What happened to the job market in 2011?

Well, we've an idea - at least for the countryside sector. 
We've just completed the analysis of the vacancies we advertised during 2011.  Nothing too earth shattering, here are the main outlines:

• Slightly fewer available posts than 2010.
• Most vacancies were with charities and non-profit making employers.
• The number for public sector employers fell again.  
• No significant change in numbers of the main CJS type of job roles (rangers, ecologists, countryside officers and environmental educators).
• Increase in the number of promotional posts, membership recruiters and similar.
• Increase in the number of trainee and apprenticeships available.
• More short or fixed term contracts and 
• Fewer full time permanent posts.

Find out more by downloading our basic analysis document.

What is it with these highly bred, highly strung animals?

Finnegan (occasional office hound) is once again wearing a smart green bandage, on Wednesday he decided he didn't want to be left alone ever again and as punishment for being abandoned he would lick open the newly healed gash in his back leg, in the space of 20 minutes it was open and freely flowing again.  Out came the dressings and vet wrap again.  On the same day one of Deputy Ed TB's horses turned into a tripod  - temporarily we assume.  So we'd like to introduce you:

This is Titian, writes TB.  He’s an ex-racehorse and he’ll be 20 years old in May. He wasn’t very good at racing, not because he wasn’t fast, he was.  He just doesn’t like going in front, he prefers to stay at the back, following the crowd.  Also, he absolutely hates being stabled or put in a horsebox, so that made the racing lifestyle a bit of a problem for him.  I don’t know why they persevered so long, he just ended up a nervous wreck, and probably his stable lad too!

Nowadays he spends his days standing around eating hay with his pals.  No stables involved. A much more suitable occupation he thinks.  I bought him to do some dressage 11 years ago, but it wasn’t to be.  I soon discovered he was prone to hoof abscesses.  Just when we were getting somewhere he would develop another one and that was it.  No foot no horse.  Eventually I just gave up and resigned myself to the situation. Retirement.  Good job I’ve got four more equines!

Yesterday morning I found him on three legs yet again. Time to get out the poultice equipment.  I’m getting quite skilled at it, it’s all the practice.  The trouble is if you put him in a stable he goes berserk with panic.  So the poultice goes on, all nice and hygienic, and then out he goes into the mud.  Here’s a photo of him this morning waiting to go out with his nice new poultice.  It could be a lot worse (and often has been).  The weather’s been so dry around here that the mud is usually much worse at this time of year.

Also, the pus is flowing freely (yuck!).  I must be one of the very few people whose day is cheered up by its appearance!  He’s on four legs again now, just about.

So now back to the office, the week's edition is now printing, all 14 pages of it.  It will be live online for digital readers very soon. This week there are 37 new paid posts of which 31 came direct to CJS, also 15+ volunteer placements and the Practical Work Days Schedule for March.

Cost of postage and CJS Subs

We received notification today from Royal Mail that they are intending to increase the cost of postage from 2 April.  However, until Ofcom publishes their final decision they can't say by how much or which services will be affected.  The Ofcom report is not due until mid to late March.  In other words very little notice of what could be a 50% (or even more for first class) increase.
One thing that has been confirmed is that the service we use to send the big envelopes (the A4 ones) will be subject to VAT on top of any increase; fortunately we don't use too many of those any more.  Long term subscribers will remember when everything arrived in A4 flats, we shudder to think what the postage would be for those and that number of them too.
As far as CJS is concerned as soon as we know what the new rates will be and how that will affect subscriptions we will tell you. We will keep to our four week notice period and should Royal Mail give us only a few days notice we will carry any additional costs during that time.  However, it looks like postal subscriptions will have to increase to cover the additional postage but we don't see any reason to change electronic subscriptions (unless VAT changes in the April budget but we'll deal that one then!).
We're looking at alternatives for postal subscriptions including considering switching to second class.  If you've any thoughts please do let us know.

CJS Focus on Volunteering

CJS Focus on Volunteering published today.

