The apprenticeships levy is a bad policy – and not just because it’s a tax on the lowest-skilled November 29, 2015 Real apprenticeships provide skills which workers can take to other employers and obtain a wage higher than they would have earned otherwise. Historically, they were paid for by binding young employees (with legal sanctions for breaking the agreement) to work for a fixed period with very low pay, and often with an upfront payment from [...]
Brand secrets for the digital age: Dentsu Aegis UK CEO Tracy De Groose on agency agility and the industry’s diversity problem November 29, 2015 Few in the UK’s advertising industry will have failed to note the aggressive expansion of Dentsu Aegis Network. Since it was formed last year in the largest merger ever seen in the industry, the UK arm has acquired a number of agencies, to disrupt the hegemony of the more established players. Its most recent [...]
The self-made mastermind: Malwarebytes founder Marcin Kleczynski on giving away software and what it’s like making half a million bucks at 18 November 29, 2015 After I’d met Marcin Kleczynski, I came across someone who has known and worked with him for several years. A few seconds in and he said to me: “when you meet Marcin, the first thing you think is ‘I might be talking to the next Mark Zuckerberg… but this one’s a lot nicer’”. It’s hard [...]
Entrepreneurs spend up to £6000 a year on waiting around for a meeting in cafes, hotel lobbies and private members clubs November 29, 2015 Starting a new business is tough. Any of the City’s young and hip new chief execs could tell you this, but who thought a morning coffee was at the route of the problem? Apparently, entrepreneurs are wasting around £6,000 every year just by waiting for big meetings. In an average week, entrepreneurs spend around £700, but [...]
If the Premier League did Black Friday: 12 bargain buys including Manchester United’s Memphis Depay, Chelsea’s Diego Costa, Arsenal’s Mathieu Debuchy, Everton’s Aidan McGeady and others November 27, 2015 While shoppers storm supermarkets in search of the best Black Friday deals, football managers across the country are left twiddling their thumbs with the transfer and loan (as of yesterday) windows firmly shut preventing any deals from taking place between now and January. But what if football had its very own Black Friday? A one-off [...]
Hennessy Gold Cup betting odds: The Young Master is the best value call despite recent blip November 27, 2015 Sadly this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Coneygree failed to sparkle in a pre-race gallop and has been ruled out of tomorrow’s Hennessy Gold Cup (3.00pm). That leaves World Hurdle runner-up Saphir Du Rheu at the head of the weights and the market at just 7/2 with Betway. Paul Nicholls has never made any secret about [...]
NatWest says government’s new Help to Buy ISAs will help young customers November 27, 2015 NatWest has revealed that it will be one of the country’s first lenders to participate in the government’s new Help to Buy: ISA scheme. Starting next week, NatWest will offer customers accounts on the scheme, which will see the government topping up individuals’ savings when they purchase their first home. For every £200 an individual [...]
Prisons and public spending: how can minister for justice Michael Gove make the maths add up? November 26, 2015 Prison statistics released by the government this morning show an increase in prisoners, while at yesterday’s spending review, the chancellor told the Ministry of Justice to find £600m worth of savings by 2019, which is a 15 per cent cut to his resource budget. How can Justice Secretary Michael Gove make the maths add up? [...]
BBC Three will stop broadcasting by February as it moves online-only, Trust confirms – but there’ll be no BBC One +1 channel November 26, 2015 BBC Three will cease broadcasting by February next year, the corporation confirmed today, in an attempt to save millions of pounds. The channel, aimed at a young adult audience, will move online-only. BBC Three controller Damian Kavanagh defended the move as better serving them and the way younger audiences view television. "BBC Three is not closing, we are [...]
City A.M. Awards 2015 Business Personality of the Year winner Tony Pidgley, the co-founder of the Berkeley Group has a true rags-to-riches tale November 26, 2015 When it comes to determining the key to his success in life, Tony Pidgley puts it down to a good dose of common sense, a splash of luck and the life lesson his first lorry taught him when he was 15 and the engine blew up. His main means of earning his keep – transporting [...]