I’ve been known to sink one or twelve in my day, but never have I seen a chart of the hardest drinking industries, that was until today.  It seems the surveying masterminds over at YouGov  (where you can also earn money for taking surveys) had a bit of spare time on their hands and concocted a ‘know your limits’ project.  This project has produced some stats, but more imporatnly a top five of which industry breeds the heaviest drinkers.  Before we get to our top of the tops inspired count down, let us bask in YouGov’s stat fuelled goodness. One in 10 drinkers felt their alcohol consumption is affecting their work but 29% in both the media and IT sectors and a 25% in the finance sector admitted to feeling pressured to drink by colleagues.  Over half (52%) of those surveyed drink after work to relieve stress, with around a third in education (30%), construction (31%), media, publishing and entertainment (31%) and finance, insurance or real estate (33%) saying they drink due to stress at least once a week.   I’m fully stated up, let’s move onto the countdown. If only I had some Top of the Pops music, hum it along in your head…it’ll be more entertaining:  In at 5 we have estate agents. And a brand new entry at 4 is insurers.  A none mover at 3 is the finance industry.  Just missing out on the top spot this week is IT workers, but for 2009 the hardest drinkers in the country and claiming the top spot is…the media industry. Seriously, any drink related issues check with the amazingly people at the NHS.

My Mother always used to say ‘Charity begins at home’, but as the first Mrs Hanson was called Charity I could never be sure what she meant.  Poor of Mrs Hanson, she didn’t get on with Mother Hanson.  But it appears that my friends over at Grant Thornton are starting charity at home, and then shipping it off to Kenya and India to help with community projects. Margaret Bowler, head of corporate social responsibility at Grant Thornton, told the HR magazine bunch why: “Even in a recession it would be disastrous to cut back on an initiative like this. It makes people see our values, helps them work as part of a team and develops confidence - there are so many advantages to the business.”  You can find out more about Grant Thornton with this handy video

Finally some good news for the bankers, you might actually get a job again.  Since the massive redundancies of last year many former bankers who have had to find new more suitable positions such as tea boys and girls can hang up their pinys and break out their CV’s as the financial industry is recruiting again!  It’s official there has been a rise of 10% in the number of jobs of offer, so a financial career can once again be a possibility for all you eager graduates this year and here’s a handy video to help

Whenever it’s possible I always employ ladies, but enough of my weekend escapades this is serious business news.  Some fellows (or maybe ladies, who knows?) over at one of the many, many equality and human right commission have discovered that women can earn up to 60% less than men in the finance sector. This research indicates that although the number of men and women employed in the finance sector is almost equal the pay divide isn’t and is almost double the national average with women experiencing, as the TUC put it, an impenetrable glass ceiling with 70% of men (as a whole) earned more than £29,000 in 2007/8, while 70% of women earned less than £29,000 in the same period. The world is a funny old place sometimes.

Its little wonder that some graduates with finance degrees are considering different career paths – the LSE made it clear that law places are disappearing fast under the swell of applicants looking to widen their net. It seems though that the rot in the industry may create a whiff for a little longer, as many younger students have been put off the finance industry on “moral” grounds. Who’s the winner? Well, anyone prepared to tread water for 5 years when there will be a shortage of qualified students who can work in the industry, and teaching. That’s right, teaching has been fingered (pardon?) as the “top destination” for bright graduates. This has got to be helped by the government plans for new teachers in England to train in six months rather than a year. Its great news for my pals at Teach First too, where top graduates can teach for at least a year before taking up other career options.