Author: Billy Camden

The chief executive of the government’s apprenticeship quango has defended the decision to reject a business administration standard at level 2 – claiming it would “undermine” efforts to create a “well-regarded” programme. Last week FE Week revealed how Jennifer Coupland had shattered hopes for the apprenticeship after she turned down a final plea from employers. […]

The winners of the Annual Apprenticeship Awards 2020 have been crowned at a glittering ceremony in Birmingham tonight. More than 500 sector leaders, staff and apprentices gathered to find out the results of the awards, which are run by FE Week and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers. Forty-four organisations and individuals had been […]

Ofsted will withhold publication of inspection reports until it has resolved complaints about them under a new redress system proposed by the inspectorate. A consultation launched today proposes that formal complaints raised by providers within two working days of receiving their final report will effectively delay publication of the report until the complaint is dealt […]

Ofsted’s chief inspector is “concerned” that the rise in higher level apprenticeships is “partly” to blame for the decline in starts for young people at the lower levels. Addressing delegates at the Annual Apprenticeship Conference (AAC) this afternoon, Amanda Spielman said it was “worrying” that starts at level 2 in 2018/19 were 45 per cent […]

Anticipation is building ahead of the sixth Annual Apprenticeship Conference, which is now set to feature the first public appearance from the sector’s new dedicated minister. More than 1,200 delegates from colleges, training providers and employers will head to Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre on Monday for the two-day event run by FE Week. On day […]

Hopes for a level 2 business administration standard were shattered today after the new boss of the government’s apprenticeship quango rejected a final plea from employers. Following years of repeated rejections under Sir Gerry Berragan, the trailblazer group behind the proposal was given a glimmer of hope with Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) […]

An adviser to the government’s apprenticeship quango has quit after FE Week found he had set up an assessment company and then broke official advertising rules. Lee Allsup, one of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) route panel members, left the role this week and his new end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) has stopped […]

Last September Ofsted began inspecting apprenticeship providers using their new framework.  Out went the Common Inspection Framework (CIF), in which inspector judgements relied heavily on achievement rates. In came the Education Inspection Framework (EIF), in which judgements focus far more on the appropriateness of the curriculum.  Six months into the EIF, FE Week took a […]