MoD exit programme
The Ministry of Defence has signed an 80m 10-year deal with consultancy RightCoutts for the management of its exit programme for staff. The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) supports exiting service personnel, helping to ease them back into civilian life, offering career advice, interview support skills and competency training. www.personneltoday.com/31311.article
78m sick days for UK staff
UK workers have collectively taken off 78 million working days in the past 12 months, with 13.9 million people taking at least one day off due to sickness, research reveals. A survey of more than 600 UK staff, by the Benenden Healthcare Society, also shows that 8% of respondents admitted to taking more than three weeks off sick in the past 12 months. www.personneltoday.com/31306.article
GCSEs ‘not good enough’
Employers’ desperate search for young people with adequate basic skills looks set to continue after business groups said this year’s GCSE results were “not good enough”. The conclusion comes hot on the heels of A-level results, which were also dismissed by employers as being too easy and not focusing on the skills employers wanted. Only 52% of GCSE pupils achieved a grade C or above in maths and 60% secured a grade C or above in English. www.cbi.org.uk
Armed marshals on Tube
Armed undercover marshals could be deployed on the London Under-ground to foil future bombers, train driver union Aslef’s general secretary has suggested. Keith Norman said the marshals could deter terrorists, reassure commuters and back up drivers after an attack. Norman compared the idea with the US air marshals deployed to try to prevent plane hijackings in the 1970s. www.personneltoday.com/31304.article
