This article provides an overview of the development of the Fast Track teaching programme and personalised nature of the training and support that has been delivered. Fast Track teacher promotion rates are compared to national statistics demonstrating significant progression for certain groups, particularly women. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)

This paper investigates the extent of overseas migration by British chemists over the period 1887-1971. Notwithstanding the "brain drain" alarms of the 1960s, overseas employment was characteristic of some 19% of British chemists' careers throughout our period, though its nature changed considerably. Our study examines the overseas…

Hospital porters often feel so little valued in their jobs that they are uninterested even in training that could get them out of their rut. In an attempt to change what he considered an underlying negative perception regarding portering, in 1999, the author founded the Porters 2000 forum. As the chair, and with the support of members, he wrote to…

Purpose: This paper aims to report on evaluation studies of principles of course design for interactive multimedia learning materials. Design/methodology/approach: At the Defence Academy of the UK, Cranfield University has worked with military colleagues to produce multimedia learning materials for courses on "Military Knowledge". The…

Addressing connections between higher education and "industry" framed by UK government creative industries strategies, this article draws on research with games design students to explore their transition from being a student to being "industry-ready". The article introduces broader currents within higher education around…

Purpose: The aim of this article is to illustrate how employers have used more innovative "localised" strategies to address what appears to be "globalised" problems of attracting and retaining high calibre applicants with the appropriate "work ready" skills. Design/methodology/approach: A series of interviews were…

During this keynote presentation, I will describe the effects of globalisation and consider these, in turn, in the context of implications for career development services and practitioners. It will also include a look ahead to the changing needs of workers and the workplace in the 21st century as a result of "going global". The…

"The Media Teacher's Handbook" is an indispensible guide for all teachers, both specialist and non-specialist, delivering Media Studies and media education in secondary schools and colleges. It is the first text to draw together the three key elements of secondary sector teaching in relation to media study--the "theoretical",…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of an employee opinion survey and to evaluate its impact on the graduate training programme and associated employment relationships. Design/methodology/approach: The paper provides a detailed, longitudinal case study of one large-scale UK organisation. The approach recognises that…

This article presents evidence of the similarities and differences in the career paths of men and women who have achieved headships in UK independent coeducational schools. The research comprised a pilot study of interviews with nine female headteachers and a questionnaire sent to male and female heads of coeducational secondary schools. It…

This paper reports the initial findings of a study in the UK and the Republic of Ireland of teacher educators and teachers who are involved in promoting geography education in primary schooling. Following research by Buttimer, Chawla, McPartland, Palmer and others, it sought to investigate the connections between early formative life experiences…

Employability skills are central to gaining and keeping employment (e.g. whether paid or unpaid, as an employee or self employed) as well as career progression. The lack of such skills is regularly referred to as one reason for the United Kingdom's often cited long tail of underachievement. Employability skills are at the forefront of government…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider the under-representation of women in computing, information technology (IT) and information systems in most Western countries. This under-representation can only be detrimental to society. Design/methodology/approach: The authors discuss recently published studies on the under-representation of…

England's National College for School Leadership (NCSL) is probably unique in the scale on which its key national programmes are offered. This paper focuses on two of these programmes--Leading from the Middle and Leadership Pathways--which use blended learning models to cater for the leadership development needs of "middle leaders"…

This article reports on outcomes from a study funded by the National College for School Leadership designed to explore the factors that assist in the leadership development of teachers at a number of stages of their career development. More specifically, the study sought to identify issues associated with leadership talent identification,…