Assessment, Skills reform

Stop trying to make technical education look academic

In the race for ‘simplicity’ in technical education, we forget that the labour market is anything but simple, writes…

Shane Chowen
David Gallagher
AI

AI Is rewriting tech careers – Can educators keep up?

With AI roles expanding 3.6 times faster than other jobs, tech educators must pivot from static curricula to teaching…

Jessica Hill
Rory James
Trauma-informed practice

Is education policy ‘TIP’ing into a trauma-informed trap? 

From Knowsley’s failed ‘deschooling’ experiment to today’s trauma-informed practice (TIP) trends, education keeps repeating the same mistake: embracing radical…

Jessica Hill
Alun Francis
The Staffroom – opinion

How apprenticeship coaches can bridge the NEET gap

‘I’ve been where you are’: How lived experience in apprenticeship coaching can help make the shift from NEET to…

Jessica Hill
Wasim Collins
skills divide

The Great British skills mismatch

Britain has never been more educated, yet skills mismatches, regional divides, and graduate overqualification threaten productivity

Jessica Hill
Larissa Marioni
Diversity

From blind hiring to flexible work: How FE can fix workplace exclusion

Ethnic minority communities are being left behind by employers. We need to close the employment gap

Jessica Hill
Dr Jane Lewis


Skills reform

One year in, Labour’s skills revolution is feeling hollow

Skills were meant to be at the heart of Labour’s economic revival. Yet, after a year of bureaucratic tweaks…

Jessica Hill
Tom Bewick
College governance

We need to learn lessons from Weston debacle before we move on

The Weston College scandal damaged trust in FE, but it also forced a reckoning on governance. With compliance under…

Jessica Hill
Ian Valvona
Skills shortages

Power crisis: the UK’s infrastructure boom could stall before it starts

The government wants to build more homes, greener energy, and major infrastructure – but a fast-declining electrical workforce could…

Jessica Hill
Chris Claydon
entry level roles

Jeremy Hunt is wrong if he thinks entry level roles aren’t vital

Despite fears that AI will eliminate entry-level jobs, demand for them remains strong in the accountancy sector. But outdated…

Jessica Hill
Clare Dye
The Staffroom – opinion

Colleges should be civil society guardians in a more uncivil world

As populism rises and trust in institutions crumbles, FE colleges are quietly doing the vital work of rebuilding civil…

Jessica Hill
Henry Taylor-Toone
Adult education

It’s wrong that nobody knows if the adult skills fund actually works

Unlike apprenticeships, adult skills funding operates in a data black hole. Should the grant-allocated system in adult education be…

Jessica Hill
Aidan Relf