London-based New College of the Humanities (NCH) will charge students £18,000 in fees each year

Professor AC Grayling, who will become president of the college, was heckled as he talked about arts funding cuts at Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road.

As the discussion was drawing to a close, a red smoke flare was set off in the crowd of about 100 people.

Sion Hamilton, manager of Foyles Charing Cross Road, said Prof Grayling had been booked "some months ago" for a discussion about the arts in the UK.

He had offered to answer students' questions for 20 minutes after the event but the company said it regretted "that one individual decided to curtail this opportunity for further discussion by letting off a smoke bomb at the end".

The people attending the debate were evacuated from the top floor of the central London shop and many were seen coughing as they walked away after the incident.

When the philosopher started to talk, someone from the crowd shouted: "You have no right to speak" and another called out "venture capitalist".

One protester said: "You should be defending public education not deserting it."'Gifted' undergraduates

NCH will be based in Bloomsbury, central London, and will open in October 2012.

The college says it will teach "gifted" undergraduates and prepare them for degrees from the University of London.

The 14 professors involved include biologist Richard Dawkins and historian Sir David Cannadine.

The college will offer eight undergraduate courses in the humanities taught by some of the world's most prominent academics.

Degrees cover five subject areas - law, economics, history, English literature and philosophy.

Students will also take three "intellectual skills" modules in science literacy, logic and critical thinking and applied ethics.

Prof Grayling, the philosopher who will be the college's first Master, secured millions of pounds of funding from investors to set up the institution.

He said: "Our priorities at the college will be excellent teaching quality, excellent ratios of teachers to students, and a strongly supportive and responsive learning environment.

"Our students will be challenged to develop as skilled, informed and reflective thinkers, and will receive an education to match that aspiration."

The government has set fees in England's public universities at a maximum of £9,000 from September next year.

Source: BBC.co.uk, Tuesday 7th June 2011

Graduate gap years 'help boost achievements'

University leavers may be tempted to start planning a gap year abroad after one expert warned of the urgent need for graduates to gain work experience and compile a CV bursting at the seams with achievements.

Speaking at the National Graduate Recruitment Exhibition, at the Birmingham NEC this weekend, Chris Davies from Graduate Coach shared with graduates his top tips for job hunting success.

Mr Davies said that the starting point for post-university jobseekers was to work out exactly what it is they want to do. Planning a gap year allows young people time out to think about their future career options.

Graduates also need to think about how much work experience they have and how they might be able to flesh out their CV with some meaningful activities and achievements.

"Work achievements, charity achievements, sports achievements – That’s the type of thing that you’ll be asked about in an interview," the expert added.

By planning a gap year overseas, graduates can gain relevant experience through voluntary work or an internship, allowing them to broaden their CV and increase their chances of success at the interview stage.

Source: Yearoutgroup.org, Monday 6th June 2011

Johnson and Johnson rolls out global compensation strategy

Johnson and Johnson’s newly implemented global compensation strategy is allowing it to develop single career models across its businesses, improve succession planning, integrate newly acquired companies more easily, and present a more uniform face at graduate recruitment fairs.

The rollout of the global strategy to its 250 businesses across 70 countries entered the planning phase in 2007 and was completed in spring 2010, although work still continues.

The multinational company wanted a standardised global approach to compensation, which would increase eligibility and opportunities to move talent internationally. It also wanted to improve its alignment with local market practices.

Speaking at WorldatWork’s Total Rewards 2011 conference in San Diego in May, Dave Berwick, compensation director at Johnson and Johnson, said: “Our end goal was to create a more consistent employee experience throughout their career at Johnson and Johnson.”

The US-headquartered multinational employs more than 115,000 staff in three divisions: pharmaceutical, consumer and medical devices.

It used Mercer’s international position evaluation (IPE) tool to establish job frameworks, but with varying levels of rigour at different levels. Therefore, global compensation and executive teams were responsible for mapping job evaluations for its 500 top executives, with local HR and regional compensation teams mapping jobs for 22,000 managers and 98,000 other staff. Berwick added: “The fundamental compensation strategy is not changing, but how we get there is changing significantly.”

Keren Maldonado, regional director total rewards Latin America at Johnson and Johnson, who was based in Europe during the project, said each business leader had autonomy on how to organise their own company. “So this presented us with a challenge,” she said.

Also, Johnson and Johnson’s three divisions are very different. For instance, a sales representative in the consumer sector is very different from one in the pharmaceutical sector. “What may seem a very similar job can be very different when you look into it,” said Maldonado.

