FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Will 12 week apprentices ever be derailed?

Train’d Up is the latest provider to be advertsing 12 week apprenticeships. The Skills Funding Agency has allocated Train’d Up £585,542 to deliver apprenticeships in 2011/12. The company website (see below) advertises City & Guilds Railway Engineering NVQ Level 2 Apprenticeship, promising learners “£100 per week for 12 weeks.” FE Week has spoken and written […]

Understanding the Further Education Loans consultation

It won’t be easy. It’s at best confusing and contradictory, and at worst – morally deficient. As part of the government’s further education reform program, they have made the decision to begin charging over 24s for their first Level 3 qualifications (A level equivalents). They soon realised that some people who don’t have these qualifications […]

Frank McLoughlin, principal, City and Islington College

By his own admission, Frank McLoughlin wasn’t a particularly academic child. “I can remember this old nun putting her hand on my head and saying to my mum ‘Francie isn’t very clever, not like his brother.’ “And I was thinking ‘My God – I am standing here, you know.’” But growing up in Harlesden in […]

DfE considers first four 16-19 free schools

It has emerged that four 16-19 Free Schools have been proposed. Last May the Department for Education (DfE) announced it would consider applications from people who want to set up age 16-19 Free Schools. According to House of Commons Hansard 13 Sept 2011, Labour’s MP for Scunthorpe Nic Dakin, asked Schools Minister, Nick Gibb if […]

SFA to take personal assets from directors of fraudulent providers

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has new powers allowing them to take personal assets which belong to the directors and senior management of fraudulent, unproven providers. A spokesperson from the SFA told FE Week: “Contracts between the Chief Executive of Skills Funding and lead providers, which started on the 1 August 2011, contain a clause […]

FE Week launch

The FE Week team, left to right: Claire Harrison; Tashanna Egbochue; Ruth Sparkes (EMPRA); Shane Mann; Claire Edwards; Nick Reinis; Nick Linford; Nick Summers; Jan Murray (freelance). FE Week launched with a packed out party at St Stephen’s Tavern in Westminster, on Tuesday night. College principals, MPs and members of the press filled the first […]

Where are the 16-18 year-olds?

Survey of more than 100 colleges reveals shocking student shortfalls Colleges are facing a significant 16-18 recruitment shortfall, a survey obtained by FE Week suggests. An online survey conducted by the funding consultancy Lsect and publisher of FE Week, and completed by more than 100 further education (FE) colleges and sixth forms, reported major shortfalls […]

Learndirect aims to improve job prospects for 10,000 people

Learndirect has launched Make It Count Week to help improve the nation’s job prospects. Aiming to inspire and encourage 10,000 people to sign up to learning in the week, learndirect has teamed up with 13 partners including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the National Apprenticeship Service, totaljobs and Centrepoint. They will be encouraging […]

Not-for-profit salaries ~ you decide…

FE Week has been taking a look at the accounts of two similarly sized not-for-profit awarding bodies. These figures form part of their 2010 Financial Statement, which can be downloaded from the Charity Commission website: www.charity-commission.gov.uk