Author: Billy Camden

The mayor of Tees Valley has earmarked £1 million to pay the wages of more than 100 young apprentices in an effort to reverse the decline of starts as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Ben Houchen (pictured) announced the fund for his region today after a recent survey by his combined authority found […]

Ofqual has today published the findings of their initial “technical evaluations” of apprentice end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs). It covers the first wave of 50 EPAs that the exams regulator was the external quality assurance provider for over the past two years. The aim of the evaluations is to provide EPAOs with guidance “as to how […]

A college rocked by an expenses scandal has been saved by a £1.5 million government bailout after its new leaders found it had almost run out of cash just weeks after the former principal left. The emergency funding was granted to Highbury College this month after its bank refused to supply an additional loan. It […]

The skills minister has rejected all plans for PhD-level apprenticeships after concluding that funding them from the levy would not provide “value for money”. In a letter to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education published and laid in Parliament today, Gillian Keegan said the level 8 programmes are “not in the spirit of our […]

The controversial expenses racked up by Highbury College’s former principal were “not in line” with value for money rules for managing public cash, an auditing firm has concluded. In September 2019 and following a year-long freedom of information battle, FE Week revealed that Stella Mbubaegbu had spent £150,000 on the college’s corporate credit card in […]

The NHS is to spend up to £100 million on delivering a tailored level 2 apprenticeship for administrators. From July 31, all starts on old-style apprenticeships known as frameworks will be switched off to make way for the final transfer onto new employer-led standards. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has repeatedly and controversially […]

The government should set aside an extra £3.6 billion to upskill the “764,000 people most at risk” post-Covid-19, according to the Association of Colleges. The call comes just a week after the sector’s other main membership body, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, demanded a one-off skills package worth £8.6 billion. In ‘Rebuild: a […]

The government has confirmed that free digital skills qualifications for adults will finally be launched from August 1 – but no awarding organisation has yet gained approval to offer them. Adult education budget funding rules for 2020/21 were published today and include a “legal entitlement to full funding” for “essential digital skills qualification, up to […]

The government has announced another 18 schools and colleges handed up to £150,000 each to become “edtech demonstrators”. They will help other schools and colleges to use technology to support remote learning after the programme was repurposed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The first 20 “edtech demonstrators” were announced in April and included two colleges – […]