KBzine: the original kitchen and bathroom industry e-news - since 2002
18th March 2011
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International News
Products Mereway Kitchens inspirational new spring 2011 Launch - an introduction
KitchenAid adds revolutionary finish to gas hob range
Whirlpool's new tumble dryers take drying to a new level
by Chervana Hobbs
'From megawatts to negawatts: taking the energy out of buildings'
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Welcome to the Figures released yesterday underline the fact that the UK clearly has a serious youth unemployment problem, but severe difficulty is being felt by only a relative minority of young people and the current situation is not worse than ever before, as many in the press would have us believe. The widespread perception that one in five, 16 - 24 year olds are unemployed is based on a narrow and somewhat misleading interpretation of official statistics while talk of a 'lost generation' of young jobless people is simplistic.
This is the key conclusion from the latest Work Audit report on official labour market statistics - Getting the measure of youth unemployment - published earlier this week by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. According to the CIPD it is at present more accurate to say that one in eight rather than one in five 16 - 24 year olds are unemployed. And the Institute is calling on the ONS and the Department for Work & Pensions to issue a joint statement on the measurement of youth unemployment to help establish a better informed policy narrative on causes of and solutions to the problem. "Aside from ensuring that fiscal and monetary policy are conducive to growth and job generation," says Dr John Philpott, Chief Economic Adviser, CIPD, "the principle policy focus should be on how best to reduce underlying structural youth unemployment which is probably close to the 9% - 10% rate observed prior to the recession and likely to persist even when the demand for labour eventually picks up. "Especially worrying in this respect is the observation that core youth unemployment is not only far worse than desirable but itself appears to have had been getting worse for a few years prior to the recession, suggesting that either the employability of the core youth jobless is deficient and/or that the cost of employing them is too high relative to their labour market value. "This implies the need for faster progress on vocational skills and welfare policy, a thorough review of the effect of the national minimum wage on youth employment and an assessment of the case for reducing national insurance contributions for employers hiring young people with limited skills." Well that wouldn't hurt this industry, would it?
Yours,
 Jan Hobbs
This Week's News
kbb London inspires with educational seminar programme kbb London's seminar programme is set to attract plenty of show visitors, with topical discussions and debates on the hot issues at the heart of the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom design industry. The free seminar sessions will run alongside the exhibition, which launches this year from 15th - 17th May 2011 at the ExCeL, London. AEG Neue Kollektion product ranges win iF Design Awards
The awards were for the following product ranges: New Polypipe Ventilation catalogue makes specifcation easy Polypipe Ventilation's new catalogue details its full range of energy-saving domestic and light commercial ventilation systems. This is the first catalogue from the company to incorporate not only Polypipe and Domus product offerings but also the Silavent range of fans acquired by the group last year. Showerwall and Showerlux join forces for a complete solution
Bushboard invests almost £2m in the future of worktops
Overloading only increases costs further, warns Swinton Commercial More van and light goods vehicle operators may be unwittingly increasing their fuel and running costs and reducing their safety by overloading their vehicles, according to Swinton Commercial Insurance. The warning comes as a survey of 1200 customers online, conducted by Swinton Van Insurance, discovered that 67% of van drivers are overloading their vehicles, with only 13% of van drivers regularly cleaning out their vans to help maximise fuel efficiency. Methven launches Maia Skincare Shower
New from Chamber Furniture: a bespoke black American walnut lined wine cellar
The company's versatility as a highly acclaimed bespoke kitchen and furniture maker is illustrated perfectly here with the clients' brief being for their extensive collection of vintage wine to be stored somewhere that they could also have wine and cheese tastings with their friends. The cellar had to be beautiful as well as practical! EU ministers back moderate ambitions on electronic waste After the European Parliament last month called for an ambitious 85% e-waste collection target as from 2016, EU environment ministers this week backed European Commission proposals for a 65% quota and postponed its implementation by four years. SuperWhite WR Flex available now from Ultra Tile
Cleaning and maintenance of wall and floor tiles impact on costs In determining the total cost of any type of wall or floor finish, it is necessary to take into account the expense of cleaning maintenance and renewal. This is more important in commercial specifications but design life costs are a powerful argument for selling ceramic and natural stone tiles in domestic situations. A Technical Working Group of The Tile Association has prepared a new technical document ,'The Cleaning and Maintenance of Wall and Floor Tiles'. Government rolls out red carpet for entrepreneurs and investors Foreign entrepreneurs and investors are being given extra incentive to come to the UK after the Home Office announced new visa rules this week that will reward those who will contribute to economic growth. Shower Doctor sees surge in en suites Staying in is the new going out; particularly in the bathroom. With the economic crisis meaning we're all tightening our belts, it seems we are turning to enhancing the most relaxing part of our home to create our own personal retreats and spas; with the most popular idea at the top of the redesign list being the en suite bathroom. An encouraging 57% of people who were interviewed as part of a Shower Doctor survey stated that although they do not yet have an en suite; compared with 43% who do, this is something they hope to have at some point in the future - hopefully in 2011. The KBzine Archive Search We keep an extensive archive of news stories and product information that have featured in past issues of The KBzine. If you would like to run a search of the The KBzine web site using the search tool below please just go ahead by entering in the name of the person, product or company or any other key words that you are looking for. News in Brief K Kitchens' new 60,000sq ft warehouse in Manchester boasts a £3 million stock holding. T: 0800 8 77 88 99 Neff has opened a new Learning Centre at its Head Offices in Milton Keynes to give dealers first-hand experience of the Neff appliance collection - cookery school included! T: 0844 892 8989 Gorenje has published its 2011 kitchen appliances brochure. T: 0208 247 3980 Bauhaus has launched a space-maximising, fashionable Elite Walnut bathroom furniture range, which frees up valuable room inches even in a smallest bathroom. Tel: 0845 873 8840 Today's the final day 'trade-only' at ISH, which features the best in bathrooms, air-conditioning technology and renewable energies. If you can't make it to the 2,400-plus exhibitors today, you can of course join the general public tomorrow! T: +49 69 75 75 - 0
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Polypipe fined after worker injured by fork lift truck Polypipe has been fined after a fork lift truck that had been lowering a cage containing two workers to the ground, hit one of the men. OHSAS 18001 certification for British Tile Manufacturer British Ceramic Tile is proud to announce its recent certification to OHSAS 18001:2007 - the internationally recognised assessment specification for occupational health & safety management systems. Environmental support for food waste disposers The Chartered Institution of Water & Environmental Management (CIWEM) has issued a Policy Position Statement supporting the use of food waste disposers in the management of food waste from kitchens. Vac from the Sea competition winner joins expedition
Brit Liggett, a 26 year old blogger from Brooklyn, New York, wins the Electrolux and 5 Gyres competition, where first prize is becoming a crew member on the forthcoming 5 Gyres research expedition through the Beagle Channel in March. Get your business on track with help from new tools Around 40% of SMEs in the UK - two million businesses - do not keep adequate records, even though they are legally bound to keep them, to make sure they make a correct income tax or corporation tax self assessment return. Failure to take reasonable care in record-keeping leads to a loss of around £6.5billion in tax every year. People
Ellis Furniture welcomes new marketing manager
Marketing
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