My Jotter

The Press Association:

Young people with no qualifications are more than four times more likely to be unemployed than those with an A-level, according to a new report.

The University and College Union (UCU) said its research showed the urgent need to simplify the current "jungle" of further education funding streams which it described as a "nightmare" to negotiate.

Educational underachievement already cost the UK an estimated £18 billion a year, said the union, which warned that inequalities in access to education risked creating a lost generation of young people.

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: "The current funding streams for further education are a complete minefield and impossible to navigate. It's as if the system has been designed deliberately to put people off.

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Some of the courses I am interested in studying are quite expensive, so I was very happy when I found out about this loan.

To find out more about the loans available click here

About time!

'The right to request 'time to train'

From 6 April 2010 if you are an employee and you work in an organisation with 250 or more employees you will have the statutory (legal) right to request time for study or training. This right is known as 'time to train'.

From 6 April 2011 the right will apply to all employees working in organisations of all sizes, regardless of how many employees there are.

You do not have to use the right for every training request. If you already have a system with your employer for making training requests you can continue to use that.

To make a statutory request for 'time to train' you must:

• be an employee
• have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks before you apply

click here for more information

Taken from the CIPD Press Office:

There’s both an opportunity and a threat for HR in the wake of the global financial crisis, according to a major new study published today by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The first report of the CIPD’s Next Generation HR project recognises a far greater focus amongst senior business leaders on genuinely sustainable performance, and identifies examples of the best HR functions seizing the opportunities this focus offers the profession. However, the CIPD is warning that more needs to be done to ensure “the rest of HR catches up with the best of HR”.

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Take from the People Management Website:

How to... manage sickness absence and dismissal fairly

Failing to follow a fair and proper procedure when dismissing employees for absence can lead to costly disability discrimination and unfair dismissal claims, for which the average tribunal awards last year were £27,235 and £32,115 respectively. Such claims are increasingly likely as sacked employees struggle to secure alternative employment in the current job market.

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Take from The Guardian:

"Adult learners will have to be turned away from colleges in England following an average budget cut of 16% for adult courses, according to the Association of Colleges (AoC).

"We face the very frightening prospect of many courses having to close and provision being vastly scaled back," the union representing college lecturers says.

 

More than two-fifths of further education colleges face cuts of more than 20%, the AoC says, warning that the total adult education budget could be slashed by close to £200m this year, affecting large numbers of students who want to enrol this September."

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Thought this article might be of interest to people studying the BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies or similiar areas.

Abstract:

The well-being of children and young people in the UK has become an increasing concern of local and national government in recent times. This article explores regional and sub-regional geographic variations in a number of themes relating to this key population sub-group, such as educational attainment from early years to age 19, participation in education and training at ages 16 and 17, aspects of health and local authority care, and court sentencing of juveniles committing crimes.

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Visiting Kenya this week are Sue Lawrance and Matthew Brown from the leading international marketing body, The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). They are in Nairobi to not only support the work of the CIM Kenya office through a series of events, media interviews, local tutor updates and company presentations, but also to promote the Institute’s new syllabus for its popular Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing, a qualification that has been specifically designed for marketers working in the tourist industry, and is based on the skills employers are looking for - practical applied standards for immediate benefit in the workplace.

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Animation Arena:

I wanna get into the games industry!!, but how??

First off you shouldn't try starting up your own game development team. Game development is no longer the kind of thing that you can just do in your bedroom with a few friends, it's a big money industry run by professional people who demand quality or the heat will rain down on you and you'll be lumped with a mass of debt. If you want to make your own game development group that makes games you might see on a store shelf then you should get a few years experience in the industry at least. If you want to do it on a hobbyist level to get some practice in i'd suggest looking for mod teams to join. There are hundreds of mods out there and most are always on the look-out for fresh talent.

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Taken from the Guardian website:

There was excitement at Fagan's pub yesterday in Dublin as Arsenal experienced their own Avatar moment – annihilation in 3D.

And it wasn't because the former taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, dropped in to his local where TV history was being made with what BSkyB billed as the world's first live 3D sports broadcast.

Hundreds crammed in to watch the Arsenal v Manchester United clash on the specially installed 47-inch LG TV and many were impressed.

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