One of the country’s leading female engineers has unveiled a portrait of herself at Bradford College in the hopes it will inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Dr Phebe Mann is the first and only woman in the UK to hold six professional engineering qualifications, and was made an honorary fellow at the college three years ago.
The image was commissioned by the WISE campaign, a national organisation promoting women in STEM, which has also recognised Dr Mann as one of its ‘women of outstanding achievement’.
The photograph will go on display in the college’s David Hockney building, alongside a statue of Sir Edward Appleton, a Nobel Prize winner who pioneered in radio physics – and worked as lab technician at the college between 1909 and 1911.
“The perception that engineering is ‘not for girls’ has gradually been changed over the years,” said Dr Mann.
“We should do more to encourage young people, especially girls, to consider engineering as a very worthwhile and rewarding career.
“I sincerely hope that my portrait can encourage more young people to contemplate it as their career.”
Main image: One small step for Mann: Dr Phebe Mann, left, with Bradford College bigwigs
The Institute for Apprenticeships looks increasingly likely to launch without either a permanent chief or deputy chief executive, following yet more delays to board appointments.
With less than three months until the IfA is “fully operational”, the two top jobs haven’t even been advertised – and the Department for Education cannot say when that will happen.
The government is reluctant to say whether any board members have been appointed, despite first advertising the paid posts in June 2016, when it claimed that appointments would be announced in October.
Labour’s shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden has described the creation of the new Institute as “a complete shambles” and claims in an exclusive piece on page 16 that it is “in danger of becoming a huge scandal”.
He writes: “The department has repeatedly pressured stakeholders to ensure they are ready for the apprenticeship Levy and Institute in April.
They’ve stubbornly resisted suggestions from the sector about a more phased in approach yet now appear in a state of meltdown
“They’ve stubbornly resisted suggestions from the sector about a more phased in approach yet now appear in a state of meltdown.
“How can people have confidence in the Institute being effective from April when the Government have yet to even advertise for the key figures who will be running it?”
When FE Week asked the DfE why the hires had been delayed in light of the fact the Institute is scheduled to open in just 10 weeks – it refused to admit that the deadlines had been missed.
“The roles of permanent chief executive and deputy at the IfA will be publicly advertised in due course, following the appointment of the board members,” said a spokesperson.
“The current post-holders were appointed on an interim basis to drive forward the creation of the IfA ahead of its launch in April.”
The IfA is currently overseen by three temporary heads: Peter Lauener, its shadow chief executive, Mike Keoghan, the shadow deputy chief executive, and Antony Jenkins, who is shadow chair.
Deputy director roles were also advertised in October, but again there have been no announcements on who will be chosen, or when.
The Institute has also lost two managers it had previously appointed last year: Rachel Sandby-Thomas and Nicola Bolton, who both acted as shadow chief operating officer.
Ms Sandby Thomas was appointed to the post in March, but left just six months later in September to join Warwick University as its registrar.
Nicola Bolton, the former managing director for trade at UK Trade and Investment, was named shadow chief operating officer in June, but only served five months in the role.
Read Gordon Marsden’s opinion piece here
The DfE had no comment on why either person left.
Mark Dawe, the boss of the AELP, told FE Week that delays in announcing the board and a permanent chair “will inevitably delay the recruitment of the CEO”, which would put “yet further pressure on the IfA” which already “faces an incredibly challenging agenda”.
From the public’s perspective, little has changed with the leadership situation since Mr Dawe raised concerns about it more than six months ago, when he spoke at a House of Commons subcommittee hearing on education skills and the economy in June.
“Every time there’s a difficult question,” he said, “we’re told the institute will resolve it – and they haven’t got a board, or a management team or staff yet, as far as I can tell.”
The government has confirmed that at least 2.3 per cent of the workforce in public sector bodies in England will have to be apprentices, in a move requiring that 200,000 more will have to be recruited by 2020.
The target was provisionally aired a year ago, as part of a consultation on how large a role public bodies should play in meeting the government’s overall target of creating 3 million new apprenticeship starts by 2020.
