Jackie Hartley’s BLOG

I got to thinking the other day about the careers advice I have been given in my life (by Careers Advisers) and whether it was any good or not. Interestingly I can remember my interview in school when I was told (well maybe not told, but that is how I remember it ) that […]

Just finished reading Cormac McCarthy’s book, No Country for Old Men. It is a quick, violent, disturbing read - a crime thriller centred around a massive drugs deal that has gone wrong. In the book McCarthy ruminates on the way drugs and drug dealers seem to exist outside the law and any moral framework of […]

I have decided that, actually, I don’t much like Christmas. I tend not to see much of my family (it’s a long story which I don’t care to repeat) which makes it hard for me to get into the swing of things (I have much better family gatherings at regular intervals throughout the year, but […]

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Had our annual Christmas day walk in the Dales. Gosh it’s lovely up there. The moss covered dry stone walls are absolutely beautiful and a sign of really clean air. Interestingly, we saw more walkers […]

We had a really good night last week at the local Creative Network. I was asked to compere a Christmas Quiz, which was good fun and then we asked the teams to write Christmas carols, using the traditional tunes but with lyrics about the Creative Network. I sang a couple I had made up to […]

The highs

watching my 2 year old grandson play Joseph in his playgroup nativity play
putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it
having fairy lights dotted around the house like little clusters of twinkling stars at this gloomy time of year
looking forward to a break from working
great home cooked food, special meals and eat ins with friends […]

Just reading Teacher man by Frank McCourt and it is making me laugh out loud. Anyone who describes teenagers in a classroom as being like heat seeking missiles that are looking to lock on to your weak spot and blow you out of the water has obviously been a secondary school teacher. Lovely.

Apparently, only half of young people entering apprenticeships actually complete them. This is according to a report from David Sherlock, Chairman of the Adult Learning Inspectorate. The worst affected areas? Hospitality, health, retails and sports and leisure. The reason? Because people move around a lot in these industries and often cannot take a part completed […]

According to an article in the Guardian, our economy could enjoy a £80bn boost over 30 years if we had the skilled people needed to deliver it. Lord Leitch has just conducted a review for Gordon Brown (why they keep needing reviews and reports to state the obvious is beyond me, but hey) in which […]

With only a couple of weeks to go to Christmas the temptation to abandon ship and go shopping is enormous. So it’s a little ironic that the pack I am working on at the moment, Developing Young People’s Skills for Work, entails that I ‘anglicise’ an American publication which looks hard at the skills employers […]