Job News

Sometimes it can feel almost impossible to find staff that are talented, hard working and enthusiastic about what they do. In fact there is a pool of high calibre candidates that employers overlook. We are of course talking about apprentices.

UK financial services market confidence amongst employers is the lowest it has been since 2002, according to data from the Securities & Investment Institute (SII).

The creation of 500 new jobs in the North East came another step closer yesterday as one of the region's largest private sector employers and the UK's 12th largest building society, officially opened for business at its new additional office, Cobalt 21.

The ifs School of Finance, who provide the mortgage industry benchmark qualification, the Certificate in Mortgage Advice & Practice (CeMAP), confirmed today that the numbers of individuals registering to take CeMAP has remained buoyant despite the current troubles in the mortgage market.

The Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report shows a slight decline in the rate of jobs growth in Scotland in May.

New figures openly challenge the perception that the youth of today have never had it so good - revealing the nation's young workers are working extremely long weeks and are having to let things slip in their home lives.

Lee McQueen from may have won The Apprentice and landed himself a dream job with Sir Alan Sugar, but the CII Group has pointed out that the insurance industry is now playing a significant role in promoting and advancing Apprenticeships within the sector.

Have you ever wished you could learn IT skills but simply don’t have the time or perhaps you’d like to become a chef but lack of money is putting you off? Well now a crack team of experts headed by TV Presenter Carol Smillie are here to help.

Only 16% of 16-21 year olds plan to follow the same career path for life according to research by Alliance & Leicester Current Accounts. Instead the research reveals a quarter (25%) of young people predict they will change careers to suit each stage of their life.

41% of women working in IT do not feel confident about their future success, according to new research by online job board and networking portal Womenintechnology.co.uk.

Checking out the background of a potential employee is just as important as checking the status of a used car, warns Experian, the global information services company.

Thatcham’s Apprentice Training Centre has been given a glowing report following the insurer supported centre’s first inspection from OFSTED, the government’s Office for Standards in Education.

Almost half (43%) of workers are embarrassed or worried about the negative effect on their career or feel paranoid when they return to work after a period of illness, according to a study by Saga Private Medical Insurance.

The latest figures show that 2008 is looking likely to be a year of increased redundancies. Workers in certain industries are more vulnerable to job cuts than others, but all workers could safeguard their careers by developing their skills.

Flexible hours, part-time contracts and the latest wireless technology: thanks to the wonders of flexible working, businesses have learned that chaining employees to their desks no longer gets the job done.

Zurich is launching a recruitment drive to attract more than 30 high calibre sales and marketing staff to join its very successful Intermediary Group.

UK employers believe that ‘Booze Britain' is contributing to a lack of productivity in workplaces up and down the country, according to new research.

The Chartered Insurance Institute's (CII) second annual skills survey reveals a worsening skills shortage in the financial services sector.

Increasing numbers of UK workers are spending time working abroad, tempted by further career opportunities and potential higher earnings, according to the NatWest International Personal Banking (NatWest IPB) Quality of Life Report.

Almost a third (29%) of Brits planned a break from their jobs in 2007 to take gap year or a sabbatical and this figure has doubled since 2003 showing a trend towards sabbaticals for professionals looking for a break.

Recent research of over 200 women by womenintechnology.co.uk, the online job board and networking group has revealed that the majority of women working in IT are dissatisfied with their work/life balance and that although employers say they support flexible working, the reality is often quite different.

Workers in the capital city are the most unhappy with their current job and think about trying to find another role at least once a day whilst workers in the South West of England are the happiest in their work according to research from the UK’s first independent recruitment agency scoring website.

LV= has been named one of Britain's top 100 employers by the Corporate Research Foundation (CRF). The awards identify UK companies that excel in HR management.

Almost half of UK job-seekers will turn to the Internet when applying for positions, according to a new survey from Taleo, the leading provider of on demand talent management solutions.

With the new series of The Apprentice now on our screens, Fidelity FundsNetwork says that apprenticeships could be the answer to the skills shortage in the independent advice sector.

The CII Group has highlighted results from recent surveys – one finding that 22% of employers said UK candidates lacked the right qualifications and 16% could not find UK candidates with the right skills - and warned that the industry needs to take apprenticeships and graduate recruitment seriously to avoid long term implications.

Colin Seccombe, Chief Executive at Newcastle Building Society, says: “North East England is home to a highly skilled workforce in the financial services sector, and we support the ONE NorthEast-led employment task force to help find new jobs for as many former Northern Rock staff as possible.

Social network profiles are now as important as and even more influential than the traditional CV for prospective employers.

Ask any secondary school student what sort of job they think they could do if they spoke a foreign language and most will answer ‘teacher’, or ‘translator’. However, a recent project undertaken by Euro London.

