April 2007
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The new year at the CfA has certainly started off on a very positive note. It was recently announced that one of our Young Apprentices has been nominated for the prestigous Young Apprentice of the Year Award and City & Guilds have just endorsed forward ePortfolio PLUS - both very exciting! We are also looking for new talent to join the CfA team, so if you're keen, make sure you get in touch.
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City & Guilds endorse forward ePortfolio PLUS
City & Guilds Assessment centres will have received this week confirmation that forward eportfolio PLUS is now an endorsed product. forward eportfolio PLUS now includes the standards for customer care and management as well as Business & Administration. The new audit trail allows assessors; internal and external verifiers to go to one page to make and review judgements of a candidate’s evidence. There have been a number of other enhancements in the last few months with many more to come. We have worked with our partner Axia Interactive Media to ensure that ‘forward’ is the best and the most competitively priced ePortfolio system that are available. We will be arranging a series of further demonstrations of forward ePortfolio PLUS across the UK this summer. If you are interested in attending one of these sessions, please contact Richard Jane. For more information on forward ePortfolio PLUS please visit www.cfa.uk.com/forward. |
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Senior Development Officer The CfA is looking to recruit a talented and motivated individual to join the development team as a Senior Development Officer. The successful applicant will work within the team and will help drive forward vocational education for the 4+ million administrators in the UK. To find out more about this role and to download a copy of the application form please click below. Closing date for applications: Monday 30th April. |
Approval has now been received for the Business & Administration Standards that have been changed as a result of the Incremental Change Project. The changed standards, updated Assessment Strategy and Evidence Requirements for levels 1-4, will be available to download from the CfA website soon. The CfA will notify you when the information is available for you download. In the meantime, please keep checking the CfA website. |
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Congratulations to Obayed Ahmed who has been short-listed for the 2007 Apprenticeship Awards, in the category of Young Apprentice of the year. |
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Employers get on board for retail diploma As part of the CfA’s participation in the development of the Retail Diploma we have successfully engaged with a group of employers to represent the CfA during the Retail Diploma Steering Group meetings. The Victoria Park Trader’s Association is a group of retailers in Hackney, consisting of two newsagents, toy shop, book shop, pottery shop, boutique/gift shop, restaurants, wine bars, chemist, life style shop, hair dresser and estate agents. Members of the Association will actively take part in the steering groups to advise on the development of Business and Administration skills in the retail sector. To find out more information, please contact Uta Sempf. |
England steering group announced The next England Steering Group will be held on the 2nd May at the CfA offices in Vauxhall at 10.00am until 1.00pm. If you would like to attend the steering group please contact Uta Sempf to register your attendance.
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Thank you to all who attended the Changes to the Business & Administration Standards event, last month. A series of events were held across the UK, with CfA presenter Margaret Barkway introducing Incremental Change and the new Evidence Requirements. Feedback from delegates has been very positive. One of our guests from Edinburgh commented that it was, “The best CfA event I have been to. It is nice to have someone present who is realistic and knows what they are doing.” A guest from Birmingham complemented the event stating, “Excellent delivery, great opportunity to familiarise with changes, to network and share best practice” while another commented that “It was a great workshop, all of my concerns were put to rest and I feel totally prepared for the changes when they take place”. Due to high demand, we can now confirm that before the changes are implemented in August, we will re-run the event between May to July in new locations across the UK. These workshops will run in tandem with the half-day Assessor Master Class, which is always a popular workshop. To register your interest for these events, please contact Sonia Chandnani. |
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Results for cohort 4 partnerships are now in. The CfA is pleased to announce that there has been a considerable increase in numbers within the Business & Administration Young Apprenticeship programme for 2007. More YA news...the Spring 2007 edition of the Business & Adminiatration YA newsletter is now ready to download.
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Over the past 12 months, the CfA have been involved in an International Benchmarking project. The aim of this project was to compare the standard of Business & Administration skills and competences in Australia and Germany with those in the UK. The CfA consulted with employers across the UK to find out their opinion on the value of aligning UK standards with international standards and whether they considered these changes to the current UK standards as an effective method in closing the skills gap. In response to employer feedback, the following modules from the German Business & Administration Standards have been recommended for inclusion in the UK standards:
The full report can be downloaded from the CfA website. |
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According to the Talent Shortage Survey 2007 by Manpower, almost 40% of UK employers are struggling to fill positions due to a lack of staff with the right skills. The research also reveals that the second hardest to fill roles in the UK are administrative assistants & PAs, with the hardest to fill roles being skilled manual trades. Mark Cahill, Manpower UK’s managing director, says: “Employers need to maintain a flexible approach to their recruitment needs – such as thinking about using temporary staff to meet short-term needs, looking to older workers and mothers returning to work or looking to staff from outside the UK. “In a tightening labour market, it is also important that employers think about holding onto staff – the benefits package, career progression and training opportunities available are all important factors employers need to consider as part of their retention strategy. Our research earlier this year showed that staff retention was a key priority for all businesses and organisations. Good people are in demand and it’s very much a candidate’s market.” This is good news for all learners studying towards their Business & Administration qualifications. It seems that all their hard work will certainly pay off! |
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The role of a CfA Advisor is an honourary one, which involves being part of a UK Network of Advisors who advise us on skills needs and gaps, and influence our future direction. |
A: This unit has been imported from the ENTO Health & Safety Standards. Information about proxy qualifications for this unit can be obtained from ENTO direct on www.ento.co.uk |
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To subscribe to the CfA eBriefing, please email tracie.jaiswal@cfa.uk.com The CfA is not responsible for the content of any external links from this newsletter. The Council for Administration is a registered charity, No 1095 809.
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If you would like to submit information to the CfA eBriefing, please contact Tracie Jaiswal on 020 7091 9625.
© CfA 2007