The Department for Education has now confirmed 2.3 per cent as the minimum requirement in their response to the consultation.
Skills minister Robert Halfon (pictured) announced that this would effectively mean setting the public sector a target of recruiting 200,000 more apprentices by 2020, although this won’t apply to FE colleges.
“We are committed to breaking down barriers and creating a ladder of opportunity for people everywhere,” he said.
“For our public sector to be the very best in the world, we need talented and ambitious people of all ages and from every background.
“Businesses across the country have well and truly got behind apprenticeships.
“Now it is time to ensure the public sector reaps the benefits of apprenticeships and young people get the opportunities they deserve.”
FE Week exclusively revealed last January that any public sector apprenticeship target won’t apply to colleges.
The DfE confirmed it remains the case that FE colleges are not included because they are not defined by the Office for National Statistics as exclusively public.
The target is being championed by the civil service, which has pledged an “unprecedented increase” in apprentices, to achieve 30,000 apprenticeship starts in England by 2020.
“Setting these expectations for larger employers in the public sector is essential to give people the skills they need to succeed and enable public sector employers to deliver the skilled workforce for the future,” the DfE has said.
Last year’s nine question consultation paper explained that “as a starting point for determining an appropriate target for public sector organisations”, the government had “taken the current proportion of public sector workers in the total workforce in England (16.2 per cent)”.
“We would, therefore, expect the public sector to deliver 16.2 per cent of 3 million apprenticeship starts,” it added.
It explained the plan was for all but around 30 of the 354 local authorities, all police and Armed Forces, and the vast majority of fire and rescue services would have to hit the target.
It was planned that other large bodies including Network Rail, London Underground, the BBC, Sellafield, Post Office, City of London, Bank of England, Financial Ombudsman Service, and the Financial Conduct Authority would also be covered.
UPDATE: The government response to their consultation has now been published, which describes a number of bodies that, despite being defined by the ONS as public sector, will be excluded from the target. These include:
> BBC and Channel 4
> Post Office
> ‘Financial institutions’ – FE Week is seeking further clarity here
> Houses of Parliament, because “they are not subject to control or direction of ministers”
Even though it will be charged with implementing a flagship policy, it has yet to advertise for a permanent chief and deputy chief executive, and we now have less than three months before it goes live.
The muddle has been there from day one. It wasn’t even in the original Enterprise Bill, which started in the Lords in October 2015. The then-business secretary announced it almost as an afterthought at its second reading in the Commons in February 2016, when ministers failed to bring a new clause forward to set it up. So it was left to us to propose a structure to define its remit clearly and inclusively, even though the government replaced this work with a bland piece of boilerplate.
Ministers had boasted that the Institute would be business-led, but its initial shadow chief executive was a career civil servant who left after a few months. The shadow chief operating officer also left after a similarly short time. It fell to Peter Lauener, who already has two jobs corralling both the EFA and SFA, all on just two days a week.
Will it be a Valentine’s Day treat, or perhaps an April Fool’s surprise?
In November, as a witness for the Technical and Further Education Bill, I pressed Peter on the process for finalising the Institute’s structure and appointments. He said he expected these “before Christmas”. It’s now mid-January and we are still none the wiser. When will the sector know who’s taking this crucial new body forward? Will it be a Valentine’s Day treat, or perhaps an April Fool’s surprise?
The IfA is a source of deep concern that’s in danger of becoming a huge scandal. The department has repeatedly pressured stakeholders to ensure they are ready for the apprenticeship levy and the Institute in April. It has stubbornly resisted suggestions from the sector about a more phased-in approach yet now appears in a state of meltdown.
How can people have confidence that the IfA will be effective from April when the government has yet to even advertise for the key figures which will run it?
This appears to be an expanding pattern across the DfE. When Theresa May became PM, the apprenticeships tsar was stood down without word, and we don’t know when or if he will be replaced. The Skills Plan proposals, to remedy the government’s total neglect of adult learning, are becalmed, while the shadow education secretary Angela Rayner and I have just written to the Mr Halfon, along with the former skills minister David Lammy, and 59 other MPs.
