News from the UK and around the world

The majority of mothers feel no guilt about leaving their children to go out to work and believe their working life has improved since having children, according to a new survey. More than 90% of full-time working mothers say they are a good role model for their children and more than half say they are happy to combine parenthood with a career, according to research by Mumsnet.com, the UK's biggest online parenting network. The survey of more than 1,500 working mothers also found women believe they work more efficiently after having children. They add that they do not feel discriminated against, with the majority believing their employment and promotion opportunities were just as bright as before they had children. According to the survey, more than 80% of working mothers work to provide income without which, they say, their family could not survive. More than three-quarters of respondents felt they worked more efficiently at work than before they had children. Almost 60% felt their colleagues did not resent them for taking time off for children's events or emergencies. However, more than 70% of working mothers said they had no time for themselves and almost 90% said they spent little time alone with their partner. Most women think that working is good for them and their families. 'The overwhelming sensation for most working mothers is more likely to be exhaustion than guilt,' said Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet. 'It's more a question of them being stretched to their absolute limit because they're still being left to do most of the heavy lifting on the home front. 'The culture that needs to change now is that being played out in most domestic spheres,' she said. 'Employers might be more aware of treating working mothers fairly, but back at home it's still the women who are coming home after doing a full-time job and taking responsibility for the substantive side of bringing up their child by arranging playdates, organising birthday parties and supervising homework.'

Former President Bill Clinton has announced the Adolescent Girls Initiative, an innovative public-private partnership between the Clinton Global Initiative, World Bank, the country of Liberia and the Nike Foundation. This significant Commitment and collaboration, launched at the World Bank in October, aims to increase economic opportunities for adolescent girls as part of the effort to reconstruct Liberia after 14 years of war. The program targets girls specifically because of the girl effect – the ability of adolescent girls in developing countries to bring unprecedented economic and social change to their families, communities and countries. For example, research has shown that girls and women will reinvest 90% of their income back into their families, as compared to 35-40% for males. Because girls are central to the intergenerational transfer of wealth the collaboration intends to focus on programs and services designed specifically for them. The Adolescent Girls Initiative will identify employment needs in Liberia, and provide relevant skills training to adolescent girls, matched to paying jobs. The training offered to girls aged between 16 and 24 will focus on technical skills, as well as the integration of life-skills training to address some of the crucial barriers to the development of adolescent girls' economic independence. Employment in high-growth and high-need sectors, such as agriculture, entrepreneurship, emerging industries, urban services, infrastructure, public works and health care, is a major focus. Initially designed to reach 1,500 adolescent girls and young women, the partners aim to see the work brought to scale in Liberia and replicated in other developing countries. The Liberia investment is the first step in an initiative to see high-leverage investments in adolescent girls replicated in other countries with additional donor governments, foundations and private-sector partners.

Swiss Re and Oxfam America have announced collaboration aimed at helping communities most vulnerable to climate variability and change. The project focuses on an innovative pilot project to introduce weather insurance for a staple cereal crop in the village of Adi Ha, Tigray Regional State, Ethiopia. Drought-related risks are a primary concern throughout Ethiopia where 85% of the population is dependent on smallholder, rain-fed agriculture. Adi Ha is a drought-prone community that has expressed strong interest in incorporating insurance into its risk management strategy. The pilot will adopt a holistic approach to risk management, examining the suitability of weather insurance and risk reduction measures such as seasonal forecasting and improved agricultural practices. All efforts will be undertaken in close collaboration with the local farming community with the overall objective of alleviating poverty. The efforts will be funded by Swiss Re and Oxfam America, with primary technical support being provided by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University. Swiss Re has pioneered weather risk transfer instruments in developing countries, starting in India in 2004 with a program reaching over 350,000 smallholder farmers. In 2007, Swiss Re introduced the Climate Adaptation Development Programme (CADP). The goal of the CADP partnership is to develop and implement weather risk transfer solutions in non-OECD countries.

Latest research by Microsoft reveals that the next 25 years will see a shift towards more female-oriented skills in the workplace like collaboration, flexibility and creativity. Coupled with the increase in mobile technologies, more workers will determine their own work schedules.

Despite 12 months of economic turmoil, the latest UK Enterprise Survey Report shows that UK companies are determined to survive, and remain optimistic about the future. The survey, released by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), paints a detailed picture of how UK businesses of all sizes, in all regions and all sectors – as well as their counterparts across the globe – have felt the impact of the more than a year-long credit crunch before the last few weeks of extreme economic turbulence in the international financial services sector. It shows that whilst nearly two-thirds (65%) of UK businesses confirm the credit crunch has had a negative effect on their organisation, 83% say that business growth is still one of their main objectives. Their growth plans are, in fact, quite similar to those before the credit crunch hit (average annual growth target this year is 12.4% amongst businesses planning to grow compared with 13.4% last year). Micro and small businesses lead the growth in the UK economy, and the number of micro businesses planning growth of over 6% per year is even higher this year than in 2007. Medium and small sized businesses have slightly less ambitious growth plans, however, as do start-ups. Whilst the survey shows that the credit crunch has made it harder for businesses to plan (72%) as well as creating increased short (64%) and long-term (53%) borrowing costs, there are positive outcomes to the economic turbulence. Just over half of UK businesses (51%) see some benefit in weakened competitors and nearly one-third (32%) say it has increased their opportunities for business acquisitions.

According to University of Michigan professor Scott E. Page, when people in Congress, a corporate boardroom, or virtually anywhere else are faced with solving a problem or making a prediction, a diverse group is more likely to yield a superior outcome. Using mathematical models similar to those used to predict the movements of financial markets and voting patterns, Page demonstrates how difference beats out homogeneity. Corporate America continues to struggle with the topic of race. The vast majority of the nation's publicly traded companies continue to be led by a rather homogenous group of graying white men. At the country's 100 largest corporations, African American's occupy only 9% of the board slots, yet they represent nearly 13% of the U.S. population and nearly 12% of the labor force. Black board representation is about the same as it was two years ago and might even be trending slightly downward, according to officials at The Executive Leadership Council, a nonprofit organization of black executives devoted to broadening black leadership. Women and all minorities represented just 14.8% of the top 500 company board seats in 2007, essentially the same percentage as in 2005, according to researcher Catalyst Inc. Many argue that boards miss opportunities by not taking advantage of a black board member's understanding of the advantages that diversity offers, including new suppliers, underutilized financial and legal services, and a reservoir of untapped talent.

London universities have risen in world rankings of higher education institutions this year, despite Britain's slide in the league. The English capital has two universities among the world's top 10: Imperial College and University College London, according to the rankings compiled by the Times Higher Education magazine.

One in three teenage girls wants to grow up to be a model or a movie star. If they can't be Kate Moss, they'd like to be an actress according to a poll of 13 to 18 year olds. The youngsters were asked to pick three options from a list of jobs for a careers survey. Lawyer, journalist, doctor and hairdresser also figured high on the list. But only 14% wanted to be a scientist, just 2% more than those who ticked housewife. And just 4% fancied being an engineer. The survey of 506 girls was conducted for Noise – New Outlooks in Science and Engineering, a national campaign to raise awareness of science among young people. But the findings reveal that girls find the subject geeky, untrendy and boring. They rarely read about it in the magazines they buy. And a fifth said it ‘did not sound glamorous' and was more suitable for boys. Around a third said they were put off science careers because they did not know enough about them.

A record number of women are in work in the UK, but half are in part-time jobs, official figures reveal. There are now approximately 13.6 million posts filled by women, with a similar amount held by men. However, one in two women's jobs are part-time, compared with one in six for men. And men still boast a higher employment rate of 79% compared with 70% for women. The report from the Office of National Statistics is the latest update on the Focus on Gender study, which started in the 1970's. The findings, which update the study for the first time in more than three years, confirm that having children impacts greatly on women's employment choices. 38% of women with dependent children worked part-time, compared with only 4% of men with dependent children.

Dental training services in both England and Scotland have received a multi-million funding boost. The Department of Health has pledged £11 million towards upgrading IT systems at dental hospitals across England, whilst the new £21 million Aberdeen Dental School has been officially opened. Up to £11 million funding is being made available for ten dental trusts in England to fund new IT systems that will support the training of dental students. The funding will train students to use the clinical computer programmes that they will work with once they are qualified, such as patient administration systems software, clinical dental systems, and resource management. The ten trusts set to share the funding include: King's College Hospital NHS Trust; South Birmingham Primary Care Trust; and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Dental training in Scotland is also set for a boost following the official opening of the £21 million University of Aberdeen Dental School. Funded by the Scottish Government and NHS Grampian, the state-of-the-art complex is set to train 20 fully-qualified dentists per year. The school contains facilities for radiography, restorative dentistry, consultant orthodontics, dental laboratories, student laboratories and office accommodation.

Microplace.com, an online brokerage specializing in socially responsible investments that address poverty, has announced a new female-focused microfinance investment opportunity. The Women's Empowerment investment, directing loans largely towards female borrowers, was launched to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, on October 17, a United Nations' sanctioned day committed to presenting and promoting activities centred on the eradication of poverty and destitution. Over 1.2 billion of the world's working poor subsist on less than $1 a day, and 60 percent of them are women. About 84 percent of all microfinance borrowers are women, says the organization, and women have historically shown to be more likely to use their profits to reinvest in family and household. They also tend to take fewer risks with their business and are more careful to repay their loans. The new Women's Empowerment opportunity is comprised of investments on MicroPlace.com that are specifically focused on women and have a borrower base of at least 70 percent women. The Women's Empowerment opportunity offers a 3 percent return. It is widely estimated that women make up the majority of the world's poor, and seven out of 10 of the world's hungry are women and girls.4 Yet when women are afforded the opportunity to work and contribute to the economy, they have tremendous impact. The Economist estimates that over the past decade, women's work has contributed more to global growth than China.

Compulsory identity cards for foreign nationals will kick start the National Identity Scheme, with the first applicants now having to apply for cards. It will cost £30. Within three years all foreign nationals applying for leave to enter or remain in the UK will be required to have a card, with around 90 per cent of foreign nationals in Britain covered by the scheme by 2014/15. The new credit-card sized document will show the holder's photograph, name, date of birth, nationality and immigration status. A secure electronic chip will also hold their biometric details, including fingerprints, and a digital facial image. The UK Border Agency plans to start issuing the cards to categories of immigrants believed to want to abuse the country's immigration system, including students and people seeking leave to remain on the basis of marriage. The introduction of the first card supports the Government's tough new Australian-style Points Based System for managed migration. Businesses found employing illegal workers face fines of up to £10,000 per person. The introduction of cards for foreign nationals will be followed by the first ID cards for British citizens, targeting workers in sensitive roles and locations like airports from 2009. Then from 2010 ID cards will be available to young people who want them and from 2011/12 cards will be available to the general population. The Government believes that the introduction of ID cards will provide a convenient and secure means to protect identity by locking it to one person using their fingerprints.

The UK Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), has published the new recommended lists of occupations for which there is a shortage of skilled workers in the UK and Scotland. Shortage occupation lists will be used in Tier 2 of the new Points Based System which relates to immigration of skilled workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Under Tier 2, as well having as a certificate of sponsorship from a sponsored employer and satisfying English language and maintenance requirements, migrants have to satisfy points criteria based on their expected contribution to the UK economy. Under the shortage occupation route, employers who are licensed sponsors can bring in migrant workers from outside the EEA to fill vacancies in those occupations. It might be difficult for employers whose jobs are not in this list to bring foreign workers in the UK in the future. MAC's report contains two recommended shortage occupation lists, one for the UK and one just for Scotland. These consist of skilled occupations and job titles that the Committee has assessed as being both skilled and in shortage and where it has concluded that it is sensible to fill these shortages, at least in the short term, through immigration. The full recommended UK list includes: consultants and senior nurses in particular healthcare specialisms; some engineering occupations, including civil and chemical engineers; quantity surveyors and project managers for property development and construction; secondary school teachers in the subjects of maths and science; skilled chefs; skilled senior care workers; ship and hovercraft officers; and some animal care occupations, including veterinary surgeons. This strict list means 30 per cent fewer jobs are available to migrants via the shortage occupation route. The occupations on the recommended list account for approximately 700,000 employees.

The Dutch Government has granted IOM The Hague new financial support for the Temporary Return of Qualified Nationals (TRQN) project. The successful TRQN project, which ran as a pilot for the past two years, will have a three-year duration and will last until June 2011. The target countries of TRQN II include Sierra Leone, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Bosnia Herzegovina. TRQN is a response to the Dutch policy on Migration & Development which shows an increased need for an integrated and coherent approach. Engaging Diasporas for capacity building in countries of origin is a key component of the M&D policy. The TRQN II project contributes to the development and reconstruction of a number of selected countries by facilitating the temporary return of qualified nationals residing in the Netherlands. IOM's TRQN project makes the required skills available by creating possibilities for qualified nationals in the Netherlands to fulfill temporary assignments. The project's focus is on capacity building in sectors and areas identified by the target countries. IOM in the Netherlands is the coordinating mission and will closely cooperate with the IOM field offices and with government stakeholders in the target countries.

Young people who have made a positive impact on their local communities are urged to enter a UK-wide competition. Now in its second year, the annual CHANGEit Awards look to recognise the inspiring young campaigners who come up with innovative ways to change society for the better and can offer winners a £750 cash prize. Run by leadership development group Common Purpose in partnership with Deutsche Bank, the awards aim to acknowledge the 11-18 year-olds who are a force for good. The CHANGEit awards highlight and remind people of the valuable role that young people have in our society. The contest is open to bids in three categories: Performance Award - for young people who have taken action on issues they care about and taken part in campaigns to create positive change in their community. Innovation Award – a helping hand for young people to get their campaigning ideas off the ground. Photo Award - for young people who have captured images of "campaigning in action" that have been started or helped by other young people. Overall winners in the Performance and Innovation categories will each receive £750, with a number of finalists also scooping a £250 consolation prize. Winners in the Photo Award section will receive a £250 prize and have their photographs exhibited at a number of CHANGEit events. Applications are made online, and all entries must be endorsed by an adult who is not a family member of any of the applicants, for example, a youth leader or teacher. The deadline for entering is 12 January 2009. The prizes will be announced in May. For more information about the competition and to enter online, visit the CHANGEit website

A survey, tracking diversity initiatives at the 636 US companies that make up the Calvert Social Index, reveals that 83% of leading companies have at least one woman or minority on their boards, but only 38% have a woman or minority among their five highest paid executives. That disconnect is one of the many important findings highlighted in "Examining the Cracks in the Ceiling: A Survey of Corporate Diversity Practices in the Calvert Social Index(R)." The survey shows significant progress and continuing challenges for women and minorities in corporate America. The organization points out that although board diversity trends are encouraging, future board members are often selected from top management, a group which is still overwhelmingly white and male. The survey revealed that almost all companies target diversity but few have met the strictest standards. Only nine companies within the survey showed no public commitment to diversity, but only 3% demonstrated diversity excellence. To manage diversity, companies have to be able to measure it. Still, only 7% of companies surveyed provide the detailed demographic data required for full EEO-1 disclosure, making it difficult to assess progress for women and minority employees. The report also showed that performance varies by sector. On average, companies in the technology sector performed the best, closely followed by companies in the consumer cyclical sector. Companies in the energy sector lagged. The survey measured progress in 10 critical areas including EEO policy, internal diversity initiatives, external diversity initiatives, scope of diversity initiatives, family-friendly benefits, EEO-1 disclosure, highest paid executives, board diversity, director selection criteria and overall corporate commitment. Calvert is a diversified investment management firm and a known leader in Sustainable and Responsible Investing (SRI).

