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Companies loosen job requirements, but are they going too far?
Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementUnemployment is at historically low rates, which is great for employees and the economy. However, when the job market is at — or past — full employment, companies struggle to recruit workers. "In short, companies cannot hire and keep the talent they need," explains Ian Cook, Vice President of People Solutions at Visier. In fact, according to a new survey by Adecco USA, 37% of companies have loosened job requirements to hire in a tight labor market.
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A former landfill is Maryland’s first community solar farm
Scott E. Rupp Facilities & GroundsA hole in the ground that recently contained nothing but our post-consumable unmentionables is receiving a new life as an energy production facility in Maryland. In Fort Washington, a landfill has been transformed into the state’s first large-scale community solar farm, NPR affiliate WAMU-FM reports. Conceived in 2017, the transformation is the result of a pilot running through next year, which is designed to "expand accessibility to solar energy for state residents," WAMU-FM says.
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US payrolls add 128,000 jobs; unemployment rate rises to 3.6%
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIn October, total U.S. nonfarm payrolls added 128,000 new hires, as the unemployment rate rose to 3.6% from 3.5% in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment growth has averaged 167,000 per month in 2019. Federal government employment dropped by 17,000 in October, as temporary workers ended their assignments for the 2020 Census. Further, the now-resolved General Motors strike reduced automotive employment in October.
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The blame game surrounding Boeing’s 737 Max debacle
Michelle R. Matisons Transportation Technology & AutomotiveOct. 29 marked one year since the Lion Air crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 that killed 189 people in Indonesia. We can directly blame a company’s financial priorities, company employees who decided to leave information out of training manuals, an agency that watched its inspection autonomy wither over decades, or investors pressuring Boeing to compete with France’s Airbus. Or, we can blame all of the above. The international public and crash victims’ families have initiated investigations, released a report, and are pursuing legal action. But will safety concerns trickle down to real-world changes?
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UAW strike ends with ratified agreement, but 3 GM plants close
Michelle R. Matisons Transportation Technology & AutomotiveOn Oct. 25, the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) achieved a new, four-year contract with General Motors (GM) in a vote of 57% to 43%. During this time, UAW also ratified an Aramark janitorial contract at five GM Ohio and Michigan locations. This latest strike produced mixed results that were highly dependent on workers’ locations. While outsourcing and plant downsizing keep manufacturing jobs below optimal national levels, GM workers will largely enjoy improvements in labor conditions.
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Infographic: Optimizing reputation management with AI
Brian Wallace Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementCustomers read the reviews, but it's not enough to have good reviews. Those reviews also have to be believable. Your company's online reputation can make or break your business, and your ratings even influence your ranking in searches. Increasing your company's ratings from three to five stars can increase your visibility on Google by up to 25%. Learn more with this infographic.
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The UK grapples with its low-carbon heating future
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingWhilst the subject of Brexit is weighing heavily on the minds of U.K. politicians, the heating industry has an equally seismic change of culture to deal with — no less than the prospect of wholesale technology change as it bids to build a low-carbon heating infrastructure. One of the last legislative decisions by former Prime Minister Theresa May was to commit the U.K. to "net zero" carbon emissions by 2050. It is accepted by the HVAC industry that such a stiff target cannot be reached without radically changing its technology approach. What the technology approach should be is currently the subject of fierce debate.
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Global goods giant commits to drastically reducing plastic packaging by…
Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & EnvironmentalGlobal consumer goods giant Unilever has announced an aggressive program to reduce the level of plastic waste it creates through the use of its products. According to a statement by the company, it is making efforts to create a "circular economy" for plastics. These efforts are mostly commitments between the brand and those it serves. Specifically, by 2025, it says it plans to reduce its use of virgin plastic — plastic that has never been used for any other purposes nor has been previously recycled — by half. It will also reduce its use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 total tons.
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Surveys: High school graduates need more life skills, less test prep
Sheilamary Koch EducationReal-world skills warrant more emphasis in high school claim students, employers, parents and other adults in three nationwide surveys conducted this June. While 83% of the students surveyed do plan to go to college, they’d like to see less focus on college-entry exams and more on practical skills like personal finance and tax preparation. The surveys, funded by the Kansas City, Missouri-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, polled a demographically diverse sampling of over 2,000 people from across the country.
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All eyes on ‘very low GWP’ HFOs in the UK
Andrew Gaved RetailRefrigeration experts in the U.K. have called for the industry to embrace the potential of "lower flammability" hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO) blends, as the F-Gas regulations continue to drive the European market towards lower-carbon solutions — and as the Kigali amendment begins to do the same for the global market. The call has been driven by supermarket giant Asda (part of the Walmart group), which has successfully conducted an in-store installation with the refrigerant R454A, an HFO with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 238.
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