Vehicles that have been written-off due to rear-end accident damage are being given a new lease of life in colleges across the UK as part of a unique initiative to aid the training of young technicians.

Low paid workers can look forward to a fuller pay packet from October, after the Prime Minister today announced the adult National Minimum Wage (NMW) rate will rise from £5.52 to £5.73.

Longer working hours, more project collaboration and increased socialising out of hours is leading to an increased number of office romances according to Reed, the UK’s largest recruiter.

It seems that the universal dread of the Monday morning return to work is overrated, according to a poll of 5,000 jobseekers by the UK’s largest job site, reed.co.uk. Far from hating Monday mornings, 28% of respondents actually look forward to them, 29% are completely ambivalent about them, stating that Monday is just another day and just 13% of us truly hate them.

When McDonalds announced on Monday that they would be offering their employees qualifications that were on a par with traditional forms of qualifications, many people were more than a little sceptical and in truth more amused then anything.

IT salaries in London continue to outstrip those in the South East region report leading IT Recruitment Agency CV Screen. The analysis of over 4000 IT positions found that salaries had increased by 4.3% over the last 12 months.

Fifty four per cent of employees would rather improve a current job role, compared to 16 per cent who would rather change jobs to develop their career, according to a survey from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

Berkshire based body repair training provider, Thatcham, has become one of the first organisations to achieve the recently introduced ‘new standard’ from the Learning and Skills Council.

Latest figures from the Department of Work and Pensions show the highest quarterly growth in the number of people in work since 1997. In the last three months 175,000 more people found a job, swelling the total to a record 29.36 million.

A new poll from WorkingMums.co.uk, a leading jobsite for women looking for flexible and home working employment opportunities, reveals that many mothers have resolved to get back to work in the New Year. Out of the 422 women polled, 83% said that they would be looking for work in 2008.

Online recruitment activity in the UK rose sharply in December, as the Monster Employment Index added five points, continuing a two-month upward growth trend.

November’s Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report revealed that conditions in the Scottish jobs market eased further in November, with employment and average pay growth weakening, while candidate availability declined at its slowest rate for a year.

A 100% increase in the number of apprentices joining the retail motor industry over the next five years is the pledge made today by The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), its Sector Skills Council and professional association, to avert a major skills crisis in the sector.

Following on from the recent tribunal where a 20 year old woman won the case against her former employer who dismissed her for being too young, a snapshot survey from office support recruiter la crème has confirmed that prejudice in the workplace due to age does indeed affect the young as well as the old.

Following recent press coverage reporting that the number of female directors on the boards of Britain’s biggest companies is rising to record levels, a new survey has suggested that within the accountancy profession, more firms are recognising the need to retain talent – leading to a more level playing field for women.

More couples are in work and better off, according to new research by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

More than 27 million Britons get stressed out by co-worker’s infuriating and unfair behaviour, a new report reveals.

A record number of investment operations jobs in Glasgow are being recruited for – with the volume of roles anticipated to increase by a third over the next quarter. Newly qualified accountants and part qualified accountants are also expected to benefit from increased demand from employers in the city.

A Government initiative to improve the skills and career opportunities of thousands of women employed in traditionally ‘male-dominated’ professions has been embraced by one of the retail motor industry’s major businesses.

Lloyds TSB is already a major employer in Glasgow with more than 1,000 people working at its contact centre handling a wide range of calls from customers.

In order to match its phenomenal business growth and success, the BGL Group is spearheading a major recruitment drive to expand its highly skilled IT team to around 200 people.

The Institute of Bankers in Ireland and The Securities & Investment Institute (Ireland) launched its joint Certificate in Investment Management (Ireland).

Some staff in the retail motor sector should see a pay increase from Monday (1 October 2007) due to a rise in the national minimum wage, as well as an increased holiday entitlement, according to the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF).

You're hired! In scenes reminiscent of Alan Sugar's The Apprentice, students on BUPA's Career Academy programme are being taught about the ins and outs of the business world by senior staff at BUPA UK Health Insurance's Salford Quays offices in Manchester.

As the summer holidays draw to a close and Britain’s workforce settles back into the swing of things, new research reveals that - far from being a nation of wage slaves - the majority of Brits actually enjoy their jobs.

As the peak summer holiday season nears its end, new research from The Franchise Group reveals that as many as 48 per cent of those returning to work could be thinking about handing in their notice in favour of pastures new, and more than two thirds hanker after being their own boss.

Five million people in Britain will be earning a bit on the side this bank holiday Monday, according to leading personal finance information site Fool.co.uk.

As the August Bank Holiday approaches, a new law is to be introduced which will force employers to give more time off to employees. The Working Time Regulations 1998 currently entitle workers to four weeks' paid holiday each year. As there is no statutory entitlement to paid bank holidays, some employers only pay employees on such days by including it as part of their annual leave.