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Bank of Scotland, part of the HBOS Group, hosted a global summit to discuss innovative ways to increase access to finance for women entrepreneurs. The 8th Summit of Global Banking Alliance for Women, held in London in October, was an opportunity for member banks operating in developed and emerging markets to share experiences and lessons learned in accessing the women's market profitably As Secretariat for the Global Banking Alliance for Women since 2005, IFC has been promoting the alliance in emerging markets to better support women entrepreneurs in developing economies. This year, the summit welcomed an increased number of participants from emerging markets. The event presented discussions around four key topics: integrating women entrepreneurs in the bank's strategy, educating women clients to help them achieve their business goals, identifying opportunities for the women's market, and the future direction of the alliance. Since 2005, the overall membership of the Global Banking Alliance has grown from four to 18, five of which are from emerging markets, including Egypt, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The Global Banking Alliance for Women is a consortium of financial institutions that have successfully leveraged the women's market for profit. GBA members collaborate on identifying and sharing global best practices in the delivery of financial services to women. Its aim is to create a global community where financial institutions can come together and share best practices for the growth of women's economic empowerment worldwide.

In a recent survey of U.S. consumers conducted by the Reputation Institute and the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, Campbell Soup Company placed second behind Google on the CSRI 50, a list of the most socially responsible companies in the U.S. Reputation Institute has been measuring corporate reputations rigorously since 1999. The ranking was created using data principally collected for Reputation Institute's 2008 Global Pulse Study. In creating the CSRI, the researchers used a subset of survey results that focused on more than 200 companies with a dominant presence in the United States and believed to have a reasonably high recognition factor with the general public. The data used focused on the public's perception about a company's corporate citizenship, governance and workplace practices. Long active in the communities where it operates, Campbell recently outlined plans to contribute $10 million to Camden's neighborhood revitalization efforts, job training initiatives and projects designed to benefit youth, such as after-school and summer programs in its hometown, Camden, N.J. Campbell recently published its 2008 corporate social responsibility report, entitled "Nourishing People's Lives," which describes the company's strategies, policies, programs and initiatives to bolster its commitment to corporate social responsibility, including environmental sustainability.

Are non-profit employers interested in hiring employees who have finished their midlife careers? Between 5.3 and 8.4 million Americans have already launched encore careers, jobs that combine personal meaning, social impact, and continued income. Of those workers ages 44-70 not already in encore careers, half are interested in them, specifically jobs in education, health care and the nonprofit sector. What makes nonprofits more eager - or less - to give encore workers a try? A national survey by MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures finds that half of nonprofit employers actually see encore workers as highly appealing, with an additional 39 percent finding them moderately appealing. In addition, the survey finds that nonprofits with experience hiring late-career or recently retired workers are the most positive about hiring more. Tapping Encore Talent: A MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Survey of Nonprofit Employers is based on a nationwide, telephone survey of 427 nonprofit employers in the fields of social services, health care/health services, education/youth development (not including schools), the environment, community agencies, crisis intervention agencies, and other causes. Recent reports show that the nonprofit sector is growing faster than business or government and facing talent shortages. According to the Urban Institute's Nonprofit Almanac 2008, there are at least 1.4 million nonprofits in the U.S., accounting for 10 percent of U.S. employment. Visit www.Encore.org for stories of people currently in encore careers.

Light Years IP, a non-profit organization specializing in export business strategies with intellectual property (IP) elements for developing countries, is seeing unprecedented interest levels in using IP tool such as trademarks, licensing, copyrights, patents and branding, as a way to increase the export income of some of the world's poorest communities. As a result, Light Years IP is stepping up its public outreach to provide more information on the options available. This concept is at odds with a long-standing perception of IP as being about enforcement and control of assets by multinational corporations to the detriment of African's wellbeing. An introduction to IP concepts and how IP strategies can alleviate poverty using real examples of goods from 14 sub-Saharan African countries with IP potential was released in June 2008 by Light Years IP. It can be downloaded from www.lightyearsip.net/scopingstudy. Light Years IP, a Washington DC non- profit organization that is alleviating poverty for millions by increasing export income and improving income security by assisting low-income export producers to improve their negotiating position through using far-reaching IP-based business strategies.

The number of unemployed people around the world could reach 210 million by the end of next year, according to the head of a UN agency. Juan Somavia, director-general of the International Labour Office, said that the automotive, construction, finance, housing, service and tourism sectors were expected to be hit the hardest. The estimates are based on expected global growth figures from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF's October World Economic Outlook predicted global growth of 3.2 per cent for 2009, compared with 4.6 per cent for 2008 and 5.6 per cent for 2006. Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that UK unemployment has reached 1.79 million, the biggest increase for 17 years.

The gap between rich and poor has decreased since 2000 according to an international survey produced by the OECD. Describing the decline in inequality as "remarkable" the report says that the UK still has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the developed world. The report, which covers the period up to 2005, found the wealth gap widened in the UK- as it did in most developed countries- between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s. In the UK, the gap between higher and lower incomes widened by 15 per cent but since 2000, measures of poverty and income inequality have fallen, narrowing the wage gap. Ark Pearson, who wrote the report, said that the reduction in the UK wage gap was the largest fall in all developed countries. The main reasons behind fewer people living in poverty include higher employment, particularly among the low-skilled and mothers- and the redistribution of wealth. However he warned that the recession could halt the progress.

A new study claims that the credit crunch has spurred thousands of people to launch a business from their spare room. The Home Business Report, compiled by BT and Enterprise Nation, a website helping people working from home, found that the number of home-based businesses rose by 16 per cent over the last year to account for 53 per cent of the 4.7m small and medium-sized businesses in the UK. The greatest concentration is in London and the South East.

The number of job vacancies in the City of London fell by more than 40% in September compared with the same month a year ago, according to Morgan McKinley, the financial recruitment specialists. The decline coincided with a 42% rise in the number of financial services workers looking for a job in September following "the recent collapse of several major financial institutions". The gulf between the jobs available and those looking for work has begun to affect City salaries, which on average were three per cent lower at £49,893 compared to a year ago. Another report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research predicts that employment in financial services will fall by 28,000 this year with a further 34,000 to go in 2009. The worst hit will be corporate finance, which is set to lose half of its 15,000 employees because of the slump in mergers and acquisitions. Derivatives will also be hard hit, with 46 per cent of employees losing their jobs. The City hits its peak in2007 when there were 353,000 jobs but CEBR thinks the chances of a quick bounce back are slim predicting that a rise from 291,000 in 2009 to only 308,000 in 2012.

A new study carried out by Working Links looks at the barriers facing the long-term unemployed in getting a job. It says that despite investment in schemes to help them get a job, the main problem is lack of confidence. The majority of respondents say that they require more assistance with acquiring new skills and "confidence coaching", while 55% wanted changes in the financial support provided for the transition into employment. It also found that poor physical and mental health were problems for 52%. Those interviewed had "universally negative" experiences of job centres.

Research undertaken by Bath University on behalf of Business in the Community (BitC) shows that state schools are short of 40,000 governors. The report's key recommendations are to make the job easier to manage and to give head teachers greater power over running of their schools- and urge employers to give staff more paid time off to carry out governing duties. The current framework for governing bodies was introduced by the Conservatives in the late 1980s as a means of increasing "parent power". The Bath University report argues that the "historic model" for school governing bodies with teacher staff and parental representation may not have the necessary skill sets to perform their functions effectively, e.g. finance, property management and human resource management. Governors recruited from the world of business could help bring a sense of helpful critical detachment, away from day-to-day school matters.

L'Oreal has sponsored the first class of the Law and Business Ethics Masters degree, organized by the University of Cergy-Pontoise. This is the first degree of its kind in Europe and comes in addition to L'Oreal's support of the Law and Business Chair. L'Oreal hopes in this way to make a concrete contribution to the development of business ethics in Europe. L'Oreal wishes to participate in making ethics an integral part of all corporate functions and contribute to the development of a European school of thought on ethics. At the same time, L'Oreal supports the development of the Law and Business Ethics Chair, created in July 2007, and which aims to encourage corporate responsibility.

The Women Writing Science project, a multi-faceted initiative to involve young women in science and to encourage them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), has announced the launch of the website Underthemicroscope.com. Sponsored by and developed with IBM, Underthemicroscope.com offers a wealth of continually updated information, including input from visitors to the web site. Currently the site provides the opportunity to post personal stories, feature and guest blogging, news about science, and links to related resources. Within the year the site will include more social networking opportunities, tips on careers, tips for parents, expanded links to science-related sites, and mentoring. Ultimately the site will provide information about internships and scholarships as well as serialized chapters of Women Writing Science publications that can be downloaded free of charge and an online book club. Initiated by The Feminist Press at The City University of New York with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Women Writing Science will publish books of biography, fiction, history, career profiles, and how-to-survive guides presenting women as both scientists and as writers about science. Women Writing Science will also provide free teacher guides describing lesson plans and strategies for using the books in science curricula. IBM is supporting Underthemicroscope.com as part of its efforts to encourage more young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Recent research suggests that the majority of employers are planning to cancel Christmas. The research, from employment lawyer Peninsula, found that 83% of employers will not shell out on a Christmas party as staff want to save money due to the downturn, while 74% could not see the benefit of a Christmas party and 66% of employers had received harassment claims from workers following their Christmas party. According to the company, the economic downturn has forced a lot of companies to cull their Christmas celebrations. With the economic conditions the way they are, firms just cannot warrant spending money on a Christmas party. These events represent a considerable cost to any firm, whether they employ five people or 50, and many employers consider this another process in tightening their belt and making their company more cost efficient. Firms who have been forced to make people redundant may also consider spending money on a Christmas party inappropriate, as well as detrimental to the streamlining plan they are implementing in their business.

According to research conducted by the Aziz Corporation, employees are becoming increasingly concerned over their bosses' ability to cope with the current economic climate. 200 employees (ranging from people involved in admin positions to senior management) were surveyed, and 81% believe that their boss have little or no experience of dealing with an economic downturn. They feel that the economy has been booming for so long, that senior members of an organisation have never experienced an economic slowdown. Almost three quarters of the people surveyed (74%) believe that many companies are reluctant to communicate to their employees the full extent of the financial downturn they are facing. Interestingly, 88% feel that companies will gain their employees trust and confidence by disclosing bad news in full, and as early as possible.

Net Impact, an international nonprofit organization with over 10,000 students and professional members dedicated to improving the world through business, has released its third annual edition of Business as UNusual: The Net Impact Student Guide to Graduate Business Programs. This guide is the first to document the student perspective on how graduate programs incorporate social and environmental themes into the curriculum, extra-curricular activities and career services. In addition to the individual school profiles, the guide provides school rankings in 13 categories including the overall preparation of students in ethical and socially responsible leadership, career resources that incorporate values and business skills, and the administrative support for Net Impact-related themes. Business as UNusual was created in 2006 in response to inquiries from students applying to business school with a strong interest in social and environmental themes. Developed with this goal in mind, the guide compares data on different graduate schools and their incorporation of these themes into their programs. The information in the guide was compiled from a qualitative survey completed by 64 Net Impact student chapter leaders and an online survey completed by over 1,500 Net Impact student members. The guide also highlights school stand-outs and overall trends. The guide can be downloaded for free at: www.netimpact.org/bizschoolguide

A lobby group has called for the introduction of a £1 billion emergency fund to help small businesses beat the credit crunch. The Federation of Small Businesses has urged the Government to scrap their current Small Firms Loan Guarantee scheme and replace it with a new "Survival Fund" backed by money from the European Investment Bank. The group claims such a programme would act as an emergency stop-gap measure to help businesses ride out the current financial meltdown and ensure vital funds were made available to the small business community. To further ease the current pressure on small firms, the group has called for a simplified system of bidding for public sector contracts and the removal of the fee for the Supply2.gov.uk website where government contracts are advertised. They also demanded that Companies House's powers should be increased to enable it to "name, shame and fine" large companies that didn't pay their suppliers on time. Recent research has claimed that SMEs are owed around £30,000 by large businesses not paying promptly. Source: Federation of Small Businesses, 23/10/2008

Home Office has announced the delivery plan for the student tier of the Australian-style points system. Under the new system which will be rolled out from March next year, colleges and universities interested in admitting non European Economic Area (EEA) nationals must have a licence issued by the UK Border Agency. Licensed institutions can then sponsor non EEA students to come to study in the UK. Apart from being sponsored by a UK Border Agency-licensed education institution, foreign students will also be required to supply their fingerprints and meet the new criteria. The system will be further tightened from autumn 2009, with the introduction of a 'sponsor management system' - dedicated technology that will make it easier for universities and colleges to inform the UK Border Agency if students fail to enrol or miss more than ten sessions. Home Office said that since 1st January 2005, almost 300 bogus colleges have been removed from the Department for Universities and Skills Register of Education and Training Providers. Britain's labour market, Home Office said, will be protected by tough new rules which mean visas will only be granted to students who show a proven track record in education and are applying for a course that meets a minimum level of qualification. Students must also be able to demonstrate they can financially support themselves and any of their dependants.

