Workers in England will be able to use a legal right to request time off for training under new measures unveiled by the government today. Skills secretary John Denham has published a consultation into how the new right will work, initially outlined  More...
18 June 2008 15:22

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

Employers are still struggling to fill job vacancies because of the UK's major skills shortage - despite the economic slowdown in the jobs market, a survey has revealed. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) annual Recruitme  More...
12 June 2008 05:40

A new prison training academy has been set up to help offenders get jobs when released. HMP Wandsworth has launched a vocational training centre to enable prisoners to learn basic technology skills and prepare them for employment. The scheme, in a  More...
11 June 2008 08:00

China and India may force HR managers in London and the South East to compete for talented staff as the booming economies seek to plug skills gaps, research has found. The 'Pole-to-Pole' report, commissioned by the Manufacturing Advisory Service So  More...
10 June 2008 14:00

IT and computer staff saw their basic pay rise by 4.8% over the past 12 months, according to a survey. The CELRE Computer Staff Salary Survey found basic pay for IT workers was rising at its fastest rate since 2005. "IT staff have managed to   More...
10 June 2008 10:40

The points-based immigration system has created an overwhelming burden on employers, who are struggling to understand and comply with the rules, an education provider has warned. Amanda Harris, head of HR at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, sa  More...
02 June 2008 00:01

The HR chief at SAP has admitted the employer software firm is facing talent management problems as the skills crisis bites. Theresa Ellison, HR director at SAP UK and Ireland, told Personnel Today that global skills shortages and emerging m  More...
29 May 2008 14:30

Policing the 2012 Olympics presents huge resourcing challenges as many officers are set to retire in the next four years, a leading figure has warned. Tarique Ghaffur, assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, told delegates at the Police  More...
21 May 2008 11:24

There will be more jobs available this year than applicants qualified to fill them, according to research. A shrinking workforce and ageing population will leave 2008 as the year of the empty desk, with employers needing to alter recruiting strategie  More...
21 May 2008 10:37

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

Before Lord Sandy Leitch came on to the scene, 'the war for talent' was simply a phrase muttered by battle-weary HR directors during coffee breaks at industry conferences. Post-Leitch the skills crisis has become one of the most popular subjects of  More...
07 May 2008 14:41

Employers wishing to recruit migrant workers to fill skilled posts will have to prove they cannot find any workers in the UK under new proposals published by the Home Office. The government's new points-based immigration system includes much tighter  More...
06 May 2008 18:00

HR news and analysis including: equalities groups warn that employees are not taking up their right to request flexible working for fear it will damage their careers public sector HR has been accused of being archaic by the chief of the PPMA and  More...
02 May 2008 15:08

UK employers face being left in the lurch as the current flow of eastern European migrants continues to dry up, a major report has warned. A study by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) think-tank found that fewer migrants were arriving   More...
02 May 2008 09:23

British Energy chief executive Bill Coley has placed his HR team at the heart of the company's bid to provide the UK's new nuclear power stations. Coley said the energy producer would strive to use British workers to run the new plants, countering fe  More...
02 May 2008 08:00

IT firms are increasingly turning to career changers to fill vacancies, according to a training provider. Computeach has placed its 100th student in employment in record time this year as the skills crisis bites in the technology sector. The tra  More...
01 May 2008 08:00

We may be just four months in to 2008, but already there have been plenty of flashpoints for the HR profession. Whether it be skills, diversity, flexible working, temp rights or the interminable debate over HR's relevance to profit and loss accounts, th  More...
30 April 2008 14:27

Only 13% of UK employers have signed the Skills Pledge more than a year after its launch, new research has revealed. A report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that the skills agenda had not influenced hal  More...
28 April 2008 14:27

Since the Skills Pledge was launched 10 months ago, uptake has been relatively low. Could it be the government has set its sights too low? The government launched the Skills Pledge on 14 June 2007 as part of its continuing effort to raise skills an  More...
22 April 2008 00:00

More than a year after its launch, the Skills Pledge is proving marginally more popular than a William Hague hair-do. Has even the government wised-up to the fact that it isn't what employers want? Hands up those of you whose employers have   More...
22 April 2008 00:00

