Job Information sheets - for August are now available for download. Vacancies include Trainee Chef, Web Assistant Apprenticeship, Health Care Assistants and many more.

Activity Agreement Project - have just produced a courses brochure for young people joining the project to see at a glance what courses on offer for them. Click here to view the brochure.

College Open Enrolment Days - clcik here to view colleges within the central London areas, open enrolment dates for courses starting in September 2009.

Virgin media - have over 30 apprenticeships for young people aged 17-18 (they have asked that they be close to 18 years of age) to recruit to their apprenticeship scheme by September, for the London area. For further information or to apply visit the site or contact Peter Van Den Breck.

Apprenticeships for Me? -  Free meet-the-employer events across London are running. This series of events is aimed at young people and parents from black and minority ethnic communities. The next event is for those in Hackney and Islington, followed by one for those in Brent and Ealing. To book your place or find out more contact Emma or call her on 020 7843 6114.

Shadow a Government Minister - The Youth of Today is giving 480 young people aged 13 to 19 the chance to spend the day with a Government Minister. Young people will gain an insight into what a Minister does, how Government departments work and what it takes to be a leader.

Online Journalism Experience - The Local Gaurdian are offering a scheme which, enables students to write 9 monthly articles for the Local online Guardian. Interested students need to apply and will be interviewed, for more information, please contact Diana Jarvis on 020 8330 9592.

CSV Make a Difference Day - is the UK's largest day of volunteering, is led by the charity Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and takes place on 31 October this year. For more infomation, please click here.

11 Million Takeover Day - The day offers children and young people across the country opportunities to work alongside adults and to get involved in decision-making in a diverse range of organisations.

National Children's Bureau, Transition Assistant - This salaried post is for a disabled young person with the experience and views of transition to influence the National Transition Support Team (NTST). It is based at the Council for Disabled Children in Islington. The closing date is Wednesday 19 August 2009.

The Young Muslim Leadership Network is a project which seeks to engage young people between the ages of 16 and 21 to discuss topical issues affecting young Muslims and the general Muslim Community, and will address the perceived alienation of the Muslim community. They are recruiting young Muslims in London. For more information please visite the website or contact Jaheeda Subhan. 

STONECRABS Young/New Directors Programme 2009 - StoneCrabs Theatre is looking for young people to take part in a free programme aimed at aspiring directors. It is a chance to work with theatre practitioners and present a final practical project at The Albany Theatre. Please email applications to Franko  by 4 September. For more information call 020 8694 6472.

DareLondon is recruiting young Londoners aged 16-25 to sit on London Youth advisory board. Darelondoners volunteer normally for a year and get training and development in a professional environment. Deadline is 14 August, for further details click here.

Cardiff University Jameel Scholarships - The Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University is now inviting applications for the newly-established Cardiff University Jameel Scholarships. To find out more about the scholarships available, click here.

NHS will receive a total of £25 million to create 5,000 apprenticeships by March 2010. Young people will get on the job experience while improving their qualifications and contributing to the NHS workforce.  Apprenticeships will include clinical support and non-clinical roles. Read more.

Vault – Young people aged 14 - 19 living in one of the five Olympic boroughs can take part in this new film project. All of the films produced will be shown across the UK on the BBC’s Big Screens as well as being showcased in the 2010 East End Film Festival, with the winning film going forward to form part of a one hour TV documentary screening in 2012.

London Duke of Edinburgh Internship Opportunity - Starting on Monday 7 September, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award needs someone 3-5 days per week for a six month minimum commitment.

City reaches out to young talent - Led by Citi Group, a group of companies decided to target local schools and colleges to offer internships. Students are paid £1000 for their work placement and can expect to receive a taste of working life in the City. Read the full article here.

Six-week internship - Editorial work experience at Theatrefix.co.uk. They are looking for keen writers/editors with a passion for theatre and bags of enthusiasm and ideas willing to commit to working in Covent Garden offices for at least two days per week, for a period of six weeks. Contact Philippa to apply.

Point Blank run music courses at their Hoxton studios. Courses of all levels available but at the moment have a free BTEC in Music composing and DJ technology for 16-19 year olds. For more info on what they offer, click here. 

At a Glance guide to financial help available through the LSC - This guide is designed to help learners to get an overview of what Learner Support schemes they may be eligible to receive support from.

Summer Activity Guide has listings of free activities, festivals and events, allowing children and young people to keep busy during the summer. The guide can be found online.

ENO Youth Summer School - ENO Baylis, the learning and participation team at the English National Opera, will be running a four-day free event for young people aged 15-18, living in Westminster from 25 - 28 August. There is a charge of £80 for those living out of Westminster. Through a series of workshops and activities, participants will explore the surreal world of Le Grand Macabre, the sensational, bizarre and extravagant opera that will open ENO's 2009-10 season. For more information or to book your place, email ENO Baylis or call 020 7632 8484.

Case study on the value of improving very basic achievement - DCSF have asked for a case study of young people who took their GCSEs last year and were not expected to achieve any qualifications but, through the dedication and hard work of the young person and their PAs, ended up with a few D-G GCSEs and have since built on that achievement. If you have any case studies, that can be used, please can you send them to Chris Heaume.

IAG - Audit against Quality Standards - With funding from the DCSF, IGEN are providing free support to Diploma consortia to meet the requirements of the Information, Advice and Guidance Quality Standards. To register and for more information, click here.

Apprenticeship Vacancy Matching Service – Young People can register for this online service and search for apprenticeships in their local area or by type of job. Click here to visit the website. 

REACH: Update report - This report reviews progress to date against the five recommendations of the REACH report into raising the aspirations and attainment of Black boys and young Black men.

Guidance on when to suspect child maltreatment - The advice covers the alerting features in children and young people under 18 of: physical, sexual and emotional abuse; neglect; and fabricated or induced illness. View the full guidance.