As a way of attracting many foreign students to come study in Europe, the European Commission has launched a new web portal called "Study in Europe". The portal, at www.study-in-europe.org, is part of the Commission's wide-ranging campaign to increase the number of students from outside Europe who study in the EU. "Study in Europe" provides clear and up-to-date information about the range of courses on offer in European higher education institutions, admission procedures, costs, scholarships and the higher education environment in Europe. The website provides potential students information to help them decide which country they should go to, which university they should choose, what they may need before they leave home and what will happen when they arrive at their chosen campus. "Study in Europe" covers thirty-two European countries, their universities and what it takes to live and study in them. The website (www.study-in-europe.org) provides information in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian. The following countries are currently covered: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Temporary workers in the European Union will be treated equally, from day one, with those of the employer company under a new Directive on temporary agency work adopted by the European Parliament on 22nd October. However, following agreement reached in May this year between the social partners in the UK, agency workers will get the same pay and conditions as permanent staff after being employed for 12 weeks. The agreement in the UK means the Parliament can adopt the directive after being blocked in Council since 2002. Under the proposed deal, Britain's 1.3 million agency workers will get the same pay and conditions as permanent staff after being employed for 12 weeks. The revised wording of the EU Agency Workers Directive allows the UK to implement the agreement between Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Trades Union Congress (TUC) which means that an agency worker is entitled to equal treatment (at least the basic working and employment conditions that would apply to the worker concerned if they had been recruited directly to occupy the same job) after 12 weeks in a given job. According to the agreement between the CBI, TUC and the UK government, equal treatment will be defined to mean at least the basic working and employment conditions that would apply to the workers concerned if they had been recruited directly by that undertaking to occupy the same job. It will not cover occupational social security schemes.

A third of students work the equivalent of more than two days a week to help pay for university, a survey has found. Nearly half took jobs to cover basic living costs and 45% said working had a bad effect on their studies. The survey by the National Union of Students showed that many students find the level of financial support inadequate.

Britain is among 45 countries where positive feelings are up since 1981, according to the findings of the World Values Survey. Experts put the increase in happiness to rising economic prosperity, democracy and social liberalisation. The happiest countries include Colombia, Denmark and Nigeria but the number of happy people in Britain has risen 13%, says New Scientist. 7 of the 52 countries surveyed saw happiness levels fall, with Taiwan worst hit.

Not enough black men are studying at university, according to Universities Minister David Lammy. The proportion of university students who are black Caribbean males has remained at just above 1% for the past three years. And they are much more likely to be at local universities rather than at elite institutions, said the Minister. Lammy says he was the first black Briton to study for a Masters in Law at Harvard. Pointing out that the fact that some black people do make it should not lead people to become complacent, the MP for Tottenham insisted that both the African and the Afro-Caribbean communities had a strong culture of aspiration and self-improvement and that more needed to be done to tap into that culture. The number of black and mixed-race entrants to Oxford University went up by 20% in 2006.Source: Metro

Fathers find going to work less stressful than staying at home with their children. Research by parent advice company Bounty revealed that nearly two-thirds of working fathers admitted enjoying going to the office as it gave them a break from parenting.

News from the UK and around the world

A new survey released by ethical beauty retailer, The Body Shop, indicates that in spite of the tough economic climate, ethics are as important, if not more important, than price with today's increasingly eco-conscious consumers. In the US the findings revealed that 76% of consumers are making more purchasing choices based on the corporate behaviour and ethics of a company than they were five years ago and 43% of those polled say that they make those purchasing decisions on a weekly basis. Other findings included the facts that 70% of respondents cite quality of goods and trust in the brand as their criteria for buying a product, 39% say they purchase based on the ethical reputation of a company and 38% say price and value is their criteria for purchase. According to The Body Shop, a growing number of people are demanding more from the businesses that produce and sell the goods they buy. Not only do they feel they have the right to a high quality product, they want to know that the company they buy from is transparent and honest about how those goods reach the shelves. More than 9,500 consumers across the US and Canada took part in the survey during July 2008.

The UK will increase the age for applying for a marriage visa from 18 to 21, the Home Office has said. This is part of a move to fight forced marriages in the country. Statistics show that 30% of the cases dealt with by the Government's Forced Marriage Unit involved victims aged between 18 and 21. The Home Office announced five key proposals which include raising the age of sponsorship for a marriage visa from 18 to 21 and asking foreign spouses to enter into an agreement to learn English before they come to the UK. The Home Office also proposes introducing a power to revoke leave to remain where there is evidence that the marriage route has been abused; requiring all sponsors to register their intention to marry overseas before they leave the UK; and ensuring through a code of practice that specialist teams can identify vulnerable people at risk of forced marriage. Under the new rules, any British citizen applying to 'sponsor' someone to come to the UK as their spouse will have to declare their intention before they leave the UK and marry abroad. This will mean that a young person will know in advance that a marriage will take place overseas and who their prospective partner will be. Tough new rules will mean that anyone abusing the marriage visa system will be removed from the UK by the UKBA under a new power to revoke people's right to stay in the country. Before they come to the UK, spouses will need to sign up to an agreement to learn English.

Vicky Njoki Ngari-Wilson is this year's Miss East Africa UK while Alan Semugabi has become the first ever Mr. East Africa UK. The historical event was organised by the founder Pauline Long and the beauty contest was attended not only by East Africans but guests from other parts of Africa, Canada, US and France. Vicky already holds the title of Miss Kenya UK, before going on to become the winner of the coveted title of Miss East Africa UK. The sold out show raised funds for Kenyan children's charities.

The global growth of private higher education provision is highlighted in a recent report by Professor Roger King for Universities UK. It reveals that over a third of students globally are studying in the private sector. Private universities and public funding: models and business plans looks at the rapid growth in private provision worldwide and the implications for UK higher education. While many countries, such as the US, Japan and Chile have well-established private sectors in higher education, companies such as Laureate, Kaplan and Apollo are changing the face of international higher education through acquisitions and partnerships, primarily with local providers worldwide in the search for new markets. The result has been boom in provision at both postgraduate and undergraduate level, most significantly in the Middle East and Anglophone African countries. The report warns that public providers may get caught in the middle, trying to compete on costs while maintaining, or even raising, standards. However, it also suggests that despite the rapid growth, government regulation and control remains a significant barrier, even where an individual country's regulatory environment is favourable to private-sector expansion. In a warning to the UK sector, the report concludes that universities should be aware of this sudden expansion in private provision. Professor Rick Trainor, President of Universities UK, said, ‘The report should help UK universities to continue to compete effectively with private providers. It has implications for public providers in terms of how public funds are spent and also from a regulatory and quality assurance perspective.'

The UK government's Department for International Development (DfID) is investing up to £15m in a Development Partnerships in Higher Education programme (DelPHE) to support and strengthen the capacity of universities across 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The goal of DelPHE is to enable universities to act as catalysts for poverty reduction and sustainable development by funding collaborative activity linked to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and science and technology. DelPHE is a partnership between the British Council, DFID and the participating institutions. The British Council manages the programme delivery; the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is responsible for programme delivery in supporting south-south (developing-to-developing) partnerships. DelPHE currently has 122 projects and has just launched an invitation to apply for funding under round four. Applications must be submitted to the local British Council office by early 2009 and local deadlines are available on the DelPHE website. For this selection round DelPHE is particularly interested in applications from the following under represented subjects: Science & Technology; Engineering; Governance & Human Rights; Business & Enterprise, and under-represented countries: Cambodia; Democratic Republic of Congo; Ghana; Mozambique; Nigeria; Sierra Leone; Sudan; Yemen. An online facility to help universities find partners has recently been launched. Universities can register to search and contact potential partners around the world. For further information about DelPHE, e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

A recent Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) survey has showed a slowdown in the rate of applications from international students, but highlighted a continued growth in actual admission offers. The CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, Phase 2: Final Applications and Initial Offers of Admission, reported the rate of growth in applications from international students had slowed to 6% from gains of 9% last year and 12% in 2006. This, according to the survey, has long-term implications not only for US graduate education, but also for the country's competitiveness in the global economy. Applications from India and China grew only 2% and 11% this year, after increases in 2007 of 12% and 19% respectively. In addition, every field of study saw a slowdown in the final rate of growth of applications. A note of concern could perhaps be that the slowed rate of applications has been most apparent in the top feeder countries such as India, China and South Korea. These countries accounted for around half of all non-US citizens studying at US graduate schools, according to the International Institute of Education's 2007 Open Doors report. Additionally, almost 80% of those studying business, engineering, social, physical and life sciences are international students. The findings suggest that the usual over-reliance on foreigners may be coming to an end. However, the survey also looks at the number of admission offers to international students which showed a 4% increase from 2007-2008. The number of US universities pursuing international collaborations also went up from 29% last year to 38% this year, reflecting the growing importance of international partnerships. A further 40% of the largest US universities surveyed said that they planned to establish new international collaborative degree programmes within two years. While the US has traditionally been the destination of choice for international students, these figures show that it can no longer take this position for granted. The slowed growth in the number of applications is due, in part, to the increased activity by traditional sender countries to retain home students and recruit more international students.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a joint project with the Global Reporting Initiative to help companies in emerging markets improve relationships with stakeholders and attract investors by better measuring, managing, and reporting their contribution to socially and environmentally sustainable development. IFC and GRI will focus on bringing much-needed training and information to emerging markets on how to do GRI-based sustainability reporting. Certified training partners will soon be available in the Republic of Korea and South Africa, and in Latin America and other regions. In addition, a series of educational publications and online forums for practitioners will help forward-thinking companies become leading sustainability reporters. The partnership with GRI is central to a new IFC advisory service that focuses on helping companies align their corporate social responsibility efforts with core business priorities. GRI's guidelines for sustainability reporting are the most widely used global framework for companies and other organizations to publicly disclose their economic, social, and environmental performance in a systematic way. The guidelines are the only nonfinancial reporting framework developed and updated using a rigorous process involving many stakeholders. They represent the best current thinking on sustainability reporting.

Supporting grassroots projects around the world just became easier and more fulfilling. GlobalGiving, the US-based online marketplace for philanthropy is expanding its innovative giving model to the other side of the Atlantic through GlobalGiving.co.uk. The GlobalGiving concept was established in 2001 in the U.S. by two former World Bank executives, Dennis Whittle and Mari Kuraishi. Since then, the marketplace for giving has generated over $12 million to fund over 1,000 grassroots development projects. Its UK expansion, GlobalGiving.co.uk now offers the same exciting types of project opportunities to UK based donors. The GlobalGiving.co.uk site enables individuals to give directly to hundreds of well-vetted grassroots charity projects in over 70 countries, mostly in the developing world. Donors can also tangibly see the impact of their donations on the communities concerned through regular progress updates from project leaders. GlobalGiving is the leading Internet-based network for peer-to-peer philanthropy. Our mission is to sustain a high-powered marketplace for good that connects donors directly to the causes they care most about.

The number of UK employees working flexibly has risen sharply over the past four years, according to the latest CBI/Pertemps employment trends survey. The survey of 513 employers found that almost half (46 per cent) now allow their employees to telework, up from 14 per cent two years ago and 11 per cent in 2004. The popularity of term-time working and job sharing has also increased dramatically. The survey also revealed that businesses were becoming more supportive of employees who took career breaks or sabbaticals. While the CBI survey revealed that 95 per cent of flexible working requests from parents were accepted, parents' rights campaigner Working Families warned there were “two worlds for working parents”. These were described as one was where employers recognised that it made “strong business sense” to provide them with flexible working, but the other involved companies “that didn't believe that reorganising the way they had always done things might bring real benefits”. Next year, another 4.5 million UK workers will be given the right to request flexible working when the current legislation extends from parents with children under the age of six up to 16. Source: People Management magazine.

A study into the ways different generations interact within the workplace has overturned some popular ideas about what makes different age groups in the workplace tick – the worker in their early twenties who won't stay long in the same job or organisation, for example, or the loyal baby boomer. Gen up: how the four generations work, conducted by Penna in partnership with the CIPD and PeopleMetrics, surveyed more than 5,500 employees across Europe and included focus groups with senior HR managers. The survey found, for instance, that employers' attitudes to social responsibility were of much more importance to baby boomers – members of the workforce who were born between 1948 and 1963 – than to Generation Y. This is despite widespread beliefs that Generation Y places an especially high premium on CSR. Generation Y is also far less likely to rapidly change jobs than was thought, the report found. But, a “quite scary” statistic uncovered by the research, is that only one in four employees felt fully engaged in their organisation. For members of all generations to feel engaged, the report says, they must gain a sense of purpose from their work, be treated with respect in their workplace and have a “good employer” – which refers to an organisation's reputation in its sector. Strangely, baby boomers – often considered to be the generation that has benefited most in the current workforce – were the most disaffected generation of employees. Specifically, baby boomers want more challenging work, access to development and a socially responsible organisation, if they are to feel more engaged. The newest generation to enter the workforce is Generation Z – those aged under 18 years. Workers from this demographic are beginning to join retail and hospitality workforces. According to the report, the biggest difference between this generation and the next one up – Generation Y – is that it will be entering working life during a recession, while Generation Y has been used to a long period of economic growth. Generation Z will also be one of the most technologically savvy. Source: People Management magazine.

Cyrus Mehri, one of the nation's top civil-rights attorneys and a man who has been dubbed one of Washington's most feared lawyers, has turned his attention to the ad industry's woeful diversity record. Mr. Mehri has confirmed that his firm is behind the preliminary results of a study obtained by Ad Age. The study, which isn't complete yet, is being conducted by economist Marc Bendick Jr. According to the summary, African-Americans would be expected to make up 9.5% of the professionals in advertising (a number even lower than the 13% in the general population), it turns out they make up only 5.8%. On the executive and managerial side, African-Americans make up only 3.2% compared with an expected 7.2%. That amounts to a 39% shortfall in African-American representation among the industry's staff and a 56% shortfall among managerial employees. Unlike previous efforts, this study takes into account the entire ad industry, including employees and managers at African-American-owned shops. Source: Advertising Age

An additional £5 million is being made available to help Scottish dentists improve decontamination facilities. New regulations require dental practices to ensure that all sterilisation and cleaning of equipment is carried out in a separate, designated area. The extra cash has been allocated to help cover any additional costs dentists may incur whilst implementing these measures. Announcing the investment, Public Health Minister Shona Robison revealed the funding would be split amongst the country's health boards according to population size, who will work alongside dentists in their region to agree where the cash needs to be spent.

As many as 50,000 low income families are to be offered up to £205 a week to pay for childcare so parents can get training to help them find work. Over the next three years, the £75 million Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work programme will offer support to families where one parent is working and the second parent wants to improve their skills so they can get a job. The programme will be available in 67 local authorities across England, with childcare costs of up to £175 per week (£205 in London) paid directly to the childcare provider. As well as the childcare support, families will also receive support and advice from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to identify suitable training courses. According to the LSC, their research indicates that the costs of childcare are a major barrier to participation in learning. Around £10 million will be allocated in the first year of the programme, with £25 million in year two and £40 million in year three. Payments will only be made whilst a learner is attending a training course.