An exodus of managers over the next 10 years could leave many councils struggling to fill vacancies and deliver services, a new report has warned. A study by the New Local Government Network think-tank found that a combination of widespread retirem  More...
21 April 2008 08:09

HR news and analysis including: legal experts warn that maternity law changes made this month could cost employers huge amounts of money in pension contributions Metropolitan Police HR director Martin Tiplady discusses the need to ramp up  More...
18 April 2008 15:40

A lack of basic skills is shaving millions off the bottom line of the British economy, according to a survey released today (17 April) by the CBI. A third of respondents claimed the skills gap was harming productivity, while 40% said that it was  More...
17 April 2008 16:20

Immigration experts have told the government to accept defeat on changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) and concentrate on getting its new points-based system right. The High Court last week ruled that the Home Office acted unlawful  More...
14 April 2008 08:12

Cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell has praised the influx of private sector HR professionals into the Civil Service - and backed them to turn around its performance. Serious people management deficiencies in government departments were highlighted   More...
07 April 2008 08:14

EXCLUSIVE Skills secretary John Denham has distanced the government from carrying out its threat of requiring employers to provide training in 2010 if not enough employers have signed up to the skills pledge – a key recommendation of the   More...
07 April 2008 08:00

HR news and analysis including: an exclusive interview with skills secretary John Denham Dragons' Den entrepreneur James Caan's thoughts on HR employee engagement in government departments and what is an acceptable kind of away-day whe  More...
04 April 2008 16:39

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04 April 2008 08:24

The TUC is offering free training for Polish workers employed in cleaning, security and building services across Tower Hamlets and the City of London. The Vulnerable Workers Project (VWP), led by the TUC and funded by the Department for Business,  More...
03 April 2008 10:34

A London college has launched a series of courses designed to plug the skills gaps threatening the city's Olympic dream. Waltham Forest College's School of Service Industries is now running catering, customer service, barista (coffee making) and pool  More...
03 April 2008 09:28

Skills secretary John Denham will today tell all government departments to ensure their suppliers sign the skills pledge. Denham will tell delegates at the Civil Service Live event in Westminster that the move is essential to achieving the aims  More...
02 April 2008 15:27

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 most senior judge in England and Wales has warned of the effect of financial constraints on the level of staffing in the UK justice system. In his annual review of the courts,   chief justice Lord Phillips said a "stream" of legislation h  More...
02 April 2008 08:00

Construction union Ucatt has slammed the decision to train apprentices on the London 2012 Olympics site only to GCSE standard rather than the equivalent of A levels. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) last month launched its employment and skills  More...
01 April 2008 09:30

The greatest skills gap in the UK manufacturing sector lies in general management, research suggests. In a survey of 400 interim managers specialising in manufacturing, commissioned by interim management provider Russam GMS, 86% of respondents  More...
27 March 2008 10:54

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

The influx of skilled migrants into the UK will contribute a record £77bn to the UK economy by 2012. The Future Flows research by global recruitment consultancy Harvey Nash estimated that 812,000 highly skilled migrants would be working in this cou  More...
26 March 2008 09:34

The skills bus rumbles on, despite the planned closure of the Learning and Skills Council . The government has announced that the number of employees covered by the skills pledge has passed 3.3 million. NHS South West is the latest employer to s  More...
25 March 2008 12:26

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 UK's new skills chief has denied that staff at the much-heralded skills commission have been forced to take redundancy in the run up to its launch next week. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (CES) will launch on 1 April, merging non-de  More...
20 March 2008 14:24

HR news and analysis including: Welfare reform criticisms – why minister James Purnell’s new rules may disadvantage the disabled Carter & Carter training provider: why did it go into administration and will if affect the skills sector? Inc  More...
14 March 2008 14:55

A leading figure behind last week's High Court challenge to the government's changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) has declared that he is "confident" of victory. Amit Kapadia, director of campaign group HSMP Forum, also hit o  More...
13 March 2008 12:11

The long-awaited judicial review of controversial changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) is to take place today (5 March). Lawyers representing campaign group HSMP Forum will argue that changes made in November 2006 by immigra  More...
05 March 2008 09:29

