New fathers to get dad’s guide

New dads are to receive a ‘dad’s guide’ to pregnancy, birth and childcare in order to include them more in the upbringing of their children from the start. Plus other news.

New dads are to receive a ‘dad’s guide’ to pregnancy, birth and childcare in order to include them more in the upbringing of their children from the start.

The move is to be announced in a green paper on families and relationships this week and the guide will be included in the Bounty pack mothers receive when they discover they are pregnant.

The guide, which has been put together by the Fatherhood Institute, is understood to include information ranging from supporting mums breastfeeding to supporting their children in education.

The FI says including men more in the upbringing of children will lead to more satisfied relationships. Teachers are also expected to be asked to include men more in their children’s education.

Outstanding leaders are people-centred, says report
What makes for outstanding leaders? According to a new report from The Work Foundation, outstanding leaders think and act differently to their good peers and are more highly people-centred.

The report, Exceeding expectation: the principles of outstanding leadership, adds that outstanding leaders are focused on sustainable performance, purpose and meaning, “knowing that people are the only route to its achievement and that they themselves enable others through their influence on those around them”.

The report says outstanding leaders can think broadly about how the people and systems in an organisation fit together and have the ability to think long term.

The report’s researchers stress that the emphasis on people-centred leadership is particularly critical while the world is still experiencing tough economic conditions. They point to the widespread tendency to assume that in difficult times, people think they need powerful leaders, with a controlling, target-driven approach. “Evidence from the research indicates the opposite, demonstrating that this instinct can be counter-productive,” says the report.

It adds that development of outstanding leadership needs a different approach to the traditional models of talent identification and development. The second phase of the research programme is now examining the implications for leadership development.

The Conservatives’ first cuts, if elected, will be to axe child trust funds and tax credits for families earning over £50,000 per annum.

The shadow chancellor George Osborne announced the Tories’ first targets for spublic spending cuts at the end of last week and said they would be made within weeks of the Conservatives being elected to office.

What are the jobs of the future?
You might be focused on your immediate job search, but what type of job will you be searching for in the future.

According to Fast Future, which has just published its ‘The shape of jobs to come’ report on the science and technology jobs of the future, you could be a space pilot, a vertical farmer or a body part maker in just 20 years’ time.

Commissioned by the Science: [So what? So everything] campaign, expert future researchers from Fast Future analysed future trends, such as population growth and climate change, alongside developments in science and technology, to create a list of 20 potential jobs of the future.

It suggests there will be more jobs working on the web and potentially from home, including virtual lawyers, virtual clutter organisers, waste data handlers and personal branders.

There will also be more jobs focusing on climate change, such as vertical [city-based] farmers.

With more people living longer, there will be more jobs focused on enhancing quality of life in old age, including body part makers and space travel will no longer be the final frontier.

The best paid jobs are predicted to be in nano-medicine, memory augmentation surgery and virtual law.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “A priority for this Government is to prepare Britain for the economy of the future and to make sure our young people can seize the opportunities that innovations in science and technology will bring. The shape of jobs to come shows what might be on offer for the next generation. I hope it will inspire young people to gain the skills and training they will need to succeed."

Kate Bellingham, ambassador of Science: [So what? So everything] and the Government’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers champion says: “Last year, the new careers information, advice and guidance strategy stated that ‘the top 10 jobs that exist in 2010 did not exist in 2004.’ This Science: [So what? So everything] study reminds us how jobs in the future will change even more. It is very hard to prepare for such a transformation, but it is clear that education and training in STEM subjects keeps your options open, and can lead to a wide range of fascinating and important roles, solving the problems of our time and helping to shape our future.”

Employers check social network sites of candidates
The majority of employers use social networking sites to screen candidates and 43% had seens things on social networking sites that meant they did not hire a candidate, accroding to a poll.

The survey of more than 450 employers from CareerBuilder.co.uk found that 53% used social networking sites to research job candidates, with a futher 12% planning to do so.