Despite the daily media coverage of the "credit crunch", new data suggests that the major high street banks are still lending to small businesses. In fact, term lending actually grew by 11% in the year to June 2008. The statistics, released by the British Banking Association, compiled using data from the major high street banks showed that term lending grew to £44bn in the twelve months to June this year. Overdraft borrowing also increased to £9.2bn (a rise of 3% on the previous period). Interestingly, the number of new businesses opening their first business account compared well to the previous 12 months with 143,404 new business accounts being opened, compared to 145,063 in the year to June 2008. Although the data doesn't cover the period from July 2008 onwards, it does suggest that small companies still have access to bank finance, and that reports suggesting banks are not willing to lend have been exaggerated. However, given the latest banking collapses in the US, the data may not quite so rosy this time next year.

London businesses can now use the CompeteFor online service to bid for London Development Agency (LDA) contracts. Initially created to help smaller businesses win contracts linked to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, CompeteFor acts as a brokerage service matching businesses of all sizes to thousands of opportunities to supply contractors. These include an estimated 75,000 future business opportunities - around £6 billion of work - due to be allocated by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and London Organising Committee. From 1 September 2008, the system is also being used to tender LDA contracts worth an estimated £170 million each year. Companies can register as potential suppliers and they will in turn be notified of contracts that match their field of work as they go out to tender. Any business or organisation that wants to issue contracts can use CompeteFor and enjoy the increased competition and access the system provides. The service also provides access to the wide range of business support services provided by Business Link in London. According to LDA figures, 84 per cent of the businesses currently registered with CompeteFor are small or medium-sized firms. And although gloomy surveys regularly claim that people are not convinced they will benefit from the London Olympics, CompeteFor has already attracted 30,258 companies, almost a third of whom (10,000) are from the Greater London area. Small and medium-sized enterprises account for three quarters of the London businesses who have won contracts to supply the ODA.

The National Minimum Wage for eligible workers has increased to £5.73 an hour for adult workers aged 22 and above and to £4.77 an hour for workers aged 18-21. The rate for those less than 18 but above compulsory school age rises to £3.53 an hour.

A commission convened by some of the United States' most influential college admissions officials is recommending that colleges and universities move away from their reliance on SAT and ACT scores and shift toward admissions exams more closely tied to the high school curriculum and achievement. The commission's report, the culmination of a yearlong study led by William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard, comes amid growing concerns that the frenzy over standardized college admissions tests is misshaping secondary education and feeding a billion-dollar test-prep industry that encourages students to try to game the tests. A growing number of colleges and universities have made the SAT and ACT optional. And the report concludes that more institutions could make admissions decisions without requiring the SAT and ACT. It encourages institutions to consider dropping admission test requirements unless they can prove that the benefits of such tests outweigh the negatives. The report emphasizes academic research that suggests that test preparation and coaching results in an increase of 20 to 30 points on the SAT, which it calls “a modest gain (on the old 1600 scale)” that “is considerably less than the 100 point or more gains that are often accepted as conventional wisdom.” The report calls for an end to the practice of using minimum-admissions-test scores to determine students' eligibility for merit aid. And it specifically urges the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to stop using PSAT scores as the initial screen for eligibility for recognition or scholarships. The report suggests that what is needed is a new achievement test, pitched to a broad group of students, that would predict college grades as well as or better than available tests. Source: The New York Times

A new disability smart online training resource for London's business community has been launched by the London Enabled 4 Enterprise Consortium at University College London. Disability Smart is an e-learning course to support business advisors and enterprise agencies and has been described as a vital new business disability training resource for the capital's business support community to meet the needs of disabled entrepreneurs in the workplace and help to grow their business. Business advisors can log on to the new interactive training programme which features the stories of five disabled entrepreneurs with different impairments. The resource guides the user through scenarios and video tutorials that challenge their attitudes towards disabled people's impairments and teach them how to communicate effectively with someone with a disability. The Enabled 4 Enterprise Consortium is a partnership between Leonard Cheshire Disability, London Development Agency, the Northern Pinetree Trust and Head for Business. It is funded by the London Development Agency.

SC Johnson has been recognized as number three on the 2008 AARP Best Employers for Workers over 50 awards. This annual recognition program acknowledges companies and organizations whose policies best address an aging workforce. AARP's Best Employer list recognizes companies for demonstrating exemplary practices in the recruitment, retention and promotion of mature workers. It also distinguishes companies that foster a workplace that supports the aging workforce and that encourages workers to remain active. AARP commended SC Johnson for creating a workplace of excellence by generous wellness, fitness and recreation programs in addition to its on-site medical center. To be considered for the list, companies submit a comprehensive application that includes questions about their human resources practices and policies. Areas of consideration include recruiting practices, training, education and career development opportunities, and flexible work arrangements. Retiree and health benefits are also considered. With 39 million members, AARP is the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people age 50 and over in the United States.

Can commercial microfinance institutions organize themselves to protect the interests of their poor clients? The Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION International is launching activities with a focus on answering that provocative question, among others. The Center will connect private-sector, non-profit and academic expertise and resources to accelerate the reach and increase the quality of microfinance worldwide. The Center's goal is to advance the commercial model of microfinance while upholding the interests and needs of poor clients worldwide. Its Advisory Council members are drawn from a broad range of public-and private-sector institutions and academia. Through innovative partnerships, research and piloting, the Center will pursue the proposition that low-income people deserve high-quality financial services, and that those services can best be provided through collaboration with, and engagement of, the capital markets and commercial institutions – banks, investors, regulators, technology firms, and more, who are committed to incorporating a social purpose. Established under the auspices of pioneering microfinance organization ACCION International and supported by founding sponsor Credit Suisse, the Center will dedicate its efforts to three principal program areas: consumer protection, product innovation, and microfinance investment. Also launched is the Center's website, www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org, which will serve as an online platform for microfinance discussion and research. The Center for Financial Inclusion pursues the proposition that low-income people deserve high-quality financial services and that these services can best be provided through commercial models that incorporate social purpose.

The U.S. Presidential candidates should be very concerned about the country's ability to attract and retain science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers in order to maintain its global leadership in science and technology say CEOs and other C-suite executives at America's Fortune 1000 STEM companies. One way to counter this talent crisis, they say, is to build a diverse STEM pipeline beginning at the earliest educational level. And while they believe they and other STEM companies have a responsibility to support such a diverse pipeline, they also say the current American pre-college education system is failing to engage girls and minorities to pursue STEM careers. These are among the findings of a new survey commissioned by Bayer Corporation as part of its Making Science Make Sense (R)initiative. In the latest Bayer Facts of Science Education Survey XIII: Fortune 1000 STEM Executives on STEM Education, STEM Diversity and U.S. Competitiveness, senior executives leading some of the country's largest chemical, pharmaceutical, aerospace, semiconductor and other STEM industry companies were polled about a host of issues related to diversity. Almost all of the Fortune 1000 STEM executives (95 percent) are concerned that the U.S. is in danger of losing its global leadership position in science and technology due to a shortage of STEM talent, with more than half (55 percent) reporting their companies are already experiencing such a shortage. When it comes to rising international competition, fully two-thirds (68 percent) are concerned that other countries' increasing access to STEM talent is giving rival companies based in these countries a competitive advantage over them, with one-fifth (20 percent) saying they are "very concerned." Further, they think these are issues the U.S. presidential candidates should be concerned about. In fact, nearly all (98 percent) believe the state of the country's STEM workforce vis-a-vis its continued competitiveness should be a major issue for the U.S. presidential candidates, with two-thirds (68 percent) saying the candidates should be very concerned. Diversifying the STEM talent pool is one solution to this problem, the Fortune executives say. Almost nine-in-10 (89 percent) agree that bringing more women and minorities into STEM fields will help solve this issue. Moreover, diversity has other benefits for STEM companies, according to the executives, including increasing innovation and the ability to be more competitive in the global marketplace.

Senior managers in UK firms have among the lowest disposable income in the world, a survey has found. The World Pay Report 2008 from consultancy Hay Group placed UK executives forty-seventh out of 51 economies that were analysed. Hay Group's analysis finds senior managers in the fast-growth economies of the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe enjoying the highest spending capacity, as demand for management talent far outstrips supply in these markets. Real pay in Western Europe, the US and Scandinavia lags by comparison. British executives are the fifth poorest in real terms, according to the report, ahead of only Indonesia and the highly expensive Scandinavian economies. The UK's low ranking reflects the combination of relatively high tax rates and cost of living compared with developing economies, the study concludes. And as the economic downturn continues to bite, and inflation remains stubbornly high, disposable income at senior level is likely to erode even more, further damaging UK plc's competitiveness when attracting global/globally mobile talent. Source: PM Online

A new CIPD research report warns that the forthcoming Equality Bill will fail unless the business benefits of diversity are promoted. Only 30% of employers surveyed even have a budget for diversity management and 71% don't build diversity objectives into business goals. www.cipd.co.uk

The UK is to cut a third of available occupations under the list of jobs considered in shortage, raising concerns for employers and skilled foreign workers looking to take employment in Britain. Occupations such as medical and IT professions are getting the cut while others, such as sheep shearers, skilled ballet dancers, and frozen fish filleters are being added to the list. However, a look at the upcoming Tier 2 points based immigration for skilled workers shows that, while some employers will have to do more to hire the workers they need, it is still quite possible to employ foreign skilled workers in occupations that are difficult to fill. To successfully apply for a Tier 2 visa, an overseas worker must score 70 points in three criteria: Qualifications, Maintenance, and English language ability. English language and Maintenance (funds that show foreign workers can finance their switch to life in the UK) each score 10 points, but both of these areas are mandatory requirements. Without satisfying either of these requirements, a prospective foreign worker would be unsuccessful applying under the Tier 2 system, whether or not the job is on the shortage occupation list. Under Qualifications, most points are scored for a foreign worker's Certificate of Sponsorship. The Certificate of Sponsorship is issued by an employer who is licensed to hire migrant workers from outside the European Union. Applicants must score at least fifty points under sponsorship, qualifications and prospective earnings. Another issue is the employer's requirement to undertake the so-called Resident Labour Market Test which proves that a British or European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) citizen could not be found to fill the position. Generally, this requires posting the job for a certain period of time. While the UK government needs to show a tough stance in regards to its borders in this day and age, a close look at the new scheme shows that it's business as usual. The reality is that Britain needs foreign talent to remain competitive in an increasingly global society. Source: workpermit.com

Black Caribbean pupils are being subjected to institutional racism in English schools which can dramatically undermine their chances of academic success, according to a new study. Researchers have uncovered evidence that teachers are routinely under-estimating the abilities of some black pupils, suggesting that assumptions about behavioural problems are overshadowing their academic talents. The findings, based on a survey which tracked 15,000 pupils through their education, add weight to the theory that low achievement among some black students is made worse because teachers don't expect them to succeed. Black education groups welcomed the evidence, calling for urgent measures to be taken to stamp out any covert racism in schools. But other experts said the study was evidence that there needed to be new efforts to tackle behavioural problems among young black Caribbean pupils. The research examined the profile of pupils entered by teachers to take higher-tier papers in their maths and science tests at 14. Pupils can only get top marks by sitting these papers, and the tests influence the range of GCSEs they go on to take. White pupils were significantly more likely to be entered for the top tiers than their black Caribbean, Pakistani, black African and Bangladeshi classmates. Most of the differences were explained by the pupils' previous results or by other factors which might have put them at a disadvantage, such as the level of education reached by their mothers, entitlement to free meals, and truancy and exclusion - all strong predictors of academic success. But for a significant proportion of Black Caribbean pupils, there was no academic explanation for them being excluded from the harder papers. Dr Steve Strand from Warwick University, the author of the study, concludes that "institutional racism" and low expectations by teachers explain the missing black Caribbean students from top-tier exams. "By 'institutional racism' I mean organisational arrangements that may have disproportionately negative impacts on some ethnic groups," he said.

More than 1,000 British academics have been rated on a controversial American website that allows students to score their professors. 1,284 British academics have been uploaded to ratemyprofessor.com causing anxiety over how they will be scored. Universities are already cautious over students' use of networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo, and are actively seeking ways to protect their reputation online. Rate my professor represents the latest threat thrown up by the internet. However, the site has its champions. In its native America it is the subject of academic research and it has even been suggested that evidence from the site is used in human resource issues such as hiring and firing. On the website, professors are rated on easiness, helpfulness and whether or not they are ‘hot'. To see if your institution has a presence, visit www.ratemyprofessor.com

The UK Government has delayed its plans to extend maternity and paternity pay and leave until April 2010. The planned changes were expected to come in from April 2009 but, say the Government, will now be applicable to babies born after April 2010. Under the planned changes, maternity and adoption pay will go up from 39 weeks to 52. Additional paternity leave and pay will be introduced so that fathers would get the right to take up to 26 weeks paid time off to care for a child if a mother returns to work and has not used her full entitlement to paid maternity leave.

The BiD Nature Challenge is a competition and an investor marketplace for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) that combine a high-growth and/or innovative business plan with job creation in protected areas, nature conservation, ecotourism, forestry, aquaculture, sustainable crops & commodities, fish, non timber forest products or any other commercial activity that generates economic benefits (for communities) in a way that supports biodiversity and the sustainable use of natural resources. More information is available on the website of the BiD Nature Challenge. Promotional material is available on www.bidnetwork.org/naturepromo Although there is a focus on Mozambique, Cameroon and Kenya, business plans for other countries are welcome to submit as well. Our matchmaking services do not discriminate on country level and will always welcome high quality plans. The deadline for submitting completed business plan documents is December the 15th 2008. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

UK's Home Secretary has unveiled the UK Identity Card. The Government plans to start issuing ID cards to foreign nationals from November 2008. The new credit-card sized document will show the holder's photograph, name, date of birth, nationality and immigration status. A secure electronic chip will also hold their biometric details, including fingerprints, and a digital facial image. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said "ID cards for foreign nationals will replace old-fashioned paper documents, make it easier for employers and sponsors to check entitlement to work and study, and for the UK Border Agency to verify someone's identity. This will provide identity protection to the many here legally who contribute to the prosperity of the UK, while helping prevent abuse." Compulsory identity cards for foreign nationals will kick start the National Identity Scheme, with the first applicants having to apply for cards from 25th November. It will cost £30. Within three years all foreign nationals applying for leave to enter or remain in the UK will be required to have a card, with around 90 per cent of foreign nationals in Britain covered by the scheme by 2014/15. The UK Border Agency plans to start issuing the cards to categories of immigrants believed to want to abuse the country's immigration system, including students and people seeking leave to remain on the basis of marriage. The introduction of the first card supports the Government's tough new Australian-style Points Based System for managed migration. To earn and retain their licence as a sponsor businesses and education providers must keep records of the migrants they have sponsored including, in time, a copy of a migrant's identity card. Businesses found employing illegal workers face fines of up to £10,000 per person.