Employers are ignoring the IT skills and knowledge of young people who have recently entered the workforce, claims a survey. It found that although 82% of school leavers and 84% of graduates felt confident about their IT skills, only 51% of them were  More...
04 March 2008 16:00

HR directors could be jailed and firms fined up to £10,000 under new immigration rules that come into effect today (29 February). Employers who knowingly hire illegal migrant workers face being hit with a £10,000 fine and, in extreme cases, H  More...
29 February 2008 00:01

London mayor Ken Livingstone has unveiled a £5m 'Young Londoners Fund' to help city teenagers back into education or training. The fund is part of the £79m 'London Youth Offer', announced in December 2007, with £73m of that sum already distribute  More...
28 February 2008 10:24

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

The number of fully trained operational personnel in the British Armed Forces has begun to edge upwards after a dip in the middle of 2007. The Ministry of Defence's latest figures revealed that it is currently operating at 96.9% of its full-time trai  More...
21 February 2008 13:13

With e-skills UK, the sector skills council for the IT industry, citing the need for 140,000 new employees every year in the UK's IT and telecoms sector, and UK applications for IT-related degrees tumbling by 50% over the past five years, the  More...
21 February 2008 10:00

Employers are finding it increasingly difficult to hire IT staff with the right skills , according to new research. A survey conducted by the National Computer Centre (NCC) found that just fewer than 40% of respondents indicated specific recruit  More...
13 February 2008 14:37

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

UK-based highly skilled migrant workers will have to apply for visa extensions under new rules from 29 February, the government has announced. Foreign workers already in the UK will have to prove they have enough points under the new Australian-sty  More...
07 February 2008 11:40

New immigration rules to restrict access to UK doctor training have been introduced by the government. The rules implement the first part of the Home Office's new points-based system and impose a condition on highly skilled migrants, which prohibi  More...
07 February 2008 10:09

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

Business groups have broadly welcomed government plans to double the number of apprentices to 500,000 a year by 2020, but have called for reform of the system to raise the status of those gaining qualifications under the scheme. Skills secreta  More...
29 January 2008 09:29

Last week saw the worst week on the London stock market since 9/11, with £77m wiped off the value of the UK's bigggest companies. But what does the 'credit crunch' mean for humanresources and the employment market? Tara Craig investigtes.  More...
28 January 2008 15:12

All the talk of filling the skills gap, signing up to the Leitch skills pledge, the formation of the Commission for Education and Skills and the continuing government focus on education, education, education, should be good news for UK plc ( Perso  More...
28 January 2008 14:35

The announcement of the commissioners to oversee the all-new Commission for Employment and Skills ( Personnel Today , 11 December 2007 and 1 January 2008) gave me an acute bout of déjà vu . I have seen and heard all this hype before so many t  More...
28 January 2008 14:12

A leading construction training body has rebuffed suggestions from the government's migration policy adviser that the UK's construction labour force would fail to meet demand for the 2012 Olympics. Metcalf, head of the Migration Advisory Counc  More...
25 January 2008 11:08

Skills minister David Lammy has unveiled the National Skills Academy for the Process Industries. The academy covers chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and polymer industries and is designed to tackle sector specific skills shortages by standardising tra  More...
25 January 2008 08:44

Despite a shortage of IT students , the minister for higher education, Bill Rammell , has told a select committee inquiry it is unlikely that funding will be restored for IT training. Rammell was speaking at the Department of Innovation  More...
23 January 2008 15:04

David Metcalf, the government's adviser on migration policy, has suggested that a ban on non-EU unskilled workers may be lifted if preparations for the 2012 Olympics fall behind schedule. Metcalf, head of the new Migration Advisory Council (MAC) , t  More...
23 January 2008 10:31

Faced with a shortage of new recruits for its engineering business, Leyland Trucks drew up a strategy to grow its own. Lucia Cockroft reports.  More...
21 January 2008 14:23

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

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

Local authorities that lead the way in boosting jobs, skills and improving their area could be in line to share a new prize pot of £3m. A new government award for 'raising prosperity' will go to top-performing councils at improving town centres, tack  More...
16 January 2008 14:51

