Nick Linford | FE Week

Youth unemployment rises as overall rate falls

The number of young people out of work has risen despite the overall unemployment rate remaining the same in the last quarter, government figures have revealed. The number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds went up 15,000 between April and July, from 958,000 to 973,000. However, the figure is considerably down on the same period last […]

Study suggests experience of paid work while in full-time education increases job chances

Young people who experience a workplace environment while in full-time education are far more likely to land a job than those who didn’t get a taste of paid employment, a new study has suggested. Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) showed the unemployment rate for young people who have left regular education […]

Latest figures reveal just 24 loan applications from apprentices

Just 24 apprentices have applied for 24+ Advanced Learning Loans since the scheme was launched prompting a sector head to call for “concerted action to ensure that adults are not missing out”. Dr Fiona Aldridge, head of learning for work at the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, spoke out as the Department for Business, […]

Is subcontracting just the latest FE bubble?

With more than £850m-worth of subcontracting last academic year, Mick Fletcher looks at whether such delivery is something to be concerned about. Some parts of FE can be awfully hard to explain to anyone outside the system or even to many of those inside who see their main role as teaching. Indeed, some aspects are […]

Benefits concerns over traineeship hours

The government has been pressed to launch an “urgent review” of traineeships over fears the programme could hit learner benefits, FE Week can reveal. The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has called for a new look at how the government’s flagship youth unemployment scheme will affect Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA). It is concerned […]

SFA publishes £283m of inter-lead subcontracting for first time

Lead providers took on nearly £300m of subcontracted provision last academic year, Skills Funding Agency (SFA) figures have revealed. More than 1,600 subcontracting agreements, totaling £283m of funding, were in place between providers who already held their own direct contracts with the SFA. It is the first time that the extent of inter-lead subcontracting has […]

Nailing the nitty-gritty

With the government looking at new funding models for apprenticeships, Suzy Gunn explains why questions of practicality and accessibility must be considered. While most people agree solving the UK’s growing professional skills gap should be a major priority in the country’s return to healthy economic growth, exactly how this should be done is less clear. […]

Listen to BBC Radio 4 Today programme discuss FE recruitment at 14

At 06:50 this morning the BBC Radio 4 Today programme interviewed Mike Hopkins, Principal of Middlesbrough College, and Professor Ann Hodgson, Institute of Education, about the direct recruitment of full time 14 year-olds to colleges from this September. Listen to the interview below, and you can read more about direct recruitment to FE at 14, […]

FE sector launches self-improvement body

A ceremonial handing over of the Education and Training Foundation’s certificate of incorporation sealed the new FE sector self-improvement body’s official launch today. Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), and Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), gave the founding document to the organisation’s interim […]