Despite the gloomy outlook for the economy, a recent study suggests that over half of all small business owners have no intention of changing their expansion plans. The international study, "DNA of an Entrepreneur", released by specialist insurer Hiscox shows that entrepreneurs in most major economies are still bullish about their growth plans. In the US, for example, 69% stated that they will continue with their business growth plans despite the prevailing economic climate. The survey uncovered some of the major obstacles faced by future entrepreneurs including tax, government bureaucracy, financing and cultural factors. More than two thirds (68%) of British entrepreneurs think our taxation system does not favour someone wanting to set up their own business while bureaucracy was seen as the biggest issue for the French, with three quarters (76%) citing government red tape as a major barrier to setting up their own business. The survey revealed almost two thirds (61%) of UK entrepreneurs believe the British education system does not encourage individual 'ideas and dreams' which can fuel future entrepreneurial growth. The Europeans' view is in sharp contrast to the US, where only 35% feel their education system is unsupportive. Each nation's cultural inclination (or disinclination) to take risks could have a bearing on the mindset of their entrepreneurs. In the UK, only 44% feel that, culturally, we are a nation of natural risk takers, compared to 78% of Americans. The Germans and French are, culturally, the most risk averse nations of all, with only a third (33% and 34% respectively) feeling that there is a culture of risk taking in their country.

The Ron Brown Scholar Program, the nation's leading scholarship program for African-American youth, recently convened a leadership conference in Charlottesville next week, sponsored by Verizon Business, to help propel African-American youth nationwide into global leadership positions. The 2008 Triennial Leadership Conference -- Local Service, Global Change – brought together nearly 240 Ron Brown Scholars and leading minds from the public and private sectors to help accelerate the entry of young African-Americans into civic leadership and further enhance opportunities in fields including public policy, media, health care, education and business. According to the organisers, the conference was about seeking out and cultivating America's next black leaders and was created to bring young people together to demonstrate that through unity and cooperation any social challenge can be overcome. Named for the late Secretary of Commerce and inspired by his dedication to public service, the Ron Brown Scholar Program was established in 1996 to provide academic scholarships, service opportunities and leadership experiences for young African Americans of outstanding promise. The Program seeks to accelerate their progress into the mainstream of leadership positions in business, education, government and a wide spectrum of professions, while instilling a dedication to leadership and service.

Getting into Publishing' is Penguin Group's annual open day for students and graduates, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds with an interest in Publishing, to learn more about opportunities at Penguin and in publishing. The event takes place this year on Thursday 20th November 2008 and is an opportunity for students and graduates, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds, to find out all about Penguin and more about a career in Publishing. The day consists of morning and afternoon presentations from senior employees of the company and a networking lunch in the afternoon where candidates have the opportunity to meet senior managers of the company. Interested applicants are requested to send a CV to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it by 31st October 2008.

The National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA) has stressed that new start-up figures prove entrepreneurs are undeterred by the state of the economy. According to the Barclays quarterly survey, there were 98,000 new start-up businesses in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2008, compared with 86,400 in the fourth quarter of 2007. The most popular industries for start-ups were business and financial services, construction and retail. The Barclays research also revealed there were 99,900 closures this quarter, compared with 111,900 closures in the fourth quarter of 2007.

South African employers may be given a much-needed breather from the onslaught of international headhunters that has removed thousands of highly skilled professionals from the local job market. And feeling the pinch of a global economic downturn, major international organisations are resorting to hiring freezes, large scale lay-offs and significant cut backs on 'perks'. According to Madge Gibson, partner at Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters, overseas companies are reigning in the extravagant offers previously used to attract top South African professionals; which in a converse dilemma, is actually loosening up their ability to hold on to top talent. She noted that highly skilled South African professionals from a range of sectors have mentioned that approaches from abroad have lessened significantly over the past few months and that her company continues to see an increase in the number of ex-pats returning to South Africa, along with foreigners interested in working in the country. Some South African sectors have been less acutely affected by the sub-prime crisis in the US and the global economic slowdown than their foreign counterparts and, as such, domestic businesses may be able to capitalize on the soft global market and actually attract international high-flyers for their own organisations.

A new fund has been launched to help businesses encourage increased tourism to Scotland. Part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, national tourism body VisitScotland has introduced the Growth Fund to support collaborative marketing projects that aim to attract more visitors and cement Scotland's position as a world-class destination. The programme is looking to help develop the Scottish “brand” in order to meet the ambitious 2015 target of increasing tourism revenue by 50%. It will not only look to encourage more tourists to Scotland, but also increase the overall visitor spend and promote a more diverse range of destinations. Open to both new and existing tourism companies, the scheme can cover up to 40% of eligible costs, with grants ranging from £2,500 (total project cost £6,250) to £65,000 (total project cost (£162,500). Applications must be made by groups of tourism businesses consisting of at least three partners from different sectors, such as accommodation, attractions, food and drink, or recreation. Eligible projects should involve new marketing activity to boost tourism, for example: working with new partners, targeting new markets, involving new packages or offers or using new media. Funding can be used for a broad range of marketing activities, including website development, direct mail campaigns, conducting consumer research, advertising, and attending exhibitions and trade events. The new funding programme aims to build on the success of VisitScotland's previous Challenge Fund, which saw more than 100 businesses share £1.35 million between 2005 and 2007.

Figures released by the Home Office indicate that work related migration from the eight central and eastern European countries has fallen to its lowest level since 2004. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the pill is less bitter for employers as it coincides with employment prospects falling to their lowest level in a decade. However, despite the slowdown, many sectors such as agriculture will be concerned about filling jobs in the short-term as it also coincides with the gradual introduction of a points-based system for managing migration outside the EU. The CIPD noted that the tide of immigrants from the A8 countries has clearly bottomed out as more find jobs at home or elsewhere in Europe. The UK Government's official barometer shows that the number of eastern Europeans applying to work in the UK has fallen by 9,000 during the past quarter; which indicates that the credit crunch has had a particularly negative impact. On the flip side, this situation might improve the job prospects for the young and less-skilled non-migrant workers who have lost out in the competition for jobs in recent years. With economic prospects improving in the Accession countries relative to the UK's position, it is unsurprising that the Eastern Europeans are leaving the country in greater numbers than before.

Societe Generale is to launch a worldwide recruitment campaign for 20,000 more staff. SocGen's campaign comes as analysts predict that the City of London will lose between 20,000 and 40,000 jobs by the end of next year because of the credit crunch.

Britain will overtake Germany and France to become the biggest country in the EU in 50 years' time, according to population projections unveiled recently. Across the EU's 27 countries there are now four people of working age for every person over 65, but by 2060 that ratio will be 2:1, causing stress on welfare and pension systems.

The typical M.B.A. track runs a collision course with many young women's plans to start a family. Working four to five years after undergraduate school before enrolling, as many schools offering a master's in business expect, is a bridge too far for many women. The alternative - seeking an M.B.A. at a younger age -means shouldering roughly $80,000 in M.B.A. expenses at a life stage when many are laden with student loans and aren't making much money. Also, women tend to be more wary of the risk of taking time out for an M.B.A., for fear of hitting a glass ceiling. Because of these issues, female enrolment in full-time M.B.A. programs has remained mired for years at a dismal 30%, compared with about 49% in medical schools and 47% in law schools. To break this pattern, graduate business schools are fielding new programs to attract women. They're launching part-time "morning M.B.A.s," bending the rigid M.B.A. track and recruiting students at younger ages. The new offerings aren't a good fit for everyone. But the changes are slowly brightening the work-life landscape for aspiring female business leaders. At least three schools have started part-time "morning M.B.A.s" in the past year, to appeal to at-home mothers, self-employed people or others working odd schedules. (Most part-time M.B.A. programs have only evening or weekend classes.) More than half of the 83 part-time M.B.A. students taking morning classes at DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School, Chicago, are women. The University of Toronto's Rotman School offers a 7-to-9 a.m. M.B.A. Pepperdine University's Graziadio School has tried a morning M.B.A. but put it on hold because of low enrolment. However, extending to seven years the time allowed to finish a part-time M.B.A. has helped to raise female enrolment to 44%, says the University. Nationally, 37% of students in part-time flexible M.B.A. programs are women, says the Graduate Management Admission Council. Source: Wall Street Journal

The Annual Compliance Awards were created in 2004 to recognise the successes and achievements of compliance professionals from across the financial services industry and supporting professional services firms. The Complinet 5th Annual Compliance Awards is searching across the compliance and finance sectors to recognise the contribution of the compliance role, compliance trainers and professional advisers in helping to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of global financial services. It provides the opportunity for over 350 guests to enjoy an evening of awards, comedy, good food and fine wine in the company of leading compliance colleagues, regulators and friends from related industries. Nominate yourself, a colleague or a business for one or more of these prestigious awards and celebrate your success with fellow professionals at the 5th Annual Compliance Awards. Please visit www.complianceawards.co.uk for a full list of categories. Deadline for nominations are Friday, 17 October 2008

A study by Bank of Scotland shows that UK entrepreneurs are working an average 50 hours per week, and a quarter of those polled said that they would be working longer hours for the rest of 2008 as the "credit crunch" continues. Interestingly, the Scots work the longest hours, clocking up an average of 52 hours every week, compared to a relatively lazy 47 hours by business owners residing in South East England. And if that wasn't bad enough, a separate study suggests that around two-fifths of small business owners have too much work on to take a holiday. Of the 433 business owners quizzed by telecoms firm, Unicom, 42% said they would not be able to take a holiday at all because of work pressures.

Small businesses in London are set to reap the benefits of a new programme designed to help bring innovative products to market. The £3.5 million Knowledge Connect scheme, part financed by the European Regional Development Fund, will enable SMEs to take part in knowledge transfer projects with universities and further education colleges.

According to a study conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute and Zogby International, an astounding 71% of office conflict cases are women bullying other women. In fact, women bully other women 2.5 times more frequently than they target men, preferring to use sabotage and abuse of authority as their forms of bullying. In addition, women who bully in the workplace prefer to do it behind closed doors and are slightly more likely than men to enlist the help of others to "gang up" on their targets. Known by the United Nations' International Labor Organization as the "silent epidemic," workplace bullying often goes unreported. But it is four times more prevalent than illegal, discriminatory harassment. Since it is not considered illegal, even when reported, employers rarely take action or, in some instances, can exacerbate the problem for the person being targeted.

In 2050, what will the U.S. population look like? According to new data from the Census Bureau, 30 percent of it will be Latino, 15 percent will be Black and 9 percent will be Asian, according to the New York Times. The new calculations shatter predictions from four years ago that estimated the population of Americans self-identifying as Black, Latino, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander would top non-Latino whites in 2050. Demographers are now saying that could happen as much as eight years sooner. For the first time, both the number and the proportion of non-Latino whites, who currently account for 66 percent of the population, will start to decline, accounting for 46 percent by 2050. Ten years ago, census demographers predicted the nation's population would not top 400 million until sometime after the middle of the century. Now, demographers say the U.S. population, which surpassed 300 million in 2006, will hit 400 million in 2039 and grow another 10 million by 2050.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has urged the capital's employers to work towards raising pay for their low-paid staff to the level of the London Living Wage. The London Living Wage, recently adjusted to £7.45 an hour, is independently calculated each year by GLA Economics. Twenty-seven organisations have now officially agreed to pay their staff at least that amount. Sidcup-based Haden Building Management, which is supplying facilities services to the Metropolitan Police, has just announced that it will pay its 406 staff at least the new rate from November. Barclays has also confirmed an increase in its base pay rate to £7.73 per hour for its third-party employees working in Greater London. However, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry argues that small businesses in the capital would be forced to axe jobs, reduce investment and slash training budgets if they had to pay the wage.

Literacy and numeracy skills among school-leavers have declined over the past decade, despite increased levels of education funding by the government, according to business leaders. Research by the Institute of Directors (IoD) found that 71 per cent of its members think the writing skills of new recruits have deteriorated in recent years, while 60 per cent feel numeracy has declined. Over half (52 per cent) reported that recruits' basic ability to communicate had worsened. Exam grades improve almost every year, leading to arguments between the government, which insists young people are making improvements, and critics, who say standards have dropped. The annual education budget has increased from £48 billion when Labour came into power in 1997 to £76.3 billion today. But only 12 per cent of IoD members feel the government's performance on education and skills has been favourable to business over this period. In a sample survey of 100 university admissions tutors for the IoD's report, 72 per cent thought the quality of undergraduates had either deteriorated or remained the same over recent years. But business leaders said the IT skills among young people had improved over the past decade. New recruits also brought other qualities to the workplace, such as enthusiasm, energy and flexibility. Source: PM Online

Figures from the IMRG reveal that, despite the credit crunch, UK shoppers spent over £26.5 billion online in the first six months of 2008 - a 38% increase on the £19.2 billion recorded for the first half of 2007. The online boom means that 17p in every pound spent is now spent online, and it is predicted that up to half of all shopping will be done online by 2014. And the good news for small businesses is that smaller players with the right strategies are benefiting from this shift. According to David Smith of IMRG, 'It is often the smaller retailers with niche products or with interesting retail propositions that seem to be having success. There will be a lot of opportunities for smaller players to profit if they can manage their start-up costs, get their supply chains right and work closely with their customers.'

Oprah Winfrey earns a staggering $385 million a year, making her the highest paid celebrity on television, according to the annual star-salary survey in "TV Guide," reports Us Magazine. Other celebrities on the list include "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen, who brings in $825,000 per episode, and "CSI" star William Peterson, who earns $600,000 per show. Also on the survey are "The Late Show" host David Letterman, who rakes in $32 million a year, and "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell, who makes $50 million a year.

A £100,000 programme has been launched to help talented young people in Wales make their mark on the creative and cultural industries. The Coalfields Talent Nurture Fund is designed to support young people from the former coalfields communities, helping them to overcome the financial barriers that are preventing them from developing their talents in the film, TV and music sectors.

