Expert Contributor | FE Week

Hammond’s budget revealed poor understanding of further education

Instead of a thought-out comprehensive strategy for further and adult education and skills, the government has merely delivered more short-term tinkering, says Jill Westerman We expected a budget for Brexit. The statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer fell some way short. The budget was an opportunity for Mr Hammond and the government to demonstrate […]

What FE needs to know about competition law

Why should the corporate world of mergers, cartels and market abuses apply to those teaching and training young people? Lindsay Draffan explains I was rather surprised by the number of times the words “competition” and “competitors” were used at the recent FAB conference in Leicester. I didn’t expect that. Neither did I expect references to […]

How Ofsted are changing their approach to ‘requires improvement’ providers

While around 80 per cent of further education and skills providers are good or outstanding, the number requiring improvement has increased over time. For these providers, inspectors conduct ‘support and challenge’ visits to help them improve. We want to do all we can to be a force for improvement through intelligent, responsible and focused inspection […]

David Hughes and the AoC are wrong about degree apprenticeships

David Hughes is wrong to criticise the rise in management apprenticeships – they are opening opportunities to people who’ve never had them, argues Mandy Crawford-Lee The University Vocational Awards Council believes in the vital role of colleges in delivering college and work-based training programmes for young people and adults. We also want to champion HE […]

How FE colleges can encourage research

It’s time the sector took control of its own destiny, argues Ali Hadawi Over the years, my sense of frustration with how policymakers and regulatory bodies view further education colleges has only increased. It can be disheartening that the wonderful impact of FE on individuals, society and the economy is not widely acknowledged. One way […]

Will T-levels falter through a lack of work placements?

Employers want to make the new T-levels work, but they will need clear, practical support, writes Stephen Evans The new T-levels will rely on employers in a number of ways: to help shape content, deliver work placements, and, by getting these right, giving them credibility in the labour market. The scale of the ask is […]

T-level work placement travel costs must be covered

The government must cover the additional travel costs of T-level work placements to ensure rural colleges are not at a financial disadvantage, argues Jo Maher At some point between the T-levels work placement pilot and the latest published government guidance, there seems to have been a change in thinking about how travel costs are to […]

My role as FE commissioner: past and future

Richard Atkins reflects on a year at the helm of one of the most important jobs in FE, and what is to come In April last year, I retired after 21 years as a college principal, and planned to work less and relax more. By the end of October I had started work as the […]

End-point assessment: what colleges and training providers need to know

Based on her upcoming research, Sallyann Baldry explains how colleges and training providers should be preparing for end-point assessment End-point assessment is the testing at the end of an apprenticeship that is set, administered, marked and graded by an organisation that wasn’t involved in its delivery, either as training provider or employer. Each standard has […]