Nick Linford | FE Week

Labour’s jobseeker training proposal welcomed — but where’s the money for it, ask FE leaders

Proposals to make jobseekers take part in English, maths and IT training to qualify for benefits have been welcomed by FE sector leaders — but there were questions about how the training would be funded. The idea was announced by Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Rachel Reeves (pictured) during a speech to the Institute for […]

Cable to face MPs’ questions over failed apprentice loans policy

Business Secretary Vince Cable is this week expected to be grilled by MPs about the failed apprenticeship FE loans system. Adrian Bailey, chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee, said he planned to question Dr Cable on 24+ advanced learning loans during a session starting around 10.15am on Wednesday. The session is […]

Sector leaders turn up heat on Skills Minister Matthew Hancock over controversial funding cut

An official impact assessment on the government’s controversial education funding rate cut for 18-year-olds has come under fire from sector leaders in a joint letter to Skills Minister Matthew Hancock. Martin Doel, Association of Colleges chief executive, and David Igoe, Sixth Form Colleges Association chief executive, were two of the four to put their name to […]

Provider training firm goes bust after ‘downturn in bookings’

A company that provided training to organisations across England through the Excellence in Learning brand is being liquidated after a downturn in bookings. National Training Resources Ltd (NTRL) has appointed Birmingham-based Baker Tilly Business Services Ltd after officially going into liquidation on January 8. Excellence in Learning was a brand created by NTRL to provide […]

Working backwards to move forwards on attracting ‘elusive’ 16 to 18 apprentices

Providers delivered less 16 to 18 apprenticeship provision last year than they had initially expected. It resulted in a £241.5m under-delivery on the programme across the sector. Ben Pike looks at what providers can do to get more teenagers interested in apprenticeships. At a time when the media is shining the spotlight on apprenticeships and […]

Former college chief calls for Ofsted changes

Ofsted’s complaints process has been branded as “utterly pointless” by the chief executive who dared to boot inspectors out of her college. In her first interview about the notorious 2012 inspection of NCG (formerly Newcastle College Group), Dame Jackie Fisher (pictured left) told Rebecca Cooney (pictured right) from FE Week how she felt there was an […]

Funding cut report ‘tries to justify the unjustifiable’

The government has been accused of trying to “retrospectively justify an unjustifiable policy” with an impact assessment of plans to reduce funding for 18-year-olds that confirmed colleges would be hit harder than school sixth forms. The assessment of plans to reduce funding for 18-year-old learners to 17.5 per cent less than 16 and 17-year-olds was […]

Poor showing for FE sector in employer list

Just three FE and skills institutions made it onto a list of top employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people compiled by gay rights group Stonewall. And among the sector’s representatives on the list of 100 employers doing the most to create supportive workplaces for LGB staff was Newham College, which hit the headlines […]

Further scrutiny after Barnfield College finance claims

The FE Commissioner began scrutinising Barnfield College at the end of this week, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has announced. The Bedfordshire-based college has been under investigation by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and the Education Funding Agency (EFA) following allegations of poor financial management and the investigation report is expected to be published […]