Author: Nick Linford

Comedian-turned-actor Sir Lenny Henry will be one of the guest speakers at this year’s Association of Colleges (AoC) Conference. He will discuss the role that education has played in his life and particularly in his work with Comic Relief, at the three-day conference which opens on November 17 in Birmingham. A college student himself in the 1980s, Sir Lenny went to WR […]

Stratford-upon-Avon MP Nadhim Zahawi (above left) today told how his “experience as an entrepreneur” would help him in his new role as Prime Minister David Cameron’s apprenticeships adviser. The announcement came during today’s Prime Minister’s questions and will see the remit to help the government deliver its General Election pledge to create 3m new apprenticeships over the next […]

The prestigious Festival of Education has unveiled The Telegraph as its new UK media partner and announced a leading role for FE Week publishers Lsect. The news broke on Thursday (November 5) that The Telegraph had signed a two-year contract to replace The Sunday Times in a deal that will see the event renamed The […]

Skills Minister Nick Boles has ruled out a blanket ban on new university technical colleges (UTCs) where post-16 education area reviews are taking place. Shadow Skills Minister Gordon Marsden grilled Mr Boles in a series of written parliamentary questions on the details of the area reviews, including whether any UTCs or post 16 school would […]

The results of the first Ofsted short inspection of a good provider were positive for the Cheshire college visited — but fears have emerged that it was “more of a case of how much you can cram in within two days”. The 4,100-learner Riverside College, in Widnes, was the first FE provider to experience the […]

Limited demand for level three apprenticeship skills among UK businesses could lead to “resistance” to the proposed large employers’ levy, according to joint House of Commons select committee research out today. Business, Innovation and Skills committee chair Iain Wright (pictured above left) and his Education committee counterpart Neil Carmichael (pictured above right) commissioned the research, […]

Consultation has opened on the first batch of Trailblazer assessment plans to be subject to public scrutiny. Anyone with an interest has until November 13 to comment on the 16 new draft assessment plans, which include gas engineering and aviation ground specialist, via the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) online consultation hub. The […]

Prestigious awards and special commendations have been handed out to dozens of learners and employers at National Apprenticeship Awards (NAAs) regional finals for the East Midlands and East of England. The last two of 11 NAA regional finals held over the last month took place at Sketchley Grange Hotel, Leicestershire, Thursday, October 29, and Rowley Mile […]

Shadow Skills Minister Gordon Marsden has called on the government to “get a grip” after new figures showed that providers missed out on almost £250m in FE loans cash last academic year. Figures released by the government showed that the total amount awarded for 24+ advanced learning loans in 2014/15 was £149m, which was 62 […]