Author: FE Week Reporter

The chance to develop vital skills and experience before starting an Apprenticeship can give would be apprentices a real head start. The National Apprenticeship’s Access to Apprenticeship programme and the Sector Skills Council’s Pre Apprenticeship developments highlight the importance of preparing learners for their Apprenticeship. ‘NCFE Progression to Apprenticeship’ qualifications can be delivered to support […]

The government’s commitment to promoting and funding more Apprenticeships has been welcomed by those who are working hard to tackle youth unemployment. Skills minister John Hayes set out his vision for Apprenticeships, saying that by increasing routes to learning we could “seed opportunities for thousands of Britons and build the economically successful and socially just […]

The key word is already in Apprenticeships. We need to be doing more to ‘entice’ SMEs and other employers to take on Apprentices and even more importantly, offer real Apprenticeships that are based on ‘real’ jobs. In our submission to the BIS Inquiry on Apprenticeships we will be emphasising a number of key points. Firstly […]

Despite a lot of media coverage of apprenticeships in the last year, not enough has been heard from the apprentices themselves. We know that the Government and employers invest in the apprenticeship programme and that they get a healthy return on their investment. Apprentices also make an investment so it is worth reflecting on the […]

The debate around apprenticeships over the last few months, which has now prompted a Commons select committee inquiry, was originally sparked by FE Week’s coverage of ‘short-course’ apprenticeships and we know that the publication is able to talk knowledgably about the subject, even if we may not always agree with its opinions. However I cannot […]