UK should take advantage of construction skills base
The UK construction industry has been told that it must better utilise the region’s construction skills base.
The general secretary of the construction workers’ union UCATT, Alan Ritchie, has said that the industry must look to the skills base of British citizens rather than opting for the quick fix method of employing cheap labour from eastern Europe. Continue reading…
House prices fall, official index shows
Official data has indicated that house prices dropped by an average of 0.1 per cent in February.
The figures, from Communities and Local Government (CLG), show that average prices dropped from £205,399 in January to £205,102 in February. Continue reading…
Public sector workers can’t afford housing
A new report has claimed that a large proportion of key public sector workers are not in a position to buy their own home.
The study by Halifax found that 70 per cent of towns in the UK are out of the price range for the five key public sector workers groups: nurses, police officers, fire fighters, paramedics and teachers. Continue reading…
Council cleans up it’s recruitment
The West Lancashire District Council has launched a ‘Talent Pool’ to assist with its recruitment needs for CLEANERS. This newly launched online portal will enable applicants who apply for cleaning jobs with the District Council but to be added to an accessible ‘Pool of Talent’.
This new pilot initiative holds easily accessible information about individuals who have previously applied for positions. This in turn saves the applicant having to fill in duplicate lengthy application forms for future positions.<!–more–>
As a result this enables the Council to access talent quickly, cuts recruitment costs and reduces the need for temporary staff.
It also means that good candidates are not discarded, or overlooked from the system, they also get the recruitment experience they deserve because they can be called to interview again when another vacancy arises.
The Council is piloting the project initially with cleaning jobs as these vacancies occur regularly. If successful, it is hoped the project will be expanded to cover other areas of work within the council such as customer services.
Clive Walsh, Human Resources Manager at West Lancashire District Council is positive about the potential of the new online portal. “The launch of the new talent pool for cleaners means that we will be much more efficient in our recruitment process. We will reduce our time to hire and will be saving money in terms of recruitment exercises and on having to use staff via agencies. This is because at the touch of a button we will be able to search for candidates’ and match their skills to the requirements of the job. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!”
When visiting www.westlancsdc.gov.uk/jobs candidates can register their interest and they will be contacted with suitable opportunities that have arisen. Candidates can also update their skill sets and preferences by logging back onto the website at anytime.
This latest drive compliments the existing online facilities for job seekers on the District Council website when applying for job vacancies.. Currently, more than 80% of applicants are applying to advertised vacancies online and this trend is likely to continue. All applications are still available by telephone and a hard copy can be sent to applicants who do not have access to the internet
If you would like any more details about this press release or would like to arrange an interview, please contact Nicky Speed in the PR Unit at West Lancashire District Council on 01695 585 011.
Charity coalitions get guidance
Charities considering forming coalitions to further the reach of their campaigns are to get guidance in a new publication.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is releasing information on the pros and cons of coalitions and the impact they can have on campaigns. Continue reading…