The BBC, BSkyB and Microsoft are among employers that have declared they are willing to spearhead a government consultation on informal adult learning, it was announced today. Working groups drawn from major organisations in broadcasting and new tech  More...
15 January 2008 15:48

Massive skills shortages could thwart the government's £36bn nuclear new-build plan, unions warned. More than half of Britain's already dwindling nuclear workforce is likely to be retired by the time the new stations open for business, leading   More...
15 January 2008 07:54

This weeks letters about Train to Gain, staff appraissals, the CIPD's lost opportunity in China, and working carers...  More...
14 January 2008 10:56

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

Northumbria University has received £350,000 of funding to further develop the skills of employees in the North East. Money, received from regeneration agency One NorthEast, will go towards the development of work-based learning programmes in k  More...
08 January 2008 14:51

The government is to launch an advertising campaign next week warning employers of the stiff penalties they face for hiring illegal migrant workers. UK bosses face up to two years in prison or unlimited fines for every illegal individual they 'knowi  More...
07 January 2008 11:30

Exclusive All migrant workers coming to the UK under the new points-based system will be told that the rules allowing them to stay could change at any time. The Home Office is to issue the warning in a bid to avoid a repeat of the em­barr&s  More...
07 January 2008 11:17

Is there a skills shortage? Of course there is. If I had been required to mortgage my future for 25 years to go to university, I would not have gone. I benefited from a maximum grant and, supplementing it with work during the holidays, I was able to fin  More...
07 January 2008 08:00

The UK's skills shortage is costing the country billions of pounds - and all eyes are on Chris Humphries to help solve it. Louisa Peacock reports.   More...
02 January 2008 11:42

The Leitch Review represents a defining landmark in the development of skills policy. Commissioned by the now prime minister, Gordon Brown, to assess the UK's skill needs to 2020 and to recommend the action we need to take to help us get there, the Lei  More...
02 January 2008 11:35

Thousands of ill-prepared single parents could be persuaded to start employment by the government’s plans for welfare reform, according to research. A report by recruitment firm Adecco found that the hard-line stance on lone parents could   More...
02 January 2008 11:11

Line managers need more support to create a true culture of learning within organisations, the TUC has warned. Frances O’Grady, deputy general secretary at the union umbrella body, said the UK’s workforce would only achieve higher skills if   More...
02 January 2008 10:40

Skills secretary John Denham has used Personnel Today to urge employers to make 2008 the year of employee training. Denham, secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, insisted a culture change is needed this year to achieve the targe  More...
02 January 2008 10:06

Engineering employers have welcomed the news that the vocational diplomas will be valued at three-and-a half A-levels by universities. Roll-out of the diplomas starts next year, with engineering one of five initial subjects available, as the govern  More...
20 December 2007 11:34

The Home Office last night warned employers about migrant workers - as it admitted it had employed an illegal worker to guard its front door. Paula Higson, director of managed migration at the Home Office, told Personnel Today that firms will be st  More...
18 December 2007 11:50

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

The CBI has backed the government's plan to focus on teaching English and maths in primary schools. Children's secretary Ed Balls this week announced a raft of measures in a £1bn package to help improve children's lives in the next 10 years. Alon  More...
14 December 2007 08:24

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

The g o vernment has set up a task force to find apprenticeship places for 10,000 young people on construction courses who cannot find a contractor to take them on to finish their training. The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) will head a   More...
06 December 2007 14:11

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

The government has announced new funding, rising to at least £50m a year by 2010-11, for the skills needs of higher education (HE) employers. The funding is part of a response to the Leitch Review of Skills , which sees its anniversary this   More...
05 December 2007 14:41

Richard Lambert , d irector-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) , has called for "urgency" in tackling the UK's underperformance in literacy and numeracy following an 'average' performance in a study  by the Organisa  More...
05 December 2007 11:23

Refugees could be the latest answer to plugging the UK skills gap , according to a government taskforce. One in three migrants coming to work in the UK are "highly skilled and knowledgeable with professional qualifications", capable of working i  More...
05 December 2007 10:33

David Cameron has promised employers they would have more say in shaping training schemes to meet the Leitch vision under a Conservative government. The opposition leader told Personnel Today that the government's implementation of the Leitch Revie  More...
04 December 2007 08:12

