Work starts on low carbon homes at Osprey Quay on Portland
Building work starts today on a new low carbon housing scheme on Portland in Dorset that aims to be an exemplar of green development.
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SWO network 2008/09 annual report
The South West Observotory Annual Report 2008-09 detailing network activity over the past 12 months has just been published.
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Achieving Global Success Through Quality Research
The UK also continues to rank as second only in the world to the USA on leading scientific indicators, the International Benchmarking Study of UK Research Performance 2009, published by Evidence Ltd and commissioned by BIS, has revealed.
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750,000 people into work - Cooper
Over 750,000 people will be helped into work by the end of next year through an expansion of the Local Employment Partnership scheme, announced Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper.
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Small Businesses To Benefit From Graduate Talent
The Government has joined forces with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to offer up to 10,000 graduates a boost to their future employability, through internships in small and micro businesses, announced by the PM last week.
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What skills make people marketable in a recession?
With record levels of unemployment and competition amongst job seekers, CIPD wanted to find out what skills and attributes make people marketable and stand out from the crowd in the current economic environment.
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An innovative ESF project that helps young parents fulfil their potential has won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
WILD started in Truro in 1992 as a young parents group. Now there are 11 groups supporting young parents – fathers as well as mothers – as they work towards qualifications.

As evidence of WILD’s success, 36 per cent of clients have gone on to further education, 31 per cent have started careers and a large proportion are working voluntarily in the local community.

Supported by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) through ESF Convergence funding, WILD’s aim is to ensure that every participant has the opportunity to achieve their potential.
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Highlights from the latest Convergence Cornwall Newsletter:
- Article by Iain Scott, a specialist in entrepreneurship and creator of enterprisecafe.tv. Click here.

- Unionlearn Cornwall will lead a joint trade union project which will work with key partners to improve the skills and knowledge of union reps, learning reps and members so they can better support fellow workers affected by the risk of redundancy. Click here.

- An exciting new project offering people who are out of work the chance to improve their ICT skills, Endeavour will support skills development through innovative community-based taster sessions enabling people to use technology to get involved more fully in their communities and to support entry into volunteering or paid work. Click here.

- A new ESF Convergence investment 'Empowering Smart Women' is to be launched on 6 October. It offers a unique opportunity for the female workforce of Cornwall to enhance their management careers and entrepreneurial skills through a tailor-made programme of high level qualifications, personal skills development, peer networking and professional mentoring. Click here.
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Recession Britain
Britain has now been in recession for over a year. How can policy-makers respond most effectively, on a global scale as well as nationally? And what are the likely effects - both now and in the future - on jobs, on businesses and on people's lives?
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Two new ‘Older Workers’ reports
Older people inside and outside the labour market: a review - Click here.
Older Workers: More Flexible and Fulfilled - Click here.
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Two Green Economy Reports
Pulling ahead: innovating for low-carbon leadership - Click here.
Mapping the Big Green Challenge: an analysis of 355 community proposals for low-carbon innovation - Click here.

The link below leads to the current SW Learning Theme on Green Jobs and Green Skills.
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New Third Sector Forum
Skills – Third Sector is the new independent, sector-led organisation for the sector, which has been established to enable people in third sector organisations to develop their learning and skills, so they can make an ever-growing contribution to their communities. The website has a new Forum area and is looking to get discusions started on the key issues for the sector.
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New £2 million Flexibility and Innovation Fund invites bids
Further education and skills providers and provider representative bodies are invited to submit bids, for up to £90,000, for innovative projects leading to activities with the potential to secure significant improvements in sector practice or performance.

Project outcomes will be shared with the sector in order to maximise their benefits. This will initially be through the Excellence Gateway, and may be supplemented by further publication opportunities and dissemination events.

Bids may be submitted from individual organisations or in collaboration with others. Further bidding opportunities will be available in February 2010 and June 2010.
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National Statistics for September 2009
The number of unemployed people, the unemployment rate and the claimant count have increased. The employment rate and the number of employed people have fallen. There are fewer vacancies. The number of inactive people of working age and the inactivity rate have increased. Earnings growth, excluding bonuses, has fallen. Earnings growth, including bonuses, has increased.
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Jobseekers Allowance claims by occupation: a TUC analysis
The analysis shows that, while workers from every sector have been affected by the downturn, 50% of the increase in claimant unemployment has been borne by workers from just 17 occupational groups.

Sales and retail assistants have been affected most, with an annual increase of 76,230 in the number of claimants who had previously worked in this area. This group is followed by other goods handling and storage occupations (an annual increase of 47,420) and general office assistance (an annual increase of 46,330).
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Staff shortages and immigration publication series
- Staff shortages and immigration in the health sector - click here.
- Staff shortages and immigration in the hospitality sector - click here.
- Staff shortages and immigration in the social care sector - click here.
- Staff shortages and immigration in agriculture - click here.
- Staff shortages and immigration in construction - click here.
- Staff shortages and immigration in the financial services sector - click here.
- Staff shortages and immigration in food processing - click here.
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Patterns of non-employment, and of disadvantage, in a recession
This short paper aims to contribute to the live debate about the current recession in the United Kingdom by analysing the impact of the recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s on non-employment patterns among people in the main range of working ages.
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New Leadership Report Available
The report - Employer Engagement with Higher Education: Defining, Sustaining and Supporting Higher Skills Provision – is now complete and available to view. It forms part of the region’s look at Higher Level Skills.
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South West index of economic resilience
This short introductory paper highlights some of the most significant findings. It summarises each of the five key components of resilience. The paper also sets out the top five performers in each domain and reviews how local economies in the region have changed over the last 10 years.
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Widening participation: synthesis of international evidence
The purpose of this report is to provide a synthesis of international evidence on widening participation and to demonstrate which initiatives might be most applicable and useful in an English context.
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Gender Equality and the South West Economy
9 October 2009, Taunton
- The aim of the day is to explore the causes of the gender pay gap and consider measures to address it. There will be interactive workshops and discussions relating to gender equality in education, training, the workplace and mental health.
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The role of RDAs in the work of the SFA
13 October 2009, London
- How will authority be decided? What power will the eight non-London RDAs have over the SFA for adult skills? The event will be chaired by Tricia Hartley, Chief Executive of the Campaign for Learning.
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Increasing participation for young people: have we cracked the youth unemployment problem for 16-17 year olds?
13 October 2009, London
- Update on the September guarantee for 16 and 17 year olds, the extent to among unemployment within 16-17 year olds will remain a problem, and the transfer of funding for 16-17 year old to local authorities.
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Taking Forward the UK Location Programme: Improving Local Information and Data Analysis
20 October 2009, London
- This Westminster Briefing will give participants the opportunity to discuss and be informed on the progress of the Location Programme and investigate the recently released conceptual design blueprint.
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