Latest news from FE Week | FE Week

Skills minister bids farewell to Team UK with heartfelt speech

“You are helping to improve the national culture around skills and apprenticeships” was the message from Robert Halfon to EuroSkills Team UK at a special send-off event in Westminster today.

The apprenticeship and skills minister gave a heartfelt speech to the 22 competitors who are flying out to Sweden tomorrow.

Mr Halfon congratulated them on their success so far and urged them to carry on increasing the “prestige” of skills and apprenticeships in the country.

“We always debate government policy about apprenticeships, whether they are good or bad, whether things can be improved,” he said. “But one thing is clear, we can have the best government voices in the world but it will make no difference until we improve prestige and change the conversation about skills and apprenticeships.

“These competitions and this team, the competitors and experts, do more to change the culture and prestige than almost anything else that I can see.

“I want to congratulate all of you for doing a remarkable job. Let this work continue and carry on winning medals.

Robert Halfon speaking at the EuroSkills Team UK send off event

“Although you are winning medals for WorldSkills you are helping to change the national conversation and the culture to make skills and apprenticeships be seen as a number one occupation to do in our country.”

The minister was one of many passionate voices at today’s event in the Terrace Pavilion at the House of Commons, where parents, team leaders and staff from WorldSkills UK, which organises the UK’s WorldSkills entries, came to say good bye and good luck to the competitors.

Peter Bakare, a former Team GB volleyball Olympian who competed at London 2012, is now a WorldSkills UK’s performance coaches and offered the team some words of encouragement.

“Being an Olympian I can really understand what these guys go through in terms of honing their skills and trying to get better. I’ve seen these skills in action at The Skills Show and it is amazing to see the level of detail and skill they have.

“They’re flying out to Sweden tomorrow so all I can say is guys, go out there and go for gold in Gothenburg.”

Neil Bentley, chief executive of WorldSkills UK, said the team going to Gothenburg will be “fantastic” and those taking part in international competitions will reach levels of achievement at a young age which “many aspire to do in their entire careers”.

He would not make a firm prediction for the medal total when pressed by FE Week but did admit the team were looking to “build on” the haul of three golds, six silvers and three medallions for excellence they picked up at EuroSkills 2014 in Lille.

“We’re always looking to build on the platform,” he said. “Our measure of success will be compared for how we do in Lille so obviously we would like to do better than that.”

Peter Bakare on stage at the Team UK send off event in parliament

The competitors were each issued with a special enamel pin at today’s event.

Cabinet making competitor Angus Bruce-Gardner, aged 21, said: “It is a great achievement to get this far and I’m really looking forward to going out to Gothenburg.

“All of the weekends and evenings I’ve been putting into this is paying off and I’m ready to go out there and do it now.”

Angus’ mum Beth and dad Ian were at the event and will be traveling out to Sweden to cheer him on all the way.

“We’re absolutely incredibly proud of him,” Beth said. “It is amazing that we are given this opportunity to come to events like this and share the journey with him.”

Unfortunately one member of Team UK won’t make it to Sweden.

Visual merchandising competitor Chloe Wills had to withdraw from the competition due to personal reasons.

A WorldSkillsUK spokesperson said: “WorldSkills UK took the decision not to replace Chloe Wills, the competitor in visual merchandising.

“We have a duty of care to all our competitors on our training programme and because we were informed of Chloe’s decision only two weeks ago, we could not ensure that the replacement competitor would have sufficient preparation time to prepare to compete internationally.”

The rest of the team will fly to Sweden tomorrow, in preparation for EuroSkills, which will run from December 1 to 3 and FE Week will be joining them.

College’s new construction centre named in memory of beloved course leader

A college’s new construction centre has been named in memory of a teacher who recently lost his battle with cancer.

The Kevin Diett Construction Centre at Sussex Downs College in Eastbourne has been named after the former course leader in brickwork, Kevin Diett, who passed away from the disease earlier this year.

The centre was officially opened by Kevin’s wife Veronica and attended by his two sons, daughter and grandchildren, along with staff and students at the college.

Nigel Edwards, the college’s new course leader in brickwork, said: “Naming this building after Kevin was a must-do for us. One student I spoke to earlier said they never saw him without a smile on his face. The students here today are here because of Kevin.”

Veronica added: “Kevin would be so humbled by this. He loved working here, loved his students and enjoyed coming to work every day. I hope the college has continuing success in brickwork, bringing in students who come to learn and be prepared for the workplace.”

A commemorative brick is displayed at the entrance of the new centre as a tribute to the well loved course leader.

Featured picture: The Diett family at the opening of the centre

FEATURE: Students bring home the bacon at farming festival

The annual East of England Smithfield Festival attracts competitive farmers from across the country, with the College Challenge category perhaps the most competitive of all. The 2016 winners have now been crowned. Samantha King reports.

For months, students from agricultural colleges across the UK have been gearing up for the East of England Smithfield Festival’s College Challenge, which took place last week.