What is paralysing the department? Is it the morass of Brexit, turf wars with the Cabinet Office, continuing problems over absorbing skills and apprenticeships into the DfE? Or is it the inadequate resources trickling into the Institute itself? Labour has repeatedly warned that the modest investments of personnel and money (60 people, £8 million) by the government will not nearly be enough to get the IfA going – especially as it will also take on the whole area of technical education within the next 12 months.
As someone once involved with setting up a major new arms-length body I find it incredible – as I am sure many in the sector do – that ministers don’t even have the key people in place now. In most cases, these people need to be in post for a run-in of nine to 12 months in order to guarantee success, even part-time.
Currently, the Institute resembles a jigsaw puzzle with most of the vital pieces missing.
You only get one shot at getting this sort of change right. And if the minister does not rattle cages immediately to sort it out, it won’t be just another Whitehall farce. It will be a tragedy for the stakeholders, the hundreds of large and thousands of small businesses who want to do the right thing by apprenticeships, and the hundreds of thousands of would-be apprentices, who desperately need for their life chances to see these initiatives work.
Gordon Marsden is shadow minister for higher education, further education and skills
More than 60 MPs have written to the apprenticeships and skills minister, backing a campaign in support of a return to widespread ‘night schools’ and demanding more government commitment to adult education.
The signatories, who included Angela Rayner, shadow education secretary, and Gordon Marsden, shadow skills minister, warned Mr Halfon of a “gaping skills gap” holding back the economy, which is “about to get a lot worse if we leave the single market”.
They also cautioned: “We can no longer afford to ignore the people and communities who feel ‘left behind’ – the parts of our country where many people feel trapped in low-income jobs with little prospect for change.”
The letter followed an adjournment debate called by David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, on Friday Jan 13, on the topic of Adult Education and the Future of Night Schools.
Mr Lammy launched the parliamentary campaign to try and counter the far-reaching cuts the government is making to adult education, with learner numbers falling by nearly 40 per cent since his time as skills minister.
Ahead of the debate, the MP told FE Week that he would be calling for a return to the traditional concept of “night schools”, which he wants provided either by local authorities or FE colleges.
According to government figures, there are around 1.5 million fewer adults aged 19 or over participating in further education than there were during Mr Lammy’s stint as minister between 2007 and 2008, when the figure stood at 3.75 million.
Mr Lammy’s stand on the issue provoked the letter from MPs, which focused in on the government’s Post-16 Skills Plan from July and its “promise to ‘say more about’ the government’s ‘approach to lifetime learning for adults’ at some point in 2016”.
The 61 MPs who signed called on Mr Halfon to explain exactly when a clear strategy for adult education would be published, requesting “a national strategy that works across departments in recognition of the huge range of beneficial outcomes that adult education has for individuals, our economy and society in general”.
Their letter also highlighted that although the adult education budget “has been frozen in cash terms” this will mean “a cut in real terms” which follows “40 per cent cuts to the adult skills budget between 2010 and 2015”.
It also noted that “the number of adult learners fell by 10.8 per cent in just a single year between 2014 and 2015” while the number of adults achieving level four awards or above has fallen by “a staggering 75 per cent in just two years”.
The letter concluded with a reproach against the government, saying: “When education and skills provision does not keep up with a changing economy and jobs market then inequality is exacerbated and it is those at the bottom who lose out most.”
Other key names backing the demands were Clive Lewis, shadow secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, Kate Osamor, shadow secretary of state for international development, and Chi Onwurah, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Adult education is a vital part of this government’s aim to empower everyone in our society to succeed and create the skilled workforce we need.
“Measures like the new apprenticeship levy and advanced learner loans means there is more funding to support adults in further education than at any time in England’s history.
“And we’re going further by conducting a review into gaps in support for lifetime learning so more adults get the chance to climb the ladder of opportunity to secure quality jobs.”
