2009. The Year of the Bull. And we can expect plenty of it. As Wedgwood falls off the mantelpiece, was it all doom and gloom under the Christmas tree? Not at Rolls-Royce, they found the sixpence in the Figgy Pudding in the shape of a 10-year £258m engine contract for the UK’s fleet of Royal Navy and Royal Air Force Sea King helicopters. The agreement will be managed at Yeovil, Somerset, and Rolls Royce Bristol at the MoD’s defence equipment and support sites, with work falling to Coventry, Ansty and Germany. Royal Navy Commando Helicopter Force Sea Kings are currently engaged on operations in Afghanistan. Put a flag in for me, lads!

Tags: engineering opportunities for graduates, placements for students in engineering, Rolls Royce careers

It’s grim up north. Not my words, but those of newly qualified teachers north of the border, where 1 in 5 of every new teachers has been unable to find a job in Scotland’s classrooms. The poll by the General Teaching Council for Scotland also suggested that just 30.6% of new teachers had a full-time permanent job, compared with 40.8% last year. The Scottish Government said it was unacceptable that some councils had not used their funds to cut class sizes and hire teachers. Those who can’t, teach. Those who can’t work, teach.

Tags: newly qualified teacher job opportunities, Teaching

Toyota is next on the list to train 1,500 members of staff to attain an NVQ qualification in business improvement techniques over the next year. Toyota’s bosses made the Skills Pledge at a meeting at the House of Commons, confirming its ongoing commitment to providing its 4,700 staff with skills and development opportunities. Skills secretary John Denham said: “It has never been more important for manufacturers to develop the skills of its people, as those that utilise the potential of every employee to the full will be best placed to weather the challenging economic conditions, and to capitalise on opportunities for growth.” In other words: if your staff aren’t skilled, the work will go abroad. Hats off to Toyota for making the pledge at a time when Ferrari in the UK reportedly sold just ONE car last month!

Tags: careers in luxury car industry, graduate careers with Toyota, Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Sainsbury’s staff are to be offered formal qualifications in stock-taking and store working as well as basic maths and English literacy skills - equivalent to five good GCSEs. It will also offer web-based courses in basic maths and English, equivalent to a GCSE grade D, to staff who need them. The basic skills courses are designed to let staff progress at their own pace and will use questions set in a retail context such as pricing and weights.  The government wants more employers to offer skills training courses. McDonalds, airline Flybe and Network Rail, were the first firms to be approved to offer the in-house courses. Try something new today…?!

Tags: Food and Drink, Graduate careers at Sainsbury's, Retail, Training

John Lewis is hanging on for a “testing Christmas” as sales have already shown a near 10% drop on the same time last year. Staff will no doubt need a bit of stamina to get through this time, so its good to report that the John Lewis Partnership is launching a scheme to get all 69,000 employees more fit by getting involved in sport. The programme, called Partners in Sport, will run up to the 2012 Olympics and give staff the opportunity to train to be sports coaches. The John Lewis Partnership will also provide practical support to staff who wish to compete at national level or above in their chosen sport. This includes nutritional information, travel, accommodation and equipment. The firm already provides employees with £250 each year to develop a sport of their choice.

Tags: incentives at John Lewis, John Lewis graduate opportunities, keeping Fit, Retail