The exercise showed that 5% of the group’s staff were below the correct pay range for their job role. Berwick said: “We did not decrease anyone’s pay. We gave businesses two years to move everyone into the pay range.”
Johnson and Johnson designed its overall strategy centrally in the US because there were differing levels of compensation expertise locally. However, it had expertise based around the world, with meaningful local representation on project teams to improve its ability to understand regional complexities and craft appropriate solutions.

For example, businesses in Venezuela and Argentina require frequent salary reviews to keep up with hyper-inflation, while those in China and Indonesia are less transparent about salary levels because of national sensitivities.

Source: Debi O'Donovan, Employeebenefits.co.uk, Monday 6th June 2011

Graduate Fashion Week celebrates its 20th anniversary

Graduate Fashion Week celebrates its 20th anniversary this year at Earls Court with shows and exhibitions from over 1,000 British and international design students.

Starting on Sunday 5th June, there will be 19 catwalk shows for the public to take in before the best collections are selected for the gala shows on Wednesday. An impressive panel of judges, including Amanda Wakeley, Mark Eley of the brand Eley Kishimoto and Lucy Yeomans, editor of Harper's Bazaar , will then pick the winner of the Gold Award, who will receive the prize of £20,000. Meanwhile, the Telegraph's Hilary Alexander will present the winner of the First Word Journalism Award.

Terry Mansfield, chairman of GFW, said: "Graduate Fashion Week is the starting point for the future of British Fashion. It is an event that has an impact on not just our home-grown style, but that of the world. Our Graduates are the future of fashion, whether it is on the high street or the catwalk. This is the chance for the industry and public to see them first and understand why supporting our British fashion education system is so important. We are delighted that George at Asda has agreed to support us in 2011. At this increasingly difficult time for students, it is more than ever essential that the industry pulls together to help educate the next generation."

There will also opportunities to find out about other careers in the industry. With around 5,000 fashion graduates joining the job market this summer, Graduate Fashion Week and George at Asda, which replaces River Island as sponsor, is keen to promote the "business of fashion". From marketing to buying and product development, advisors will be on hand to guide graduates on jobs outside of the design studio.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Friday 3rd June 2011

Graduate careers: In calmer waters, but it's not all plain sailing

Things are picking up in the jobs market and salaries are even rising. But you still have to fight … and fight hard.

Shaun Ransom does his best to make it sound less attractive – "it doesn't feel glamorous when you're having to drag yourself out of bed to meet a 6am order" – but the fact that his job as a sales and marketing executive with Yorkshire-based Superyacht Supplies has already seen him jetting off to St Martin in the Caribbean and, currently, Antibes in the south of France, is unlikely to win him much sympathy.

The Hull University media, society and culture graduate may have fallen on his feet since graduating last year but he agrees this year's university leavers, much like last year's, will have to fight extremely hard in what will still be a fiercely competitive jobs market.

"It is really tough. I applied for lots of different places and across many sectors. You've just got to be willing, if necessary, to make some sacrifices – I even applied for an internship with a pharmaceutical company in Germany – and be proactive," says Ransom, 23.

The good news for 2011 graduates is that, according to the latest slew of statistics, things do appear to be picking up. According to recruitment company Reed, jobs in May were up about a quarter year on year, with those on its Graduate Job Index up 62% from when it began in December 2009.

What's more, Reed says that, in stark contrast to much of the rest of the economy, starting salaries have been rising, and, it estimates, are now up 24% on 18 months ago.

This tallies with research last month by graduate recruitment researcher High Fliers which argued that, for the first time in three years, graduates expected starting salaries to increase, with top students reckoning on commanding £25,000 or more.

The danger, however, is reading too much into such headline statistics, warns Martin Edmondson, chief executive of recruitment firm Graduates Yorkshire. Or worse, assuming they can just walk into this sort of high-paying role.

Its own statistics have suggested that, after stripping out the "London effect", which can see salaries being skewed by the higher-than-average wages often paid in London or the City, the reality is more like £15,000 to £18,000. "If graduates are getting a message that the average is, say, £25,000 to £30,000, there will be a mindset that they need to be landing a job in that sort of salary bracket and, possibly, discount jobs that pay less, or become disheartened," cautions Edmondson.

One thing the researchers do agree on, however, is that there is still a scarily high number of applications for every job. Reed argues that more jobs will be offset by 20-plus applications per job this summer and autumn. Equally, High Fliers has said that finalists began applying earlier, with applications up by a third.

