FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Group adds to Careers Service debate

A membership body which represents 27 further education colleges has called on the government to think again on the future of the Careers Service. The 157 Group has been enthusiastic about proposals for an all-age guidance service. However, it fears proposed changes to the service for young people will deny many the opportunity for a face-to-face […]

Dame Ruth Silver, chair, Learning and Skills Improvement Service

“I told them to get lost a thousand times,” says Dame Ruth Silver, of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) of which she is now chair. Having announced her impending retirement from Lewisham College, she was intending to “have a break and not do anything,” and certainly wasn’t looking for another big challenge. But […]

FE Week mini-mascot (edition 1)

Follow the adventures of FE Week’s biggest and smallest fan! Mostly this week I have been keeping mummy and daddy awake” And you can follow our FE Week mini-mascot on Twitter @daniellinford

12 week apprenticeships still advertised

Despite increased criticism in what the Chief Executive of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) called ‘hot-housing’, many short NVQ and apprenticeship programmes are still being advertised. In June FE Week reported on the rise of 12 week apprentices, and referred to the call centre training provider Synapse. Since then the Synapse website simply states: “Synapse […]

ALT delegates seek technological innovation despite challenging times

[Click here to download the FE Week ALT conference double page spread (3mb)] The education sector is seeking innovation at a time when budgets are increasingly being slashed. Colleges are now looking to technology not only as a way of improving efficiency and running costs, but as a means to improving the student experience in further […]

City & Guilds allocated more than £8m for 25,000 Asda apprentices

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has allocated more than £8m to City & Guilds in order to deliver 25,000 apprenticeships at Asda. The funding will be used to train employees from May 2011 to July 2012, comprising of £736,824 until the end of July 2011 with a further £7.7m between August 2011 and the end […]

FE Week joins 1000 mile in 10 day charity challenge

FE Week cycled hard last month to join South Birmingham College Principal Mike Hopkins and local blind man Dave Heeley as part of their Top2Toe charity challenge. We followed the pair as they exited Birmingham, creating an exclusive video report and in-depth interview about their progress. Mike Hopkins and Dave Heeley were riding a tandem […]

New Year, New Challenges

The latest bundle of Papers which came out from Government over the summer on FE reform pose more questions than answers, nearly 60 questions in all covering most aspects of the FE system. Nor are things likely to be clear for some time. We’ve got an Education and Skills Growth Review under way, consultations going […]

Quit the excuses and listen to those not attending

Many colleges are nervously counting 16-18 year-old learners in and out of classes this week, totting up the totals and making judgements about whether or not they are below, on or above recruitment targets. When 16 year-old enrolments do not materialise into attendance the same excuses are rolled out at this time every year. The […]