Job applications should be "age-neutral", with your skills being more important than the year in which you were born. That's according to the Employers' Forum on Age (EFA), which is campaigning for traditional CVs to be ditched in favour of skills-based profiles.

The EFA wants employers to adopt an age-neutral application form - such as the one it has devised - which removes all direct and indirect references to age, including chronological information.

"Employers should be making decisions based on skills rather than how young or old someone is. Forthcoming age discrimination legislation is a good catalyst for challenging the status quo," said Sam Mercer, director of the EFA.

The proposed form is divided into three sections: equal opportunities monitoring, which asks for date of birth; personal information, covering referees and residency details; and competency, which lists the skills required for the job. Recruiters responsible for shortlisting candidates will see only the competency-based part of the application form, which requires applicants to submit situations from their past work, educational or other experiences to demonstrate competency. This excludes dates.

Currently, the EFA and Thames Valley Police, among others, are piloting the form. For more details and a copy of the age-neutral application form, visit efa.org.uk

• In a bid to tackle unemployment among older people, and age discrimination in the workplace, a website for the over-50s has announced the creation of a free-for-all jobs board to help older jobseekers back into paid employment. "Many over-50s want to work but through no fault of their own have been made redundant," said Dale Lovell of website 50 Connect (50connect.co.uk). "Age discrimination in the workplace means it's increasingly difficult for older workers to find employment. We want to help people back into work by providing easy access to a range of job opportunities online."

Yes, it's official! You stay in your job - imperfect in many ways - because you like the people you work with. Research by Sterry Communications, the independent business communications specialist, shows that a massive 65% of employees said this was why they stayed with their current employer.

A happy 39% refrain from resigning because they find the work challenging and rewarding, and only 6% carry on because of perks and benefits. And few of those questioned said they stayed for the money (13%), but a tragic 22% admitted they stayed put because they found it too hard to find another job!

Volunteering is a voluntary activity - of course! - and people give freely of their time and energies for many reasons. Many become "employee volunteers", who take part in workplace-organised schemes to help local schools, charities, and social benefit organisations. But if you've never felt tempted to offer your skills and experience outside the workplace, perhaps this may persuade you. Business in the Community has launched "Volunteering Plus", a new and innovative service to accredit the work of employee volunteers.

This means that you can receive formal recognition for your volunteering efforts, and the skills you gain can become part of your portfolio of professional development. "Volunteering Plus" will be accredited by the Assessment and Qualifications Association (AQA), the UK's largest qualifications body.

All awards are offered on two levels: Certificates of Recognition, which are broadly equivalent to NVQ levels 1 to 3; and Certificates of Accreditation, which are broadly equivalent to NVQ levels 4 and 5. "Volunteering Plus" recognises a wide variety of activities, which include leading community team challenges, helping local schoolchildren with reading skills, managers sharing skills with a local charity, or staff acting as mentors to ex-homeless jobseekers.

Research shows that volunteers can boost their business skills in many areas, such as leadership, motivation, management and problem-solving, as well as increasing their knowledge and interaction with local communities.

Business in the Community is a movement of over 750 member companies, which aims to inspire and challenge business continually to improve its positive impact in the community and workplace. For more details on "Volunteering Plus" visit bitc.org.uk/volunteeringplus

• The launch of "Volunteering Plus" co-incides with a new report from the Institute for Volunteering Research, which shows that volunteering has a positive impact on both the individual and the business. More than 20,000 Barclays employees from around the world took part in community activities in 2003, and managers testified to the huge and positive boost this gave the business. The biggest improvements were in communications (61 per cent) and leadership skills (56 per cent). Skills levels also increased the more people did it, with 56 per cent of those who had volunteered four times or more reporting that their decision-making skills had improved.

Congratulations to Valerie Woolford, a PA for Centro in Birmingham, who has won a free training course worth £895 from IIR Management Courses. Valerie will be able to take up a free place on the "Project management for PAs and Executive Assistants" course.

The intensive two-day course explores how to implement projects while juggling an existing workload, how to determine clear objectives, negotiating and influencing skills, and much more. So, Valerie will have an opportunity to really brush up her project management skills. DeskDemon Express is grateful to IIR Management for donating this excellent course place. If you'd like to find out more about IIR Management courses, visit iirmanagementcourses.com

But that's not all! Five other lucky winners will also be able to bring some brightness into their gloomy winter offices - the following subscribers have all won a boxed "Lagoon" set of desktop accessories, from Leitz. The set includes a letter tray, magazine file and pencil pot, and matching stapler and perforator. So well indeed done to:

Christine Pavlis, a Practice Co-ordinator for HSBC Actuaries and Consultants in Manchester; Mary Slade, an Executive PA for Western Sussex Primary Care Trust in Chichester; Christine Hembling, PA to the General Manager for BT in Suffolk; Nicky Williamson, a Client Services Manager for RightCoutts in Hampshire; and Kathleen Richardson, Office Manager at the North East Innovation Centre.

We have more give-aways in this issue of DeskDemon Express - don't miss them!

If you're stressed in your job, you're not alone. It seems the condition is on the increase. The number of workers suffering from stress has risen this year, according to a survey by the TUC. Three in five workers (58 per cent) now complain of being stressed at work, an increase of two per cent from 2002.

To co-incide with the recent "Stress Awareness Day", on 3 November, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched its new approach to help bosses to manage the risks of workplace stress. The new "Management Standards for Work-related Stress" aim to provide clear advice for employers to follow. These Standards highlight the components of good organisation, job design and management that keep stress levels in check and enhance productivity.

Along with the Standards, the HSE has developed a benchmarking tool to help managers gauge stress levels, compare themselves with other organisations, and work with employees to identify solutions. According to the TUC, these standards are the most effective tool an employer can use to help end the epidemic of stress related illness.

For full details, visit hse.gov.uk/stress

Don't forget that the closing date for DeskDemon Express' Guest Editor competition is November 30, so get your entries in soon. And don't be daunted - editor Penny Cottee will be with you every step of the way. You just come to us with your great ideas of what you'd like to see in DeskDemon Express, and we'll help you make them a reality.

Full details of the Guest Editor competition can be found at www.deskdemon.com/pages/nl/39/guesteditor