FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Staff and students lobby MPs over FE loans scheme

Staff and students are campaigning against the introduction of FE loans today. Protestors have written to the skills minister John Hayes asking for “urgent clarification” on whether the scheme will result in fewer places at FE colleges and independent training providers. They will also be lobbying MPs in their local constituency. Toni Pearce, vice president for […]

Chesterfield College promotes equality through learner voice

Chesterfield College had led a national conference on how to promote equality through the learner voice. The event, organised with the help of LSIS, Doncaster GTA and Pinnacle Training Solutions, was a chance for professionals to learn and share equality best practice. Steve Kelly, director of learner experience at Chesterfield College said: “Promoting equality is […]

Government considering apprenticeships at level 6 and 7

The government says they are “looking” at introducing apprenticeships at level 6 and 7. A source from Number 10 said the new levels would widen access routes into specific trades such as construction, advanced engineering and financial services. “Economic flexibility and social progress depends on there being a choice of excellent academic courses and strong […]

Promise of pre-apprenticeship product

L-R: Graham Hoyle OBE, AELP, Martin Dunford,OBE, AELP, Sarah Benioff, NAS, David Russell, DfE and Martin Doel, AoC The skills minister said he had “unfinished business” with pre-apprenticeships on the first day of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) National Conference 2012. John Hayes MP said the government needed to provide a “better […]

Barclays: Banking on young talent

Launching an apprenticeship programme is a big challenge for any private sector organisation. At Barclays, we set an ambitious target at the start of this year to take on 1,000 young people not in education, work or employment and took the programme from conception to getting our first apprentices into work within four months. The […]

FE loans must work for disadvantaged learners

We are all acutely aware of how tough things are economically and therefore appreciate that Government spending must go towards helping the most underprivileged first. In Higher Education, loans have been part of the system for over a decade now and while the jury is still out on the long-term financial returns of this system, […]

Privatise FE: Dynamite or damp squib?

There has been much debate in the education press about the implications for further education colleges of the new powers they have under the Education Act 2011 which came into force on 1 April 2012. Indeed those new powers have been described as, effectively, the privatisation of FE colleges. Is that the case? Under the […]

A potential opportunity for work based learning

There is no doubt that the government’s introduction of Raising the Participation Age (RPA) to age 18 will present a significant business development opportunity to work based learning providers. For those unfamiliar with the DfE proposals, the RPA is being introduced in two phases: for 16-17 year olds in August 2013 and for 17-18 year […]

Concern over VAT on FE loans

Learners taking out an FE loan next year could be forced to pay 20 per cent VAT if they study with an independent training provider, according to Graham Hoyle, Chief Executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) . The charge will be introduced as part of the “24+ advanced learning loan” scheme […]