Fraser Whieldon | FE Week

Apprentices put on ‘unpaid leave’ during training, Ofsted finds at provider

Apprentices at an employer provider are expected to be on unpaid leave for two months during a business shutdown while still on their training programme, Ofsted has found. Outdoor learning business Kingswood Learning and Leisure Group will likely be suspended from new starts after the early monitoring visit found it had made ‘insufficient progress’ in […]

Principal who resigned for ‘personal reasons’ becomes boss of FE for Jisc

Former Richmond-upon-Thames College principal Robin Ghurbhurun has been made managing director of FE at Jisc, after recently resigning from the college for “personal reasons”. FE Week reported in July Ghurbhurun had gone on leave from the college around the time the FE Commissioner’s team were investigating financial failings amid plans for an £80 million investment […]

Global perception survey finds UK universities least likely to prepare people for jobs

The UK is the only country where more than half of people feel university did not prepare them for their career, new research by Pearson has found. A total of 51 per cent of 1,001 UK respondents aged 16 to 70 said as much for Pearson’s first ever Global Learner Survey, while only 45 per […]

Revealed: London AEB tender funding allocations

The sums being handed to providers under the Greater London Authority’s adult education budget tender have been revealed. In August, the Department for Education devolved the capital’s £306 million adult education budget to the GLA; £130 million of which is being devolved over four years. The tender was launched in October, and the GLA said […]

CBI wants £100m annual government top-up for dwindling apprenticeship levy pot

The government should pay an annual £100 million top-up to the apprenticeship levy so all businesses can continue to spend on learners of all ages and skill levels, the Confederation of British Industry has said. Its new report, ‘Learning on the job: Improving the Apprenticeship Levy’, published today, states that the cash injection is needed […]

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 289

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving. Joanne McManus, Associate principal, Northumberland College Start date: September 2019 Previous job: Faculty director, engineering, construction and commercial, Sunderland College Interesting fact: She loves ironing. Ed Sallis, Governor, MidKent College Start Date: August 2019 Previous job: Chair, DfE’s Technical education panel for education and childcare Interesting […]

Williamson’s bold claims of putting FE centre stage will be held to account – and what about adult learning?

Sector leaders will be holding Gavin Williamson’s feet to the fire after he wrote in FE Week he is “determined to put FE centre stage”. The new education secretary’s words come after a flurry of sector activity by the government, including a £400 million funding boost and the awarding of FE portfolios to Michelle Donelan […]

Ofsted watch: Fire and rescue provider brings the heat

A fire and rescue provider received a glowing report from Ofsted this week after receiving ‘significant progress’ ratings across the board, in what was otherwise a mixed week for FE. Staffordshire Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority, which has 20 apprentices, was praised in its early monitoring visit for “setting high expectations for their apprenticeship programme”, […]

Jobs lost as training provider closes amid fraud allegations

An England-based training provider owned by a college in Wales has closed down amid multiple investigations into allegations that learner certificates were falsely claimed for. A cache of internal emails passed to FE Week by a whistleblower appears to reveal staff at Element Skills Training had been claiming certificates for learners when they had not […]