It will therefore be even more important to demonstrate that not only do you have the right skills but the right attitude and "fit", argues Reed chairman James Reed, who this week published a co-authored book entitled Put Your Mindset to Work. "What we have been finding is that, for employers, mindset will often trump skills. That's not to say skills are not important, they are. But if employers have to choose between someone who has all the right skills but not the right mindset, versus someone who is the other way around but who can then be taught the skills, 97% say they will choose mindset," he explains.

Bristol University civil engineering graduate Edward Newton, 25, agrees.

After graduating last summer he has, since February, been working as an analyst for Twickenham-based consultancy Pragma, which employs about 20 people. "It's not really about your degree. It's often as much down to how you present yourself, and how you are going to fit into the company," he explains. "Like a lot of people, I was originally looking at all the big companies. But I've found working for a smaller organisation suits me better. There is more variety, and you get more responsibility. Right from the start, I've had loads of client contact."

Source: Nic Paton, Guardian.co.uk, Saturday 4th June 2011

Unemployed man sells himself on Dublin billboard

Tens of thousands of Irish people are leaving their debt-shattered land because they can't find work. But one frustrated job hunter, 26-year-old Feilim Mac An Iomaire, has refused - and captured the nation's imagination with an inventive PR stunt that highlights his plight.

"SAVE ME FROM EMIGRATION," reads Mac An Iomaire's billboard in the heart of Dublin, the focal point for a novel social media-driven campaign that advertises his 10-month search for work and desire to stay in Ireland.

The effort has cost him about C2,000 (C$2,800) -- and given him a priceless global spotlight for his skills as a marketer and deal-maker.

Barely two days after rebranding himself as an Irish everyman named Jobless Paddy, Mac An Iomaire appears certain to have achieved his goal of landing a good job, most likely in Dublin, by the end of the month.

Between seemingly endless calls, tweets and Facebook posts from well-wishers and tipsters, the commerce and marketing graduate of National University of Ireland at Galway put on his best jacket Thursday for the first of potentially dozens of job interviews in the coming few weeks. He declined to identify any of his sudden suitors but said he hoped to be in a position to pick and choose.

"I couldn't have imagined the effect my campaign has had. I expected to get maybe 10 offers and, hopefully, someone would really want me. But I'm just overwhelmed now," Mac An Iomaire said before his first job interview.

Mac An Iomaire returned to Ireland in August 2010, full of optimism, after working for a year in Australia as a travel agent and events co-ordinator in a Sydney hostel. He had a few thousand euros (dollars) set aside as he started a conventional job search in marketing.

More than 100 applications yielded only two inconclusive job interviews last year, a typical experience in a country suffering nearly 15 per cent unemployment and experiencing its biggest wave of emigration since the 1980s. More than 50,000 people, mostly 20-something university graduates like Mac An Iomaire, are forecast to leave this nation of 4.5 million by the end of the year.

But while staying in his parents' home and living off state welfare of C188 ($269) a week, Mac An Iomaire's frustration turned to inspiration: If he couldn't land a job as a marketer, he'd showcase his marketing skills to land a job.

"I felt I needed to use a billboard to get my cause out there. Then I wanted to drive interest through the power of social media, so I was quick to set up Twitter and Facebook pages, and got tweeting my friends and posting right away," Mac An Iomaire said.

In early April he got to work. He purchased stock photos from an Indonesian company, persuaded freelance graphic designers and photographers to offer him cut-rate creative help, and negotiated a bargain deal from a major ad agency for a lone billboard slot.

The result is an advertising icon for Ireland's economic freefall from Celtic Tiger boomland to the brink of national bankruptcy.

It pictures Mac An Iomaire - his back to the camera, a suitcase in one hand and a Gaelic hurling stick in the other - staring across the ocean at a vista of the Statue of Liberty, British Houses of Parliament, Sydney Opera House and Toronto's CN Tower.

Beneath the slogan seeking salvation from emigration, the viewer is implored to request more information and a resume from Jobless Paddy's email account.

The billboard, placed strategically on Merrion Road - Dublin's answer to Beverly Hills - piqued Irish media interest and set the Internet alight.

Mac An Iomaire has appeared on Ireland's national TV and top radio stations and received more than 100 requests from Irish companies seeking Jobless Paddy's credentials. More than a dozen job-hunting threads on Ireland's biggest Internet chat room, boards.ie, are debating the merits of his media-savvy gambit.

Evening commuters slow down to catch the ad that everyone's talking about.

"That's a work of genius. Exactly the kind of brains we need to keep in Ireland. There's an army of out-of-work Paddies, but only one Jobless Paddy," said accountant David Daly, 39, one of scores of passing motorists who stopped to photograph the billboard.

