A city worker has made claims of torture, assault and beatings by an employer he alleges suspected him of being involved in a robbery at his workplace. The owners of the shop, Interlink Employment Agency, have denied all claims made by employee. [IOL News]
Two senior recruiters at crisis-riven healthcare employment agency Healthcare Locums have been suspended pending investigations into serious misconduct allegations that will fuel criticism of the use of profit-driven private contractors by the NHS. [London Evening Standard]
Staffing agencies in Brussels not allowed to offer any other services but staffing? Employers in the South West face a challenge to get up to speed and ready to cope with a major change in the workplace for the region’s estimated 130,000 agency workers. The warning comes from Acas, now that the Government has published final guidance on new laws also affecting the recruitment firms who handle ‘temp’ workers. [Bristol 24-7]
The U.S. Department of Labor has committed more than $2.1 million to help train and house migrant farm workers in New England. [Connecticut Post]
New Hampshire jobs rebound will take over five years at current growth rate. [Foster’s Daily Democrat]
Train maker Bombardier is cutting more than 1,400 jobs at its plant in Derby, central England, after losing out to German group Siemens for the Thameslink cross-London rail upgrade contract. The Canadian company, which also makes aircraft, said it would cut 446 permanent jobs and 983 temporary jobs from its 3,000 strong Derby workforce as a result of missing out on the Thameslink contract and the completion of its current workload, which includes metro cars for London Underground. [Reuters]
Encourage the UK’s sole traders to create jobs, says BCC. [British Chambers of Congress]
Pinnacle Healthcare Launches New Agency Jobs Web for GPs and Allied Professionals. [Cision Wire]
On a list of more than 330 registered sex offenders in Tulsa, nearly 40 percent are listed as unemployed, disabled or retired, records show. Authorities say that it can be difficult for sex offenders to find a job. And with residency restrictions that make a majority of the city off limits, such instability can increase the risk of re-offending for some offenders. “It is difficult to find employment just because of the misconceptions that every sex offender is a child molester or that every sex offender is a rapist and that is not the case,” Tulsa Police Sgt. John Adams said. [Greenfield Reporter]
An Oklahoma agency is receiving $1.27 million to provide training, employment and support services for farm workers and their families. [Greenfield Reporter]
Administrators at Michigan Works! employment agencies racked up tens of thousands of dollars in questionable expenses, including a country club membership, employee massages and a weekend retreat at which meal and hotel costs far exceeded those allowed by state government, according to an audit released today. [The Detroit News]
Manpower operates a few offices in West Virginia. Recently, they have had many calls to place jobs, but not enough people to place into those positions despite the number of people unemployed. “We are always recruiting. Right now, the recruiting crunch is bigger than ever,” said Lina Haught, the district supervisor for Manpower. In both the Morgantown and Bridgeport offices, Manpower employees are fielding calls for more job opportunities and they are looking for people to place. [WOWK]
A new pilot program to help people with disabilities gain work skills is being co-ordinated by Kootenay Employment Services (KES) in Creston. Working Solutions is available to residents throughout the East and West Kootenays. “We are one of 10 areas selected from across Canada,” said Jacquie Thom, who co-ordinates the program for KES along with Emily Zahn. “The pilot project is designed to encourage anyone who has what they consider to be a disability to get on the job work experience.”
