FE Week Reporter | FE Week

£6.5 million given to train engineering students in renewable energy

Business Secretary Vince Cable announced a £6.5 million investment yesterday to help train top engineering students in a new Industrial Doctorate Centre in Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE). Leading universities and global companies such as EDF Energy, Shell and Rolls Royce will train 50 students in a range of low carbon technologies such as wind, wave […]

ESOL funding u-turn?

The Skills Funding Agency confirmed this week that all ESOL learners who are actively seeking work could be eligible for full funding, irrespective of whether they are in receipt of work related benefits or income related benefits. The clarification is good news indeed and gives ESOL providers the opportunity to use the flexibility the government […]

NAS concerned about quality following rapid apprenticeship expansion

The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) and Skills Funding Agency have this week published a statement (click here) saying they are “determined to see that recent rapid expansion of Apprenticeships is not achieved at the expense of quality”. This follows exclusive coverage published by FE Week which detailed training providers delivering 12 Week Apprenticeships (click here) as […]

‘Neet’ young people hits record second quarter high

The number of 18 to 24 year-olds currently not in employment, education or training (Neet) has shot up to 18.4% in England. The figure, taken from April to June of this year, is the highest second quarter recorded by the Department of Education since 2006. Almost a million young people (979,000) aged between 16 and […]

Adult education ‘campaigner-in-chief’ hands over the helm at NIACE

It is an honour to be able to pay tribute to Alan Tuckett, who retired from the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education on Wednesday after serving 23 years as its Chief Executive after an inspiring career in our sector. Professor Tuckett’s journey in adult education began in the mid-70s as a lecturer in Brighton […]

The SFA’s qualified accounts, colleges and red tape

Over the summer the annual accounts of the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) were published (click here). If anyone was interested in them, they would have read that these accounts were qualified by the SFA’s auditors – the National Audit Office. While generally in life qualifications are something to be sought, qualified accounts are a bad […]

U-turn on ESOL funding clarified by the Skills Funding Agency

The Skills Funding Agency has confirmed that all unemployed learners, including those on ESOL courses, who are both on an income related benefit and seeking work will continue to be fully funded in 2011/ 2012. In response to a request from the AoC for greater clarity, the SFA said: “The Agency has received a number […]

Fish and chips go bigger and batter at Bournemouth & Poole College

Young apprentice chefs from Bournemouth & Poole College cooked up a colossal fish 6ft long and 2ft wide on Wednesday. The team had 24 hours to prepare the dish along with some 3ft long chips and a giant plant pot holding mushy peas. The fish was created at the college by joining 45 pieces of […]

Unreachable targets put the Work Programme at risk of collapse

Almost every organisation involved in delivering the Work Programme is at risk of having their contract terminated because of unachievable performance targets set by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The Social Market Foundation (SMF), a think tank which came up with the idea for the Work Programme, said that the entire scheme could […]