FE Week Reporter | FE Week

BAE given £35m SFA contract despite not tendering

A £35m IT contract with the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has been awarded to BAE Systems — despite the fact the multinational firm didn’t even bid for the job. More than 20 firms had entered the bidding process for the SFA’s service integration and management (SIAM) and systems integration (SI) contract, referred to as SMI, through the […]

Warning against ‘one size fits all’ inspections as Ofsted considers FE and skills merger with schools and early years

Ofsted proposals to merge the FE and skills inspection regime with schools and early years have drawn warnings from the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and the Association of Colleges (AoC). The education watchdog is expected to put the idea out to consultation “very soon,” according to Sean Harford, Ofsted’s national director for schools policy and […]

Government Q&A on apprenticeship funding reform fails to ease concerns

Concerns about proposed new apprenticeship funding models remain despite an update on reform plans from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The interim statement from BIS comes three months after its consultation on the two new possible funding models closed having elicited more than 1,400 written responses. The consultation looked at how employers might […]

What can FE and skills expect of Nick Boles?

With just over a fortnight gone since Grantham and Stamford MP Nick Boles became the new Skills Minister, the sector is still awaiting his first public interview on his brief. As anticipation grows, FE Week reporter Freddie Whittaker delves into his past to see if there might be any clues as to what the sector can […]

Union questions move to keep ‘supportive’ Gazelle report out of public domain

A decision to keep an allegedly positive report about the under-fire Gazelle Colleges Group under-wraps has been questioned by the University and College Union. Last week, FE Week revealed that the report by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) would remain private, despite Gazelle Colleges Group chair Stella Mbubaegbu (pictured) having alluded to its positive […]

Mariane Cavalli to leave Warwickshire College next month after unexplained temporary absence

Warwickshire College principal Mariane Cavalli will leave her post at the end of August, the college has announced. Her resignation follows an unexpected ‘temporary’ period of absence, during which former chair of governors Sue Georgious has been acting as interim principal. The college has confirmed Ms Georgious will remain in post over the summer and that […]

Skills body vows to bring down rejection rate for apprentice certificates

A crackdown on rejected claims for apprenticeship certificates has been launched in a bid reduce the number of rejections from its current rate of almost a third. The Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards (FISSS), the organisation which awards certificates for apprenticeships and verifies that they have been completed, has revealed 104,130 (29 per […]

Tech bacc could help one in four, says Skills Minister Boles

New Skills Minister Nick Boles said he hoped one in four young people would study for the government’s flagship tech bacc, despite it only being offered by five colleges. In his first parliamentary questions session, Nick Boles was asked by Labour MP Lyn Brown what progress had been made on the introduction of the technical […]

New sector leadership thinktank appoints chief executive

A new sector leadership thinktank has appointed former National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace) policy director Mark Ravenhall as its chief executive. The Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) announced the appointment this morning (July 25). The thinktank has also launched a basic website where people from across the sector can sign-up to its […]