News

This
month’s news

Byers
to speak at conference

The
Rt Hon Stephen Byers MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, is to
deliver a keynote speech at a conference run by Training and The Industrial
Society on 16 March.

The
one-day conference, Putting Training at the Heart of Business, is part of the
TD2000 campaign organised by Training and The Industrial Society with the aim
of enhancing the status of training and development.

Issues
will include how to run training like a business, demonstrating the bottom line
impact of T&D, and aligning T&D activities with the needs of the
business. Speakers include Clive Morton OBE, business development director UK,
Anglian Water, Frank Rock, training and development manager, Friends First and
evaluation specialist Paul Kearns.

For
more information, contact Lisa McGowan at Brintex on 0207-973 6643, or email
l.mcgowan@hemming-group.co.uk

Investment
favours high-fliers

Managers
and professionals receive more than twice as much training as clerical and
manual workers, according to Cranfield School of Management.

Its
latest UK Executive Report finds that managers and professionals receive an
average of five days of training per year compared with just two days for
manual and clerical workers.

Professor
Chris Brewster, co-author of the report, said “At a time when companies are
stressing that their customer-facing employees are key for their company’s
success, this finding must make us question training investment choices of UK
plc.”

Award
winners

It’s
awards season, and Tesco has been named Britain’s Most Admired Company by
Management Today. Significantly, the retailer also scooped the special awards
for quality of management and ability to attract, develop and retain top
talent.

The
recently-announced winners of the National Training Awards include Queens Moat
House Hotels, Sutcliffe Catering, Budgens Stores, Lloyds TSB Independent
Financial Advisers and Glasgow Airport.

Speaking
at the awards ceremony, Education and Employment Secretary David Blunkett drew
particular attention to an initiative devised by Knowsley Community College in
partnership with the Army.

“The
programme sets out to tackle social exclusion in one of the most disadvantaged
areas in the country by providing disaffected young people with a ‘no
commitment’ introduction to Army life. Many have obtained extra practical
qualifications, and more than 60 per cent of those completing the course have
enlisted,” he said.

Union
opens learning centre

The
first trade union learning centre to deliver training and development to the
heart of Whitehall was opened by Lifelong Learning Minister, Malcolm Wicks last
month. The Public and Commercial Services Union Open Learning Centre is
supported by a £50,000-grant from the DfEE and £10,000 from Electronic Data
Systems Ltd. It will provide Information and Communications (ICT) skills to
secretaries, typists, clerical and support staff in Whitehall Departments.