Nick Linford | FE Week

WorldSkills General Assembly hands 2019 competition to Russia

The WorldSkills General Assembly tonight (Monday, August 10) granted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s wish to host the 2019 competition. The bid for Kazan, launched on the request of Mr Putin, was the third to be heard at the meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on the eve of the 43rd WorldSkills opening ceremony. A delegation from […]

WorldSkills competitors set for starring role in opening ceremony

More than 1,000 competitors from across the globe will be the stars of the show at tonight´s WorldSkills 2015 opening ceremony. The parade of nations, when competitors from more than 60 WorldSkills member countries and regions enter the ceremony arena with their flag-waving teams, will figure early in the programme for the night. The 10,200-capacity […]

Policy proposals mean no chance for a summer slouch

Whoever says the summer holidays are a time for people who work in education to kick back and relax has obviously never worked in education, particularly education policy. In the fortnight before Parliament went on its summer recess, a whole host of inquiries and consultations were launched to keep sector wonks and leaders busy — […]

BIS ‘confirms’ ruling on local authority plan to split troubled Lewisham Southwark College

Local council plans to split Lewisham Southwark College and bring half of it under local authority control have been rejected by the FE Commissioner, it has been claimed. The college announced today that commissioner Dr David Collins had thrown out a proposal from Southwark Borough Council last month to de-merge the college. The council suggestion included taking […]

London lessons underpin Rachael Carr’s alumni support credentials for Brazil

Meet Rachael Carr — one of Team UK’s six-strong alumni support. Rachael, aged 26, who grew up Knott End, Lancashire, started as an advanced apprentice for BAE systems in 2006, and competed in WorldSkills London 2011 in the team manufacturing challenge (pictured above). She’s now a systems engineer at BAE and has returned to WorldSkills […]

Niace appoints groundbreaking FE-bred NUS president Toni Pearce to employment and skills post

The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace) has appointed outgoing president of the National Union of Students (NUS) Toni Pearce as its new head of employment and skills. A Niace spokesperson said she would play a key role in efforts to “champion employment, skills and learning for all”. She is tasked with “particular focus on […]

Awarding organisation NCFE purchases Cache

Awarding organisation NCFE has bought the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education (Cache) for an undisclosed sum, it was announced today. A statement on Hertfordshire-based Cache’s website said the deal would “ensure our centres will continue to be able to offer Cache qualifications of excellence, and will provide stability for the future of […]

Funding error reports to be sent to providers after request from advisory group

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) is to send out tailored data return error reports in response to recommendations from the Data and Management Information Advisory Group. The group, chaired by Burton and South Derbyshire principal Dawn Ward (pictured), wanted the reports so providers could identify potential errors in their individualised learner record (ILR) data — […]

Sixth form colleges set to lose criminal record-checking service

Sixth form colleges have been told they will have to find a new way of checking whether potential staff are trying to hide a criminal past. The Sixth Form Colleges’ Association (SFCA) has revealed its contract to run Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on behalf of members will come to end. It is understood the […]