Judging students on their knowledge of all aspects of farming, from identifying feed to assessing a quality carcass, the challenge saw over 30 teams from across 15 colleges enter in the hopes of returning home as champions.

They were able to represent the college so well and we’re just really proud of them. It just shows that we must be doing something right

After beating off stiff competition, it was a team of four girls from Askham Bryan college in York that brought home the bacon – and £300 in prize money.

Emily Watson, Marian Porter, Pippa Jackson and Lauren Rucklidge – currently in their second year of studying an extended diploma in agriculture at the college – each had to complete an individual challenge, before taking part in a final group task, which saw them sail into first place.

Each team member had to judge a breeding ewe, a breeding heifer (a cow that has not previously had a calf), a lamb carcass or a pen of finished lambs, before working together to pass the final task of identifying different types of feed.

campus-feat-inset — Lecturer Tim Moakes (left) with the girls and boys teams from Askham Bryan

In order to judge the animals, students looked out for features such as the quality of their coats, the amount of muscle along their backs, loin and tail head, and the level of fat along the ribs – a key aspect in identifying animals ready for slaughter.

They were then asked to put the animals in order of merit, and received a mark out of 100 from the judges.

Livestock lecturer at the college Tim Moakes, who accompanied the students to the event, said: “The tasks tied in well with the agriculture course, as half of the modules are about livestock. Learning what a good heifer or good breeding ewe should look like, and identifying what a finished animal looks like if you’re going to send it off for slaughter, are all key skills.”

Askham Bryan college also entered a team of four boys, Tom Hartley, Richard Allen, Henry Grant and Freddie Harrison, but they were pipped by the girls.

Aside from the College Challenge, there were also categories for butchers, young stockperson of the year, the trade stand award and the livestock equipment award, appealing to professional farmers of all ages looking to show off their skills in their respective parts of the industry.

Mr Moakes said: “You drive them there, you get them ready, you give them some confidence, you tell them that they can do it, you can organise them and make sure they know where they should be, and then you leave them to it.

“We’re all very proud of the students’ performance, their achievement and the conduct shown. They were able to represent the college so well and we’re just really proud of them. It just shows that we must be doing something right.”

The festival was established in 2011 after The Royal Smithfield Club joined up with the East of England Agricultural Society Winter Stock Festival, and is the leading primestock show for commercial cattle and sheep; hosting one of the largest pedigree calf shows in the UK.

Featured picture: (L-R) Pippa Jackson, Emily Watson, Lauren Rucklidge and Marian Porter

UTC Cambridge hit by Ofsted grade four rating

A University Technical College based in Cambridge has been hit with an ‘inadequate’ grade by the education watchdog Ofsted.

UTC Cambridge opened in September 2014, specialising in biomedical science, environmental science, and technology, and is backed by Cambridge University Health Partners and Cambridge Regional College.

Andrew Hutchinson, interim executive principal at UTC Cambridge, said a “transitional leadership structure” had been put in place.

He said: “We believe these measures and others will rapidly take the college out of special measures and help us with our journey to become an excellent college.

“While we face a challenge at the moment, we should not forget what makes the college a great place to learn.

“The future of the UTC remains positive – we have amazing young people, staff and facilities.”

At the time of going to press the Ofsted report was yet to be published.

A spokesperson for the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, which oversees UTCs, said: “Baker Dearing Educational Trust accepts, with regret, the findings of the recent Ofsted judgment for UTC Cambridge.

“Despite the issues highlighted in the report it is good to see that teaching and learning, assessment and 16-19 study is effective.

In the coming months, we will provide advice and help as needed and support the UTC in any way we can

“We fully support the approach the board of governors and senior management team have taken to address issues raised in the report.

“The board has acted quickly to put in place plans to safeguard students.

“In the coming months, we will provide advice and help as needed and support the UTC in any way we can.”

Jon Green, chair of the board of governors at UTC Cambridge, said: “I am sure this rating will come as a disappointment to many people who are rightly very proud of the progress which the college has made in its short life.

“We fully accept these findings and have already taken significant steps to deal with the issues which were highlighted.”

He added: “As you should expect, the pupils are the priority at this time.”

FE Week has followed ongoing problems with the UTC programme, and our research showed in October that more than 10 per cent of these 14-19 institutions are expected to close, only six years since the first one opened.

The latest UTC to shut up shop was the Royal Greenwich UTC in London, which Greenwich Council is converting into a secondary school at a cost of £13 million.

Its closure made it the fifth UTC out of 48 to fold since they were launched in 2010.

Four other UTCs – UTC Lancashire, Central Bedfordshire UTC, Hackney UTC and Black Country UTC – have all closed amid low student numbers.

The Department for Education meanwhile confirmed in September that a proposed UTC developed in partnership with Burton and South Derbyshire College would not now open, despite the £8 million the government had already spent setting it up.

And in October, Heathrow Aviation Engineering UTC was issued a financial notice to improve due to an “apparent loss of financial control”.

