Our economy won’t grow with almost 1m young people left behind Britain cannot rebuild its economy while a million young people are locked out of opportunity. This Budget must back the Youth Guarantee with real investment, or accept that wasted talent will cost us far more
FE isn’t built for sprinting, so don’t treat skills reform as a race At the AoC Conference, one message came through loud and clear: FE can’t absorb another whirlwind overhaul. Ministers want momentum; colleges want time to make reforms work
How NEET providers are propping up a failing system Helping inactive young people get back on track is being hampered by a youth population spike, market instability and inflexible student funding. Jessica Hill speaks to staff and students about what is one of FE’s toughest challenges
The skills system is broken because we keep fixing it in pieces Employers aren’t walking away from training – they’re being driven off by complexity, cost and constant reform
If learners don’t feel they belong, they won’t engage Working in safeguarding means seeing both the barriers and the brilliance in young people. Our project is proving how small interventions can build big confidence
To rebuild lives prison teaching can’t be just English and maths The new Prison Education Service promised reform, but shrinking curriculums risk undoing progress. Enterprise education could be the key to real rehabilitation, helping people not just find work but create it
Training across borders works but we risk missing the boat Transnational education could be a powerful tool for exporting UK expertise and expanding access to quality training, but our TVET sector isn’t taking advantage
White paper’s details pose a devilish problem for FE admin Just as Wells’ Martians were undone by what they overlooked, the post-16 white paper could be derailed by the unglamorous realities of enrolment, coding and timetabling
Let’s stop treating school apprenticeships as second-class training routes Apprenticeships have been overlooked in the education world, yet they’re quietly transforming how we recruit, train and retain talent