Knowledge sharing tools key, says Google L&D head

YouTube “a phenomenal learning resource” for staff

Google is using its success as a world-leading content provider to constantly improve its internal learning and development provisions, the company’s global head of learning technologies has said.

Sudhir Giri told delegates at the Charity Learning Consortium conference yesterday: “We are inspired by what the world is doing – we are trying to take what we’ve seen our products do and create that same sort of feeling within Google itself.”

Google’s search engine now processes one billion searches daily, while 48 hours of content is uploaded to Google-owned YouTube every minute – a platform Giri described as “a phenomenal learning resource”.

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Chelmsford Borough Council to extend ‘successful’ internship scheme

Year-long paid placements offer ‘two-fold benefits’ for employer and intern

Chelmsford Borough Council is to take a second cohort of interns this autumn after the success of its inaugural programme. The local authority introduced a 12-month internship scheme last September after its workforce development plan revealed that only 14 per cent of town hall employees were in the 16-24 year old age group.

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Advanced people counting system also identifies age and gender

SG Systems, a market leading provider of anti-theft solutions and CCTV, has launched the People Classify Customer Activity Monitoring System (CAMS), which evaluates video-based, real-time analysis of visitor behaviour.

This advanced Customer Activity Monitoring System gives the ability to, not only counter customers but also identify their age and gender and even report the weather conditions at the time as well. With the help of intelligent 3D video analytics this market leading innovation can systematically and sustainably increase efficiency and achieve higher revenues on shop floors, hotels, casinos, shopping centres or other environments which rely on customer flow for renewable sales.

SG Systems claims that the people counting system can provide retailers with the highest precision in people counting; informing of how many people pass through specific location at what time, as well as distinguish male and female visitors and their age category.

SG Systems managing director, Symon Millward, said: “This innovative counting system can not only improve efficiency and quality of service but clearly add real value through the power of accurate and unique data”.

UK lacks top quality leadership, finds recent survey.

One-fifth of employers’ development programmes ‘ineffective’

Only one in five HR professionals and a third of leaders in the UK rate the quality of leadership as ‘high’ in their organisations, according to new CIPD research.

While 39 per cent of both leaders and HR professionals consider their organisations’ leadership development programmes to be highly effective, 20 per cent of leaders and 24 per cent of HR professionals rate their employers’ programmes as ineffective.

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