Alan Sugar look out, it seems we are a nation of budding entrepreneurs. A poll of over 2000 jobseekers, commissioned by Reed Employment this month, reveals that the dream job for the majority of respondents is to own their own business.

The holiday season is now upon us and thousands of workers across the country are heading off on their annual summer leave.

The London jobs market strengthened in July, with a rise in job placements and firm demand for staff, according to the latest London Labour Market Report from Halifax Financial Services. Pay rates also rose during the month as firms competed for qualifying staff.

The Securities & Investment Institute (SII) has devised an exciting new online tool to enable industry entrants, or those seeking career progression in the financial services industry – as well as HR and training professionals – to match jobs with relevant qualifications.

With the Late Summer Holiday fast approaching (August 27th), millions of workers are still unsure whether it counts as annual leave or an unpaid holiday. Legal experts on DAS 24-hour helplines warn that millions of Contracts of Employment in retail, hotels and catering - as well as those for people in seasonal trades or on the minimum wage - need redrafting.

Legal & General, UK provider of term assurance and critical illness cover, has launched a new underwriting academy in conjunction with Cardiff University.

Urgent action is needed to end the problems caused by the reorganisation of Jobcentre Plus - the government agency responsible for delivering welfare benefits to five million people who are unemployed or unable to work – says a new report from Citizens Advice.

A ground-breaking new "jobs pledge" aiming to find job opportunities for a quarter of million people currently on benefit is at the heart of a Green Paper on the next steps to full employment being published today by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Work and Pensions Secretary, Peter Hain.

It has often been suggested that left handed people are more creative and artistic and a new study aims to establish, among other things, whether left-handers are proportionally more common (i.e. more than 1 in 10 people) in professions and leisure pursuits which call for a high degree of creativity or artistic flair.

Everyday thousands of hopefuls send off their badly composed CVs in pursuit of jobs they simply don't understand. And, even the better CVs often fail to get shortlisted because they just don't communicate the right message. Today, recruiters spend an average of only 17 seconds reading a CV! Britain’s best-selling careers author and transition coach, John Lees, is launching Why You? CV Messages To Win Jobs.

In the week when Nick Ross left the BBC, allegedly due to his age, new research reveals that, in fact, older people are more valued in the workplace than their younger colleagues.

Eleven assistant site managers have graduated from a unique training and development course that will propel them into management posts in the future.

Eight top employers from throughout the UK (including McDonald's have been honoured for their achievements at the prestigious DWF Employer Awards. The winners were announced from a shortlist of more than twenty businesses at a ceremony at the Hilton Hotel, Manchester.

The annual Work Wise UK Summit was held at the QEII Conference Centre in London on Wednesday, May 16. Leading speakers discussed and debated progressing the campaign for the wider adoption of new smarter working practices to increase business productivity and competitiveness, reduce transport congestion and pollution, improve health, assist disadvantaged groups, and harmonise work and family commitments.

April’s Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report highlighted a strengthening Scottish labour market, led by acceleration in employee appointments.

With the objective of launching a hybrid drive system on the market within the next few years, ZF is working intensively on orders for the German and European automotive industry. Around 100 new employees will be added to the ZF hybrid team before the end of this year.

Advertising.com, the largest, most experienced online advertising network, today launches its WonderWomen mentoring scheme for European female employees. The scheme will combine traditional business learning with lifestyle education to build overall confidence in both work and private lives.

March’s Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report signalled that labour market conditions in Scotland remained positive, with both permanent and temporary employment growth accelerating.

Action is needed to close a growing skills gap in the insurance and financial services sector or the UK faces the prospect of reduced international competitiveness, according to a study from the CII (Chartered Insurance Institute).

The BBC Writers' Academy is today inviting applications for a place on its unique training programme which offers writers the chance to hone their skills alongside the very best in British industry talent. The BBC is the only broadcaster to train writers to write television drama, and the writing course is the only one in the world that guarantees the opportunity to work on prime time television.

Millions of British workers are set to trade in their parking permit for a passport as they plan to take sabbaticals from work.

Online communication has created a lazy, “cut and paste” approach to job applications, where candidates make volume email applications literally spammed to multiple companies, rather than a bespoke, carefully-researched and well-written application. This is the key finding of technology PR agency Lighthouse PR’s analysis of applicants to the agency.

Are you really a zany squiggle but come across as a pushy triangle? Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, personality defines a person, but in many cases we may not be making the most of our potential - working in unsuitable jobs or taking completely the wrong career paths.

BBC’s The Apprentice, which returns for a new series this week, has been credited with making the recruitment process an entertaining spectacle for young, would-be entrepreneurs. However, recruitment experts suggest Sugar’s harsh tactics only serve to bring out the worst in candidates, and his eventual ‘you’re hired’ decision favours only the person who can survive weeks of one-upmanship and back-stabbing as a result of the unnecessary pressure put on the group.

