Demand for candidates with ICT skills in the UK now outstrips supply, according to Sector Skills Council e-skills.
The latest Labour Market Bulletin from e-skills shows that the number of advertised vacancies for ICT staff rose for the fifth consecutive quarter to a total of 101,000 positions, while the unemployment rate for ICT staff fell to 3.1% as opposed to 8.3% for the workforce as a whole.
This news tallies with the large number of graduate vacancies being advertised recently at cumbria.prospects.ac.uk
For a closer look at the IT labour market, visit www.e-skills.com/Research/Research-publications/Labour-Market-Bulletin to download the full version of the Bulletin.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Campaign for Work Experience
A recent report from High Fliers Research stated that students who offer no previous work experience are unlikely or very unlikely to be offered a place on a graduate scheme or a training contract.
This campaign is aimed to highlight the importance of gaining as much work experience as you can before you leave university.
For more details, see the AllAboutCareers.com website.
For more help on finding work experience, try the following:
www.delicious.com/skillzone/work_experience
http://cumbria.prospects.ac.uk
graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk
This campaign is aimed to highlight the importance of gaining as much work experience as you can before you leave university.
For more details, see the AllAboutCareers.com website.
For more help on finding work experience, try the following:
www.delicious.com/skillzone/work_experience
http://cumbria.prospects.ac.uk
graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk
Manchester Careers Fairs 2011 - Finalised dates
Following an earlier post, here are the finalised dates for this year's careers fairs at Manchester
Wednesday 15 June and Thursday 16 June 2011 Graduate Recruitment Fair;
Wednesday 5 October 2011: Ethnic Diversity Fair;
Wednesday 19 October 2011: Engineering, Science & Technology Fair;
Thursday 20 October 2011: Finance, Business & Management Fair;
Tuesday 22 November 2011: Law Fair;
Wednesday 23 November 2011: Postgraduate Study Fair.
Please see www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/fairs for details.
N.b. Students from other Universities other than Manchester are very welcome to attend.
Wednesday 15 June and Thursday 16 June 2011 Graduate Recruitment Fair;
Wednesday 5 October 2011: Ethnic Diversity Fair;
Wednesday 19 October 2011: Engineering, Science & Technology Fair;
Thursday 20 October 2011: Finance, Business & Management Fair;
Tuesday 22 November 2011: Law Fair;
Wednesday 23 November 2011: Postgraduate Study Fair.
Please see www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/fairs for details.
N.b. Students from other Universities other than Manchester are very welcome to attend.
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Retail Recruitment Sector Overview
We hold a copy of a recent summary of recruitment requirements and deadline dates for dome of the main graduate employers in the retail sector.
Some of the employers covered are Vodafone, HSBC, the Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Asda and Tesco.
If you would like an electronic copy, please send a request to careers@cumbria.ac.uk
Some of the employers covered are Vodafone, HSBC, the Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Asda and Tesco.
If you would like an electronic copy, please send a request to careers@cumbria.ac.uk
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Mini Convention At University of Cumbria, Fusehill Street Campus
There will be a Mini Careers Convention (Placements Special) at Fusehill St Campus on Thursday 24th March 12 noon - 2.00 pm, Ground Floor,
Key Exhibitors will be
Placement experience has been shown to be a key factor in gaining graduate employment and those offered through the University are paid.
A display of current careers information will also be available.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Is 'Employability' A Smokescreen To Mask Labour Market Failings?
If you don't mind ploughing your way through a bit of theory, there's an interesting article "The Shifting Sands of Employability" by Nick Wilton in the latest edition of CESR Review from the Centre for Employment Studies, Bristol.
Taking an etymological approach, Wilton looks at the use of the term 'employability' from the 1940's to the present day. Early definitions focus on assessing people's ability to work in the light of characteristics like age, family backgound, ability or medical condition.
Following many variations the term has, since 2006, focussed on graduate employability - in particular, the supposed responsibility of graduates to acquire a set of key skills that will meet the demands of the labour market.
Wilton's argument is that this emphasis on 'tooling up' graduates for employment overlooks the fact that the graduate labour market has not kept up with the rise in graduate numbers. Social and education characteristics (e.g. type of University attended, gender, ethnicity) may be more likely to account for difficulties in finding graduate employment rather than the acquisition of employability skills.
