Their manifesto calls for careers education at an earlier stage and a new qualification which assesses numeracy, literacy, ICT and foreign languages.  They are basically proposing a shift whereby education is as much about preparing for the workplace as it is about academic achievement.

You can download the BCC Skills and Employment Manifesto here:
http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/policy-maker/policy-reports-and-publications/the-bcc-skills-and-employment-manifesto.html

I read an article this morning which has left me feeling a little incensed.  The article in The Telegraph (Education Section) discussed whether:

1) Employers should ignore internship experience because it may indicate that the candidate has been privileged, and

2) Employers should ignore graduates' degree classifications - again because it may suggest privilege or better educational opportunities. 

So, where does that leave the graduates who've worked really hard to gain a place at a good university and achieve a first-class degree?

Where does that leave work ethic? 

Where does it leave the fact that some people are - in reality - more intelligent and more employable than others?

The fact is, the world isn't, and never will be, a level playing field; it's a jungle.  But the same opportunities are out there for anyone who wants to get off their backsides and go after them.  I know people who've attended state schools and gone on to become lawyers.  And I know people who've had a private, aka 'privileged', education and gone on to achieve very little.

Success is a mindset.  It's about parents encouraging and supporting their kids.  It's about kids getting off backsides to seek out and make the most of every opportunity.  There's plenty of help out there for the under privileged.  Educational establishments should focus on referring kids to those resources and, if necessary, running classes for parents to educate them on the importance of supporting, stimulating and motivating their kids; leading by example. 

In terms of level playing fields, we need to be very careful about the message we send out and we should avoid at all costs undervaluing or resenting those who have worked hard to create a brighter future for themselves.

For those who'd like to read the article, here it is: Telegraph Article

by Barbara Patrick
Professional CV Writer and Career Coach
Compelling CVs
Reading Berkshire

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There is an abundance of free CV templates (aka Resume Templates) available online and many companies who sell templated CVs.

We never use CV templates because every client is unique and "one size" CV templates aren't suitable. 

Rather like the story of Cinderella, where all the ladies were trying to force their foot into the tiny glass slipper so that the prince would choose them, it simply doesn't work.  It's far better that the slipper is designed to fit the foot!

We firmly believe that it is the CONTENT of a CV that is important.  Whilst a CV template may provide some useful headings, you are still left with the problem of creating the content.

Whereas "Education" may feature highly on one client's CV, it may hardly feature at all on another's. This is because a client may have many years' experience where their education is totally irrelevant to the role or industry they are applying to.

Likewise, "Hobbies and Interests" may be totally irrelevant and omitted from one client's CV but included in another where they bring transferable skills such as leadership.

After content, keywords (to match Applicant Tracking Software Systems) and relevance are important too.  CV templates can't assist with these either, except by suggesting useful headings.

Because our clients all have different experiences, achievements, skills and personalities, we build their CVs from scratch, focussing on their individual strengths. This is much easier to achieve through avoiding the use of CV templates.

Ultimately, our CVs are beautifully formatted and you would be forgiven for thinking that we use CV templates; we do not.  What we do use is a particular "style" and "layout" that works extremely well for our clients, as our client testimonials bear out.