FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Red tape reduction efforts need ‘democratic scrutiny’

The failure of a government plan to make any major dent in £300m of FE and skills sector red tape costs for providers has prompted a call for “democratic scrutiny” to ensure greater progress in cutting bureaucracy. The House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee should, it has been suggested, investigate in light […]

Science museum hosts FE and skills technology talk

Google glasses, YouTube and digital reward badges were all hot topics at a learning technology discussion group for FE practitioners at London’s Science Museum on Monday (December 1). Delegates at the Think Out Loud club, hosted by City & Guilds, heard from experts, tried out the latest technologies and explored the barriers to turning technology […]

Jeremy Benson, director for vocational qualifications, Ofqual

Formula One racing has Graham and Damon Hill and football has Harry and Jamie Redknapp, while high-flying father and son duos in the world of acting include Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, to name but one. But the world of qualifications is no exception to familial footstep following — it has Mike and Jeremy Benson. The […]

Edition 121

I had mixed emotions when I heard Skills Minister Nick Boles’s new apprentice set off the security alarms on his first day of work at Portcullis House. This also involved the evacuation of Westminster Underground station. I had a similar experience, too. Many years ago when as a young 16-year-old trainee hotel manager working as […]

Morgan rejects AoC manifesto call on A-levels

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has rejected an Association of College (AoC) manifesto call to keep AS-levels linked to A-levels. Addressing MPs on the House of Commons Education Select Committee looking at exams for 15 to 19-year-olds in England on Wednesday (December 3), Ms Morgan (pictured front) defended plans to turn AS results into a separate […]

Apprentice training clash after NI break for bosses

Unions and business leaders have clashed over the issue of investment in training after Chancellor George Osborne announced the end of employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NIC) for apprentices under 25. Mr Osborne announced on Wednesday (December 3) that employers would no longer pay NICs for apprentices under 25 from 2016. It was already the case, […]

Going global to benefit local

A new report looks at how UK general FE colleges are reaping the VET (vocational education and training) rewards of taking part in WorldSkills competitions, explains Dr Sally Messenger. The 2014 Skills Show and Association of Colleges (AoC) conference gave a very important message: future VET success depends on global standards underpinning higher level skills development. […]

City solution to the skills shortage conundrum

Devolution of skills funding to city regions could be the key to solving local skills shortages, according to Mark Farrar Shadow Skills Minister Liam Byrne, at last month’s Association of Colleges conference, floated the idea that skills funding should be devolved to city regions. This proposal is similar to a key recommendation from an AAT-commissioned […]

Going back to ‘college’ with lessons from Lesoco

In January 2013, FE Week was first to report that the merged Lewisham and Southwark colleges, in South London, would be renaming to Lesoco. And just over two months ago, we exclusively revealed the cost — and unpopularity — of the £290k new brand. Ioan Morgan explains why the merged college is called Lesoco no […]