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15 May 2026

Author: Billy Camden

Ofsted watch: College snubbed from register rated ‘outstanding’ for apprenticeships

A college that didn’t make it on to the government’s new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers has received an ‘outstanding’ grade for its apprenticeship provision – in what was otherwise a relatively quiet week for the FE sector. The list of providers that will be eligible to deliver apprenticeships from May was published last month […]

Team UK selection for WorldSkills Abu Dhabi underway

Around 70 of the country’s top skilled young people are this week taking part in a five-day competition that will decide if they make it into the team representing the UK at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi. The squad of apprentices and learners travelled to Manchester for WorldSkills UK’s team selection event, where competitors in 32 different […]

The Skills Show 2017 dates announced

The country’s biggest skills and careers event is back and is confirmed to take place from November 16 to 18 later this year.  WorldSkills UK made the announcement about the return of The Skills Show on its website today.  NEC Birmingham will again host the event which will see around 70,000 visitors get the chance to engage with […]

No growth projections for Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers

There has been no modelling done by the Skills Funding Agency to predict how many providers will eventually end up on the new register of apprenticeship training providers, its boss has admitted. Peter Lauener’s stunning revelation will be of concern to many in the sector, not least the new Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman, who admits […]

Ofsted watch: Another UTC hit with poor grade

A university technical college in Middlesex received a grade three in its first ever Ofsted inspection, spelling even more problems for the 14 to 19 institutions, in a week that saw a sixth form college rated ‘outstanding’. Inspectors cited “historically low attendance” at Heathrow Aviation Engineering UTC as well as “poor” student attitudes towards being […]

Broker fees are back again

The government needs to look carefully at the NHS’ plans to hit providers with brokerage fees. No-one is suggesting the health service is breaking the Skills Funding Agency’s rules, but we must prevent money meant for frontline training from going astray. The issue of brokerage is one that I’ve followed closely since my investigation a […]

NHS defends apprenticeship brokerage fees

The NHS has defended controversial new plans to charge a brokerage fee to training providers that win levy-funded apprenticeship contracts. FE Week has seen two examples of the health service preparing to charge providers around one per cent of the value of their contracts, raising concerns that it might be included in the levy price, […]

EXCLUSIVE: England alone with end-point assessment-only apprenticeships

Research by leading FE academics has shown England is the only one, out of eight countries reported on because of their strong vocational education systems, that will have end-point assessment-only apprenticeships. The report shared with FE Week, called The role of qualifications and end-point assessment in apprenticeships: an international comparison, looked at how apprenticeships are […]

Ofsted watch: sixth form college plummets after 10-year inspection wait

A sixth form college that hadn’t received an inspection for 10 years sank from ‘outstanding’ to ‘requires improvement’ – in a mixed week for FE Ofsted reports. Governors at Holy Cross College, in Manchester, were criticised for their failure to recognise the “significance of the decline in standards” at the SFC. The new report, published […]