Author: Billy Camden

The general secretary of the University and College Union has resigned for health reasons, it was announced today. Sally Hunt has held the top position at the union since it formed in 2007 and has won three elections, most recently in June 2017. The union’s national executive committee will meet on Friday (March 1) to […]

The government “anticipates” it will be able fund all over-delivery on non-levy apprenticeships for providers who exceed their contract allocation in the January 2018 to March 2019 period. The news will be met with a cautious welcome by the many providers who surpassed their share of funding to train apprentices with small employers this year, […]

Tributes have been paid to former FE Commissioner Sir David Collins who died after losing his fight against cancer. Sir David (pictured), whose career in FE spanned over 40 years, which included becoming the first elected president of the Association of Colleges, passed away last Thursday. He held the role of FE Commissioner from 2013 […]

The Association of Colleges has revisited its funding rate plea for 16 to 18-year-olds and upped it from £4,760 to £5,000 at a cost of over £1.2 billion per year, which it says is needed to avoid a T-levels crisis. In its latest call for an increase to the £4,000 unweighted base rate, the AoC […]

The Association of Colleges has rejected six out of 14 proposals put forward by the government in its consultation on T-level funding from 2020. The consultation, which closes tonight after running for 12 weeks, sought opinions on four new funding bands and subsidy for the industry placement element of the new technical qualifications, among other […]

A team of 16 education experts have joined Labour’s lifelong learning commission. Among the new commissioners are former education secretary Estelle Morries, former Association of Colleges chair Carole Stott, managing director of City and Guilds Kirstie Donnelly, and FE Week contributor professor Ewart Keep. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will officially launch the commission, which will […]

A college that recently terminated its contract with the controversial Saudi Arabian Colleges of Excellence programme due to on-going delays in claiming back a £500,000 debt has now recovered the cash. Dudley College, rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, began work with the Saudi government in 2011 and most recently delivered Capacity Building Contracts in Hafr Al-Batin […]

Calls to replace GCSEs and A-levels with a “holistic baccalaureate” have been branded a “non-starter” by an advocate of a similar model. Tom Sherrington, a trustee of the National Baccalaureate Trust, warned that “headline-grabbing” comments made this week by parliamentary education committee chair Robert Halfon and a number of other high-profile leaders were “reckless”. He […]

A major training provider with around 1,000 staff has called in the administrators, FE Week understands. Working Links (Employment) Limited, which holds contracts across numerous government departments including around £2 million for apprenticeships and adult education, told their workforce yesterday afternoon not to come into work today. It is understood that thousands of learners will […]