Job information Sheets - are now available online for download, vacancies this month include Sports Coaching apprenticeships; AAT Trainees (accountancy); Digital Media Assistant with TV production company plus many more. 

Get the Skills, Get the Qualifications - Lambeth College are now offering £25 gift to all young people who attend and complete, these short courses. For a list of all the courses and more information, click here.

South Thames College Open Day - Monday 15th June 2009 at the Wandsworth Campus from 3pm - 6pm. You can meet tutors, staff and the team of impartial professional education advisers and find out what its like to study at South Thames College. The unveiling of the brand new industry standard hair and beauty salon, will also take place and you can get a preview of the developments taking place at the Wandsworth Centre. For further information, click here. 

Youth Leadership Programme 2009 - London Youth are looking for young people to take part in this programme. Every young person will receive free training. Closing date for application 15th June.

Young Entrepreneurs needed to mentor young people on youth enterprise programme (16 – 25). They are looking for young people to work as trainers for there programmes all over London. For further information please contact Gary Wells.  

The National Portrait Gallery - requires Youth Forum Members aged 14 – 21. There are currently 15 active members who meet once a month on a Thursday evening at the Gallery. If interested please contact Rachel Moss,Young People's Programmes Manager.

Point Blank - have released their summer school brochure which includes short intensive summer courses in music production, singing, and mixing.

vfifty award and vimpact awards - Young people get recognition for voluntary jobs and placements on completion of 50 hours and 100 hours volunteering respectively. For further information, please click here. 

The Whitechapel Gallery’s Young Curators programme is a chance to discuss contemporary art with professional artists and steer the newly-expanded Whitechapel Gallery. This programme is free and will take place from 29 June – 10 July 2009, for young people aged 15-24 and entry is free entry. For more information contact Sarah Smilie.

Climate Callout Competition - UNICEF are looking for four young people aged 14-17 to attend the Children's Climate Forum in Copenhagen in December. To secure a place on the team, entrants must submit a short video or written piece via UNICEF's YouTube channel deadline 15th July.

Princes Trust - Get Into Cooking with Mosimann’s Course - This is a free course from 15th – 19th June 2009, for any young person aged between 16-25 who is unemployed and NEET or is a care leaver/in care or ex offender/offender. The Prince’s Trust will also pay travel costs to the venue. Please see referral form and visit website for further details.

Sporting Futures A free event in North London on 21st June 2009, for all ages and abilities. Displays and have-a-go workshops include: Martial Arts, Dance, Extreme, Community Clubs and Organisations, Cycling, Health and Massage and Education and Careers.

Rhythm of London – Aims to get young people involved with music, the first ever Rhythm of London festival features public performances, instrument tuition and a variety of school and public events to get the whole city moving to the beat this summer, taking place 10-11 July 2009.

Government invests £146m in teen community service programme – The government has announced a £146m package of funding to encourage community service among 16 to 19 year olds.

Citizenship Foundation and Abbey team up to produce My Money, My Rights pocket guide offering clear and up to date information on all aspects of money for young people.

The Vetting and Barring Scheme – The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has published an update on the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS).

Healthaware Challenge is an innovative way for workers from a wide range of disciplines to access support and resources for developing their health and wellbeing work with young people. Linked to UK Youth's Youth Challenges and Youth Achievement Awards, there are also opportunities for young people to gain accreditation through ASDAN for their involvement, visit the site to register and for more information.  

Family Rights Group has launched a new advice line number 0808 801 0366, the latest development in a series of moves aimed at increasing vulnerable families’ access to their advice services. The line’s experienced advisers give legal and practical advice to families, whose children are involved with, or need, local authority children’s services. 

Independent Evaluation of V - The results of v’s first independent evaluation have been published, read the full report here.

Resources for practitioners – The Social Care Institute for Excellence has published a series of new resources including, Learning together to safeguard children. 

Care to Learn - The marketing support materials have been updated for 2009/10 and are now available. To order copies, please email Prolog or call 0845 602 2260.

Consultation on the guidance to provide impartial information and advice - This consultation invites LAs, schools and other key stakeholders in the 14-19 Partnership, to comment on draft statutory guidance linked to the duty on local authority maintained schools, set out in the Education and Skills Act to provide impartial information and advice. Closing date 30 July 2009.

Action Plan for the 14-19 Prospectus and Common Application Process (CAP) sets out the ambition to 2013 for the further development of the 14-19 Prospectus and implementation of CAP.

14-19 Reform Toolkit is available to help disseminate key information about the 14-19 Reforms to staff. There is a toolkit for schools & a toolkit for colleges. For more information on 14-19 Reforms visit the website.

Universities’ acceptance of Diplomas - Students on the first five Advanced Diploma lines will be able to apply to 80% of undergraduate courses across the country, according to data released on 5 May by UCAS. University admissions requirements for undergraduate courses from 2010 include the Diploma for the first time. Read more here.

Handling allegations of abuse made against adults who work with children and young people -Following the review of the implementation of guidance on handling allegations of abuse against those who work with children or young people, the Government made a commitment to publish additional practice guidance. Teachers and youth workers who have been cleared of alleged abuse against children will be able to wipe the claims from their records, as part of the plans in this consultation. Closing date Friday 7 August 2009.

New Ofsted arrangements for the inspection of children’s services - details how inspections will be conducted under the new Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA). The frameworks published are the arrangements for the new Ofsted rating for council children’s services and the programme of inspection of safeguarding and looked after children.