The government has assured employers they will not be hit in the pocket or lose staff despite plans to give all adults a legal right to training. Work and pensions secretary Peter Hain and skills secretary John Denham last week revealed that fre  More...
04 December 2007 07:32

Employers are becoming increasingly interested in the skills of their staff since the Leitch Review was published , although leading business groups warn there is still a long way to go. More than 550 private and public sector organisations ha  More...
04 December 2007 07:26

A year on from the publication of the Leitch Review , new skills supremo Chris Humphries has admitted employers are still "nervous and unsure" about working with the government to improve the nation's skills. The chief executive of the new Co  More...
03 December 2007 14:25

Thousands of skilled foreign workers and their employers were holding their breath last Friday as a judicial review of controversial changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) finally began at the High Court. Before the hearing, cam  More...
03 December 2007 11:17

Gordon Brown dragged the Leitch vision firmly back to the top of the political agenda last week with a speech to business leaders dominated by skills. The prime minister seemed determined to get employers focused on training as he spoke for 15   More...
03 December 2007 09:31

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

Gordon Brown has unveiled plans for a National Skills Academy for Construction on the London 2012 Olympic site as part of a £9bn Thames Gateway scheme. Speaking at a forum on site, the prime minister said the academy would train people   More...
30 November 2007 13:34

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

A new website which utilises social networking technology common to sites like Facebook has been set up to help employers improve the skills of their staff. The site www.skillstories.org has been developed by the Department for Innovation, Un  More...
22 November 2007 09:23

A shortage of top-class number-crunchers is driving a surge in financial outsourcing, according to an expert. Brian Pitman, senior advisor at financial services firm Morgan Stanley, said companies were increasingly turning to specialist firms to look  More...
20 November 2007 09:41

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

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

More than four in 10 UK firms believe that a skills shortage represents a significant threat to their business, new research indicates. A survey of more than 560 businesses commissioned by Barclays Commercial Bank found that nearly one-third of  More...
14 November 2007 12:22

The skills shortage is currently being talked about as though it is a new thing that skills shortages never existed before. Well, sorry, but they did and they always have. Long before apprenticeships ever entered anyone's minds, there were crops to p  More...
12 November 2007 11:20

Employers are using migrant workers to 'cushion' the impact of the skills shortage , rather than train the UK's older workers, according to a leading employment charity. The Age and Employment Network (TAEN), which campaigns for an effective job  More...
12 November 2007 09:42

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

Education and skills topped the agenda in today's Queen's speech. The government plans to phase in the extend the education participation age to 17 by 2013 and to 18 by 2015. Teenagers who refuse to stay on face spot fines of £50 or court action and   More...
06 November 2007 13:15

Further evidence of Home Office migration policy confusion has emerged with an apparent U-turn by the department on the controversial Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP). Several HSMP visa holders facing ejection from the UK have been given   More...
05 November 2007 09:00

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has published proposals for London's £560m skills and employment strategy. The mayor's London Skills and Employment Board has set itself some challenging targets, including increasing London's employment rate  More...
02 November 2007 15:28

More than 400 companies have now signed the government skills pledge to train their staff to Level 2 by 2010, almost double the number committed to the initiative in September. Lord Sandy Leitch called for the pledge as a result of   More...
01 November 2007 12:03

EU funding to help disadvantaged people in England into work or training has been slashed by half - despite the looming skills crisis. The European Social Fund (ESF) , set up 50 years ago to improve employment opportunities in the European Union  More...
30 October 2007 12:10

A new £280,000 skills and employment project has been unveiled by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone to provide training and support to 900 people linked to the 2012 London Games. The scheme will be run by the London Tigers, a community-led  More...
26 October 2007 14:41

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

Engineering firms have been urged by a senior recruitment figure to stop "finger pointing" and come up with constructive ways of solving the skills crisis. The Association for Consultancy and Engineering, which represents several large employers in   More...
25 October 2007 16:46

Plans for a European Union (EU) work permit - a 'blue card' - to increase the number of skilled migrants working in member states have divided employer opinion. The European Commission (EC) yesterday unveiled plans for an EU-wide work visa similar t  More...
24 October 2007 11:21

