Jude Burke | FE Week

Government no longer backing its own 3m apprenticeship manifesto commitment

The Department for Education has, for the first time, refused to commit to its 3m apprenticeship starts target, after a spokesperson for the prime minister dodged the question this morning. The target has been included in the past two Conservative party election manifestos, but with starts falling it’s slipping ever further out of reach. At […]

IfA funding rate review: Customer service set for 13 per cent cut

Yet another popular apprenticeship standard is set to have its funding cut, following the Institute for Apprenticeship’s rate review. The level two customer service practitioner standard will have its funding cap reduced by 13 per cent – from £4,000 to £3,500 – according to documents shared with FE Week. It’s currently the third most popular […]

Funding rates to be slashed for popular management apprenticeships

The management degree apprenticeship standard is set to have its funding slashed by a massive £5,000. And funding rates for two other management standards – including the most popular standard, for team leader/ supervisor – will also be reduced. The employer group behind the standards, led by the Chartered Management Institute, is planning to appeal […]

Popular apprenticeship standard to be hit with £2k funding rate cut, claims employer group

One of the most popular apprenticeship standards is in line for a more than 20 per cent funding rate cut, according to the employer group that developed it. The level two hair professional standard was one of 31 named by the Institute for Apprenticeships in May as part of its funding band review. It had […]

Ofsted given final say over new apprenticeship provider quality

Ofsted has officially been given the final say over poor-performing apprenticeship providers following an early monitoring visit, the Education and Skills Funding Agency has confirmed today. FE Week reported back in May that the move was on the cards, following embarrassment for the government over apprenticeship accountability. According to the ESFA’s ‘Removal from register of […]

North-east training provider on the verge of collapse

A training provider in the north-east that held subcontracts worth more than £3 million last year is on the verge of collapse. JB Skills Training Limited, based in Sunderland, is in talks about bringing in the administrators, according to its managing director Dave Macmillan. He told FE Week it was “highly likely” the provider would […]

Tight deadline for ESFA survey on non-levy transition period for providers

Providers are being asked for their views on the expansion of the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s apprenticeships service– but they only have four days to respond. The agency emailed all those currently on the register of apprenticeship training providers today, inviting them to complete a survey asking for their views on the “best way […]

Allow UTCs and studio schools to select pupils, argues Toby Young

University technical colleges and studio schools should be allowed to select pupils on the basis of aptitude, a controversial new report authored by Toby Young has argued. Furthermore, such a move would be legal and would only require a change in policy, according to ‘Technically gifted: How selection can save technical and vocational education’, published […]

Monthly apprenticeship update: 3m starts target slips further away with just 22,300 starts in May

Apprenticeship starts for May are down 40 per cent compared with the same period in 2016 – but up 9,400 on last year. There have been 22,300 starts recorded so far in May 2018, compared with around 36,700 in May 2016 according to the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s monthly apprenticeship statistics update, published this morning. […]