A new awards scheme has been launched that aims to raise awareness of the value of business mentoring. Run by social networking site horsesmouth.co.uk and sponsored by Yell, the Mentoring Works Award will celebrate the often unsung role mentors play in helping small businesses and start-up companies thrive. The overall winner of the contest will receive a £1,000 cash prize and the chance to have a private mentoring breakfast with a “business hero” of their choice, including Specsavers founder Dame Mary Perkins and co-founder of Coffee Republic Sahar Hashemi. Two runners-up will also get the opportunity of breakfast with one of the “business heroes”. Nominations can be made online, with the contest looking to recognise not just formal mentors, but also supportive colleagues, business peers or even family members. www.horsesmouth.co.uk

Many workers are eager for more authority on the job. But new research shows that promotions and power at work also increase conflict with co-workers, particularly when the new boss is a younger man. Researchers from the University of Toronto studied job authority and personal conflicts at work by gathering data from 1,785 U.S. adults in a national survey on work and stress. The research was designed to determine why some workers experience more interpersonal difficulties than others. Overall, the investigators found, people in supervisory positions reported the most workplace conflict. But conflict was highest among young workers, particularly if they were male. Men who held supervisory roles in their early 40s or younger were far more likely to report high levels of conflict than older men. Reports of conflict dropped markedly if the boss was in his 60s. For women, overall conflict was lower than for men, and the age of a woman supervisor didn't have a pronounced effect on her reported levels of interpersonal conflict. Overall, said the report's authors, the conflict associated with authority is worse for younger workers.

In a joint effort to recognize young people making a positive impact on society, Ashoka, the world's community of leading social entrepreneurs, and Staples, the world's largest office products company, have announced the launch of the Ashoka's Changemakers "Youth Social Entrepreneur" online competition. The Changemakers website provides a place for young people within the Ashoka global network to explain how they are leading positive change and planning on making an impact within their communities. Youth leaders who enter the competition on Changemakers.net have an opportunity to win a global prize or be considered for a $1,000 Youth Venture grant to advance their projects. Four finalists, from entries submitted by applicants in France and the United States, will be chosen by an elite panel of judges for their outstanding impact, innovation and potential, and will be flown to Boston, MA, to be recognized during a special ceremony in their honor on November 20, 2008 at Staples' headquarters in Framingham, MA. The Staples grand prize winning team, which will be announced during the ceremony, will receive a suite of Staples products to help run their Venture, valued at $5,000. Youth Venture is an Ashoka initiative that is catalyzing and investing in a movement of young changemakers all over the world who are taking action by identifying problems and creating Ventures to create positive change in their communities. Staples began its support of Youth Venture in 2006 through Staples Foundation for Learning, a private charitable foundation created by Staples, Inc. The competition website is http://www.changemakers.net/competition/StaplesYV.

Five universities across the North West are to share almost £1 million funding in a drive to increase entrepreneurship amongst the region's graduates. The institutions have been named as Enterprise Champions and will provide students who have innovative business ideas with the support and advice they need to turn them into real profit-making enterprises. North West Development Agency (NWDA) has made £930,000 available to the institutions in order for them to support graduate start-ups and promote an enterprise culture. According to the Agency, with an enterprise gap in the North West, the area needs more business start-ups to help reach the national average and help boost its GVA. This project will support fresh ideas at an early stage and encourage graduates to take their entrepreneurial plans forward to profit making businesses. The five institutions named as Enterprise Champions are: University of Liverpool; University of Salford; University of Cumbria; Manchester Metropolitan University; and Liverpool John Moores University. Depending on the success of the initial phase of Enterprise Champions, it is possible more universities in the region will become involved with the project at a later stage. Source: NWDA

Virginia Tech plans to spend $899,000 over the next five years to increase ethnic diversity on its campus, The Associated Press reports. The school will spend the money implementing task-force recommendations that call for hiring additional faculty members, creating broader recruitment efforts to attract Black, Latino, Asian-American and American Indian students, outreach programs and curriculum changes. Virginia Tech's Black student enrolment was 4.6 percent last fall, the third-lowest among the state's 15 four-year public universities, according to The State Council of Higher Education, The Associated Press reports.

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation (MRF) and the United Kingdom-owned Oxford University Press (OUP) have signed an innovative partnership which will seek to promote leadership and scholarship in Africa. The partnership, which was signed by former president Nelson Mandela and Oxford University's Vice-Chancellor John Hood, entails a 25.1 percent share transfer from Oxford University Press to the MRF. This partnership will see at least 18 scholars benefit from financial and educational support within the first five years. According to the Foundation, the partnership deal will build a permanent endowment to ensure that the Mandela Rhodes Scholarships continue to perpetuity. The Foundation aims to have hundreds of scholars from around the African continent by 2012. The OUP is deeply committed to further education, research and scholarship around the world, particularly in the African continent. The Chief Executive of MRF, Shaun Johnson, said the Foundation aims to help scholars get the tools to be leaders in South Africa and across the continent and reflect the example of ethical, excellent and inclusive leadership that Mr. Mandela has set for the nation. OUP has close links with South Africa such as scholarly interchanges, the Rhodes Scholarship programme and the conferment of Honorary degrees.

Salary rises at executive level are slowing as the economic slowdown takes its toll, according to a new report. The report by business advisory firm Deloitte found that salary increases for FTSE-350 executive directors have reduced compared with last year. The median increase is now 6.2 per cent, compared with 7 per cent a year ago. According to Deloitte, executive salary increases during 2007 were still around 2 per cent higher than increases in the Retail Prices Index and average earnings, but we are starting to see the impact of a tougher economic climate on salary increases. The report also found that remuneration in the top UK companies was moving away from the rest of the FTSE-100. The typical salary of a chief executive of a top-30 company is well over £30 million, compared with a typical salary of £750,000 in the other FTSE-100 firms. Executive directors in the top 30 companies also have potential incentives worth four times their salary, compared with incentives worth half or three-quarters of their salary in the rest of the FTSE-100. The report is based on the latest FTSE-350 companies' accounts, published in June. Source: IPM Online

Despite a year's worth of "credit crunch" headlines, self employed home-workers remain positive according to new research released today. Insurer RSA's survey, undertaken in August, interviewed 450 self-employed home-based professionals and found that 29% of respondents described current trading conditions as positive and an additional 38% described conditions as average or no different to normal. When asked about the prospects for their businesses during this economic downturn, one third (34%) of respondents thought they would definitely be able to grow or maintain their level of business. Only 8% of businesses thought they would definitely not be able to grow their business. Home-based professionals are not only optimistic about the future of their businesses; when asked whether they would start-up their business again, over three quarters of respondents said that they definitely would, with only 3% saying that knowing what they know now, they would never start up a business again. The top three benefits of setting up your own business from home were being your own boss (92%), having the freedom and flexibility to decide where you work (84%) and not having to commute, which saves time, cost and stress (83%). Contrary to popular belief having the opportunity to earn more money (51%) and getting to spend more time with the family (59%) came significantly further down the list of benefits.

This newly created professional association is designed to serve those who work in the sustainability field. By bridging frameworks, sectors, philosophies, and geographic areas, ISSP members will take sustainability to the next level. Many colleagues have expressed a desire to connect with others who are doing this work to support and learn from one another. ISSP was created to respond to the need for networking, professional development and standardization in this burgeoning field. By leveraging technology ISSP is able to provide the services normally associated with a professional association in a more timely and environmentally responsible manner. http://sustainabilityprofessionals.org

The University of Bradford is tackling the problem of low outward student mobility head-on by offering home students travel awards to subsidise overseas study programmes. Encouraging UK students to study abroad is not a new issue and it continues to be a bugbear for many UK universities keen for home students to spend part of their degree overseas. The UK sent just 7,235 students on Erasmus programmes in 2006-07, while France, Germany and Spain all have more than 20,000 students on the move (although 8,500 Brits studied in the US at all levels in 2006-07). While take-up on Bradford’s Erasmus scheme has increased, student participation on international study abroad programmes remains low. This has prompted the university’s Internationalisation Committee to invest in travel awards to encourage uptake, especially on its transnational courses in Malaysia, India and Singapore. The university hopes that the benefits of studying on a transnational course will be particularly attractive to those students who do not wish to learn another language for academic purposes, but do wish to experience a different culture and education system. Bradford has also introduced fee waivers for UK and EU students studying abroad for a full academic year. This pilot scheme will be reviewed after two years, once its effect on increasing student mobility has been assessed. International students will also have the opportunity to study abroad on exchanges for an academic year at a reduced tuition fee. There is also evidence that study abroad increases student employability: according to an i-graduate report, 29% of employers feel that a graduate with overseas study experience is more employable. Source: International Focus

Over half of UK employees injured at work have sued their employer, research has found. A survey for insurer RSA found that 11.8 million people have suffered from illness or injury caused by their job in the past year. Of these, 54 per cent have taken legal action, 33 per cent have taken the issue to trade unions and 14 per cent have made complaints to their line managers. The usual suspects of illness caused by work – stress and back problems – affected the majority of the 1,979 respondents. Colin Bradbury, underwriting director at RSA, said: “If there are team members missing or unable to take part in decisions, this can only have a negative effect on the business and involve the company in significant costs. The survey highlights the importance of risk management in safeguarding employees’ health and ensuring a productive workplace. Source: PM Online

Nominations are invited for the Precious Awards, sponsored by Pearson plc. The Precious Awards serve to promote those inspiring women that generate ideas and turn them into action and change. As well as celebrating female entrepreneurs, the Precious Awards also pay tribute to women that play a leadership role within a large organisation with the Leadership within the Workplace Award. Nominations for the Awards nominations close on September 30. Further information can be found at http://www.preciousawards.com/ where nomination forms can be downloaded.

Over 1,700 jobs could be lost at HR consultancies over the next year as the firms struggle with economic conditions, according to a study. The third annual Plimsoll Analysis, which assesses the financial health of UK companies, found that 44 of the UK’s 307 HR consultancies were rated as “in danger” of folding within 12 months if they do not make radical changes. Meanwhile, 176 firms were rated as healthy and 87 received a middling ranking. Three-quarters of the consultancies could benefit from reducing their headcount and 15 per cent of them are running at a loss, the research found. The news follows a British Chamber of Commerce survey which suggests overall unemployment could rise by up to 300,000 over the next 12 months as the UK economy experiences a "prolonged and bumpy landing".

A £6.4 million funding package to help develop skills in the North East has been given the go ahead. Regional development agency One North East’s board has approved the programme, which will boost the capacity of skills and training providers in the region. The Higher Level Skills Provider Network Continuation project will see the agency working closely with the regional Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to ensure employers can access workers with the necessary skills they need to develop and grow their business. Support will be targeted towards nine priority industries that have been identified in the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) including Chemicals and pharmaceuticals, Automotive, Energy, Defence and marine, Food and drink, Tourism and hospitality and Knowledge intensive business services. For more about the programme contact Sanjee Ratnatunga at One North East on 0191 2296 351. Source: One North East

The UK food industry is invited to apply for support from a £2 million scheme aiming to increase trade from African suppliers. Provided by the Department for International Development (DFID), the Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund (FRICH) will support the sector in developing new supply chains and business models that help increase the export market for African products. FRICH will enable small, rural African producers to develop their businesses, which will have the knock-on effect of reducing poverty and improving the income of rural African communities. Around seven projects are expected to be supported, with funding able to cover 50% of total project costs. Applying businesses will be expected to match fund the remaining costs from their own resources. All UK-based food industry companies that have links with African agriculture are eligible to apply for the scheme, including supermarkets, food retail brands, food processing firms, importers of African products, and ethical trade organisations. Projects must be led by a private sector organisation and include at least one UK food sector firm, whether they are leading the bid or not. The programme will be managed on DFID’s behalf by Emerging Market Economics Ltd, with interested companies initially asked to submit a concept note by 15 September 2008. For further information about the scheme and to make an application: www.frich.co.uk

Universities and colleges will be required to keep track of their foreign students and to tell the UK Home Office if any go missing, under new immigration rules published. Universities and colleges must apply for a £400 licence to recruit international students and could be blacklisted if they fail to comply with the regulations. The new plans were announced by the UK Government as part of a major change in the UK visa system. In 2006, a total of 309,000 people from outside Europe came to Britain on student visas. It is estimated that they add about £2.5 billion a year to the UK economy in tuition fees. According to the Home Office, the new rules are designed to cut out ‘bogus’ students and colleges.

Dr. Mark Albion has published a book “More Than Money: Questions Every MBA Needs to Answer.” This short career guidebook helps aspiring MBAs, MBA students and graduates navigate a fulfilling life of contribution and comfort. The book is based on Dr. Albion's speeches at dozens of business schools each year, many as co-founder of Net Impact. The book includes stories of successful entrepreneurs, including SVN members Elliot Hoffman, CEO of the New Voice of Business, and Joe Sibilia. Mark Albion spent 18 years as a student and professor at Harvard University and its Business School. Dr. Albion left Harvard to develop a community of service-minded MBAs, co-founding Net Impact in 1993. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller ‘Making a Life, Making a Living®’ and ‘True to Yourself: Leading a Values-Based Business’. He has spoken at more than 125 business schools on five continents, for which Business Week magazine dubbed him "the savior of B-school souls."

Harvard Business School has announced its upcoming session of Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategies to Create Business and Social Value, a program that examines the link between corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage. Now in its fourth year, this annual Executive Education offering will be held October 15–18, 2008, on the HBS campus in Boston. Targeted to senior executives from a broad range of industries, the curriculum focuses on aligning corporate culture and social responsibility strategies. Developed in response to the increasing expectations of consumers, investors, communities, and governments for socially responsible business practices, the program explores the dilemmas, challenges, and complexities inherent in current models of social responsibility. By drawing on real-world case studies, classroom discussions, and the latest research, HBS faculty help senior executives to develop and manage initiatives that integrate both corporate and social values, while producing quantifiable results. Participants also gain exposure to diverse perspectives through interacting with industry guest speakers and developing a network of global peers. Harvard Business School is the leading provider of advanced learning opportunities that strengthen the leadership capacity of individuals and their organizations.

Microsoft Corp. has announced the global availability of NGO Connection, a new online resource for thousands of non-profit groups around the world. Driven by feedback from non-profit partners and years of experience working with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the online resource is designed to assist NGOs to more efficiently use technology to achieve their goals as well as to encourage networking and coordination of NGO resources across the world. The primary goal of the new online resource is to provide a convenient and easy one-stop shop for technology resources, knowledge sharing, community building and real-life examples for nonprofit organizations. By using simple, non-technical terminology, NGO Connection endeavours to make it easier for NGOs to access the complete range of Microsoft resources and offerings, and help them effectively use other online resources for nonprofit groups. NGO Connection also will be localized into Arabic, French, German, Russian and Spanish in the coming months, bringing the resources of NGO Connection to an even wider audience of NGOs. NGO Connection also makes it easy for NGOs to share best practices and case studies, giving them the option of participating in an online forum where they can engage in dialogues about using technology effectively and share solutions to some of their common challenges. The goal is to help NGOs make the connection between their needs and how to solve them with technology.

