Colleges

FE’s social impact risks being ignored if we don’t measure it

From community outreach to economic renewal, FE’s contribution goes far beyond the classroom – but we need the data...

Jessica Hill
Dr Vikki Smith
Apprenticeships

Young people can’t choose the pathways they can’t see

Despite the efforts of the Baker Clause, apprenticeships remain a mystery to students, parents and society in general. A...

Jessica Hill
Dale Walker
Opinion

Post-16 reforms could worsen the NEET problem, not solve it

ITPs provide courses that work for students who have struggled in education – they must be protected in the...

Jessica Hill
Stuart Allen
Skills reform

For Skills England to succeed, the sector must lead

Skills England is already on borrowed time, because no quango survives the churn of Westminster. If the sector wants...

Jessica Hill
Mark Dawe
Colleges

To lead on inclusion, FE needs more neurodiverse thinkers at its top tables

If the sector wants innovation, empathy and resilience, it must open the door to the leaders who think differently

Jessica Hill
Imran Mir
digital skills

We’re training brilliant digital talent only for employers to overlook them

While ITPs race ahead on AI, skills and retraining, hiring practices remain stuck in the past

Jessica Hill
Ben Cheema
Colleges

A volunteer-led approach could break the resit failure cycle  

The new 100-hour rule for English and maths may increase teaching time, but without personalised support, it won’t shift...

Jessica Hill
Tim Dalton
NEETs

The NEET crisis won’t be solved by fashionable theories

Billions in piecemeal initiatives won’t reverse youth inactivity, and claims of ‘deficit thinking’ risk obscuring what’s actually happening. Only...

Jessica Hill
Alun Francis
Apprenticeships

I was NEET for 2 years. Developing soft skills saved my future

My journey from automated rejections to an RSC apprenticeship shows why soft-skills programmes aren’t a ‘nice to have’, they’re...

Jessica Hill
Hassan Ahmed