The director of HR policy at the confederation of British Industry (CBI) will sit on an expert advisory group for the government to help shape new qualifications. Susan Anderson will work with academics, teachers, educational bodies and diploma cha  More...
23 October 2007 16:19

Engineering employers have hit out at recruitment agencies - blaming them for poaching staff and not helping to solve the sector's critical skills shortages. A report by the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), which represents many   More...
23 October 2007 08:00

Migrants earn higher wages than UK-born workers, a government report has revealed. The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration found that the average foreign-born worker earned £424 per week in 2006, compared with £395 for the UK-born. Migrants  More...
17 October 2007 08:13

The government must not rely on throwing money at the Leitch Review targets, employers warned after the Comprehensive Spending Review last week. It is just as important that schools produce a "better supply" of skilled people, according to the EEF.   More...
15 October 2007 11:30

Hotel staff are being poached by competitors to secure talent in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympic Games , a leading human resources chief has warned. The Jumeirah Hotel group fears ongoing skills shortages and problems with ret  More...
15 October 2007 11:00

A report by London mayor Ken Livingstone points to a lack of skills in the capital. The London Story report examines London's labour market and the skills required to compete in a global economy . It challenges employers to raise the skills   More...
12 October 2007 08:59

Skills minister David Lammy has warned government departments that he will hound them into helping women into better jobs. Lammy told a trade and industry select committee in the Houses of Parliament yesterday that public sector bodies needed t  More...
10 October 2007 09:30

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has urged action on the UK's science skills base, following Lord Sainsbury's review of science and innovation. The review found that scientific and technological innovation was crucial for the UK's e  More...
09 October 2007 12:44

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

Plans to raise the school leaving age to 18 will do little to increase UK skills unless efficiency in the classroom is improved, an economic study has warned. An Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey published   More...
28 September 2007 12:27

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a two-year partnership with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) to equip personnel across the Armed Services with transferable career skills. The new contract with the CMI follows a pilot programme where   More...
27 September 2007 11:19

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

Skills minister David Lammy failed to turn up to deliver the keynote speech at a skills event in London yesterday. Lammy instead chose to deliver his plea for HR professionals to sign their firms up to the Leitch skills pledge in a pre-recorded  More...
19 September 2007 09:26

Government actions in the wake of last year's Leitch report on the UK's skills needs will do little to avert skills shortfalls in key sectors, says Karl Parkinson. He argues for more focused action. Lord Leitch's review of the UK skills crisis , and  More...
18 September 2007 21:00

The government has admitted its concern that too few employers will make use of the £1bn Train to Gain scheme. To mark the anniversary of its launch, skills secretary John Denham announced a budget increase from £200m in the first year to ne  More...
17 September 2007 10:20

Skills minister David Lammy has insisted the UK skills drive is progressing well, despite only 50 companies having signed the Leitch pledge to train all staff to Level 2 since its launch in June . Speaking exclusively to Personnel Today , Lamm  More...
17 September 2007 10:10

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

The government has kick-started an initiative to enable in-house training to lead to nationally recognised qualifications. Speaking at the CBI Skills Summit yesterday, John Denham, the Innovation, Universities and Skills secretary said that the Q  More...
13 September 2007 08:15

Employers are handing out five-figure pay rises to keep young workers as the skills shortage continues to bite, experts have revealed. City-based financial firms are having to pay young professionals in excess of £20,000 to retain their services beca  More...
11 September 2007 07:06

The holiday season is over (I almost called it summer, but that would be an outrageous misnomer for the rain-drenched travesty we've all just been through). Journalists call it the 'silly season' because there's not much going on (holidays, no parliamen  More...
10 September 2007 16:10

EXCLUSIVE: The government’s multi-million pound ad campaign to drive up UK skills has attracted just 9,000 calls to the national helpline in two months – described as “disappointing” by marketing analysts. The Department for Innovation, Universities   More...
10 September 2007 10:36

EXCLUSIVE Business leaders have accused the government of allowing the skills drive to stall after it admitted that only 50 signatures had been added to the Leitch skills pledge in almost three months. The government launched the pledge on 14