Billy Camden | FE Week

Government wants £140k-a-year director to oversee area reviews

The government is on the hunt for a permanent director to run its transaction unit following the area reviews process – a job which co-mes with a £140,000 salary comparable to that earned by FE’s busiest civil servant, Peter Lauener. An advert for the role was recently posted by the Department for Education, with a […]

Employers blasted for ignoring apprenticeships they developed

Employers including the private healthcare giant Bupa have been criticised for not employing anyone on apprenticeships they developed, after FE Week found three dental standards which have had no learners in 18 months. Analysis of latest government data shows that three apprenticeship standards – dental laboratory assistant, dental practice manager, and dental technician – were […]

Learners plead with government to end loan misery after provider collapse

Distressed learners left in the lurch when their training provider mysteriously went bust have pleaded with the government to write off thousands in student loan debts. FE Week revealed last month that the Skills Funding Agency is investigating the murky demise of John Frank Training. The provider went into liquidation on November 30, leaving no […]

Essex County Council learning branded ‘inadequate’

A major local authority which delivers adult education to more than 12,000 learners has been rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. Essex County Council, which was inspected by the education watchdog between December 6 and 9 last year, was found to have serious problems with the teaching of English and maths, as well as having insufficient safeguarding […]

FE Week victory: apprenticeship rules ban brokerage

Public funds cannot be used to pay brokers’ fees, the Skills Funding Agency has officially ruled. In its final rules for apprenticeship funding published this week, the SFA has at last clamped down on the sorts of shady dealings which have seen private bodies and brokers cream off millions of pounds via commission fees. The […]

SFA in dock after hundreds of learners struggle to recover loans cash when provider collapses

Another highly profitable training provider has suddenly gone bust in mysterious circumstances, leaving hundreds of learners on the hook for thousands of pounds of student debt. John Frank Training, a London-based provider with a satellite office in Preston, went into liquidation on November 30, leaving no assets, despite recording a profit of £1.3 million in […]

College forced to stop recruiting apprentices

A college hit with an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted rating won’t appeal against the resulting ban from running apprenticeships, but says it will continue recruiting learners right up to the last minute. The Skills Funding Agency started allowing bodies to apply to join the new register of apprenticeship training providers last October, but those with the lowest […]

Winners from the National Apprenticeship Awards 2016 announced

Britain celebrated the best of its vocational education on Friday night, when the country’s top three apprentices and its six best employers were crowned the winners of the National Apprenticeship Awards. London’s Grosvenor House hosted a ceremony with the theme ‘Nation of Champions’, which showcased the success stories of individuals and employers. The victorious apprentices went through a tough process to […]

All eyes on tonight’s National Apprenticeships Awards

The UK’s most promising apprentices and best employers will tonight be crowned the winners of the National Apprenticeships Awards 2016. Nine apprentices and 18 employers will take centre stage at the ceremony in Grosvenor House, London, after battling it out to be recognised as the country’s most elite in each category. Winners of the awards, […]