Author: Billy Camden

A little-known entrepreneur, Wayne Janse van Rensburg, has overnight become one of the most powerful figures in FE after taking the reins at Learndirect. He’s watched from afar as, over the past 12 months, the nation’s biggest FE provider lost a battle with Ofsted to suppress a ruinous grade four inspection report, with the fallout […]

Apprenticeship funding bands currently under review by the Institute for Apprenticeships will be given a minimum two-month notice period if their funding rate is reduced. But in the case of standards whose funding rate increases, the change will be immediate. Lucy Rigler (pictured), the IfA’s acting deputy director for funding policy, revealed the extra detail […]

A membership body representing universities has written to the skills minister to say it would be a “massive mistake” to water down policy on employer fees for apprenticeships. The University Vocational Awards Council issued the warning to Anne Milton this week. The letter argued that the 10 per cent co-investment fee for non-levy payers is […]

The chair of an influential committee of MPs has hit out at the rushed pace of T-level implementation – after Ofqual gave the sector just four weeks to respond to its consultation. Meg Hillier, head of the Public Accounts Committee, pronounced the timescale “ridiculous” when the exams regulator began asking for views on July 10 […]

The north west was the region where NHS apprenticeships saw their biggest fall last year, as they dramatically dropped by nearly half, new figures have revealed. As previously reported by FE Week, the health service had a total of 19,820 apprenticeship starts in the 2015/16 academic year, but this fell by 22 per cent to […]

The University and College Union has written to Anne Milton before key pay talks, to warn it will not put up with another “shoddy” deal. The union wrote to the skills minister today ahead of tomorrow’s sit down with the Association of Colleges, in which it is looking to secure a pay offer better than […]

Ofqual has today launched a consultation about how it will regulate T-levels – but has only given the sector four weeks to respond. The exams regulator is asking for views on how it should frame its rules, including on issues such as how assessments should be set and marked, when retakes can be taken, and […]

Leaders at Learndirect have been criticised by Ofsted for causing “confusion and uncertainty” over the transfer of their apprentices to other providers. Inspectors noted a number of improvements since it was rated ‘inadequate’ overall last summer and from two subsequent monitoring visits, in their latest assessment of the troubled provider. But “insufficient progress” is being […]

The motion: This house believes the fall in apprenticeship starts since last May and the unspent levy proves urgent policy changes are needed The first in a series of FE Week and Pearson Great Debates was held in parliament this week, with nearly 300 sector leaders arguing over whether further reforms are needed to the […]