Re:locate Extra
Issue 43 August 2009
Re:locate: keeping you in touch
Welcome to Re:locate Extra – the electronic newsletter that keeps you informed of the latest developments in the world of relocation.
With the end of summer approaching, the Re:locate team is looking forward to a busy autumn. We’ll be launching the Re:locate Awards 2009/10 in the Autumn issue of the magazine (out mid September) – see the News in Brief section, below, for more awards news. We have an exciting networking forum event lined up for you on 3 November, plus we’ll be attending the CIPD conference and exhibition from 17–19 November.
New look for Re:locate Extra
From this autumn, Re:locate Exta will have an exciting new look with added features. If you are interested in sponsoring, call Barrie Barradell on 01892 891334.
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Top Stories This Month
Education key for relocating families
- Published last week, this year’s A level results showed increases in the pass rate and the proportion of A grades awarded. The pass rate is now 97.2%, up from 96.9%, according to figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications. A grades went up from 25.3% to 25.9%. The figures revealed an increase in the number of entries for sciences and other ‘hard’ subjects, and there were signs that boys were closing the gender gap, with increases both in the number of passes and in the number of A grades achieved. It remains to be seen whether the long-established annual increase in the pass rate will continue: new, tougher exams and an A* grade are to be introduced next year
- A new Government study demonstrates the benefits of further education to employment and future prospects. In a survey of over 4,800 people who had completed a further education course and were out of work when they began their studies, 41% had secured a job two years after they had ‘graduated’, up from 34% the previous year. Learners surveyed were asked whether they felt further education helped their job prospects after they had completed a college course in 2005/6. 62% of learners now in work said their course was either vital or helpful to getting a new or different job after college. Among those seeking employment, 64% believed their college course improved their chances of finding work
Don’t miss Fiona Leney’s article on settling children in for the new school term, in the Autumn issue of Re:locate.
Housing market upturn increases relocating families’ options
- First-time buyers were first back into the housing market, according to the latest research from Connells Survey & Valuation, but, more recently, home movers and investors have also begun to jump back in. In the first quarter, 58% of Connells valuations were for first-time buyers, up from 42% in the same period of 2008. In the second quarter, as other buyers began to follow suit, first time buyers fell to 53% of all transactions, and by July, this had dipped to 46%. The recent decline in the proportion of first time buyers comes against a backdrop of an overall increase in the number of house purchases. Home movers have increased their share from just 35% of mortgage valuations to 44% by July. Connells also reports heightened activity on the buy-to-let front: investors have increased from just one in 14 buyers earlier this year to one in ten in July
- Ascott International says its new Link Club, to be launched on 10 September 2009, is the first and only loyalty scheme offered by a serviced apartments provider in the UK. With individual and corporate memberships available, The club rewards everyone who places a booking with any of the participating residences featured in Ascott’s worldwide portfolio. www.thelinkclub.com
- Knight Frank’s Prime Central London Residential Index for July finds that prices for prime central London properties rose for the fourth month running. The recent market revival has been led by Chelsea and Kensington, where prices have now risen by more than 6% since the low reached in March. Overseas buyers in the £1m+ market have grown their market share from 35% to 43% over the past 12 months. Houses have again outperformed flats, with growth of 1.9% in July meaning that prices are only 18% below the March 2008 peak. www.knightfrank.com
Recruitment and employment news
- CV forwarding service CVtrumpet.com has topped the 150,000 mark on its database of executive and management CVs. The service works by connecting professional candidates with the right recruiters, headhunters and executive recruitment firms. Recruiters can pinpoint candidates from over 50 industries and filter them by location, industry, job function, salary level and employment type, as well as keyword. www.cvtrumpet.co.uk
- Research to be launched at the CIPD Coaching at Work conference, which takes place in London on 24 September, has found that almost 90% of organisations now use coaching. The conference will bring together everyone with an interest in, and responsibility for coaching to explore how to best use coaching and mentoring at work, what the pitfalls are and how it can be used to deliver even more. www.cipd.co.uk
- The Equality and Human Rights Commission has launched a consultation on how private and voluntary sector employers with at least 250 staff can measure and report on their gender pay gap. Women working full-time currently earn 17.1 per cent less per hour on average than men, with the gap failing to improve in the past three years. The differences in some sectors, such as finance, are much wider, and the majority of organisations are not aware of their own gender pay gap. The Commission believes that developing ways for employers to measure and report on their gender pay gap will be a crucial step towards reducing pay inequity by providing greater transparency. www.equalityhumanrights.com
Youth recruitment and employment
- London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced an extension to his graduate employment website by posting over 250 opportunities on its new jobs board. The addition of the jobs board, which allows graduates to search for jobs across London, is part of the Mayor’s longer-term plan to expand the site to offer more help, both to graduates, and to other groups of Londoners looking for work and training opportunities. www.london.gov.uk/graduates
- A new campaign, Backing Young Britain, is aiming to unite business and the Government to create thousands of opportunities for young people. Launching the campaign, ministers announced £40 million to fund over 20,000 additional internships so that graduates and non-graduates can get higher-quality work experience, as well as a new mentoring network to help young people find their feet in a tough jobs market. Young people will also get more help from day one of unemployment through job clubs and one-to-one support in job centres for those leaving education this summer
- The uphill struggle facing this year’s crop of GCSE school-leavers is looking ever steeper, according to the results of the latest quarterly CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook (LMO) survey of more than 900 employers. It shows that 16 to 18-year-olds are currently less likely to be hired than the long-term unemployed, with a quarter of employers (24%) planning to hire from this age group during the current quarter. In contrast, almost two-thirds of employers (63%) are hiring from the 19–24 age category, with a similar proportion of employers planning to recruit older workers. www.cipd.co.uk
In the Autumn issue of Re:locate, we’ll be asking whether there is some light on the horizon for jobhunters.
