Jude Burke | FE Week

Strike dates announced for 16 colleges locked in pay disputes

Members of the University and College Union at 16 colleges will walk out for two days starting January 29, in an ongoing dispute over pay. The union has also written to the education secretary Damian Hinds urging the government to provide extra funding for staff who feel “undervalued and severely underpaid”. “UCU members are being […]

Controversial management degree apprenticeship celebrates third birthday

One of the most popular – and controversial – apprenticeship standards is celebrating its third birthday today. The chartered manager degree apprenticeship’s anniversary is being marked with an event in parliament, hosted by the Chartered Management Institute – with speakers including the boss of the Institute for Apprenticeships. Starts on the standard have grown massively […]

2019: The year ahead in FE and skills

2019 is set to be a big year for the FE and skills sector. While it’s still not clear what impact the biggest event of the year – Brexit – will have (on anything!), we’ve taken a look ahead at some of the other key developments expected over the coming 12 months – including the […]

Skills minister vows to ‘dig deeper’ into level 2 apprenticeships drop

The skills minister has vowed to “dig deeper” into the drop in level two apprenticeships, and whether it might be linked to the rise in management courses. Anne Milton was speaking exclusively to FE Week following a parliamentary debate on apprenticeships and skills at which the issue was raised. “We need to understand exactly what’s […]

London’s largest college group abandons an appeal against a £3 million HMRC bill

A London college group has chosen to give up on a 17-year appeal against HM Revenue and Customs and will have to cough up more than £3 million. The payment, listed in Capital City College Group’s recently published 2017/18 accounts, relates to an appeal begun by one of its members, the College of Haringey, Enfield […]

Ofsted to launch new inspection framework consultation at SFCA conference next week

Ofsted will launch its consultation on the new education inspection framework at the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association winter conference next week. Amanda Spielman, the education watchdog’s chief inspector, will use her speech at the event in London on Wednesday to open the consultation on the new framework, which will be introduced from September. She previously […]

ESFA seeking views on ‘long-term operation’ of apprenticeship levy

The Education and Skills Funding Agency is seeking employers’ and providers’ views on the long-term operation of the apprenticeship levy, almost two years after it was introduced. Employers can now email their “thoughts and feedback” to the agency, and it will launch a short survey in the “coming weeks”, according to today’s business update. The […]

Skills minister responds to concern apprenticeship budget will be overspent

The apprenticeship budget will be “alright” for the rest of the year, the skills minister has said. Anne Milton (pictured above) was speaking exclusively to FE Week following a parliamentary debate on apprenticeships and skills this afternoon. She was asked if she had any concerns about the size of the apprenticeships budget, following reports late […]

Government ‘pushed’ to reveal more about national retraining scheme

The government is being “pushed” by its partners on the national retraining scheme to share more information about the new programme – which could cost “billions” to run, the education select committee heard this morning. The scheme was first promised 18 months ago, but the government has yet to say how it will operate, who […]