Tough job prospects for young people

The current global economic downturn is having a real effect on young people with a survey showing that nearly half of all firms will not be looking to hire graduates or school leavers in the months ahead.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found only 20% of companies were planning to hire school leavers and a third of firms had cut back on their graduate numbers in 2009.  45% said they wouldn't hire from either group!

With young people having little or no work experience, the CIPD have said that graduates and school leavers need to develop the skills and knowledge to be ahead of the competition for jobs. 

Tips For Young Jobseekers

• Take advice
  
• Broaden your horizons to related professions
  
• Consider paid or unpaid work experience
  
• Do not be too proud to use contacts to get a first break
  
• Do not be too proud to take a job that you think may be beneath you
  
• Be imaginative
  
• Consider setting up your own business.
  

Source: Higher Education Careers Services

S2 Business Management - Dragon' Den Presentations

The final of the S2 Business Management Dragon's Den project took place last Tuesday and the four teams competed for the much sought after winning "Dragon" trophy. After much deliberation, IncrEdible Cards won the award for their eco-friendly, novelty edible greetings cards. Check out the four finalist's presentations on the S2 Business Management page of the blog. 

Well done to everyone involved throughout the whole project. 

Virtual Job Interview

I found a really useful website which takes you through a virtual job interview. You are asked questions and then have 4 responses you can make. You get feedback on whether your response is good and how it can be improved. At the end, you get an overall score and told whether or not you would have got the job.

This is useful for anyone who is looking at getting a part-time job or looking for a job after leaving school. Click on the Careers page of the blog and you will find it under General Websites as Virtual Interview.

S2 Business Management newspaper interviews

My S2 Business Management class have just finished their Dragons Den projects and for the evaluation part of the project, they had to create a newspaper article and interview themselves. Click on the Pupil Work page of the blog to see a sample of the work they created. 

S2 Business Management

I have posted a fun revision game on the S2 Business Management page of the blog - see how you get on!

Congratulations to Zita Stewart and Chloe Stuart

Congratulations to Zita and Chloe for a fantastic presentation in the final of the S2 Business Management Dragon's Den competition. 

The girls put a huge amount of work into their presentation, coming up at lunchtimes and breaktimes to work on their slideshow, advertising and the delivery of the presentation. 

Today they presented in front of approximately 80 of their S2 peers in the Lecture Theatre. Despite being understandably nervous, they delivered a professional and interesting presentation about their company SPS Ltd. Their idea was a fashionable scarf for men, women and children which contained secret pockets for a mobile phone, credit card etc. After the presentation, the girls had to answer some difficult questions about their idea from the audience but responded calmly and in detail. 

The Dragons were split in their final decision but unfortunately, the girls lost out to an excellent presentation by IncrEdible Cards. Well done to the girls though and I am sure they will enjoy the projects in S3 Business Management. 

Marks and Spencers cuts dividend payments

Marks and Spencer have decided to cut their dividend payments by over 30% to shareholders after they reported a fall in annual profits from £1.1 billion to £706 million. When a company makes a profit, it can choose to either reinvest the money into the business (retained earnings) or it can pay shareholders dividends. The dividend the shareholder received would depend on the size of their shareholding in the company.

This is the first time in 9 years that Marks and Spencers have cut the dividend. By not paying out as much in dividends this year, Marks and Spencers are running the risk angering their existing shareholders who expect a decent dividend payout. 

Listen to the interview with Stuart Rose, M&S Chariman by clicking below:

Stuart Rose Interview

Best of luck for Monday.......

Best of luck to everyone sitting the Higher Business Management paper on Monday 18 May. Just remember, read the question carefully and pay close attention to the command words. You have worked hard this year and hopefully have done plenty of study at home. All you can do now is give your all! If you have any final questions, please feel free to post them here and I will get back to you this weekend. 

Will try and pop down and see you on Monday morning. 

Some facts about male and female pay....

Did you know:

• Women managers earn about £13,500 less a year than the average male manager.
  
• It will take 187 years for women to earn more at the current rate of change. 
  
• Women directors earn nearly a quarter less on average than men. 
  
• Women at director level are more likely to accept the original salary offer whereas men will negotiate. 
  
• Women managers usually get half the annual bonus that men receive - and it's true in almost every country in the world!
  

Why? Click here to read the article

It makes for interesting reading - seems that we have got a long way to go to reach genuine equality in the workplace. What do you think?

Dragons Den - The Class Results

Click on to the S2 Business Management page of the blog to get the results of our Dragon's Den presentations. 

Best of luck......

Best of luck to all S4 Administration pupils sitting their exam on Tuesday 5th May. Just remember, you have got all the skills and knowledge necessary to do well in the exam. Try and relax and don't panic about it. 

A couple of things to remind you of:

• When you are doing the theory paper, REMEMBER to check the Command Words (e.g. Identify, describe, outline etc.).
  
• Remember to also check how many marks the question is for.
  
• When you are doing the practical paper, try and time it properly. You will need most time for the spreadsheet and the least time for the word processing part. Don't get bogged down on one part or you will run out of time. 
  
• Make sure you clearly mark your name, task number and print out on every sheet e.g. John Stevens, Task 1a, Printout 1
  
• Leave yourself about 5-10 minutes at the end to get all your print-outs in order

Check out the Intermediate Administration page for any last minute study - I have slides covering theory and some layouts which may be useful for you. 

Best of luck again!!