"It's so professional, it makes you want to find out who's behind it," said Maire Quinn, 32, a Dublin secretary who recently suffered a pay cut and reduced hours, snapping a photo of the billboard on her cellphone. "And then when you hear his back story, it just screams out for him to get hired somewhere quick. He's got guts."

Mac An Iomaire admits his pitch was calculated, in part, to appeal to Ireland's hurt pride as a nation. He included the Gaelic hurling stick because it's an obvious symbol of nationalism for any Irishman; he personally hasn't played hurling since he was around 12.

"I do not adhere to the almost universal consensus that any young unemployed person must leave the country to have any hope of prospering," reads his Facebook manifesto. "Experience overseas has led me to a greater appreciation of our country, culture, and way of life. I would like to stay and be part of this country's recovery, so please spread the word."

They are. Within two days of its launch, his Facebook campaign account has jumped from a dozen followers to more than 5,600. The Twitter feed proved less popular but particularly useful in chatting directly to potential employers.

Mac An Iomaire marvels at the rapid reach and response to his social-media effort, with messages of support pouring in from Cork to Rio de Janeiro. So have job tips and offers, raising the question of whether he might ultimately choose to emigrate anyway because he gets an offer he can't refuse.

"I just love this country. Being away for a year in Australia really brought home to me how special Ireland is, what a massive village it is," he said. "This is my home. If I had to leave again, it would be with a heavy heart."

Source: m.ctv.ca, Thursday 2nd June 2011

Graduates hail SMEs for job satisfaction and creativity

Three quarters of UK graduates believe SMEs have a better work ethic than corporations, according to a survey.

The poll of 200 UK graduates by specialist SME graduate recruiter Give A Grad A Go also revealed that 82% expected greater job satisfaction working for a smaller firm and 92% felt they also foster greater creativity among their workforce.

However, 91% believe corporations pay better, 79% think they offer better job security and 74% believe they offer better career progression than SMEs.

Smaller businesses beat large companies on work-life balance, with 62% rating SMEs as superior.

Cary Curtis, Give A Grad A Go founder and MD, said: “SMEs make up the backbone of British industry and will need to take advantage of the abundance of highly skilled graduates leaving university looking for work. Graduates that approach us are often unaware of the fantastic career opportunities that exist in SME organisations and certainly have no idea how to take advantage of them.

“The result is that smaller employers tend to struggle to source the best grads. We find those we place, excel in smaller companies, quickly progressing their careers as a consequence."

The results also revealed that 54% of graduates thought public sector pay was either 'low' or 'very low', in contrast to recent findings from centre-right think tank the Policy Exchange, which suggested that public sector workers earned over 30% more than their private-sector equivalents.

Curtis adds: "GAGAGO encourages all SMEs to treat graduates on work placements as real employees and offer a wage with any position. The highest tuition fees on record mean many graduates can't afford to work for free, and those that do are often demotivated due a lack of remuneration. Paid placements offer an affordable way to secure talented candidates and get the most out of them."

Source: David Pottingham, Businesswings.co.uk, Tuesday 31st May 2011

Three in ten candidates to miss out on university place

More than 200,000 university candidates might lose out on a place this year as applications look set to hit a record high, it has been revealed.

Applications are already up 1.4 per cent on this time last year as undergraduates rush to land spots on courses before tuition fees rise to £9,000 in 2012.

If the current demand is maintained, 707,000 students will submit applications for 479,000 places – meaning 31 per cent will miss out.

Universities have received 647,008 forms so far – up 9,235 from last year, according to figures from Ucas.

Some 698,000 were hopeful of making it on to a course in 2010, however 27 per cent were left disappointed.

Student leaders said the government’s failure to act on last year’s figures by adding more places was unacceptable.

Aaron Porter, of the National Union of Students, said: ‘Last year hundreds of thousands of qualified and ambitious people missed out on a deserved degree place.

'Any decision to reduce the number of places in order to cover the huge black hole in funding left by the government’s rushed and incoherent policy-making would spell disaster for young people, universities and the economy.’

Applications from Britons are up 0.8 per cent to 550,147, but those from other European countries have risen by 5.8 per cent to 45,727 and by 4.9 per cent from non-EU nations to 51,134.

However, universities minister David Willetts believes students should start to consider apprenticeships instead of fighting for a degree spot.

He said: ‘We understand how frustrating it is for young people who wish to go to university and are unable to find a place.

‘Our reforms will make part-time university study more accessible and at least 250,000 more apprenticeships will be available over the next four years.’

Source: John Higginson, Metro.co.uk, Tuesday 31st May 2011