Since our first edition landed on doorsteps in September 2011, further education has changed dramatically. Governments have come and gone. Policies have been launched, scrapped, relaunched and rebranded.
But through it all FE Week has been there week in, week out, to report, investigate, challenge and inform.
From the earliest stories on 12-week apprenticeships, the rise and fall of training giants, holding 11 ministers to account and uncovering the realities behind the rhetoric, our mission has always been the same: to serve the further education and skills sector with independent, impartial and fearless journalism.
FE deserves great trade press, not just a conveyor belt of press releases. One that understands the sector and the communities it serves and isn’t afraid to speak truth to power.
We are proud to have reported on so many of the defining moments in post-16 education and training over the past 14 years. But our job was never to merely chronicle events. Our investigations have changed policy, injected public scrutiny where there was none before and, at times I’m sure, made decision makers think twice before signing off on something daft.
We do it because we know what FE done well does for students, and what mismanagement, chaos and confusion does to the providers delivering those opportunities.
FE is famous in Whitehall for its policy churn. There was no such thing as the apprenticeship levy when we started, 16-18 numbers were going down and the sector was split across two government departments.
Funding cuts and financial challenges prevailed during FE Week’s formative years, requiring tough messages for the sector over spending and accountability.
Devolution has seen a proliferation of funding rules, procurements and policies that were all managed centrally when we published our first edition. When our classrooms vary from prisons to workshops to lecture theatres to hair salons and church halls, we work extra hard to make sure no stone is left unturned.
We strive to give voice to those too often excluded from decision-making; students, apprentices, teachers, assessors and professional services staff, and to amplify the expertise of the sector’s many champions. But we recognise, as many of you do, that FE leadership reflected in our pages often fails to reflect the diverse communities it serves.
Trust in journalism matters more than ever. From the largest global news organisations to the local and trade press, dwindling newsroom resources in the face of non-expert, polarised commentary and AI-generated hot takes is a risk for all of us. That’s why your support matters so much. You can become a subscriber here.
So, as we mark our 500th edition, we want to thank our readers, particularly those of you who have been with us from the start. Thanks for your tips, your quotes, your scrutiny and your support.
The job is far from done. If the past 500 editions have taught us anything, it’s that FE never stands still. And nor will we.
Click here to download your free copy of FE Week edition 500