30 pages including adverts for 115+ placements as well as listings for some of the many volunteer projects and organisations across the country.
Endorsed by NATUR, CMA and SCRA.
Articles:
> Volunteering Pays, how volunteering helped lead to a paid post. James Elliott, Countryside Ranger at Cameron House
> Volunteering can be a valuable first step to working in the great outdoors, from JobCentre Plus, Department for Work and pensions. Includes information on what benefits you can claim whilst volunteering and what criteria you must fulfil.
> A holiday with a difference, The National Trust.  Information on working conservation holidays at their properties.
> Architects to Archivists, South and West Wales Wildlife Trust. Some of the more unusual ways of volunteering.
> Some Golden Rules of Volunteer Management, Association of Volunteer Managers. Some of the key things to consider to ensure you volunteer management delivers for your organisation and your volunteers.
> Volunteer trends, changes in volunteering noticed by CJS and by volunteer managers
> Volunteering for a small charity, the vital role played by volunteers at an independent charity, Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust
Read it in full here.

Thought provoking news headlines

On Wednesday the RSPB had a lovely press release about the boost to reed bunting numbers in Cambridgeshire, read all about it here.  Wonderful news, however their headline created a slightly different reaction:

There then followed a rather surreal conversation about giant birds, end of the world and finally into Hollywood disaster movies with some birdy names (Martin Scorsese, Russell Crowe - as the Birdinator - Ryan Gosling and more).  One thing's for sure, it got us talking but probably not how RSPB intended.
If you're interested in our pick of the news you can read it online here.
Or follow our twitter news stream @CountrysideNews which has lots of retweets and tweets of interest that don't quite make the Headlines page.

This week's Weekly has gone to press in two sections, there's the usual CJS Weekly which this week is 19 pages including the April Training Calendar as well as all the jobs, 50 this week of which 42 came direct to CJS plus 18 volunteer placements.  However the larger section this week is CJS Focus on Volunteering, 30 pages.  It will be online for non-subscribers on Monday so watch out for announcements.

Brr, it really was cold

It's been so cold the river froze! 
This is the River Esk just across the road from Deputy Ed TB's house in Egton Bridge. 

Looking upstream









and downstream towards the village.  



 

Upstream is much shallower and usually quite turbulent around the rocks (just visible at the top of the picture).  Downstream the river is channelled, much deeper and therefore generally more calm and but more prone to icing up along the edges. Even so it still froze right across and for quite a distance, we're not sure if we'd fancy trying to walk across it to the pub though!

In past years when it's frozen it's been a solid brown, clear ice sheet but because the weather has been so up and down with periods of snow and sleet followed by sub-zero temperatures it's ended up this odd opaque grey colour.

Friday - again

How did that happen, where did the week go?
Well, fortunately it didn't disappear under a heap of snow.  The rumoured eight inch fall overnight never arrived, there was a covering of approx 3 inches this morning and although the skies looked very threatening no more has fallen and the overnight fall began to melt but as the clouds cleared the sky is now high and blue and temperatures are once again plummeting.
It's coming to something when there's a hen blackbird marching up and down the window sills, even following you from room to room, demanding more food!  No chance of our current flock going hungry.
Small excitement / worry this morning. Part-time office dog Finnegan (the foolish) was so excited by a visitor knocking on the door that he kicked over a table and in the process gouged a hole in his off-hind hock.  A bit of fur clipping, a few bowls of clean water, a large piece of dressing and lots of vetwrap later he's fine and very proud of his fetching green ankle bracelet.  It really is just what you want on a very busy Friday morning, oh well at least we managed to avoid a trip across the snowy moors to the vets.

Deputy Editor TB has broken her all time record and this week has typed up 85 vacancies (not all for this week's Weekly, some are for next week's Focus), her fingers have been worn down to stumps and the keyboard is smoking.  Time for a well earned weekend off.
AW has given the Weekly back to HB today as she's busy working on the Focus, due out next Monday (20th) - so we're dreaming up ways we can change it before we give it back! You'll see that we've already implemented one, we hope you approve.
The latest edition is now online and has gone to print.  This week there are 18 pages containing 86 new paid posts of which 66 came direct to CJS there are also details of 20+ volunteer placements plus six pages of news and comment.