Immigration update
- A new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows that more and more immigrants to the UK are staying for a short time and then leaving. The outflow in the last couple of years is close to 400,000. 85% of migrants currently in the UK who took part in an on-line survey said they were only planning to stay short term. www.ipr.org
- The latest CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook (LMO) shows that almost one in ten employers intends to recruit migrant workers in the third quarter of 2009, despite the dramatic fall in labour demand. This is in an environment of less than two-thirds (63%) of organisations intending to recruit during this period – a record low for the survey since it began in 2004. www.cipd.co.uk
News in brief
Association of Serviced Apartment Providers goes independent
The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) has announced that, with effect from 1 September, it will become independent of the Association of Relocation Professionals (ARP). Membership has grown rapidly in the last two years, and the association now has a core membership of some 30 operators representing in excess of 5,000 apartments throughout the UK. Members cover every major city in the UK, and range from individual businesses with 20 apartments to international companies with several hundred apartments in most major UK cities. Every member is committed to the association’s ‘charter’, under which members guarantee to offer a high-quality product and commit to a code of conduct. David Smith, of City Apartments (London), continues as chairman of the association, which will be governed by an executive board.
The association’s new website will be launched next month.
Leadership and strategy loom large at conference
HR’s role in delivering strong leadership and the professions’ contribution to developing business strategies to prepare for the upturn feature prominently in the programme for this year’s CIPD’s Annual Conference and Exhibition, which is being held from 17–19 November at Manchester Central. As well as reflecting the current HR challenges around motivation and delivery in difficulty times, the conference will look to the long term at future planning to arm practitioners with the information and guidance to be ready for the recovery.
Catch up with the Re:locate team on stand 452 at the conference.
Full details from www.cipd.co.uk
Awards attract high-calibre sponsors
With sponsors already signed up for four of the seven categories, the Re:locate Awards 2009/10 have got off to a flying start. Two of this year’s sponsors, Fully Furnished (Relocation Service Provider or Team of the Year) and Roomservice by CORT (Rising Star in Relocation) are sponsoring for the second year running, while two new companies, Pricoa Relocation (Best Relocation Strategy/Policy) and Cartus (Inspirational HR Team of the Year), have now signed up.
As always, we are very grateful to all our sponsors, who are key to the success of the Re:locate Awards, helping us to celebrate success and achievement across the relocation spectrum. If you’d like to join them, call Barrie Barradell on 01892 891334.
Further information about the awards and sponsorship opportunities is available from www.relocatemagazine.com and in the Autumn issue of Re:locate.
New books help managers through the international compensation maze
Multinationals today face far more complex global mobility issues than ever before. Deciding on compensation policies, as well as how to communicate and administer these policies, has become a major strategic and logistical challenge. To help guide HR managers and business leaders through the international compensation maze, ORC Worldwide is publishing the Global HR Management Series, in conjunction with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The seven-book series, written by Roger Herod, senior vice president of ORC, explores in a succinct and practical manner the critical issues in global HR management.
The books are available through www.shrm.org/Publications/Books/Pages/Series--GlobalHRMgmt.aspx
In the Autumn issue of Re:locate, you’ll find three features on international themes.
Fully Furnished shortlisted for award
Furnishing solutions provider Fully Furnished has been shortlisted in the Estate Agency Service Firm of the Year category of The Negotiator Awards 2009. The trophies will be presented at an awards ceremony at the Hilton Hotel, in London's Park Lane, on 11 November.
Re:locate’s Autumn issue will include a feature about how furniture rental can be used to facilitate relocation.
Job Opportunities
There are currently 122 great jobs on our website, relevant to you and your skills. The top 10 ‘HOT JOBS’ are listed below, including new jobs posted online since the last Re:locate Extra. To view all job opportunities, click here.
| Internal Global Mobility Consultant |
London |
Negotiable |
View |
| Intercultural Services Regional Director |
South West |
Negotiable |
View |
| Director of Immigration Services |
Hong Kong |
HKD50,000 |
View |
| Global Mobility Manager |
London |
£45-55,000 |
View |
| Business Development Manager |
London |
Negotiable |
View |
| International Mobility Manager |
London |
Negotiable |
View |
| Senior International Assignments Analyst |
South East |
£35-40,000 |
View |
| Global Mobility Director |
Holland |
Negotiable |
View |
| International Assignments Manager |
Paris |
Negotiable |
View |
| Global Mobility Manager |
London |
£40-50,000 |
View |
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