More opportunities for apprentices

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has launched its biggest apprenticeship recruitment campaign to date. Twenty apprentices were taken on last year; it is hoped to recruit twice that number in September 2011!

Concern at the numbers taking sciences

Ina recent article from the Guardian (15.02.2011), the education editor, Jeevan Vasagar, describes how the Royal Society is calling for A-levels to be overhauled to tackle the declining number of teenagers studying sciences.

Resources and downloads

The Guardian newspaper is embarking on an exciting new project that will give teachers access to 70,000 pages of lesson plans and modern interactive teaching materials, absolutely free. From Saturday 15.02.2011 any teacher can access the vast repository of free resources read more

Higher Education News

The education section of Monday's Irish News (14.02.2011) carried a report from the Committee for Employment and Learning that stated that options for funding higher education must take account of local needs.

The review of student finance, chaired by Joanne Stuart, recommended that the cap on university tuition fees should increase to £5750 a year. Fees would only have to be paid after graduation when the student is earning £21,000 a year.

Northern Ireland - two potential areas to consider for job opportunities

While many still remain sceptical about climate change, evidence points to rising world temperatures. The renewable energy sector is arguably the way forward and some of Northern Ireland's more innovative firms have realised this and are focusing their attention on what could become a huge industry.

The ageing workforce in sectors such as transport and logistics and the lack of new blood coming into these industries is impacting heavily on the UK's ability to compete globally.

Profiling Foundation degree courses

Foundation Degree Forward (FDF) has responsibility for raising the profile of foundation degrees among the business and student communities. FDF works closely with key employers and the higher education sector in helping them forge mutually beneficial working partnerships. Funded by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), FDF was established in NI just four years ago.

Vocational or Academic?

Writing in the Guardian (8th March 2011), Tom Bewick, chief executive, Enterprise UK, commenting on the recent Wolf review of vocational education is critical that the report fails to emphasise sufficently that in today's world young people do not need an either or approach to their education - academic or vocational - they need both!