Local Area Agreements refreshed in London to reflect the changing landscape for local strategic partnerships. To find out what’s changed in each local authority, click here.

New research highlights the importance of apprenticeships – To mark the launch of the new National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), new research is being published which highlights the importance of Apprenticeships to individuals, businesses and the economy. 

The protection of children in England: Action plan – The Government has now published an action plan, setting out its detailed response to the recommendations in Lord Laming's report on safeguarding children and young people. 

Future Jobs Fund -The £1 billion fund is to help generate 150,000 new jobs particularly for young people in areas of high unemployment and is part of the Budget 2009 announcement to deliver an extra £3.1 billion to help people looking for work. Local authorities and third sector organisations across the country can submit innovative bids for jobs. This could include sports coaching, crime prevention, tourism and working with children.

Government funds firms to expand apprenticeships – More apprenticeships will be open to young people thanks to £11 million in Government funding as part of a new approach to help employers train the skilled workers of the future, Skills Secretary John Denham and Schools Secretary Ed Balls has announced.

Making the case published by the Young Equals coalition makes proposes for the Equality Bill that comes into force in 2010. The report challenges the Government position that there is “little evidence” of harmful age discrimination against children and young people, and questions why the Government is failing to extend legal protection from age discrimination to under 18s.

Functional skills consultation - In the coming months, QCA will be consulting on the key regulatory criteria documents which will form the basis of the next generation of functional skills qualifications. Closing date 31 August 2009.  All the latest updates on the consultation will be posted on the functional skills section of the QCA website.

Work-related Learning Guide has the latest information on providing work-related learning and work experience and the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved.

Entries are invited for the 2009 National Career Awards - The Awards include a wide variety of project awards, including individual awards for Career Guidance Practitioner of the Year. Closing date 3 July 2009

Group Work Skills - There are a few spaces left on this 2 day course, which takes place on 18 & 19 June. If you would like to attend please contact CLCTraining@rbkc.gov.uk or call 020 7938 8073. This course is for staff who have already attended the first 2 intoroduction days or who have previous exxperience with group work.

National Context Updates - This course is aimed at managers and team leaders and takes place on 16 June 2009. For further information or to book a place, visit the website or alternatively contact CLCTraining@rbkc.gov.uk or call 020 7938 8073.

Motivational Strategies to support NEET YP - This is a 2 day course taking place on 8 & 9 July 2009. For a course outline or to book a place, please login with your username and password to the CLC Training site or alternatively contact CLCTraining@rbkc.gov.uk or call 020 7938 8073. 

LSCB Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) training is aimed at all staff working with women and children. It will give you an understanding of what FGM is and the social, cultural and religious context in which it is practised. Taking place on 9th of June in London. Please complete the application form and fax back to HSC Learning and Development on 020 7361 3761. Any queries contact Annette Russell on 0207 361 2888.

Working with refugee and asylum-seeking children in Schools training from the refugee council on 23 June 2009 will examine the specific needs of refugee pupils, including those new to schooling in the UK. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on and evaluate their own practice, as well as that of the schools in their local area. The course costs £99 - £160, to book please contact training@refugeecouncil.org.uk for a booking form.

Nurturing Young People's Mental Health Needs in the Counselling Relationship training will enable delegates to develop their knowledge of the risk and resilience factors affecting young people's emotional well-being and mental health 23 June London.

Human Rights and Young People – This one day course on human rights aims to provide people that work with young people with a good understanding of the key features, ideas and principles of human rights and how they are relevant to young people’s issues and the youth sector in the UK. It will cost from £60 and will take place in London on 25 June 2009. If you would like to attend, please complete the booking form. 

Safeguarding African Children at Risk from AFRUCA - Africans Unite Against Child Abuse Monday 22 June 2009 and costs £100. For more information visit the website.

African Parents and Practitioners Working with African Children in London. This event is being held as part of a week long series of activities marking AFRUCA’s 8th anniversary from 21 to 27 June 2009. Contact Justin Bahunga at AFRUCA or call 0844 660 8607.    

How to work successfully with children and young people from various faiths and cultures - This training course will look at how children and young people’s faiths and cultures can impact on participation work. Taking place on 22nd September in London, it costs £150.  

Helping young people make sense of money – Young People & Money is a free one day training course that has been designed to better equip those who work with young people aged 16 to 25 who are NEET. The Financial Services Authority (FSA), working in partnership with Citizens Advice and leading youth charity Fairbridge, has developed the Young People & Money programme. Taking place on 14 October 2009 in Stratford.

Despite the recession, London remains an engine of the UK economy and has many top earners. However, in order to maintain its world leading status it relies on the work of many who carry out the city’s essential functions on a daily basis – from office cleaners to care-workers in social services. It is right that their skills and commitment to London’s success are recognised, and one of the most fundamental ways of doing this is to ensure that all Londoners are paid appropriately. According to the report that means being paid at least the ‘London Living Wage’, which is designed to provide a minimum acceptable quality of life.

However, this provides no margin to meet the kind of day-to-day challenges that those who are better off can afford to take in their stride. As before, a margin of 15 per cent has therefore been added to the poverty threshold wage. The result is a London Living Wage of £7.60 per hour - an increase of 2.0 per cent on last year's figure and a 13.4 per cent increase in the four years since its introduction.

The NMW is due to increase in October 2009 and updated rates (based on same calculations) would be:

Of course it could also be argued that young people without family support would need the same income as an older worker.