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The Learning and Skills Council has been roundly criticised by opposition parties for its Train To Gain scheme. The scheme was accused of being unrealistically ambitious, of setting wild targets and failing to meet predicted success rates. Government has of course defended the scheme- what else could they do- but in fact the criticism did not go far enough. (more…)

For many years the British economy has relied on consumer spending for its growth. However, a study by leading accountancy firm Ernst and Young notes that consumers- ordinary people like you and me- are ‘cashed out’; we have spent too much money and we are tired of being in debt. The study predicts that over the next decade the British economy will be driven by exports, with sales to China being of particular importance. If this is the case, how will it affect the jobs we do, and who will benefit the most? (more…)

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which is the professional body for Human resources practitioners, held its annual conference this week in Manchester. As usual the conference was accompanied by an exhibition of suppliers to the HR profession. (more…)

I recently heard the chief executive of a large company speaking about his experiences when recruiting new graduates. He said that the difference between this group and previous cohorts is that these days they all want to know what the company is going to do for their own personal development. They are not so much selling themselves as making sure that they are going somewhere which is good for them. He thought this was good, and so do I. (more…)

One of my most frequent activities during the recession has been replying to the vast numbers of people who have asked to come and work at Career Energy as a career consultant. There is clearly something about the work we do which appeals to people; the idea of helping others is always attractive and what better to help them with than careers, which take up such an significant part of our life. (more…)

The past ten years or so have seen a remarkable growth in coaching as a technique to help us to do more, better. There are various forms of coaching- the most effective being workplace related, particularly career coaching, executive coaching and performance coaching. There are also others, like life coaches, financial coaches and relationship coaches. An analogy is often drawn between workplace of coaching and coaching on the sports field, but there is one major difference. (more…)

One of the biggest obstacles that career changers face is accepting just how wide a range of options they have. At Career Energy we meet people on a daily basis who want to know what careers are open to them, as an ex-engineer, ex-designer, ex- lawyer or whatever. It can be difficult to accept that the career you are hoping to leave no longer defines you, that employers will exclude you because of career choices you made at an earlier stage in your life. (more…)

In a bid to reduce the demand on public funds the CBI are proposing that students personally contribute much more to the costs of their education. Students are arguing that this would result in far fewer people entering higher education. Both sides have a case. However the real issue is not the cost of higher education, but its purpose. (more…)

This weekend we saw the first indications of how public spending cuts will impact on the working landscape. The Schools Minister suggested that education departments will save money by reducing top tier management; schools and colleges are likely to share heads and deputy heads. (more…)

We face two economic, career-impacting possibilities as the second half of the working year begins. On the face of it the most benign appears to be the most likely. But we live in a world of uncertainties and it would be prudent to ensure that we have a Plan B in case the worse occurs. (more…)