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Barrie Hopson and John Hayes, together and in combination with others, have already made a considerable contribution to the theory and practice of self‐evaluation and career planning in this country. Together in their book The Theory and Practice of Vocational Guidance, they made available scarce articles on the subject which previously had been difficult and expensive to obtain. In Careers Guidance they provided what has become the cookbook on developing a guidance service; and although this was primarily meant for schools it will be found on the bookshelves of most further and higher education advisers. Hopson, with Patricia Hough, began to broaden his whole concept of self‐exploration for planning ahead in Exercises in Personal and Career Development; and this latest volume Transition shows a further development in their thinking on the subject.

Extracts from a recent BBC ‘phone‐in series in which education experts answer parents’ questions.

Companies need to redefine value for money in the context of training and find new ways of matching employer and employee development needs. So said delegates at the Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD) 1996 Human Resource Development Week. Highlights some of the debates.

Discusses, in this special issue, material grouped under four main headings: tomorrow’s executive challenges; effective organizational learning; the virtual university model; and effective training capabilities. The items included are brief and to the point allowing the reader to take on board ranges of ideas and issues. Includes studies on IKEA; mentoring; Whitbread; Polaroid; BAA; Sema Group; Starbucks and McDonalds, among others.

There are many different views and opinions held about the value of training. Some people, of course, reach the top without any formal training whatsoever and expect others to do the same. This is all well and good if, presumably, you are able to train yourself. Most need the support of formally organized training courses or continuous learning, working on the assumption that there are always things to learn. It does not matter how old or experienced you are, there will always be a gap in your knowledge that requires attention. Beware the people who know it all as they will be the ones who have the blind spots and just cannot see trouble ahead. If these people are at the top of the organization and just happened to be in the right place at the right time, which could happen if an organization has been particluarly successful, then this could have disastrous consequences on the business. Business means change, and if you cannot cope or are not prepared to accept or adapt to this change, the end result is inevitable.

Candidates for ‘O’ and ‘A’‐level examinations of the GCE Examining Board of Oxford University will, in future, be entered by a simple method using Information Technology. The new scheme developed with the Millfield School at Street in Somerset is a refinement of the existing system which involves sending computer discs through the post. A school has only to connect its microcomputer by telephone to the Oxford computer and information is passed quickly and accurately. More than 500 schools are currently sending their entries by post on a computer disc, which results in considerable savings for both parties.

No sphere of human endeavour is quite so fraught with fashionable catch‐phrases, jargon or gimmickry than that of education, and there are times when the teacher in the classroom must yearn for some relief from the seemingly endless barrage of new and often ill‐considered ploys which the educational pundits expect to have tried out, evaluated, and discussed in an age of all too rapid change in educational methods and techniques. One of the most common devices at present finding increasing favour is that of gaming, simulation and role‐play, and such is the growing popularity of these techniques that many publishers are wasting no time in climbing on the band‐wagon. If teachers are to accept that such methods are educationally viable then certain educational criteria must be satisfied, and if the careers teacher is to accept them as part of a careers education programme then they must clearly foster the objectives and themes of careers education.

1. Success is Goals The people who become successful are the people who set goals. The optimal planning periods appear to be three months and three years. What job will you be doing three years from now? How much money will you be earning? Where will you be working? What are the skills you will require to achieve your career goals? Will you need to learn about business strategy, marketing, finance, pension funds, people skills? Finally, why do you want to achieve these career goals? What is it you really want in life? Is it a beautiful home, car, better health, happy family, worthy goals, a terrific feeling of well being?

Success is achieving one's goals. To become successful goal setting is essential. The very small number of people who set believable goals are the same very small number of people who become successful. These successful people use the mental laws which prevail in the world of achievement to get what they want.