Nationwide Building Society is today celebrating a double achievement by signing the Mindful Employer charter for being positive about mental health and attaining Gold status from Investors in People.

Business coaching is on the rise across the globe, becoming a 'global phenomenon', according to Frank Besser Consulting.

The British Red Cross has a launched a training scheme for senior managers to improve their coaching skills as part of a new focus on learning and development.

In a bid to fight recession 80% of directors say their organisations have maintained or increased their training budgets over the past six months.

Improved customer service could haul businesses out of recession, says Institute of Customer Service boss Jo Causon. And it's a great chance for HR to make its mark on staff training.

Adding 360-degree feedback to its performance management process gives Wyeth Consumer Healthcare insight into how staff achieve as well as what they achieve.

Skills minister Kevin Brennan yesterday launched a National Skills Academy to address the skills shortages reported by 68% of employers in the process and manufacturing sectors.

Last year in the UK 3.6 million vocational qualification qualifications were awarded, showing an increase of 350,000 or 11% since 2007.

Employers in the hospitality and tourism sectors must work with the Government to "cast the net wider" to link skills to jobs, according to the minister for employment and welfare reform.

Almost a third of European workers (30%) are in jobs they are not properly trained for because of recession cutbacks.

Cineworld cinemas has rebranded its learning and development function to encourage staff to recognise and appreciate career advancement at the firm.

Employers including Accenture, Yell.com and St Tropez are sending teams of staff to take part in an entrepreneurial challenge to raise money to help unemployed young people into business.