Archive for the ‘retraining’ Category

The latest in Business, IT, Secretarial, Accountancy, Payroll, HR Training

Friday, June 25th, 2010
It’s that time of year again when we unveil our course programmes for the next academic year. This is the end of a long internal and external review process  where we listen to what our existing students say and also hopefully respond to chnaging training demands in the market place covering Gorey, Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford areas.    
So what’s is New this year I hear ye all ask??..

Well. To explain..

Our courses range from individual certificate courses to longer term diploma and/or FETAC level 6 training programmes. All of our courses are part-time and certified. Our courses include Business Skills, Computer Skills, Payroll, Book-keeping, Web design, book-keeping and secretarial skills including typing and keyboard skills. 

Our training centres are accredited to offer Pitman Training courses which are all part-time learning flexible programmes designed to suit your needs including the renowned Medical Secretarial, Legal Secretarial, Executive PA and book-keeping range of diploma courses. 

Our Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny centres also offers additional courses including Accounting Technician Ireland, Taxation Technician(*New Sept 2010), ACCA CAT (*New Sept 2010), Sales Negotiation (*New September 2010), Certified Public Accountants(CPA), HR and Employment Law, Business Studies, Childcare, Special Needs Assistant (SNA), Marketing and Corporate Governance.  

We would welcome any feedback you have on the range of courses we offer as we constantly update the list of course we offer. For a full list of all our courses checkout www.genesisbusinesscollege.net.

  

 

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FÁS Quarterly Commentary, 12th February 2010

Friday, February 26th, 2010
  • REFLECTING THE SHARP DECLINE IN EMPLOYMENT THROUGH 2009, AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN 2010 IS LIKELY TO BE DOWN BY 87,000 ON LAST YEAR’S AVERAGE.
  • THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS FORECAST TO PEAK AT ABOUT 13.5% IN LATE 2010 – BELOW PREVIOUS FEARS OF A PEAK AS HIGH AS 16%.
  • EMPLOYMENT SHOULD STABILISE FROM EARLY 2011; HOWEVER AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT FOR 2011 STILL EXPECTED TO BE 11,000 DOWN ON 2010
Summary…

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      • There have been signs in recent months that the upward trend in unemployment has begun to stabilise. However, it is too early to say whether the apparent stabilisation will persist.
      • While unemployment has risen across all occupations, craftspeople and manual workers have been hardest hit with unemployment in these groups rising to 25% or more, whereas the unemployment rate for professional occupations remains below 5%. Men have been relatively harder hit by the fall in employment and rise in unemployment than have women.
      • For a more narrowly defined group of craft and other occupations directly linked to the construction industry, unemployment has risen to over 30%. Also, although the unemployment rate for professional occupations remains below 5%, the rate for managers and professionals closely linked to construction has risen to over 13%.
      • The vast majority of unemployed people come from manual or lower-level service jobs. Managers, professionals and technicians together account for a minority – 14% – of the jobless.
      • In response to the lack of job opportunities, labour force participation has fallen particularly sharply for teenagers and those aged 20-24, reflecting postponement of entry to the labour force.
      • Almost 80,000 people participated in training in FÁS in 2009 and a further 26,000 were still in training at the end of the year.
      • Almost 11,000 people completed periods on FÁS employment programmes in 2009, and a further 26,000 were still engaged in these programmes at year end.
      • The number of new apprentices recruited by employers was down 59% in 2009, with construction-related apprentices down 69%.
      • Vacancies notified to FÁS were down 19% year-on-year in Q4 2009, with declines occurring for all occupations except health & care service workers. For the year as a whole, there were 55,000 vacancies notified to FÁS.
      • There has been a very strong link between economic growth and employment growth in recent years, and this has been particularly evident during the recession. However, the anticipated recovery in the Irish economy is expected to export-led, whereas job creation is largely contingent on a recovery in domestic demand. On balance, we are forecasting annual average employment to fall by 4.5% from 1,928,000 in 2009 to 1,841,000 this year and by a more modest 0.6% in 2011 to 1,830,000.
      • We expect the unemployment rate to rise further this year, peaking at about 13½% in the second half of the year. For 2011, we are forecasting a gradual reduction in the unemployment rate through the year, with the annual average falling to 12.6%. (In general, expectations as to the peak level of unemployment have fallen in recent months). However, the economic outlook for Ireland is still uncertain which makes forecasting more tentative than usual, with much hinging on a recovery in consumer spending. If the hoped for pick-up in consumer spending does not materialise, then the peak in unemployment is likely to be higher and later than in our current forecast.

