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From a little makeshift office at the back of the main room at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on Monday and Tuesday (March 9 and 10), I witnessed first-hand the incredible success of our first Annual Apprenticeship Conference.

A packed room heard from an incredible line-up of speakers during what was a great way to see in the beginning of National Apprenticeship Week 2015.

In this 16-page supplement, you will find our extensive coverage of the conference. We begin with an in-depth look at the breaking news of the conference — the education committee’s report on apprenticeships and traineeships for 16 to 19-year-olds, which chair Graham Stuart launched at the conference on Monday.

See coverage of his speech and reaction on page three, followed by an interview conducted by FE Week reporter Rebecca Cooney on page four, along with a roundup of the report’s recommendations.

We were privileged to have government apprenticeship ambassador Andrew Jones MP to open our conference, and extracts of his speech are set out on page five, along with an important update from Ofsted’s Lorna Fitzjohn.

Pages six and seven follow the same theme as day one of conference — funding and quality — and include insight from Skills Minister Nick Boles, concerns from the AoC and AELP about funding reform and information from civil servants Sue Husband and Jennifer Coupland.

On pages 10 and 11, day two’s theme of delivery, assessment and audit is presented, with the employers’ perspective and bits and pieces from Ofqual’s Julie Swan and government official Jayne McCann.

Page 12 is all about Labour’s policy offer, including speech coverage and an exclusive interview with Chuka Umunna, and we hear from sector leaders David Hughes and Stewart Segal on 13.

The last two pages are all about you – comments collected by FE Week reporter Paul Offord on day two.

All that remains is for me to thank my colleagues who made it happen, our partners, sponsors and speakers, and on behalf of FE Week, all the delegates who joined us. We hope to see you all again next year.