Employers should use No Smoking Day on 14 March as an opportunity to discuss the issues with staff before the ban comes into force in England on 1 July 2007, says law firm DWF.

Those interested in a career in the property sector can keep one step ahead of the competition and make sure they are prepared for changes to government legislation, applicable in England and Wales, when it comes into force later this year – thanks to new diplomas from City & Guilds.

January’s Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report showed that demand for staff in Scotland remained firm at the start of 2007, while wages and salaries continued to rise.

Jim Murphy, Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform, welcomed today's Labour Market figures - which show a fall in the claimant count, more people in work and a fall in ILO unemployment:

A recent survey reveals that 59% of employees have had romantic encounters in the workplace. Worryingly, more than half of those that have had an office relationship did so without knowing whether it could cost them their job.

Flexible working is now at the heart of the UK’s business agenda, following a recent pledge signed by leading organisations such as the CBI and TUC, to promote smarter working practices nationwide. With increasing numbers of people now working from home at least one day out of five, RecruitmentTraining.co.uk’s Mike Walmsley suggests that a radical shift in employer thinking could lead to even greater benefits for the local workforce.

Do you have a green streak? Fancy doing something more interesting and worthwhile for a living? If you’re attracted by the thought of a carbon-saving career, working for yourself with flexibility and really exciting prospects, then Leeds is the place to be today.

The Chartered Institute of Building's (CIOB) annual skills shortage survey has revealed that 77% of respondents had problems recruiting during 2006.

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is yet another organistion which has discovered that smarter working is the way forward for the UK. It is almost repeating the comments made yesterday by the TUC, CBI, Transport for London, RAC Foundation and BT where these organisations signed the Work Wise UK ‘concordat’ to encourage the wider adoption of smarter working practices across the UK and bring about a workplace revolution.

Employers who are worried about the weight of their workers are within their rights to refuse to take on obese job candidates – providing there is no medical reason for their weight problem, according to law firm DWF.

Joslin Rowe, financial services recruiter, has reported that across the financial services sector, bonus pay outs are expected to rise 12.3% year on year. This is more than double the rate of growth for bonuses in the wider economy, where across the UK bonuses are expected to rise 5.8%.

A new study released today reveals that UK business is suffering from the poor leadership skills of Britain’s bosses. The survey shows that business leaders fail across the board at setting clear objectives, motivating staff and weeding out poor performers.

21st Century Families and home workers are amongst the happiest, healthiest and wealthiest people in the UK, suggests statistics from a new study.

A whopping 6000 women are missing from the 33,000 top spots in the workplace according to the Equal Opportunities Commission Sex and Power: Who Runs Britain? 2007 report.

The vast array of temporary and part-time employees taken on to cover the busy Christmas period are today reminded of their right to be paid at least the national minimum wage.

Over two thirds of senior HR managers surveyed in the UK see either recruitment or retention as the biggest challenge for next year, according to a new survey from Taleo, the leading provider of on demand talent management solutions. The results are from a survey entitled “2007: The Challenges for HR”, that shows that 37% of respondents see employee retention as the biggest challenge moving into 2007, whereas the concerns of 29% lie in hiring the best talent.

According to a snapshot survey by events, marketing and office support recruiter Regan & Dean, over a quarter of all employers have witnessed examples of bad manners during interviews. “As recruiters, we obviously interview many candidates oursleves – and have witnessed various lapses of office etiquette”, says Narelle Lester, Managing Director of Regan & Dean.

Lord Dearing’s policy review of language teaching in schools is long overdue says specialist multi lingual recruiter Euro London Appointments – and probably doesn’t go far enough. According to the recruiter, modern European languages are only part of the picture as there is also a real shortage of Asian and emerging market language skills such as those associated with the booming economies of China and India – and without them UK workers are running a real risk of falling behind in the global economy.

Giving up smoking, starting a new diet, or going to the gym have always been popular resolutions to make on New Year’s Eve. This year, however, according to a survey of over 300 people commissioned by language software provider Rosetta Stone, learning a new language is a top priority, with 66% listing it as a resolution they plan to make. Being able to communicate while travelling (38%) and improved job prospects (29%) were the biggest motivating factors cited by those planning to learn a new language in 2007.

New fire safety rules that came into effect in October have shifted the onus for compliance from businesses onto individuals. Those deemed ‘responsible’ for their company’s premises will soon be approached by inspectors checking they are in accordance with the law.

As the revelry of Christmas celebrations become nothing but a distant (and often hazy), memory, thoughts inevitably turn to New Year’s resolutions. A snapshot survey of 125 PAs and secretaries on behalf of office support recruiter La Crème has revealed the top resolutions they wish their boss would make.