Training world: new developments, articles and research
 

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) is warning that the UK’s economy – currently the sixth largest in the world – is set to slide down the international rankings unless its skills and employment systems are fundamentally reformed and improved. The report, Ambition 2020, published this week by the UKCES, says that 10m people need to improve their skills if the UK is to achieve its ambition of being in the top eight countries in the world for skills, jobs and productivity by 2020, but predicts that we are likely to achieve just half that number.

Martyn Sloman, a research academic specialising in learning and development, says L&D professionals need a “new mindset” to develop more learner-centric training solutions over the next decade. He says this will ensure employees are focused on learning the more specialised skills they will need to be effective at increasingly technical jobs.

Tory MP John Hayes says he is "completely committed" to ensuring people of all ages have access to learning and skills following his appointment as Minister of State at the Department for Education (DfE) in addition to his current role as Minister of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). As part of his remit at the DfE he will be responsible for apprenticeships for 16- to 18-year-olds and careers advice.

“Slow” L&D departments are failing to deliver the skills businesses need to recover from the recession, a study has found. The survey of business leaders from 100 of the UK’s largest 500 companies found almost half cast doubt on their L&D department’s ability to provide the necessary learning services needed to deliver the firm’s upturn strategy.

Personnel Today, a weekly HR magazine, is going online-only from the end of this month. Publisher Reed Business Information (RBI) says the closure of the print edition of the magazine after the 29th June issue will put up to 12 jobs at risk. The magazine, which was launched more than 20 years ago, has suffered as recruitment and product advertising has migrated to the Personnel Today website.