Author: Billy Camden

Online assessment will only work for around 40 per cent of apprenticeships and the government’s “vague” guidance in the area opens the market up to “widespread malpractice”, awarding organisations have warned. Last week the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education announced that face-to-face end-point competency assessment can be carried out remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. […]

A university is scrambling to recruit MBA apprentices amid the government’s review of the programme’s funding. On Monday the University of Bradford contacted small businesses to insist that “if you’ve ever wanted to do an MBA, now is the time”. An email, seen by FE Week, claims that government has “temporarily opened” the level 7 […]

All planned routine funding audits of FE providers have been put on hold, the government confirmed today. The Education and Skills Funding Agency told FE Week it had made the decision “prior” to the prime minister’s announcement of new Covid-19 lockdown measures last week. The “pause” on financial assurance audits will “cover the period for, […]

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has today announced they will stop accepting applications to the controversial register of apprenticeship training providers (RoATP). It will close to new bids, including second applications from providers that have already applied in the past 12 months, from 15 April. This will provide “time for applications in progress and […]

Colleges across England are identifying staff that could be eligible for an 80 per cent wage subsidy from the Covid-19 job retention scheme, FE Week understands. One principal said they had identified “about 30 staff to furlough on the basis that we’ve lost income from apprenticeships and commercial programmes”. Another said their board had unanimously […]

The government “cannot require” colleges to remain open over the Easter holidays amid the Covid-19 outbreak, the Association of Colleges has been told. And colleges that have already closed to all students will not have to reopen. The AoC published the “urgent clarification” on its website this afternoon following new communication with the Department for […]

Training providers in the West Midlands will continue to be funded for the next three months irrespective of their recruitment levels, FE Week can reveal. A letter sent last night from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to its adult education budget providers (see links below) said monthly profile payments will be made to providers […]

“It might help” colleges if they were allowed to access the government’s new free school meal vouchers scheme, their membership organisation has said. From today, schools can provide every eligible child with a weekly shopping voucher worth £15 to spend at supermarkets while they’re closed due to coronavirus. Parents will receive the voucher through their […]