FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Professor Wolf says more to be done on employer involvement

Professor Alison Wolf has called for more to be done to involve employers in college assessment and delivery after the government reported for the last time on progress in implementing reforms in her 2011 review of vocational education. She also stood by her study programmes recommendation, which has prompted a rise in the number of […]

Sector chief tells of jobs fear as providers face 24pc funding cut

Association of Colleges chief executive Martin Doel (pictured) has told of his fears that more job losses could be about to sweep away FE and skills staff after it was announced provider budgets would be slashed by up to 24 per cent. He said that with the average college having made 105 redundancies since 2009/10, […]

AoC chief calls on Labour to use tuition fee cut funding to benefit FE

Labour should use extra funding pledged to reduce university tuition fees to help support the FE sector, Association of Colleges (AoC) chief executive Martin Doel has said. Responding to Labour leader Ed Miliband’s announcement today that his party would reduce the cap on tuition fees charged by higher education institutions from £9,000 to £6,000 a-year, […]

FE Week launches 2015 survey — prizes on offer for your opinions

It’s that time again! The second annual FE Week survey launches today with the aim of taking the sector’s pulse and delivering the results just in time for the general election on May 7. And just like last year you could win an iPad Air and an FE Week subscription just for taking part. The […]

Dr Lynne Sedgmore to step down from 157 Group executive director role

Dr Lynne Sedgmore today announced plans to retire from her executive director’s role at the 157 Group later this year. She has served in the role for seven years and her retirement will bring to an end 35 years working in the FE sector. She told FE Week: “I have loved my 35 years in the sector and […]

FE Week launches 2015 survey — prizes on offer for your opinions

Visit here to take part in the 2015 survey. It’s that time again! The second annual FE Week survey launches today with the aim of taking the sector’s pulse and delivering the results just in time for the general election on May 7. And just like last year you could win an iPad Air and an […]

Number of young people not in education, employment or training falls by almost 10 per cent on last year

The number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) fell by almost 10 per cent in the last three months of last year compared to same period in 2013. Figures for the period from October to December were released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing that 963,000 16 to 24-year-olds […]

Apprentices set for 7p rise in minimum wage as Low Pay Commission says rise in line with 16 and 17-year-old ‘normal’ workers is ‘too expensive’ for businesses

Apprentices look set for a 7p rise in their national minimum wage of £2.73 an-hour while proposals to shift them up onto a par with 16 and 17-year-olds have been rejected as too expensive for businesses by the Low Pay Commission (LPC). The call to increase the minimum wage by 2.6 per cent to £2.80 […]

Government to review new college incorporation process after report claims PROCAT project was ‘successful’

The process for establishing new FE colleges could be out of date, the government has warned after reviewing the first general FE college incorporation in more than 20 years. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published a report outlining how Essex-based independent learning provider Prospects Learning Foundation (PLF) became Prospects College of […]