It is not the first time Mr Lammy has spurred MPs to support a cause in FE – in September 2016 a group of 51 MPs led by David Lammy signed another letter to Mr Halfon, urging him to reverse apprenticeships funding cuts exposed by FE Week.
This was followed by FE Week’s successful #SaveourApprenticeships campaign, and a subsequent government u-turn on the cuts.
The English and maths progress measures, included in today’s 16 to 18 performance tables for 2016, compares learners’ performance at GCSE to their grade at the end of post-16 education in these key subjects.
It is based solely on the achievements of learners that did not gain at least a grade C at GCSE, and who therefore must continue to study the subjects post-16.
It’s one of a number of new 16 to 19 accountability measures introduced in this year’s performance tables, which rank the achievements of 208 general FE colleges and 91 sixth form colleges.
On average, colleges scored minus 0.27 for English, and minus 0.29 for maths – which means that, on average, learners at FE colleges are not progressing in these key subjects.
In comparison, sixth form colleges scored an average of 0.47 for English and 0.41 for maths.
David Hughes
David Hughes, chief executive at the Association of Colleges, said the issue of English and maths was “complex” and it “raises many questions”.
The “vast majority” of students who need to continue to study English and maths post-16 do so at colleges, he said, “and that means for some colleges the numbers are quite staggering”.
“Overall around 70 per cent of students moving onto colleges need to re-sit one or both exams and in many cases this equates to over a thousand or even over 2,000 students.
“This scale of need makes it very difficult to compare colleges with schools where the numbers are usually very low indeed, often less than a class-full,” Mr Hughes said.
While some students arrive at colleges “requiring a little extra work to achieve a grade C” others need “more intensive support, time and motivation to help them progress,” he added.
A college’s score for the English and maths progress measure is based on how much their learners without at least a grade C in GCSE English or maths have advanced in those subjects between GSCE and the end of post-16 education.
Each grade better is worth one point, while each grade lower is worth minus one point.
For example, a student who got a grade D at GCSE, but who achieved a C at their resit would score one point, while a learner who went down from a grade D to an E would score minus one.
Students who are unable to sit their exam, or who do badly for reasons beyond the control of the institution, are also automatically given a score of minus one – although this raised concern about fairness.
The college’s score is the average of all its learners’ scores.
Other headline measures in this year’s performance tables for the first time include student progress and attainment.
Again these show FE colleges faring badly in comparison with other providers.
The measures, first announced by the government in 2014, are designed to show all the key indicators of performance for colleges and school sixth forms much more clearly.
The student progress score measures learners’ progress from GCSEs to their level three qualification, when compared with others with the same prior attainment at GCSE.
Providers are given separate scores for A-levels, all academic qualifications – which include A-levels alongside other qualifications such as international baccalaureate – and applied general, or vocational, qualifications.
A score of zero means that a provider is exactly at the national average.
Today’s statistics show that, on average, general FE colleges scored minus 0.16 on both the A-level and academic progress measures, and minus 0.28 on vocational qualifications.
Sixth form colleges scored minus 0.03 on both A-level and academic progress, and 0.15 on vocational qualifications.
FE also scored lower on attainment than sixth form colleges.
This measure looked at the average grade achieved by learners in A-levels, academic qualifications, tech level and vocational qualifications.
The average grade achieved by A-level and academic students at FE colleges was D+, while for tech level qualifications it was a Merit+ and vocational qualifications it was a Dist-.
Meanwhile, sixth form college learners achieved a C average on A-levels and academic qualifications, and Dist on both tech levels and vocational qualifications.
FE Week asked the Department for Education for a comment on the English and maths performance measure, but had not received a response ahead of publication.
A fifth of sixth form colleges have started formal negotiations to convert to academy status, the academies minister has revealed.
Lord Nash made the announcement in front of more than 100 delegates at the sixth form college association’s conference in London today.
FE Week previously reported that around 70 per cent of SFCs had registered an interest in becoming an academy, following recommendations in their area review of post-16 education.
But Lord Nash’s comments today mean that around 18 of the country’s 93 sixth form colleges are now in official negotiations with the Department for Education to academise.
