Nick Linford | FE Week

Understanding what journalists are looking for can be a challenge

As an education journalist, I receive hundreds of press releases and dozens of phone calls each week from people wanting me to write about their client or organisation. I delete most of the emails, unopened, and I rarely return phone calls unless the story is of interest. I know that sounds rude. But if I […]

The FE Week National Apprenticeship Week 2013 supplement

Download your copy of our special 16 page supplement, produced in partnership with NCFE, via the link below. > http://lsect.co.uk/NAW-2013-Supp.pdf (15mb) Introduction to the supplement Thousands of apprentices, from hairdressers to aeronautic engineers, will next week show off all that apprenticeships have to offer. More than 800 events, including an international conference, have-a-go activities and a […]

FE Minister in college merger warning

Further education Minister Matthew Hancock has written to all governors and principals with a warning on mergers just weeks after his staff launched a probe into the plans of two Midland colleges to join forces. He “would expect accountability” to local communities to be the main reason behind any major changes, and said: “The starting […]

Ofsted clashes with AoC over ‘consequence of failure’

Ofsted boss Sir Michael Wilshaw has clashed with the Association of Colleges (AoC) over the issue of failing colleges after claiming there was no “consequence for failure in the FE sector”. Flanked by his learning and skills director, Mathew Coffey, Sir Michael told members of the education select committee that the system for failing schools […]

Government ‘accepts principle’ of Lord Heseltine’s single funding pot

The government has already “accepted the principle” of Lord Heseltine’s single funding pot idea for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), the Tory grandee told MPs today (Tuesday, February 12). Members of the House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee grilled Lord Heseltine on his proposals to hand over the entire skills budget to […]

Exclusive: Jobs hope with agreement on Pearson in Practice

The future of around 150 FE jobs might have been saved after a deal was struck “in principle” to buy Pearson in Practice. The firm, bought as Melorio Plc (consisting of Zenos and Construction Learning World) two years go by Pearson for £99.3m, could soon be renamed Vision Workforce Skills if the deal with West Nottinghamshire […]

SFA demands subcontractor deals go online

Tough new rules forcing prime contractors to go public with information on their deals with providers are to be introduced by the Skills Funding Agency. See paragraphs 342 to 346 on pages 79 to 81 in the Funding Rules 2013/14. Regulations that will come into force from August will require primes to publish details of their […]

Alarm as under-19 apprenticeship figures fall

The number of under 19 apprenticeships has fallen for the first time in three years — and figures indicate the slide could get worse. The latest Statistical First Release shows there were 1,800 fewer 16 to 18-year-old apprenticeship starts last year than in 2010/11 – a 1.4 per cent fall. And provisional figures for the […]

Sackings protest hits college open day

A Union said up to 100 members protested during a Midland college’s open day as a “last resort” over the sacking of four lecturers. University and College Union (UCU) members marched through Halesowen, near Birmingham, waving banners and chanting support for David Muritu and three others — all formerly Halesowen College maths lecturers and active […]