Mapping the terrain: 16-19 funding transfer – The report found that a number of local authorities are finding it hard to work together in the sub-regional groups designed to handle commissioning after transfers. Some view neighbouring authorities as their rivals, while others are not fully committed to the changes.

Integrated Resettlement Support (IRS) framework and protocols have been launched following the first 59 Resettlement and Aftercare Provision (RAP) programme. IRS aims to ensure young people coming out of custody are given the support to enable them to reduce the likelihood of their reoffending. View the IRS Framework and IRS Protocol here.

September Guarantee regional funding - £655m of extra funding was allocated in the Budget to provide 55,000 places in sixth forms, colleges and training for 16-18 year olds this year and next year. In London 4,115 extra places and £50 million extra worth of funding will be provided in 2009/10, view the full article here.

Involving children and young people in research – please complete the Survey by Office for Public Management (OPM), to find out how research carried out by young people influences public sector policy and services.

Unleashing Aspirations: The final report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions - This Report makes recommendations on how the professions, the Government and others can unleash the pent-up aspiration that exists in the young people of our country.

Towards Zero NEETs Report - A joint programme by the L7 Group of Central London College Principals and the CLC Partnership Board. The report is a Central London model for flexible entry to Further Education. For a published copy of the report, please contact Alison Latouche

Safeguarding Children from Forced Marriage and FGM factsheet - New practice guidelines on handling cases of forced marriage were published on 2 July. As the summer holidays is a peak period for cases of forced marriage and female genital mutilation, schools and LAs are encouraged to be alert to the signs of potential abuse.

Lead Professional: Practitioners' and Managers' guides new refreshed versions of the practitioners' and managers guide's are available to view and download. 

Union labels common skills plan for youth professionals as 'naive' - The trade union has criticised plans put forward by the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to introduce a common framework of skills for all professionals working with young people, including youth offending teams, Connexions workers and youth workers. Read article here.

Gifted and Talented pupils to receive more targeted support - The country’s brightest and most able children are to get better support. The government scheme will be targeted at disadvantaged gifted learners aged 14 to 19 to help them develop the knowledge and skills and get a place at university.

Briefings on 14-19 reform - To meet demand, DCSF is extending the offer of staff briefings on 14-19 reform to December 2009, available to schools, colleges, local authorities and training providers. To book contact the Support Desk on 020 8735 2375, or email support@14-19Briefing.co.uk.

Diploma Employer Champions volunteer their time to help other employers understand the Diploma, and to support both young people and staff in schools and colleges in understanding the new qualification. If you have an event which would benefit from the support of a Champion, or know someone who would be interested in becoming one, email Jo Kelly.

Safeguarding Disabled Children - This practice guidance makes clear that disabled children have the same human rights to be safe from abuse and neglect, to be protected from harm and to achieve the Every Child Matters outcomes as non-disabled children, although they require additional action.

Introduction to children and young people’s mental health - A course offered by Youngminds, for anyone who wants to develop a basic knowledge of children’s mental health. It is aimed at those working in: primary healthcare, social work, schools, early years, further education, youth work, family support, community and voluntary settings. Click here to see dates and locations.  

Deaf Dawah - Free enrolment on a British Sign Language Level 1 course, 2 hours per week (evenings or weekends) from Sept 2009 - June 2010. Enrol by 30 August. The course aims to raise deaf awareness and provide language training allowing better communication with deaf Muslims. For more information please contact Deaf Dawah via email. 

Leadership training in children’s services - DCSF have commissioned the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services to deliver leadership training for existing and aspirant Directors of Children’s Services. If you have an interest in being considered for one of these programmes then contact David Marsh.

Data Protection and Communications for the Voluntary Sector  - This conference takes place on 24 September 2009 and will set out what organisations and individuals need to know to avoid falling foul of the law and to enable application of best practice in all communication channels. 

Working with Disabled Young People – Three day course to support professional workers to develop practice in working with disabled young people, taking place on 15-16 September and 7 October 2009. For more information call 020 8536 3630.

Ethical Decision Making & Quality of Care – One day course on 22 September 2009, suitable for Counsellors and Counselling Supervisors who practice within the BACP Ethical Framework and who counsel young people. 

Practical Public Sector Tendering – (29 September) - Gain an overview of the public sector tendering process and understand the tools and techniques to prepare a strategic, competitive response and write a strong, effective bid. taking place on 29 September 2009, click here for a programme and booking form.

A recent report by the GLA (the snappily titled “Commuting patterns in London by qualification level and employment location”) confirms that there are few jobs available to those without qualifications, making competition for such jobs high.

 

London is one of the world’s leading international business centres yet 30 per cent of its residents are not in work. For some time, fewer Londoners with low qualifications have been in work than elsewhere. In 2007, less than half of Londoners with no qualifications were employed while nearly 90 per cent of those with a degree were in work.

 

Jobs in London require higher qualification levels and there are relatively few job opportunities available to those without qualifications. When job opportunities are not available locally it is not economical for people with low qualification levels to commute long distances because travel costs are high, relative to wages on offer. This limits the search horizons of those with few qualifications. So, for example, Croydon, Heathrow or outer London will have more opportunities for those with no or lower level qualifications than central London.

Not surprisingly, employees with higher qualification levels are likely to travel further to work than those with low qualifications. Central London is shown to be the major source of employment for the highly qualified workforce in the region. Around one third of degree holders resident in the Greater South East work in central London, making it a significant employer of highly qualified people living within a commutable distance.

 

The relatively few jobs open to those with no qualifications are spread more evenly across London than jobs taken by those with degree-level qualifications. Jobs filled by people with no qualifications are spread across London, so are more likely to source labour locally.