Full Details:
A copy of the FÁS Quarterly Labour Market Commentary (Winter 2009/2010) can be downloaded by clicking here [Pdf 213kb]

For further information contact:
Brian McCormick, FÁS Research & Planning Unit,
Tel: 01-6070517, E: brian.mccormick@fas.ie
Maria Walshe, FÁS Communications Unit,
Tel: 01 6070521, E: maria.walshe@fas.ie
 

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Secretary Courses Underpin The Professional Secretarial Career.

Friday, February 26th, 2010

The secretarial job market remains in a state of rude good health despite the recession and demand for these highly skilled staff, the “backbone of the office,” is stronger than for other roles such administrative assistants and clerks.

Such demand is probably a reflection of the high standards demanded by employers as they strive to obtain maximum productivity from every employee.

And as secretaries tend to be highly trained, they have the ability to deliver measurable value to a business.

Achieving these standards is not a matter of luck but rather investment in secretary courses and related training programmes and it is fair to say that the secretary is often the most highly trained of all the administrative staff.

He or she will have taken skill specific secretary courses to learn typing, shorthand, audio transcription and technical subjects such as minute-taking and letter layout.

In addition, it will have been necessary to learn about the information technology used in the job, such as computer studies and software packages including Microsoft’s Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Access.

Without structured secretary courses, it would be very difficult to pick up sufficient knowledge, skill and competence to deliver work to the standard required.

And it would be even harder to become a medical secretary, legal secretary, paralegal or executive pa without having taken a number of secretary courses.

For most students embarking on secretarial careers, Pitman Training is the first port of call.

Sir Isaac Pitman launched his world-renowned shorthand method in 1837 and the Pitman name remains the byword for secretary courses to this day.

Nowadays, every Pitman Training centre seeks to replicate an office environment rather than a college or institute and they are leaders in self-paced education for the office skills sector.

Fleur Creed, Principal of the Pitman Training centres in Carlow, Gorey, Kilkenny and Wexford claims that this focus on the study environment linked with the learning methodology form the basis for the continuing professional respect enjoyed by Pitman trained secretaries.

“There is no doubt that the amount of practical study time and the reflection of what it is really like to be a high level secretary, as well as the coursework we demand results in a skill set and an attitude that says ‘I’m not just trained, I’m Pitman trained.’”

Recruiters and employers seem to agree, as anyone listing secretary courses from Pitman Training on their CV’s seems to have a definite competitive advantage when it comes to getting great jobs.

The continuing recession in the economy has made the need for professional studies even greater as downsizing has meant that secretaries face an increasingly large workload, handling tasks previously performed by colleagues whose roles have been made redundant.

Those who have the knowledge to harness technology to perform these extra duties and who have learned to organise the resources available to them can continue to provide invaluable business support to their bosses.

And at the same time they can manage the stress that additional responsibility brings.

In many ways, the recession has shown that cream rises to the top and the best way to be part of the cream is to ensure that you have the education and skills to shine.

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Take Your Future in Your Own Hands with Pitman Training

Monday, July 6th, 2009

For workers re-entering the workforce or considering a career change, the problems arise when deciding which skills to train in. The following are tips in helping you take your future into your own hands and gaining back the confidence redundancy make have taken away. Source: Pitman Training Ireland Blog 

1. Make a list of what you enjoyed about your previous position, what were your strengths in your job, what skill did people seek you out for help. Once you’ve identified what particular skills you enjoyed and were confident in you’re on your way to strengthening these and perhaps identify roles were these strengths are required. For example if you found you were the organiser in your company perhaps secretarial work would be enjoyable for you. If you found you were the fixer of all things technical perhaps looking into business management systems may be an option.

2. Not all redundancies mean you must consider a complete change in career. If your company kept some employees on board and let others, like yourself go, look at what skills they may possess that you could up skill in.

3. Cross Training can make you more employable. Adding to your skill set may make you more flexible in positions are thereby more valuable to a company. For example a sales person who also has marketing skills, or a personal assistant who also has book keeping knowledge.

4. Look at your weaknesses.  We all hate to admit it but there are things we can’t do well or more likely feel we can’t do. If there are areas you always hid under the desk to avoid in your previous job, now is the time to get proper training. If you shivered at the thought of answering customer complaints or went pale at the thought of creating budgets in Excel, proper training could turn these into strengths.

5. Get certified. Employers have a choice of who to take for a job. Even if you have some experience from previous roles, the current climate dictates that you must have the qualification to back it up.

6. Don’t rule anything out. Be open minded as to what you can do, check with a Pitman course advisor as to what roles are available and how your experience can fit in. Sometimes there is a link you would never find yourself.

