skills

Website promotes apprenticeship vacancies

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Mon, 10/26/2015 - 12:14am

New website to help local employers fill their apprenticeship vacancies

Skills Group has worked with local company, Altitude, to launch a new website promoting apprenticeship vacancies to young people.

The new dedicated recruitment website, www.apprenticeships4me.com , has been designed to help young people make an informed choice about becoming an apprentice, and then finding a vacancy to match their career aspirations.

“The launch of our new website is particularly timely,” said Skills Group Apprenticeship Manager, Mandy Kerslake, “as the increase in the national...

Senior staff appointed to help shape future of new school

Two crucial appointments have strengthened the senior team leading Devon’s newest school, which is due to start delivering its specialist and innovative curriculum to students in September.

South Devon University Technical College Principal Ian Crews will be supported by Vice Principal Claire Plumb and Assistant Principal Alison Witts as the school prepares to welcome its first intake of Year 10 and Year 12 students.

The UTC, based in Newton Abbot, specialises in engineering, water and the environment, and its curriculum combines academic education with practical, work-...

Will 2019 be the year the SW stops building?

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 02/09/2015 - 8:19am

Worsening skills shortages in the construction sector could threaten many building projects in the South West by 2019, new research* reveals today.

Data released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) highlights the severity of the skills shortages facing businesses across the region.

More than nine tenths (93%) of the surveyors questioned said that a lack of qualified candidates meant they had problems recruiting, but more alarming is the amount of paid work being turned down by many companies.

Three in five (60%) surveying firms in the South West...

Upskill struggle could be eased by online education

Employers could face an upskill struggle when recruiting for the roles available in a changing job market, set to grow by around 37% in the South West, according to CBI predictions.

The National Careers Council says over half of employers are not confident they will find sufficient recruits for jobs on offer. Growth is expected in sectors such as computer technology, tourism and healthcare, with decline anticipated in areas such as call centre, secretarial and banking employment.*

Graduates will be in higher demand as the job market picks up, with 30% of employers expecting...

Event promotes safer working culture

Construction workers across the South West have been brushing up on their health and safety knowledge at the first ever CFSW Health and Safety Expo.

Over 400 local sub contractors and health and safety professionals and students attended the event, which took place in Exeter last week, to learn more about training, occupational health, asbestos awareness and removal, PPE, plant and equipment use, general construction site health and safety issues and working at height.

The theme for the day was ‘well being’ and aimed to alter behaviour and attitude to promote safe and...

Exeter Hair Academy open day

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 11/07/2014 - 11:53am

The Skills Group Hair Academy in Exeter is holding an open day on Monday 10 November for potential hairdressing and barbering apprentices and salon owners who may be considering taking on an apprentice.

The event is part of Skills Group’s current ‘Learn a trade and get paid’ campaign to raise awareness of apprenticeship opportunities.

Young people are invited to attend from 10am-3pm to meet the hairdressing training team, and to take part in have-a-go sessions, demonstrations and master classes.

Young people are being actively encouraged to consider alternatives to...

New school recruiting brains of the future

Tomorrow’s scientists and engineers can now apply for places at the county’s newest school, the South Devon University Technical College in Engineering, Water and the Environment, which opens its doors to the first intake of students this time next year.

The innovative UTC has been established by the University of Exeter and South Devon College alongside key local and regional employers, to provide a specialist secondary education for young people with a flair for science and engineering. It aims to help the region’s top students become as ‘work-ready’ as possible.

The UTC...

New School Begins Recruiting Scientists and Engineers of the Future

Tomorrow’s scientists and engineers can now apply for places at the county’s newest school, the South Devon University Technical College in Engineering, Water and the Environment, which opens its doors to the first intake of students this time next year.

The innovative UTC has been established by the University of Exeter and South Devon College alongside key local and regional employers, to provide a specialist secondary education for young people with a flair for science and engineering. It aims to help the region’s top students become as ‘work-ready’ as possible.

The UTC...

Devon's businesses need to combat skills gap

Action is required to stem a skills crisis in the South West, warns new research today.

The Prince’s Trust and HSBC report suggests that 69 per cent of South West businesses believe a significant skills crisis will hit their organisations within the next three years while 43 per cent predict it will happen within the next 12 months. Two thirds of South West businesses surveyed fear skills shortages will halt the UK's economic recovery, while a third fear it would cause their business to fold.

The report, based on interviews with UK business leaders1 suggests that 81 per...

A chance to change lives

MENTORING someone who is going through a difficult time in their life can be challenging but rewarding, according to the coordinator of an Exeter charity project.

Laura Callaway at Transitions, a project of Exeter Community Initiatives, is looking for volunteers who feel they have skills to offer people who have been homeless, faced mental illness or experienced addiction.

She is running a training course for people who would be interested in helping others turn their lives around.

She said: "You don't need any special qualifications - just experience of...

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