Expert Contributor | FE Week

How will the government implement its Skills Plan?

The government welcomed the Sainsbury Review recommendations, but will they deliver on implementation, asks Catherine Sezen? From a college perspective, there is a lot to be positive about in the Sainsbury Review of Technical Education, and the government’s response to it in the Skills Plan. These documents, published in early July, outline a new structure […]

Let’s make end-point assessment part of the solution, not the problem

While end-point assessments currently raise more questions than they answer, if well implemented, they could help build confidence in the apprenticeship system, says Terry Fennell Last month the DfE approved the 135th apprenticeship standard for mainstream delivery and by the end of 2016, over 3,000 apprentices will have started on one of these new programmes. […]

How colleges can keep up with apprenticeship reforms

If colleges wish to continue to deliver apprenticeships, they will need to adapt quickly, writes Teresa Frith We are sitting in the middle of a maelstrom of reform in apprenticeships. But what should be at the forefront of our minds is that whatever apprenticeships we provide, they must be high quality. We will be doing […]

Management apprenticeships – solving the productivity puzzle

FE Week’s report on the “unstoppable rise of management apprenticeships”, should be a cause for celebration as opposed to concern. For far too long management training has been a blind spot for employers – with 71 per cent of firms admitting that they fail to offer management training to first-time managers. This is a huge […]

What FE can expect from the autumn statement

If the prime minister’s vision of a fairer economy with better opportunities for everyone is to become reality, says Julian Gravatt, the government needs to carefully review FE funding. The Treasury’s next autumn statement on November 23 this year will be Philip Hammond’s first as chancellor. The statement matters for everyone in FE because treasury […]

Which Party conference was more focused on apprenticeships and skills?

Skills and apprenticeships were centre stage at one of the party conferences, says Gemma Gathercole, while being relegated to the wings at the other. By any stretch of the imagination it’s been a busy summer, from the referendum to leadership elections to the machinery of government changes. So conference season, at the start of the […]

Let’s take full advantage of what devolution can offer

The government’s devolution and localism agenda creates opportunities for the sector to refine its mission and purpose, says Ayub Khan. Devolution in FE and skills is much talked of by politicians at national and local levels and a great deal is expected of it, though it remains very much a developing area of policy. While […]

In support of a maintenance loan revolution for FE

Maintenance loans are everywhere in higher education, so why aren’t they available for those in technical education, asks Mark Corney. The three great challenges for education policy as I seem them are increasing productivity, extending social mobility, and enhancing the skills base of the resident population as recruitment of EU workers is restricted due to […]

How do you spot signs of radicalisation?

After Ofsted’s thematic review into Prevent found “a worrying number of providers struggling to implement the duty”, Zubeda Limbada and Lynn Davies explain how to spot signs of radicalisation. The actual wording of the Prevent duty on educational institutions is that they need to have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being […]