7. Training will boost your self esteem and can give you the confidence to apply for positions you wouldn’t have before.

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Job Opportunities in the Down-Turn - Retraining Skills Identified?

Monday, July 6th, 2009
 

A topical question these days is where should the country and the economy should be focusing in retraining the workforce, particularly in light of the huge recent increase in unemployment.  

FAS’ Planning and Research Department has analysed a number of sources of data and these lead to the conclusions presented in this article. Source Job Opportunites in the Down Turn - Roger Fox, Planning & Research June 2009. The report in full is very comprehensive and this article contains the main points of the full report.

The Irish economy is in the middle of a major down-turn with unemployment having doubled to 11% in the last year, employment falling and redundancies at record levels. There may not be enough jobs for everyone in the next few years and unemployment will rise further. However, there will still be some jobs, and it is useful to be able to identify areas with better prospects both in the short and medium-term.

FAS’ Planning and Research Department has analysed a number of sources of data and these lead to the conclusions presented in this report. 

  • Clerical (office work, accounts)
  • Caring (health care, child care, elder care)
  • Catering (Chefs, waiters, fast food)
  • Hairdressing

Security (shops, office, factories)

Growth Areas because of the Down-Turn

As people cut-back on spending, some products and services are likely to experience increased demand. Likely areas of growth are:

  • Repairs and Maintenance (Clothing & Footwear, Electrical Goods, Home DIY, Motor Vehicles)
  • Green Energy (e.g. Solar Panels, Heat-Pump Installer, Bio-mass Boiler Installer, Insulator, Smart Building systems)  
  • Vegetable/Fruit Gardening
  • Fast-food

 

Start Your Own Business

The lack of jobs is likely to lead to an increased number of persons becoming selfemployed. This trend is likely to arise across a range of occupations from construction, repairs and maintenance, personal services, office and business services. To support this development, Start Your Own Business training may be a relevant option for many redundant workers who have gained experience working in (now) down-sized areas including construction professionals, managers and craftspersons.

Skills and Labour Shortages

At present, there are few areas of skills or labour shortages. Any shortages are now confined to areas for persons with third-level qualifications and specific expertise and work experience. Thus, there is not a shortage of recent graduates, but rather persons with suitable experience. The main occupations identified as being in short supply are:

  • Health(e.g. Doctors and Nurses)
  • Software Engineers (with experience in networks and specific software applications (e.g. Java).
  • Accountants (with expertise in regulation, compliance and risk)
  • Actuaries
  • Marketing Managers (with considerable experience)
  • Technical Sales Representatives with knowledge of particular products/services
  • Scientists (highly qualified and experienced professionals and technicians)
  • IT specialists with fluent foreign language skills
  • Engineers (experienced design and process engineers for manufacturing subsectors)

Longer-Term Demands

While prospects for the world economy are very uncertain at present, if we assume that the world and Ireland will eventually return to the previous economic growth path then there is a widespread consensus on the main sectors and occupations that will grow in the future. The fastest growth areas will be in occupations requiring third level qualifications (professional and associate professional jobs) and in services such as caring and sales.

Relatively high growth is expected for engineering, computing, scientific, medical, legal and financial professionals. In relation to services, the fastest growth areas are likely to be for care workers (for childcare and elder care).

It is important to emphasise that while many fast-growing jobs will require third-level qualifications, the National Skills Strategy for Ireland still expects that half of the workforce in 2020 will have below third-level qualifications.

Another more general trend is that towards occupations requiring combined skills from a number of disciplines, as well as ones requiring a strong element of soft and generic skills.

USA Projections

Projections from the USA and other countries suggest broadly similar patterns to Ireland. In terms of the number of jobs created, large occupations dominate such as nurses, retail sales, clerical, caring and catering. Teachers, IT workers and truck drivers are also forecast to create many additional jobs. Some of these same jobs are among the fastest growing in percentage terms – particularly in software, health and caring. It may also be interesting to note some more unusual growth occupations in the US including vets and gambling workers as well as social-type workers/counsellors for substance abuse, mental health and family issues.

Conclusions

The analysis presented in this report is intended to provide guidance in terms of job opportunities during the down-turn. It is important to emphasise that in all job areas in the short-term there will be an over-supply of potential recruits, so that not all suitable persons will be able to find a job in their chosen occupation. Equally, however, there is unlikely to be any occupation for which no recruitment will take place. Thus, there will always be some job openings in any chosen occupation, so that for someone committed to a particular occupation then support towards achieving that goal should not be excluded. However, the information in this report may be helpful in advising persons who do not have a clear direction, and who may be helped by better understanding the prospects for different occupations.

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