by Antti Kapanen
“Employability Skills” become more and more important for young academics, especially if they are not European and want to work in very mature markets like the German labour market. The Berlin based technical University HTW teaches international graduates how to do it.
By Stefanie Claudia Müller, Madrid
Since the new leftwing local government was formed in Madrid the city is experimenting positive changes for entrepreneurs and young professionals. First of all the citizens can participate better in decision making processes and control the use of their taxes. The budget and its revenues and spendings will be published in realtime. Besides, an independent auditing company is checking right now all the contracts the city has ongoing and where money can be saved by changing providers or conditions. All the ongoing processes in this respect can be followed on the webpage of the city. Modern Madrid is very much on its way.
An elevator pitch is a short, informative and concise overview of an idea for a service or a product, and can be understood as an “elevator presentation“. In the past young career-minded salespeople used the duration of an elevator ride, to convince their superiors of their projects. The superiors can then evaluate the quality of an idea and the founding team member often based on the quality of the elevator pitches so as to weed out poor ideas quickly. We believe this formula is very appropriate for the online labour market; because there are so many candidates, anything that quickens the pace and makes the job easier for employers is a plus!
Queen Elizabeth II is the longest serving monarch in British history. She acceded to the throne on February 6th 1952, meaning that Queen Victoria’s record of 23,226 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes has already been broken. This milestone has already begun to reignite debates about the Monarchy’s future and whether it is an asset or a drain on the British economy. Brand Finance found out that the Monarchy’s value is at that point to be in excess of £44 billion (US$67bn). Brand Finance’s latest update to that figure suggests that as the Queen becomes Britain’s longest reigning sovereign, the institution that she leads is more valuable than ever. It is now worth just under £57 billion (US$87bn) and will make a net contribution to the economy this year of £1.155bn (US$1.767bn). But how are are monarchy and wealth related, really?
Brand Finance has estimated the value of the Monarchy, often known colloquially as ‘The Firm’, as if it were a business. First, the annual contribution to the UK economy has been estimated. Costs such as the Sovereign Grant, security and maintenance of palaces have been netted off against sources of income including the uplift to tourism, the price premium commanded by brands with Royal Warrants, the surplus generated by the Crown Estate. This net annual contribution amounts to £1.155 (US$1.767bn) in 2015.When this contribution is projected into perpetuity, it has a net present value of £36.7 billion (US$56bn). To this are added The Firm’s tangible assets (the Crown Estate, the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster and the Crown Jewels) to reach a total of £56.7 billion (US$86.7bn): “A Royal Warrant can confer a significant premium to brands in certain industries such as luxury, food, sporting goods and fashion, yet are currently awarded at no cost to the holder. The introduction of royalties could provide a significant new revenue stream.
Young students very often do not know where or in what they want to work. Bridging the distance between the corporate and academic world can often be a hard struggle. Students often start studying Economics, law or languages without having a clear job in mind. We help them to get things right, to know where to go and how to express it in a professional way. We show where young qualified people are needed in Europe, what the candidates need to bring and how to get there.