FE Week Reporter | FE Week

Gove eliminated from Conservative party leadership contest

Former education secretary Michael Gove has been eliminated from the Conservative leadership race today. Mr Gove, backed by skills minister Nick Boles who also ran his leadership campaign, has been knocked out of the contest to become the next Tory leader after persuading just 46 MPs to support his bid. That leaves home secretary Theresa […]

FE Week 2012/13 round-up

FE Week has quickly built a reputation for being a high quality weekly printed newspaper, but we also publish many of our articles and all our supplements online. Between August 2012 and July 2013 the FE Week website received 871,895 page views from 197,859 unique visitors. Links to the ten most viewed news articles in 2012/13 Views Published 1 Newcastle College boss […]

How does our traineeship programme compare with other schemes across Europe?

So how does Britain’s traineeship plan compare with other schemes across Europe? According to Kari Hadjivassiliou (pictured), a policy expert from the European Social Fund apprenticeship and traineeship helpdesk, comparison is difficult because there isn’t a single definition of traineeships. However, there are similar programmes across Europe, she said, although they may be thought of […]

Preparing learners for work

With just four weeks to go until funding for traineeships begins, providers gathered at the Houses of Parliament to share their experiences of preparing for the first cohort. A panel including Shadow Skills Minister Gordon Marsden MP, OCR chief executive Mark Dawe and new Association of Employment and Learning Providers president Stewart Segal addressed questions […]

Helping hand for traineeship pilot scheme

With traineeships looming on the horizon, OCR and the Kent Association of Training Providers (Kato) have given themselves a head start by launching a similarly-themed pilot scheme. Rebecca Cooney went along to find out more The 15-week Step2Work programme began in May and, like traineeships, includes work experience alongside basic maths, English and employability training […]

Time to grasp this opportunity

The government’s announcement that 19 to 24-year-olds will, along with 16 to 18-year-olds, be able to do traineeships has boosted hopes of tackling youth unemployment, says Stewart Segal Let’s be clear first that traineeships represent a major opportunity to tackle the NEET issue. The Spending Review announcement that from August 2013, the programme will cover […]

Living up to Ofsted’s expectations

While providers gear up for the challenge of delivering traineeships, Ofsted has been looking at how to assess the scheme. Matthew Coffey explains what the education watchdog wants to see in action. We’re all too familiar with the young person who, for whatever reasons, hasn’t excelled at school and runs the risk of joining the […]

We’re almost there but we still have work to do

Are colleges ready for traineeships? Yes, says Lynne Sedgmore, but there are still areas to consider. We all accept that the notion of traineeships is a good idea for many young people. In the post-Richard world of work-based education and training, and as the apprenticeship concept is being properly redefined, for many, the traineeship is […]

Making work experience meaningful

A central aspect of traineeships will be the work placement, which will last between six weeks and six months. The traineeship framework requires work experience to be ‘high quality’ and ‘meaningful’, so what does this mean and how can providers make sure this is the case for learners? “Clearly, the fundamentals are a safe environment, […]