A comprehensive study of nearly 12,000 U.S. adults conducted by Porter Novelli, a global communications agency, revealed that a small but powerful group of consumers - "Greenfluencers" - are driving trends and shaping purchasing decisions in the mass market. Unlike their counterparts in earlier environmental movements, Greenfluencers are not third-party experts or full-time advocates with a laser-like focus on advancing a specific agenda. Rather, this new highly influential group, which amounts to roughly 4% of the U.S. population, is young, racially diverse and outspoken on a variety of social and political issues. And while Greenfluencers are more eco-savvy than their peers, they are still relatively mainstream in their lifestyle choices (e.g., big-box retail shoppers and heavy TV watchers). This accessibility combined with a high level of social connectivity has enabled this group to become the voice of authority on the sustainable lifestyle. Specifically: Greenfluencers are asked by friends on a regular basis (almost every day) for expert advice. Compared with the general population, almost three times as many Greenfluencers read blogs, post comments and participate in online chats and discussions (20 percent versus 7 percent). Within the past 12 months, 41 percent of Greenfluencers contacted their senator or congressman.

More than £12 million is being made available for a series of infrastructure improvements that will help unlock the South West’s business potential and improve facilities across the region. The cash injections are the first to be agreed from the South West Regional Development Agency’s (SWRDA) new £80 million Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF). Up to £6.5 million has been allocated to improve junctions 29 and 30 on the M5, which will ease traffic congestion and improve links to the new community at Cranbrook, the proposed Skypark business and science hub in East Devon, and other new housing developments in Exeter. The RIF is the first fund of its kind across the UK and will provide seed investment to speed up the funding process for major infrastructure projects in the region. RIF then recovers its investments as projects take place through local authority-collected Section 106 contributions from private developers.

Financial institutions pre-employment screening company Powerchex has just released the results of a study which took into account 3,876 job applications submitted to financial institutions in the UK between June 2007 and May 2008. When compared to a sample of 2,960 applications made the year before, the results showed an increase of 30% in the frequency of discrepancies on CVs. The study reveals that some 17% of job applicants within financial services are prepared to tell lies on their CV. Job applicants mainly lie about employment dates, academic qualifications, directorships, bankruptcy, employment titles and duties, ompensation, reasons for leaving and having a criminal record. The study also revealed that embellishments to CVs sent to commercial and investment banks rose 30% in the last year. The greatest increase in untruths was from IT contractors. For the second year running, women have a higher discrepancy rate than men and British applicants have a substantially higher rate of discrepancy than any other nationality type. Maths and finance students have a very low propensity to lie on their CVs, whereas arts and humanities students are the more likely to embellish their CV. www.powerchex.co.uk

Marriott International will launch a $100,000 scholarship fund for diverse students with an interest in the hospitality industry. The Alice S. Marriott scholarship will be managed by the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and will award $25,000 to its recipients from 2008 to 2011. The scholarship program--named in honor of cofounder Alice S. Marriott, who founded the Marriott Corp. with her husband, J. Willard Marriott--mirrors the spirit of Marriott, whose passion for philanthropy is an essential part of the hotel corporation's values. The KPMG Foundation awarded $410,000 worth of scholarships in an effort to increase the number of Black, Latino and American Indian Ph.D. recipients and business-school professors. The awards for the 2008--2009 academic year are a part of the Minority Accounting Doctoral Scholarship program. The 41 doctoral students will receive $10,000 scholarships that are renewable for up to five years. To date, the KPMG Foundation has provided financial support for three-fourths of all accounting doctoral students from traditionally underrepresented groups in the U.S., totaling $8.6 million in scholarships. Source: Diversity Inc.

The search is on for the most innovative new learning initiatives and exceptional venues as entries are now open for the prestigious World of Learning Awards 2008. The highly competitive Awards, now in their eighth year, are acknowledged as the premier event for honouring learning-specific solutions. The closing date for entries is 5pm on 19 September 2008. The entries are judged by a panel of highly respected independent learning and development experts with tremendous depth of experience and knowledge in the industry. The Awards, in Association with the British Institute of Learning & Development (BILD), include several new categories that reflect the evolution of the learning and development industry. To request entry information or book a table please call +44 (0)20 8394 5171, email   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or download a form from www.learnevents.com

The number of tribunal claims passed to Acas for conciliation has risen by a quarter since last year. The conciliation service’s annual report revealed that it had 227,782 more claims and potential claims to handle. But the report for 2007/08 also found that Acas succeeded in reducing the potential workloads of employment tribunals by 75 per cent. Eighty-one per cent of workplaces reported an improvement in employment relations following intervention by Acas advisers, compared to the 70 per cent target that was set. The report also found that the percentage of users for whom guidance helped solve a problem at work or reassured them they had taken the right course of action was 76 per cent, exceeding the target of 65 per cent. Acas is to receive up to £37million extra funding over the next three years. Source: PM Online

The majority of large UK businesses plan to cut jobs in the coming months as a response to the worsening economy, according to research by accountancy KPMG. The survey of 200 senior executives found that 53 per cent said they intended to lay off staff – up from 29 per cent in the March survey – while six out of 10 said they were looking to cut costs generally. The finding is a sign that the economic gloom is broadening, as large-scale redundancies have so far been restricted to financial firms or those linked to the housing market. Seventy-five per cent of respondents said their organisation had been negatively affected by the credit crunch. Only 40 per cent were optimistic about their firm's prospects - down from 60 per cent in the previous quarter. 80 per cent of the organisations who took part in the survey were based outside London, signifying that the credit crunch may finally be hitting home across the UK regions.

Up to £2.45 billion is to be ploughed into improving education, skills and training across the Thames Gateway in a move that will create new jobs and help meet future skills needs. The cash will be used to implement the Thames Gateway Skills Plan, a package of measures that will be delivered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to equip local people with the necessary training required to fill skills shortages across the region. The skills drive will be spearheaded by chair of Lifelong Learning UK Sir David Melville, who has been appointed as the first Thames Gateway Skills Envoy. Sir David will attempt to bring together business, local authorities and academia for the benefit of local communities. Source: DCLG

A $1 million first prize is up for grabs in a global learning competition run by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Through their Global Libraries initiative, the foundation is looking to reward the public library that has best helped to connect their local community to information by providing free access to computers and the internet. The Access to Learning Award is open to entries from all non-United States-based public libraries and similar organisations that allow all members of the public free access to computers and the internet. Applicants should have created innovative new ways to provide at least one of the following services: Free public access to computers and the internet, public training to help users in accessing online information that can help improve their lives, technology training for library staff, outreach projects to underserved communities. Priority will be given to projects that reach out to disadvantaged and underrepresented groups, and the foundation is particularly keen to receive entries from organisations based in developing countries. One of the previous winners of the annual contest was the Northern Territory Library network in Australia, which offered computer access and training to Indigenous Australians, enabling them to create a cultural database celebrating their language and heritage. The deadline for entering the contest is 31 October 2008, with the Access to Learning Award 2009 winner set to be named next August. For more information about the scheme and to enter online: www.gatesfoundation.org   Source: j4b

Research has revealed that line managers are not sufficiently involved in the interview process. This is despite HR professionals agreeing that this is important to ensure candidates have a good fit with the job requirements and culture of the company. Over one third of HR professionals said that when line managers were involved in interviewing, they were not as effective as they could be, mainly due to a lack of training and preparation. According to the research by SHL, only 30% of line managers have been provided with any interview training, making it unsurprising that 20% feel nervous beforehand. Some admit that they actually dread it. However, the majority of line managers said they would like to be more involved, to ensure the candidate has the right skills and experience, and fits with the team and company culture. So, employers would be wise to invest more in supporting them during the process. Reassuringly, this opinion is shared by HR managers and directors, with a resounding 90% of them expressing a positive attitude towards line manager involvement in the interview process, as this would free up HR time to dedicate to more strategic activities. On the topic of psychometric testing, the research has found that 35% of line managers don’t see the results. This suggests many don’t have all the information available to make an informed recruitment decision, and of those who do see assessment results, only half say they fully understand them. Some admit a complete lack of understanding.

An initiative that offers loan finance of up to £250,000 to charities and social enterprises in England has been re-launched. Formerly known as the Local Investment Fund, The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (TSELF) is a joint venture between the Department for Communities and Local Government and the NatWest Bank. The previous programme had generated more than £2 million of private sector investment and provided £7 million worth of loans to more than 150 community organisations during its 14-year lifespan. Now renamed and rebranded, with a new website and organisational structure, TSELF hopes to build on this track record and offer more assistance to organisations that operate with a social purpose and who struggle to raise finance from traditional sources. TSELF can provide three to ten-year loans of up to £250,000 which can be used for purchasing and improving property, buying other fixed assets, or as working capital. www.tself.org.uk

Over the past five years, the links between the academic and small business worlds have increased, according to a survey carried out by the University of Nottingham. The UK Business Barometer, an internet survey run by The University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation (UNIEI) found that 49 per cent of companies surveyed had had a business contact with a university in the previous 12 months. Only 26 per cent of respondents said they had ‘never’ had a business contact with a university — down from 47 per cent when the same question was asked as part of the UK Business Barometer (UKBB) survey in 2003. The results show a widening spread of contacts between the business sector and universities, as more companies establish links with higher education and more academics become involved in areas such as expert consultancy, research collaborations, technology transfer and other fields. The findings follow a national consultation to build stronger and more flexible links between business and universities, launched in April by Minister of State for Higher Education, Bill Rammell.

Nearly 1 in 10 parents have grown-up children still living with them rent-free, sometimes with their grandchildren, reveals a report by research firm Mintel. 1 in 4 regularly offers financial support to their children with the same proportion providing childcare services for their working offspring. On the positive side, rising childcare costs and mothers returning to work means that the youngest generation are spending much more time with their grandparents.

A recent poll from Select Appointments has revealed that misspelt words are top of the chart when it comes to employers’ pet hates. Select, part of Randstad, has highlighted the factors most likely to irritate a potential employer when considering an applicant’s CV. Spelling mistakes were by far the biggest pet hate with 54 per cent of employers polled citing this as their biggest irritation. 17 per cent admitted to being annoyed by a bad layout, and 16 per cent said they are turned off if an applicant’s resume is too long. At the other end of the scale, only 1 in 10 employers identified the use of ‘buzz words’ as a pet gripe. Nicola Severn, spokesperson for Select, said: "Although it is obvious from the research commissioned by the Spelling Society that many individuals are not as competent at spelling as they would like to be, when constructing a CV attention to detail is vital. Basic spell check facilities are available on the vast majority of modern computers and as such there is no excuse for sloppy spelling. A CV should be seen as a chance to shine. It is a direct reflection of the applicant and if the CV is considered inaccurate or badly organised, there is a danger the applicant will be too." Source: Recruitment Matters

Foreshadowing the nation’s changing makeup, one in four American counties have passed or are approaching the tipping point where black, Hispanic and Asian children constitute a majority of the under-20 population, according to analyses of census figures recently released. Racial and ethnic minorities now account for 43% of Americans under 20. Among people of all ages, minorities make up at least 40% of the population in more than one in six of the nation’s 3,141 counties. The latest population changes by race, ethnicity and age, as of July 1, 2007, were generally marginal compared with the year before. But they confirm the breadth of the nation’s diversity, and suggest that minorities — now about a third of the population — might constitute a majority of all Americans even sooner than projected by census demographers, in 2050. In 2000, black, Hispanic and Asian children under age 20 were at or near a majority in only about one-fifth of the counties and, over all, blacks, Hispanics and Asians accounted for 40% or more of the population in about one in seven counties. Even with the growing diversity, all but one of the 82 counties where blacks make up a majority are in the South (except St. Louis), all but two of the 46 where Hispanics are in the majority are in the South or the West (except the Bronx and Seward, Kan., home to giant meatpacking plants), and four of the five counties with the largest proportion of Asians are in Hawaii (San Francisco rounds out the top five with 33 percent). Source: New York Times

Flexible working arrangements for parents with young children are the most popular arrangements/benefits that organisations surveyed offer (61% and 60% respectively). This varies between the different sectors. Over four in five employers (84%) cite job-sharing as the most offered benefit/arrangement in the public sector, whereas in the private sector and voluntary sector, ‘working from home’ is the most offered arrangement (56% and 64% respectively). Top reasons given by organisations surveyed for working from home are to increase organisational flexibility (68%), retain workforce/widen the talent pool (55%) and to meet employee demand (54%). Among organisations that offer working from home, over half of employers (57%) say they occasionally accept requests for fixed arrangements to work from home, and a quarter (26%) say they frequently accept such requests. Homeworking requests are accepted more regularly in the public sector than the private sector. Thirty-five per cent of public sector organisations frequently accept requests, compared with 21% of private sector organisations. Only a tenth of employers (12%) say they never accept these requests. Two-thirds (65%) of employers surveyed say their organisations help with the costs associated with homeworking. This is more evident in the private sector, where 69% of employers provide this compared with 59% in the public sector. Most of this support comes in the provision of operational facilities: laptop (92%), mobile (79%), technical helpline/assistance with any technical problems (60%), broadband access subsidy (54%) and printer (50%). Looking into the future, over half of employers surveyed say that the level of homeworking at their organisations will stay the same (58%). Just over a quarter (27%) say it will increase, with only 2% believing it will decrease. About a quarter (23%) of employers say tax or National Insurance exemptions from IT facilities would act as an incentive to increase homeworking opportunities among employees. This view is shared among the private sector and public sector employers – both 24%. Two in five (39%) organisations surveyed say attitudes of senior management towards homeworking have changed positively in the last five years. Half believe attitudes have not changed within this time, and only 6% think that their senior managers have become more negative towards it. Source: CIPD Labour Market Outlook Report.

Talent shortages are a crucial issue for employers in an economic downturn, according to research by talent management specialist Taleo. Some 76% of R professionals believed shortages will remain or worsen as the economy slows, while 63% said that quality of hire is more of a priority as a result, found the study ‘Unified Talent Management: Critical to UK business’. The findings also showed that the long-term demographic trends that have caused the ‘war for talent’ outweighed short-term economic factors. Source: People Management.

A third of Londoners admit to regularly missing work through sick days, making the capital the worst place in Britain for unauthorized absences, according to a survey by market research firm TNS. Some 33% of London workers occasionally phone in sick when they are not ill, compared with 19% nationally, a survey has found. One worker in 12 said they did no at least three times a year – twice the national average. A separate study by the CBI and insurance company AXA found 12% of the 172 million work days lost to absence were likely to be ‘sickies’, costing the economy £1.6 billion.

