Training in focus: UKCES report shows that vocational qualifications can boost earnings
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 Research conducted by the University of Sheffield and reported by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills shows that:
* Apprenticeships provide significant benefits, with average earnings increasing by up to 22 per cent following the completion of a Level 3 (equivalent to A-level) apprenticeship compared with a Level 2 apprenticeship. As National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are an integral part of apprenticeships, the report suggests that “these results suggest an effective means of delivering NVQs”
* City and Guilds, RSA, BTECs and some other vocational qualifications also result in significant average pay increases of between five and 23 per cent;
* The pay increases associated with NVQs are more variable. When individuals acquire a new Level 2 NVQ as their highest qualification, the most recent evidence (for England only) shows they earn on average four per cent more than someone with no qualifications. However, this figure hides wide variations between sectors, as NVQs in certain sectors, such as construction, frequently result in large pay rises, whilst others, such as finance, do not. Variations are also evident between occupations, with those in skilled occupations and personal services reporting relatively high wage increases.
* The way in which a learner achieves a qualification also appears to affect their earning power. Those who obtain an NVQ through their employer earn some 10% more than those with no qualifications (England only). Yet obtaining the same NVQ via a college or government training scheme does not, on average, result in any such increase. The report also finds some evidence to suggest that the returns to intermediate vocational qualifications held as highest qualifications are improving over time.
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GTL are able to offer Management NVQs to help your leadership team, from supervisors to business owners, make that step-up to not only benefit themselves, but help bring about positive improvements for your business. The qualifications range from Team Leading at Level 2 right up to Management at Level 5 and can be assessed in the workplace and over the telephone to ensure as little time as possible is spent away from their daily tasks. Your managers already have enough paperwork to fill in, so assessment is carried out via professional discussions, which are recorded and written up by our Assessors.
Formal qualifications in the workplace can help you and your employees become the best you can be ensuring that your business benefits in the long term. Each Management NVQ costs £1360, which is 50% cheaper than other providers while members of GTL only pay £1050.
For more information or an informal chat about any kind of issue, don't hesistate to get in touch with GTL's Advisors, who would be happy to talk through the options with you. Alternatively, download our membership form and return it and GTL will contact you.
Tel: +44 (0)114 2270070
Email: info@glass-training.co.uk
Download: 2010 Membership Form PDF
BBC: Training scheme was 'mismanaged'
A £1.5bn government initiative to improve the skill levels of employees has been heavily criticised by MPs. The Train to Gain scheme was launched in England in 2006 but, according to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, it was "mismanaged" from the outset. The MPs said the targets set were "unrealistically ambitious", leading to a £150m under-spend in the first two years and then an over-spend of £50m.
Ministers said thousands of employees had benefited from the scheme...
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BBC: Investigation into Buckfast Tonic Wine
A BBC investigation has called on the monks who produce Buckfast wine to use plastic bottles instead of glass after Strathclyde Police revealed that Buckfast was mentioned in more than 5,000 crime reports over the last three years. But Jim Wilson, the spokesman for J Chandler & Co who distribute Buckfast, says the company will be sticking with glass because the cost of changing to plastic would be "horrendous".
"We have said to the government if they think it's such a major problem … you fund it and we'll be happy to put a product in a trial and if it works, then we'll put all our sizes into it," he says. "They probably take the first thing to hand. It so happens if it's a Buckfast bottle, it's a Buckfast bottle. It could be a whisky bottle, it could be a gin bottle, it could be any kind of bottle as long as it's handy."
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Packaging News: Glass recycling rates rise as Friends of Glass campaign gathers pace
European glass recycling rates rose to 65% in 2008, according to new research by The European Container Glass Association (Feve). They have revelaed that an estimated 25.5 billion glass bottles and jars were recycled in Europe in 2008.
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VAT Online Alert for SMEs
VAT-registered businesses are being urged by HM Revenue & Customs to get ready now for major changes to VAT return filing and payment coming in next April. HMRC has sent a leaflet to all 1.9 million VAT-registered businesses to alert them to the fact that, from 1 April 2010, those with an annual turnover of £100,000 or more (excluding VAT) will have to file their VAT returns online and pay their VAT electronically.
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Glass North East Exhibition unveiled at Houses of Parliament
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Glass reprocessors call for action on clear cullet deficit
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The GTL newsletter is circulated to over 1000 companies covering all sectors of the UK glass sector.
If you would like your news to appear in the February edition of the GTL newsletter, please submit your stories to newsletter@glass-training.co.uk by 19th February 2010.
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