Ah, tomorrow could be interesting

Winter has arrived and it really means it.  Bitterly cold overnight and the underfoot conditions were dire this morning, sheets of ice everywhere.  A little bit of thawing and the sleet started at lunch time, but by two it had turned to proper snow and it's not stopped.  Deputy Ed TB usually calls in on Thursday afternoon but very wisely decided to stay at home working remotely.
Local rumours suggest up to eight inches over night are possible even probable depending upon who you're talking to.
Tomorrow morning we may be a little short staffed!

CJS Monthly: February edition now online.

The latest edition of CJS Monthly is now online, read it in full here: http://www.countryside-jobs.com/cjsmonthly/Monthly.htm   (you may need to refresh your browser)

Jobs advertised in this Month's edition:
Senior Ranger, Countryside Team - Bournemouth Parks, Bournemouth Borough Council
Conservation Policy Officer, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
Education and Events Assistant, Nene Park Trust
Visitor Centre & Business Development Manager and Finance & Admin Officer both with The Greensand Trust
Natural Assets Project Surveyor, Gwent Wildlife Trust

Other adverts:
Employers sought to offer immediate apprenticeships in Horticulture or Trees and Timber, Capel Manor College

Campaign information, petitions and notices:
>  How good a photographer are you?  British Wildlife Photography Awards: Call for entries, from 1 February
>   One day Conference on the Welsh Government's Green paper, Sustaining a Living Wales. 28 February 2012 organised by NATUR.

Top headlines from the past month: Click here to read

Training Calendar for April is 6 pages Click here to read

Blizzard of birds

One of our news stories today is from BTO commenting on the much heard lament, "why weren't you here last week for the garden birdwatch!"  It has been noticed, pretty much everywhere, that with the colder weather and snowy conditions gardens are teeming with greater numbers and species of birds than last week.  Read what BTO have to say here.
We've been grumbling along with many other watchers.  On Sunday at approximately the same time as our official birdwatch the previous week and whilst not logging every every bird in half an hour we estimate we saw around a dozen goldfinches, 15 house sparrows an even mix of male and female, six or so tree sparrows, ten long-tail tits, six blackbirds, interestingly four were male and only two female, also five brambling again more males than females. One song thrush, a regular visitor but failed to make the proper count, our regular three robins, a couple of wrens and several dunnock plus the usual wood pigeon and collared doves.  An exciting 'extra' was a redwing desperately searching the cotoneaster and holly for any remaining berries, it gave up and hopped about under the bird feeders with the blackbirds - I'm not sure who was more surprised.  Although there were tits around there were not as many we thought there would be and the great tits were conspicuous by their absence but the marshy-willow tit (I know BTO have a wonderful new ID video but the blithering bird won't stay still long enough to see if it has a white spot on its upper bill, so marshy-willow it stays!) flitted back and forth between feeders and hedge.
Not to mention so many chaffinches and greenfinches they were impossible to count - so perhaps it was just as well we did our birdwatch last week.
Perhaps RSPB could organise the weather for next year's count to be nice and cold and maybe a little snowy just for the weekend you understand!

Friday arrives

At last, somehow it seems to have been a long week, very productive with all sorts of things going on in the background, some almost reaching completion - you'll find out about those in due course.
Latest Weekly has now gone to press, this week there are 14 pages with 51 new paid posts of which 42 came direct to CJS.  There are also 9+ volunteer placements.  Lots of news this week headed up by details of World Wetlands Day which was Thursday.  There's also information about the Photography awards, read more here.  Online copies will be live shortly and paper ones, post allowing, will be with you on Monday.  Still no update on Royal Mail's proposed postage rate increase.

How good a photographer are you?

Open from today: British Wildlife Photography Awards

Your chance to win a prestigious photography award and cash prize of £5,000. With an overall prize fund worth £20,000, winners and commended entrants will have their work showcased in a national touring exhibition and stunning book, published by AA Publishing.

Find out more, download an entry form and submit your photos all at: www.bwpawards.org

Once again CJS is sponsoring the Habitat category, this is last year's winner from Ian Paul Haskell