FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Reform victory for status quo cash flow

Providers and employers who said no to government cash for apprenticeship training going through businesses have won the fight to keep the flow of funding between government and providers. Chancellor George Osbourne’s Budget on Wednesday (March 18) fleshed out the new plans, trailed the day before by Number 10, for a “digital apprenticeship voucher” to […]

Learners need new providers after inadequate ratings

Hundreds of learners will be hoping for new providers after the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) said it would tear up two training contracts — forcing the closure of one provider and criticism of the decision to axe funding. Both Four Counties Training Limited (FCT), in West London, and Venture Learning Limited (VL), in Greater Manchester, […]

Question mark over the future of Trailblazer reviews

A question mark was today left hanging over the future of Trailblazer apprenticeship standard reviews. Approval has so far been given to 144 standards drawn up by hundreds of Trailblazer employers, which will all have to be reviewed within three years of the date they were originally signed-off by the Department for Business, Innovation and […]

Commended for world’s best teacher award

A singing science lecturer from Middlesbrough College narrowly missed out on a $1m prize recognising the world’s best teacher. Dr Richard Spencer, who encourages learners to join in science-inspired role-playing, YMCA-style dance routines and reworkings of popular songs with lyrics including ‘Don’t blame it on the phosphate’, was the only teacher in Europe to make […]

FE Commissioner offers president advice

Former presidents of the Association of Colleges (AoC) have welcomed the election of John Widdowson (pictured above) as next year’s president and offered their advice to him on the role. Mr Widdowson, principal of New College Durham, will take over the AoC role on August 1 from Exeter College principal Richard Atkins, who said Mr […]

Dame Ruth takes on Scotland role

Former Learning and Skills Improvement Service chair Dame Ruth Silver (pictured) has now been appointed to chair a Scottish Government commission on widening access to university. Dame Ruth, who was principal of London’s Lewisham College for 17 year until 2009, is to lead work aimed at ensuring more students from disadvantaged backgrounds in Scotland can succeed […]

College opens doors for its own ‘Skills Show’ event

[slideshow_deploy id=’33906′] From manicuring to forensic science and robotics to bricklaying, London learners got a taste of the Skills Show with a host of their very own have-a-go activities at college. The College of North West London (CNWL) threw open its doors on Wednesday (March 18) to more than 1,200 schoolchildren, local residents and […]

Labour’s apprenticeship policy fails to win support

Labour’s pledge to axe apprenticeships at level two came under attack once again when Shadow Junior Education Minister Yvonne Fovargue spoke at NCFE’s policy conference in Central London. Ms Fovargue told delegates at the Delivering on learner outcomes: spotlight on youth employment conference that level two was still “valued” but needed to be “rebranded” to […]

Further education providers announced as Nuclear National College partners

Further Education providers in the north and south of England have been named as key partners in a new national training college for the nuclear industry. Bridgwater College, in Somerset, and Lakes College, in Cumbria, will form part of the National College for Nuclear — with Bridgwater set to join EDF Energy and the University of […]