A Sixth Form Colleges Association spokesperson explained that a register of interest can be just a phone call or an email saying they are interested. But a formal proposal is when a provider takes the next step of filling out an official document provided by the DfE.
The peer told the conference: “As academies minister I am really pleased with the way in which sixth form college’s have responded to the opportunity of converting to an academy.
“Over half of you have expressed an interest in converting and a fifth have already started formal process to make the change.
“This will, I’m sure, bring great benefits to you, the schools you work with and the education system as a whole.”
SFCs were first told about the opportunity to convert during the spending review in November 2015.
Former chancellor George Osborne said at the time that becoming an academy would allow a college to avoid paying VAT – which is on average £317,000 for each college.
SFCs have the option to convert either as a standalone academy, or as a multi-academy trust – either by joining an existing MAT or setting up a new one.
Sir Dan Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation which runs 41 schools, also spoke at today’s conference and urged all SFCs to convert.
He said that while staying as a college would give leaders the “autonomy used by independent schools”, academy conversion would give them the opportunity to make a “system impact” and reduce costs during a time of declining budgets.
“Clearly there is the advantage of avoiding VAT, but there is much more than that,” Moynihan said.
“You lead powerful and high quality organisations and in some ways you are a model for what the government ultimately wants the whole education system to look like.
“My contention is academisation will allow you to continue what you do now, but in a way that could further strengthen your colleges by broadening your reach, strengthening your finances and capacity and allowing you to have a system impact.
“Whichever model you choose logically you would wish to provide central services from within your group and you will be able to charge a budget top slice to do this, and if done well it is an opportunity by which you can drive economies of scale and reduce your own costs.”
He added that the latest funding agreements with the DfE allows the budgets of members in a trust to be “pulled and reallocated” based on different criteria, which creates the “flexibility to allocate funds based on needs”.
Speaking to FE Week after his speech Moynihan said that while he could understand some leaders of SFCs may prefer to keep their autonomy and not convert, it is “probably a good move for the country for the majority to do it”.
The UK’s most promising apprentices and best employers will tonight be crowned the winners of the National Apprenticeships Awards 2016.
Nine apprentices and 18 employers will take centre stage at the ceremony in Grosvenor House, London, after battling it out to be recognised as the country’s most elite in each category.
Winners of the awards, which are now in their 13th year and are run by the National Apprenticeship Service, will be decided based on a year’s worth of work demonstrating how employers can grow their own talent with apprenticeships and how apprentices have made a significant contribution to the workplace.
Skills and apprenticeships minister Robert Halfon will be speaking tonight, where he is expected to say: “Apprenticeships work. They give people of all ages and all backgrounds the ladder of opportunity to get paid experience in work and a top class qualification at the same time.
“The National Apprenticeship Awards ensure apprenticeships get the prestige they deserve, while shining a light on the fantastic work that both apprentices and their employers do.”
Nominees, who this year include employers such as Mercedes-Benz and apprentices from Siemens and Rolls Royce, have had to go through a tough process to get to the national finals.
They had to submit applications that demonstrated how they benefited from their apprenticeship and detailed their contribution to the business objectives of their employer.
Their applications were first judged at a regional level, where a panel decided the top three finalists.
Each entrant then had to “enhance” their application before submitting it to the national judging panel. The national panel then decides the country’s elite apprentice and employer winners.
There will be three apprentice winners – one from each category – and one apprenticeship champion.
Six victorious employers will also be announced. Sue Husband, the director of the National Apprenticeship Service, said: “We should congratulate everyone who has reached this stage and been recognised as a finalist at a national level.
“Whatever happens on the night, each apprentice and employer deserves recognition for committing to and delivering on apprenticeships. For these individuals and employers, the level of success and impact brought by apprenticeships is huge.”
FE Week will be live tweeting from the awards ceremony tonight from 6pm, on Twitter at @feweek.
