Author: Jude Burke

Around 200 colleges are expect to be hit with strike action today (February 24), as members of the University College Union (UCU) and Unison walk out in an ongoing dispute with the Association of Colleges (Aoc) over pay. The unions estimate that thousands of staff, including lecturers, librarians, technicians, cleaners and caretakers, will be striking […]

Provision paid for by advanced learner loans will have to be delivered directly by lead providers from the start of 2017/18, the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has revealed. The announcement was made on the SFA website this afternoon. It said that the agency would “cease to allow subcontracting within the advanced learner loans programme from […]

Michael Davis, chief executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), has been appointed managing director of consultancy firm Ecorys UK, it was announced today. He will take up the role with the company, which specialises in economic and public policy, on March 1, after a little over five years at the UKCES […]

Apprenticeship quality concerns will come under the spotlight in a new parliamentary inquiry that will check out the merits of government reforms as it drives to increase take-up. The Education, Skills and Economy (ESE) Sub-Committee’s probe will look at a variety of apprenticeship-related issues, including quality, progression onto higher levels and levy plans. It will also investigate […]

Business Secretary Sajid Javid has said he would welcome “more scrutiny” on skills, as he suggested that the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committee carry out an inquiry focusing on the area. During a committee evidence session in parliament this morning, Mr Javid was asked by committee chair, Iain Wright, what the committee should […]

Training providers have branded “ridiculous” the overdue news that many of their 16 to 18 apprenticeship and traineeship growth requests have not been funded in full by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA). The SFA announced today that it had awarded an additional £25m to colleges and training providers to deliver 16 to 18 apprenticeships – […]

Apprenticeship targets for the public sector and making the misuse of the term apprenticeship an offence will be debated in the House of Commons this morning as the Enterprise Bill gets its second reading. Both measures are included in part four of the bill, which is due to be introduced by Business Secretary Sajid Javid […]

Former government apprenticeship adviser Doug Richard has today been cleared of child sex charges after a week-long trial at the Old Bailey in London. The 57-year-old American multimillionaire, whose 2012 Richard Review of Apprenticeships led to ongoing reforms, had been accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl after meeting her via a ‘sugar daddy’ […]

The Department for Education (DfE) has unveiled a detailed report spelling out Education Funding Agency (EFA) 16 to 19 subcontracting arrangements for the first time. The Skills Funding Agency has published its subcontracting data for years, but yesterday (January 28) was the first time the EFA followed suit. Publication of the 2014/15 report, for example […]