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13 April 2026

Author: Nick Linford

Shadow Education Minister for Young People Woodcock on panel to look at ‘big questions’ over 3m apprenticeships target

Shadow Education Minister for Young People John Woodcock (pictured above) features among an FE and skills Parliamentary panel that will tonight reflect on “big questions” surrounding the drive for 3m apprenticeship starts. He will be joined by Ashley McCaul, chief executive at London training provider Skills for Growth, councillor Tom Bewick, managing director at consultancy firm […]

Latest FE Commissioner reports bear enrolment warnings and precarious financial outlooks

The FE Commissioner has warned Redcar and Cleveland College that its “very risky” growth strategy has got just a few months to pay off before its future independence becomes “unlikely”. Dr David Collins (pictured above left), whose May visit was triggered by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) assessing the grade three-rated college as inadequate for financial […]

Details of next year’s ‘even bigger and better’ FE Week apprenticeship conference revealed

Details of the 2016 FE Week Annual Apprenticeship Conference and Exhibition (AAC) have been finalised — and it’s set to be even bigger and better than the first time around. Birmingham’s International Convention Centre (ICC), which already hosts the Association of Colleges annual conference, will be home to the second annual AAC for three days from Wednesday, March 16. […]

Closest ever Brathay Challenge final as apprentice teams finish in dead heats

The fourth annual Brathay Apprenticeship Challenge was the closest fought yet and after a nail-biting race to the finish two teams were crowned joint champions. Apprentices from Dale Power Solutions and Sellafield shared the victory after the three gruelling days of team building and outdoor challenges. Second place was also split between the team from […]

FE lecturers in London for annual ATL conference

Members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers will meet in Central London today for its annual FE conference. FE Week will be joining them at the conference, entitled Vocationalism is Professionalism, will be providing live coverage on Twitter. General secretary Mary Bousted (pictured above) will be speaking, as well as Professor Ann Hodgson, director […]

Budget disappointment as DfE and BIS in-year cuts remain yet to be outlined

The Chancellor began his Budget speech outlining his vision of a united, ‘One Nation’ — and for wonks and hacks playing along to Buzzword Bingo, there was plenty for us. The last time a Conservative Chancellor delivered a Budget, I was seven years old. Apparently people were kicking off about Hooch at the time, not […]

Outline of a 50-year-old apprenticeship levy from the CITB

If anybody knows what the future might look like for FE and skills with an apprenticeship levy on the horizon it would be the CITB, which has been operating such a system for half a century, as Steve Radley explains. Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget yesterday launched a flurry of policy initiatives. Of course, the headline-grabber […]

Will loans and the levy save adult FE?

Mick Fletcher takes a close look at the July 2015 Budget and considers what it might mean for FE and skills. Yesterday’s emergency budget said little directly about FE. We’ll need to wait for further announcements expected imminently; perhaps the promised paper on productivity, or the government response to the dual mandate consultation? Nevertheless there’s […]