Under the Working Solutions program, employers can receive a 60 per cent subsidy for 34 weeks. Rates are negotiable depending on the position and training needed. To qualify, employers must possess a Canada Revenue Agency or Workers’ Compensation Board number, or be willing to get one. [BC Local News]
Iran plans to try 26 alleged American intelligence officials in absentia, raising the possibility that it will out U.S. spies who Tehran claims attempted to recruit Iranians as part of a sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation. The latest alleged plot: employment recruitment agencies based abroad? Iranian officials claim to have the handles and descriptions of the Americans they say are involved in the alleged operation. [Los Angeles Times]
Flexible hours, sabbaticals keep work force happy, engaged. [Sun Times]
Expo lets women-owned businesses pitch services to potential corporate partners. “Networking in Las Vegas is important,” said Kelly Young, divisional vice president of AppleOne Employment Services. “You have to network and then offer what you’re going to promise to them, then back that up.” Young oversees four Las Vegas-area offices and said networking is a large part of her business. A staffing firm, AppleOne offers training, skill enhancement and job placement. “It’s still a reality that a woman has to work a little harder to make (contracts) happen,” Young said. Howroyd’s Act-1 is the parent company to AppleOne. Her growth model includes networking, getting her name out there and treating job seekers and corporations’ right. [Las Vegas Business Press]
An employment survey by recruitment agency Reed reveals that demand for new employees in the UK increased in June with a record number of jobs offered in engineering and insurance and overall demand for staff in professional services and traditional industrial sectors strong. [My Finances UK]
Spaniards flock to Germany as eastern Europeans stay away. [The Local]
Welfare changes will see 60,000 people in Wales moved off incapacity benefits, with half leaving the benefits system with no jobs to go to, research claims. The report for councils suggests a £100m job creation scheme for 20,000 by the Welsh Government to plug the gap. [BBC Wales]
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) expects stronger alliance with local government units in intensifying the DOLE’s anti-illegal recruitment (AIR) with the series of AIR orientations in Negros Occidental and Iloilo initiated by the Bureau of Local Employment, the Philippine Overseas Employment Association and the Department of Justice. Reports from Dole-Western Visayas showed that more than a hundred barangay captains from the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) in various provinces across the region attended the series of orientations. [Sun Star]
The Indonesian government is working on an ambitious plan to create 2.5 million jobs to counter the unemployment that a ban on maids’ employment in Saudi Arabia is likely to cause. It has pledged to spend up to 1.4 trillion rupiah (S$202 million) to equip women with new skills in agriculture, craftsmanship and entrepreneurship, and also create employment opportunities for the millions who will be affected by the ban. [Jakarta Globe]
PETALING JAYA: There was a mixed reaction to the announcement that maids can now be recruited directly from Indonesia. Not surprisingly, an agent who recruits Indonesian maids said such agencies would be the biggest loser as employers could take advantage of the six-month guarantee’ period. “That’s because the agency would have to refund the employer if the maid was found to be incompetent or ran away during the grace period,” said C.K. Wong, 50. “An employer could keep the maid for five months, then seek for a full refund with the reason that the maid is incompetent. He could then hire another maid from another agency and repeat the process without paying a single sen.” [The Star]
With growth returning, tech services companies see spike in expenses to bridge demand-supply mismatch; difficulty in obtaining H1-B visa is also an issue. A dearth of skilled staff, especially for high-end technologies, coupled with difficulty in obtaining H1-B visas, is prompting Indian IT companies to hire more people on a temporary basis overseas. Figures tell the story. While the employee cost among the top three Indian IT firms has been steadily increasing, the expense on subcontractors (those who arrange for temporary hires) appears to be skyrocketing. [Business Standard]
Matt gets some advice on his search for a temporary insurance gig: Matt – did you actually inquire with the agency after a specific role or type of role, or just send in your CV? Because they are not mind-readers. Agencies these days do not need to chase applicants – they are far too busy chasing employers. There will be dozens of people who are visiting the agency every day or two for roles, there will be people who see specific advertised roles and apply for those that need sifting. A CV out of the blue and expecting them to do the work for you is not going to attract much more than cursory attention. Employment agencies are not there to find you a job – they are there to find employers the best temporary staff they can find, and they have plenty of those littering the office anyway. The client/employer pays for the service, not the employee, so they won’t spend a lot of time chasing you when they have dozens of people lining the walls waiting. They are certainly not going to look at a CV that comes in on spec and think “do you know – he’s perfect for that job over at the insurance company”. You have to make some effort here. [Money Saving Expert Forums]