The finalists
Successful National Apprenticeship Awards 2016 national finalists are:
Unilever Small Employer of the Year
– Ebsford Environmental Ltd
– ISO Quality Services Ltd
– Blu Sky Tax
British Gas Medium Employer of the Year
– Troup Bywaters + Anders
– Metalcraft
– Michael and Margaret Naylor and Associates
BAE Systems Award for Large Employer of the Year
– Mercedes-Benz UK
– John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance Ltd
– Yorkshire Housing
EON Award for Macro Employer of the Year
– Whitbread
– Lloyds Banking Group
– Mitie Group Plc
Santander Award for Newcomer SME of the Year
– Great Annual Savings Group
– APTCOO – A Place To Call Our Own
– Craggs Energy Ltd
Rolls-Royce Award for Newcomer Large Employer of the Year
– Pickfords Move Management Limited
– Bond Dickinson LLP
– Softcat
The I-Can Qualifications Award for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year
– Cameron Baker, Business Administration, Rentokil Initial
– Charlotte Blowers, Nail Services, Exceed
– Ashley Haslam, Vehicle Maintenance and Repair, Wilson’s Autos
EAL Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year
– Becky King, Life Sciences and Chemical Science Professionals, National Physical Laboratory
– Emma Goulding, Engineering, Siemens
– Adam Sharp, Advanced Engineering Construction, Sellafield Ltd
The Nuclear Decommissioning Site Licence Companies Award for the Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year
– Melissa Loonam, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, Rolls-Royce plc
– Jack McCarthy, Supply Chain Management, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (Ware) Ltd
– Holly Broadhurst, Engineering, J C Bamford Excavators Ltd
The director of assessment role for the new Institute for Apprenticeships has been likened to “a hand grenade with the pin removed”, by the head of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers.
Mark Dawe, chief executive of AELP, said in an exclusive FE Week webinar today he felt sorry for whoever takes on the new post, also warning that the government should not “duplicate” the job of qualifications regulator Ofqual.
Speaking on the responsibilities of the IfA, Mr Dawe said: “I imagine anyone taking on this role will feel like they have been handed a hand grenade with the pin removed.
“But the actual leg work – we don’t understand why that isn’t given to the government agency that’s there with the expertise in assessment, and that’s Ofqual.”
He said there were still many discussions to be had on the end-point assessment of apprenticeships, around whether it will be “valid, reliable, manageable across all the standards” and whether there are “actually organisations to do it”.
“We’ve heard maybe 50 per cent – maybe more than 50 per cent now – of standards have an EPA organisation,” Mr Dawe said.
“But you talk to those EPA organisations and a lot of them aren’t going to be ready for 12 months to actually deliver it.”
He added: “They [the government] could make their lives a lot easier if they just didn’t duplicate and actually commissioned Ofqual to do the work that’s needed.”
It is not the first time Mr Dawe has raised concerns about the Institute’s handling of assessment.
When the Department for Education published its Draft Strategic Guidance for the IfA earlier this month, Mr Dawe responded by saying: “Big questions remain on standards and assessment, which is why AELP is calling for a complete pause on the whole process.
“In our view, there would be much less cause for confusion if Ofqual was given the overarching role on assessment on behalf of the IfA.”
FE Week questioned the DfE on why Ofqual would not be taking up this responsibility, but the department would not be drawn on the issue.
A DfE spokesperson said: “We believe that the SFA is best placed to maintain the Register of Apprenticeship Assessment Organisations and has significant experience in quality assuring organisations to deliver services.
“We continue to work with all organisations who have a role to play in assuring the quality of apprenticeships in England.”
She added: “We are also consulting on how the IfA should carry out its functions.
“The consultation closes at the end of January and we will consider responses carefully.”
An Ofqual spokesperson was similarly reticent.
He said: “Supporting the development of high quality end point assessments is a priority for Ofqual in 2017.
“We are already working closely with the DfE, IfA, SFA and others to establish the optimum arrangements for maintaining standards. We will not be responding to the consultation.”
The webinar was hosted by FE Week editor Nick Linford, and conducted in partnership with NCFE.
