To Coyne A Phrase

Mind the gap

SAYING that we are suffering from a skills gap in this region is not saying anything new – but it remains true nevertheless.

Which is why it was sad to read this week about an academy in Evesham which provides body and paint workshop training for young people being forced to call in the administrators.

The JohnsonVellen Centre of Excellence (JVCE) was unable to cover the on-going costs of running the project and lacked the funding to continue with on-going development work.

One would hope that one of the large manufacturers it works with might be able to help it out.

A report this week suggested Britain is bottom of the European league table when it comes to businesses working with schools to let them know the sort of skills that are needed in the local workforce.

It seems to a large degree at the moment that schools and businesses are working in silos, which benefits nobody.

Additionally, research from accountancy body CIMA found that – in the opinion of Britain’s leading finance bosses – the vast majority of school leavers in the UK lack basic literacy, numeracy and interpersonal skills.

CIMA suggests its findings reveal that a lack of appropriate education skills amongst school leavers is limiting their employment prospects and has led to a dip in productivity amongst UK businesses.
 
A third (31%) of firms questioned take more than two months to fill junior roles and UK candidates were found to be twice as likely to lack functional skills, basic literary and numeracy, than their European peers.

Clearly this is a situation which can’t be allowed to continue. Businesses can be expected to provide training for youngsters pertinent to the field they have entered but they can’t be expected to teach them to spell, add up and to say please and thank you.

A lot of work needs to be done to ensure those leaving school have the bare essential skills required by employers and businesses have to play their part too by engaging with schools in a much more meaningful way.

Pointless research alert

IT workers are more likely to try something new to eat on their lunch breaks than accountants, lawyers and bankers, new research has revealed.

A survey carried out by Colmore Business District (CBD) in Birmingham identified that 100% of IT professionals surveyed were either ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to try something new to eat on their lunch breaks, compared with three quarters (75%) of those working in accountancy and 70% in law.

More than 40% of those working in banking said they were ‘unlikely’ to try something new at all, while everyone working in hospitality responded saying they were ‘very likely’ to go for a different dish on their break.

The survey coincides with this year’s Colmore Food Festival (aha, I knew it had to have a purpose) which brings together the wide variety of food and drink venues in the district, and takes place in Birmingham’s Victoria Square today and tomorrow.

Perhaps over-egging the pudding somewhat (to use a food analogy), Michele Wilby, executive director at Colmore Business District, said: “It’s fascinating to see the district’s IT workers are the most adventurous at lunchtime.”

I can’t take any more of this, I’m off to get a baked potato filled with sushi.

Fortune favours the brave

AN inspiring tale to finish on.

AN Afghanistan bomb blast survivor and a fellow former soldier are on target for business success after their award-winning first aid and emergency training company secured a major contract with the Ministry of Defence.
 
John Loveday and Paul Hood’s Birmingham-based company Spearhead Compliance Training was launched just 18 months ago but is already one of the UK’s most successful start-up enterprises, employing 125 trainers operating nationwide.
 
Their business success story began when John left the British Army in 2009 and struggled to find work. After several months of unemployment, during which he “felt like giving up”, John walked into the Chelmsley Wood office of employment and training experts Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG) and asked for help.
 
John, a father-of-two from Hampton-in-Arden, said: “After serving seven years in the military and surviving the harshest fighting the British Army has seen to date I decided the army was no longer for me.
 
“I attempted to find work and I struggled because I didn’t have civilian recognised qualifications. I also didn’t realise at the time that I was suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Times were tough and there was a time when I felt like giving up.
 
“I then walked into the Chelmsley Wood branch of PPDG and asked if they could help me. I think that my drive and enthusiasm to get into employment meant that the team there placed me on various courses. The courses included Door Supervisor, Train the Trainer, First Aid and also a Winning Edge Programme.
 
“From this I gained employment and also eventually got over my PTSD. The fact I had the qualifications and gained work led me to gain a very highly paid job offshore. I also worked as a freelance trainer delivering First Aid and other courses when in the UK.
 
“I then decided that the training industry needed a provider that delivered exceptional courses at very high standards, almost to military precision. I met Paul and we set up Spearhead Compliance Training.”
 
It has been a remarkable turnaround for former soldier John, who got all his men out of danger after their patrol was hit by a bomb blast only to collapse with a bleed on the brain. Under heavy fire in Afghanistan on 16 September 2009, the then Corporal Loveday was thrown off his feet by an explosion while patrolling with British troops in the south-western province of Helmand.
 
The blast resulted in temporary hearing loss in his left ear.

“I don’t know how I did it, but the training took over and I got my guys out of there,” he said.
 
Only after escorting the seven people in his command away from the blast and out of the firing zone did he collapse on the ground in need of medical attention.

I think I speak for all of us in wishing the guys good luck with their current venture.

Have a great weekend.
 

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