White middle-class women have the best chance of getting top degrees at London universities. Research published shows that women outperformed men in almost every subject, with 59% of Firsts and 2:1s going to women last year. The Recruiters Guide to Courses and Campuses research also found that white students – whether male or female – got better degrees even at London universities with high proportions of ethnic minorities.

Black and minority ethnic solicitors earn 17% less than white solicitors, while women solicitors earn 7.6% less than their male counterparts, new research published by the Law Society has revealed. The survey, conducted by the Society’s Strategic Research Unit during October 2007 found white male solicitors earned an average of £50,000 and BME solicitors an average of £40,000 a year – an overall pay gap of 20%. After allowing for variables including grade, gender, firm size, region, post-qualification experience and hours worked, the salary gap narrowed to 17%. Researchers quizzed 1,201 solicitors, 9% of whom were BME solicitors and 43% were female.

A groundbreaking scheme to support the development and retention of graduates working for North Staffordshire businesses has been announced. Funded by Advantage West Midlands, the Graduate Works project will support up to 25 graduates in the region, and provide them with the intensive training necessary to develop the skills needed to improve the productivity of the firms they are working for. It is hoped the scheme will lead to more talented professionals choosing North Staffordshire as a place to work, as opposed to more established business hubs such as Birmingham and Manchester. The project will be run by finest, the network for professional service firms at North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce, and will be rolled out across the West Midlands if it proves to be successful.

Advantage West Midlands chairman Nick Paul said that the area needs to increase the number of graduates employed in the private sector by 4,000 each year and that stopping the brain-drain of talent away from the region was vital to help close the £10 billion output gap the West Midlands has compared to the national average. Source: Advantage West Midlands, 18/06/2008

Northern Irish SMEs are invited to apply for a new skills scheme that can offer up to £6,000 funding to carry out management training initiatives. The Management Analysis and Planning (MAP) programme, provided by the Department of Employment and Learning, aims to help firms identify managerial skills and development needs. The programme offers free consultancy support to enable companies to recognise skills shortages, then offers financial support of up to 40% of the costs – to a maximum of £6,000 – to carry out the necessary training required. Successful firms will become more focused and systematic in their approach, understand the strengths, weaknesses and areas which the business needs to improve, and be encouraged to work towards achieving the Investors in People standard. The MAP programme is open to businesses in Northern Ireland that employ between 10 and 250 people and that have not achieved the Investors in People standard. Source: j4b, 17/06/2008

The latest survey of the quality of life in 215 global cities puts London in 38th place- an improvement of one over the 2007 table. The survey is conducted each year by Mercer to advise their multinational clients and takes into account a wide number of factors including the political, social, cultural and economic environment, health, education, public services, transport, recreation and the availability of consumer goods. The survey says that even when weighed against its “extensive range of theatre, music and other cultural events as well as an excellent choice of restaurants” is its “high cost of housing”, along with traffic congestion and crime. The Times says that the higher echelons of the list are dominated by slightly dull, safe German and Swiss cities with Zurich top, followed by Vienna and Geneva joint 2nd, Vancouver 4th, Auckland 5th, Dusseldorf 6th, Munich and Frankfurt joint 7th, Bern 9th and Sydney 10th. In the UK Glasgow and Birmingham are joint 56th.

According to the 2008 CIPD Recruitment, Retention and Turnover survey current and emerging trends in people resourcing practice, 86% of organisations still experience recruitment difficulties. This annual benchmarking survey is based on 779 respondent organisations from the UK and relates to the period 1 January to 31 December 2007. The key reasons for recruitment difficulties, similar to last year, are a lack of necessary specialist skills in candidates (70%), followed by higher pay expectations (44%) and insufficient experience of candidates (42%). The survey also showed that appointing people who have the potential to grow but who currently don’t have all that’s required is the most frequently used initiative to overcome recruitment difficulties (75%). Although only half of the survey participants report having a formal resourcing strategy, eight in ten respondents cite attracting and recruiting key staff to the organisation as the main objective of their resourcing activities. Enabling the achievement of the organisation’s strategic goals (58%) and meeting future skills requirements (46%) are the second and third most important resourcing objectives according to survey participants. Also highlighted was the fact that recruitment initiatives having a positive impact on tackling recruitment difficulties include: providing additional training to allow internal staff to fill posts (75%), providing a realistic job preview (72%) and using the employer brand as a recruitment tool (71%). Just 32% of organisations say they make use of talent banks (ready candidate details saved electronically) before looking to recruit externally. In terms of attracting and selecting candidates, the survey showed that the most favoured methods were recruitment agencies (78%) followed by using the company’s own corporate website (75%) and local newspaper advertisements (74%) are the most common methods being used to attract candidates. The most frequently used selection methods include: interviews based on the contents of the CV/application form (72%), followed by competency-based interviews (65%). The average recruitment cost of filling a vacancy per employee is £4,667, increasing to £5,800 when organisations are also calculating the associated labour turnover costs. Source: CIPD

The Elsevier Foundation is seeking grant proposals for its Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries and New Scholars programs. Grant proposals for the two programs sponsored by Elsevier, a leading global publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, are due by September 15, 2008. The grants will be awarded in December 2008 and provide one, two and three year awards between US$5,000 to US$50,000 per year. The program for Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries helps libraries enhance the quality of life in developing countries by improving their ability put scientific, technical and medical information to work for those who need it. The New Scholars program helps the academic and research communities create model programs to help scholars in the early stages of their careers balance childcare and family responsibilities with the demanding academic careers in science, health and technology. The Elsevier Foundation provides grants to institutions around the world, with a focus on support for the world's libraries and for scholars in the early stages of their careers. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than 50 grants worth over a million dollars to non-profit organizations working in these fields. For more information on the program requirements and details of how to submit a proposal please visit http://www.elsevierfoundation.org/index.html

The latest issue of The Times Good University Guide once again makes Oxford the top university, followed by Cambridge, Imperial College, London, London School of Economics, St Andrews, Warwick, University College London, Durham, York and Bristol. The top of the table is dominated by the Russell Group research-intensive universities who take 12 of the top 20 places.  Among the new universities Robert Gordon in Aberdeen is the best-placed at 54th with Oxford Brookes, the top new university in England, one place lower. The biggest movers are York (up from 16 to 9), Leicester (up from 21 to 14), Lancaster (up from 27 to 19) and Glasgow (from 31 to 20=).

The report 'Migration Myths: Employment, Wages and Labour Market Performance' from The Work debunks the myths about the impact of migration on employment and wages. It shows that wages have not fallen because migrants are willing to work for less - including in key sectors such as construction and hotels. The rising National Minimum Wage has protected the most vulnerable and established a strong pay floor in the labour market. There has been no significant impact on unemployment, including youth unemployment. If there are any 'losers', they are to be found amongst the 'workless households' (families where no working age adult has a job) and amongst an earlier generation of migrant workers. The report also argues that the UK has the right policies in place (liberal product markets and flexible labour markets) to ensure that migrants find jobs quickly. The report recommends that all employment rights, including the National Minimum Wage, must be properly enforced to protect migrant workers at risk of exploitation. It appeals to the UK Government to devote sustained attention to producing high quality, consistent data and sharing it across departments and agencies. It says that too many different data sources on immigration create conflicting statistics and can feed an impression of chaos. The Government is right to base its managed migration policy on a points system, the report says. This is much better than an annual 'cap' on the number of migrants to be admitted, which fails to take account of employers' demand for labour and changing economic circumstances.

A research study commissioned by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills shows that white teenagers are significantly less likely to go to university than their peers from ethnic minority groups, even when they have the same qualifications at A’ level. The difference is most pronounced amongst men from deprived households and suggests the emergence of an underclass of white working-class men who risk being locked out of higher education and marginalised over jobs. The study found that 23 per cent of white males intended to go to university, compared to 65 per cent of Chinese, 66 per cent of Indian and 43 per cent of black African boys. The only minority groups less likely to attend university than whites were those classified as black Caribbean and black other. Another factor is that males are being left behind in the drive to educate more young people to degree level. Women were in a minority at university until 1992, but since then the balance has shifted. Last year the proportion of young males studying at university fell from 37 per cent in 1999 to 35 per cent. Among women the figure rose from 41 per cent in 1999 to 45 per cent.

The United Negro College Fund, America’s oldest and most successful minority higher education assistance organization, and the global research-based pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc., have announced awards of scholarships and fellowships to 38 African-American student recipients of the UNCF/Merck Science Initiative award, during the 2008 UNCF/Merck Fellows Day. Targeting students pursuing careers in biomedical research at the undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels, the science initiative was first announced in 1995 with a 10-year $20 million grant from Merck to UNCF. Supported by the Merck Institute for Science Education and Merck Research Laboratories, in 2006, the UNCF/Merck Science Initiative program was renewed to provide more than $13 million in scholarship grants over five years through 2010. Each year, the initiative has provided scholarships and fellowships to promising science students, enhancing their potential with financial support, hands-on training, close mentoring relationships and institutional support. To date, 479 scholarships and fellowships have been awarded to promising African-American students through a competitive application process that selects candidates based on their academic achievements and their potential in the field of biomedical research. Fellows have gone on to pursue careers in a wide range of disciplines, from biochemistry and microbiology to pharmacology, neuroscience, biophysics, chemistry and bioengineering. African Americans, American Indians, and Latinos constitute 30 percent of the nation's undergraduate students, a proportion that is expected to grow to 32 percent in 2010 and 38 percent by 2025. During the past 10 years, African Americans have made up only three percent of the Ph.D.s in biological/biomedical sciences and chemistry. During the same time period, more than 14 percent of Ph.D.s in all life sciences and physical sciences has a bachelor’s degree from one of UNCF’s 39 member Institutions, which represent private historically black colleges and universities. The 2008 UNCF/Merck Fellows will receive awards ranging from $25,000 to $85,000 each. Chosen for their academic achievements and potential in the field of biomedical research, award recipients were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants from across the nation.

The Deloitte Foundation, the non-profit arm of leading professional services firm Deloitte, has renewed its commitment to addressing the accounting Ph.D. faculty shortage by pledging $500,000 to the American Accounting Association (AAA)/Deloitte/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium and to supporting educational programs for accounting professors by pledging $500,000 to the Robert M. Trueblood Seminars for Professors. The $1 million gift to the AAA will fund approximately four years of doctoral consortia as well as the 2009 and 2010 Trueblood Seminars. The 38th Annual AAA Doctoral Consortium, a week-long program on accounting research and education for more than 80 of the nation's top accounting Ph.D. students, kicks off on June 18, 2008, in Tahoe City, California. With too few students choosing to pursue an accounting doctoral degree, there is a shortage of future Ph.D.s in the pipeline as well as in the current marketplace to replace the rising number of retirees. Several studies have shown that the shortage will become more severe in the coming years and could potentially threaten the sustainability of accounting degree programs. The shortage is particularly acute in the areas of audit and tax. By funding key Ph.D. education initiatives, such as the Doctoral Fellowship and Doctoral Consortium programs, the Foundation is hoping to alleviate some of the issues contributing to the increased scarcity of accounting faculty. The Deloitte Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that supports teaching, research and curriculum innovation in accounting, business and related fields within the United States.

New research has revealed that one in three UK employees is demotivated at work, and, significantly, 43% are considering taking action and leaving their job in the next 12 months. The research, which carried out by YouGov on behalf of Investors in People UK, found that the top three demotivating factors for employees were an unreasonable workload (18%), feeling underpaid (18%) and a lack of clear career path (17%). Overall, nearly half of employees (44%) claim their organisation has failed to continue supporting their career development beyond their initial induction period. Over a quarter (28%) of employees also said they felt unsupported by their managers. Commenting on the findings, Simon Jones, Chief Executive at Investors in People UK, said, “This research reveals a worrying picture, not only because such a significant proportion of UK employees are demotivated, but because it suggests that valuable employees may be heading for the door. It’s also important to highlight that employees that have been with an organisation for just one to two years are most likely to want to leave, given nearly half claim their employers focus their efforts on the initial induction stage but then, as employees settle in, let employee development fall down the list of priorities.” The research encourages employers to provide support when it comes to mapping out career paths and identifying relevant training and development as those that don’t, risk losing valuable talent and experience. Source: Recruitment Matters.

A survey of small business owners undertaken by Deloitte and the London Business School has found that they remain optimistic about their prospects for the rest of the year, despite the gathering storm of the credit squeeze. The report reveals that just over half of the company heads interviewed had already been hit but that 45 per cent still expected revenue growth to exceed 20 per cent this year. Tony Cohen, head of entrepreneurial business for Deloitte, says that the resilience in the face of one of the toughest environments for many years is partly due to the innate optimism of many entrepreneurs. Others have likened the current tightening of the credit markets as a slow-motion car crash, which will inevitably catch up with smaller, high-growth businesses. Duncan Cheatle, founder of The Supper Club, a networking group for high-growth businesses, says that his members are cautiously optimistic, although those that require funding are finding the process hard. Those that have had to borrow have found lenders linking offers to Libor instead of the lower base rate. Source: Financial Times.

The arrival of an estimated one million eastern European migrants has not increased unemployment among native Britons or lowered their wages according to a study published by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). It says that while migrants from the eight former Soviet bloc states that joined the EU in 2004 found it easy to find work, Britons encountered difficulties because of “issues around basic employability, skills, incentives and motivation”. The study calls for government policy to help low-skilled Britons by ensuring that they look for available work and providing education and training to make them employable. Home Office studies have highlighted how employers preferred the general attitude and work ethic of the eastern Europeans to those of British workers. One study said that migrant workers “tended to be more motivated, reliable and committed than domestic workers”. Hotel and catering employers said that they could not find British workers willing to work flexible hours. Separate Home Office research shows that immigration has contributed £1,650 to every British person’s output over the past ten years. The DWP study, which was carried out by Jonathan Portes, the department’s chief economist, and Sara Lemos of Leicester University, says that there is no evidence that immigration has any negative impacts on the labour market. David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said that the reluctance of Britons to work was due to the benefits culture and that migrant workers had served both business and the economy extremely well in recent years.

The UK’s biggest skills shortages are in management, with half of UK organisations claiming to struggle with gaps in expertise at management level, according to a snap poll carried out by People Management. The research also shows that while most organisations (81 per cent) are experiencing skills shortages in general, many HR departments are failing to tackle the problem effectively. Only 20 per cent of respondents said they had a talent management programme in place – perhaps surprising considering the war for talent is a major concern for organisations worldwide. And 11 per cent of respondents said they had got involved with the relevant sector skills council in an attempt to address the shortages. However, HR professionals appear op