To quote: "As such, in its current guise, employability is associated with the attribution of fault rather than seeking remedy for unemployment and effectively disregards structural explanations for unemployment or underemployment such as geographical immobility, the collective experience of labour market inequality and the recruitment behaviours of organisations"
Heady words indeed, but is it all true?
It is certainly true that come organisations concentrate their recruitment efforts on a limited number of prestige universities, which, combined with academic stipulations often based on UCAS points ensure that they are far more likely to recruit candidates who are from priveleged backgrounds. Unpaid internships and high costs of study are making some career routes virtually inaccessible for those who are not.
On the other hand there are some companies with active diversity policies who go out of their way to encourage applications from under-represented groups, just as there are some individuals who are so determined to succeed and have so much belief in their own success (the 'locus of control' theory) that they succeed against all the odds.
Are employability skills a useful addition to the graduate skillset - or just a cover up for the lack of decent jobs? What do you think?
Taking an etymological approach, Wilton looks at the use of the term 'employability' from the 1940's to the present day. Early definitions focus on assessing people's ability to work in the light of characteristics like age, family backgound, ability or medical condition.
Following many variations the term has, since 2006, focussed on graduate employability - in particular, the supposed responsibility of graduates to acquire a set of key skills that will meet the demands of the labour market.
Wilton's argument is that this emphasis on 'tooling up' graduates for employment overlooks the fact that the graduate labour market has not kept up with the rise in graduate numbers. Social and education characteristics (e.g. type of University attended, gender, ethnicity) may be more likely to account for difficulties in finding graduate employment rather than the acquisition of employability skills.
To quote: "As such, in its current guise, employability is associated with the attribution of fault rather than seeking remedy for unemployment and effectively disregards structural explanations for unemployment or underemployment such as geographical immobility, the collective experience of labour market inequality and the recruitment behaviours of organisations"
Heady words indeed, but is it all true?
It is certainly true that come organisations concentrate their recruitment efforts on a limited number of prestige universities, which, combined with academic stipulations often based on UCAS points ensure that they are far more likely to recruit candidates who are from priveleged backgrounds. Unpaid internships and high costs of study are making some career routes virtually inaccessible for those who are not.
On the other hand there are some companies with active diversity policies who go out of their way to encourage applications from under-represented groups, just as there are some individuals who are so determined to succeed and have so much belief in their own success (the 'locus of control' theory) that they succeed against all the odds.
Are employability skills a useful addition to the graduate skillset - or just a cover up for the lack of decent jobs? What do you think?
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
BUPA Predicts Care Shortfall
Private health and social care organisation BUPA forecasts that 100,000 old people may not be able to have access to care home places over the next ten years.
The BUPA report "Who Cares" claims that Local Authority cutbacks in this period will lead to a shortage of 81,000 care home beds, leading to largescale bed blocking in the NHS because of the resulting increase in elderly hospital admissions.
The report also makes a plea for the ringfencing of £2 billion allocated to Local Authority provision for adult social care by 2014-15, before going on to provide a full review of the funding of adult care provision.
The fact that a private organisation is showing concern about public sector cutbacks they might be expected to benefit from becomes more comprehensible when you realise that 70% of BUPA care home residents are in receipt of state funding. Presumably many receive Local Authority funding as well.
It can however only be bad news for graduates and others who are looking to make their career in the care sector over the next few years.
Read the full report at
www.epolitix.com/fileadmin/epolitix/stakeholders/BUPA_Who_Cares.pdf
Note: I first found it through a tweet @social_care which looks a good source for those interested in developments in Social Care provision.
The BUPA report "Who Cares" claims that Local Authority cutbacks in this period will lead to a shortage of 81,000 care home beds, leading to largescale bed blocking in the NHS because of the resulting increase in elderly hospital admissions.
The report also makes a plea for the ringfencing of £2 billion allocated to Local Authority provision for adult social care by 2014-15, before going on to provide a full review of the funding of adult care provision.
The fact that a private organisation is showing concern about public sector cutbacks they might be expected to benefit from becomes more comprehensible when you realise that 70% of BUPA care home residents are in receipt of state funding. Presumably many receive Local Authority funding as well.
It can however only be bad news for graduates and others who are looking to make their career in the care sector over the next few years.
Read the full report at
www.epolitix.com/fileadmin/epolitix/stakeholders/BUPA_Who_Cares.pdf
Note: I first found it through a tweet @social_care which looks a good source for those interested in developments in Social Care provision.
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