Quirky college training day goes down well with staff

Staff at a Blackpool college have enjoyed a training day with a difference, complete with ideas-sharing workshops and pampering sessions.

Blackpool Sixth Form college hosted the Staff Marketplace event in one of its main catering areas, with the aim of getting staff to share tips, techniques and resources they use in their departments.

Each department had a stall with examples of what they did well, with others taking inspiration and seeing how it could then be applied within their own area of the college.

In order to boost the wellbeing of the workforce, there were also free taster sessions in reflexology and reiki healing, healthy lifestyle advice, gym demonstrations and mental health awareness on offer.

The emphasis on positivity also carried on into the afternoon, with a session on how to encourage students to approach their learning and personal development with greater positivity and resilience.

One member of staff who attended the event, said: “The marketplace is a wonderful idea – it is a great opportunity to learn from staff right across the college and we have all come away with plenty of new approaches to try.”

Feature picture: A member of staff unwinds at a healing session

Apprenticeship funding brokerage ban is a victory for students

It was a great honour to be recognised last week for my investigative reporting on FE, and I know our talented senior report Alix Robertson feels the same way.

The best thing about working for this paper is that we are given the time and backing to truly get to grips with really important issues for a sector which means so much to us.

It has been all the more satisfying, therefore, to learn that the SFA has taken on board our hard-won findings, showing how brokers are hiving off millions meant for frontline learning.

They deserve full credit and the decision to effectively ban brokers is the right one. Taxpayers and more importantly students lose out through this secretive business, as do subcontractors who have been paying the commission fees.

Rest assured we will be keeping a careful eye on how the tougher rules are implemented next summer.

Half the levy will be paid by just 400 employers – but who are they?

Around half of the upcoming apprenticeship levy will be paid by just 400 employers – but the Skills Funding Agency won’t say who those companies are.

The revelation came during a breakout session on funding at the Association of Colleges annual conference earlier this month.

Keith Smith (pictured), the director of funding and programmes at the SFA, said that while 20,000 employers were expected to fall within the scope of the levy when it launches in April 2017, just 400 employers, or two per cent, will cover “about half of the entire levy”.

“The top 400 carry a big load,” he said. “Some of those bigger employers will be paying over £30 million a year, in terms of the apprenticeship levy.”

But he later admitted it was “not as simple and straightforward as being able to just publish a list” of the names of those firms that would bear the brunt.

He said that while the SFA did know which companies would be paying the levy, the agency couldn’t share that information as it was “a tax matter”.

Information published by the Department for Education in August on the number and size of employers who would be paying the levy in 2017/18 said there would be 19,150 businesses in scope, but it made no mention of this smaller figure of 400 companies paying half the levy.

Peter Lauener, head of the SFA and the Education Funding Agency, and the shadow chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships, also referred to this figure during his conference session on November 17.

I don’t know the precise figures, but it’s around 20,000 levy payers. About 450 of those will pay about half the levy

“I don’t know the precise figures, but it’s around 20,000 levy payers. If you look at it in a bit more detail about 450 of those will pay about half the levy,” he admitted in response to an audience question.

More than half of the top 400 employers in the UK currently have fewer than 200 apprentices, and some have none, Mr Smith admitted, though he hopes the levy will to lead to a “significant market shift” in apprenticeship delivery.

Business administration and health and safety currently account for a quarter of current apprenticeships – but “going forward the actual single biggest sector that’s going to be involved in the apprenticeship levy is the education sector”.

“In terms of understanding the employers and the sectors that you’re in, this type of market analysis is really important to understand what you’re doing, who you’re pitching to and where you’re going,” he said.

Chichester College’s principal Shelagh Legrave later asked Mr Smith how colleges could identify which companies will be subject to the levy, as without this information she said she was “left scrabbling around trying to work out who is actually paying”.

Mr Smith explained that the SFA was talking to levy-paying employers about whether “they’d be happy for us to share their information more widely across the sector” but that “those conversations are patchy – some for obvious reasons are a little bit relaxed about that, others are not”.

He added that there were “companies out there that do know” and “some databases that operate in the commercial sector, particularly those that offer tax advisory services” that would be able to provide this information “if you’re willing to make a small investment”.

“There’s no really easy answer, or easy fix for this,” he said.

Student crowned ‘all-round inspiration’ at awards for extensive volunteering work

A student at Salford City college has won the title of ‘all-round inspiration’ at the Greater Manchester Care Leavers’ Awards.

Robert Wright took the top accolade, along with £100 worth of vouchers, for his volunteering work.

He has volunteered for five years with young people at the YouCan Community Club and also volunteers at the British Heart Foundation in Eccles. Alongside this, he is also a member of the Salford Youth Council.

It isn’t the first award Robert has won for his extra-curricular work; he has previously received an award for ‘outstanding volunteer’ from the Salford City College Annual Awards, as well as a medal for his involvement with YouCan community club, which won the Queen’s Award – the equivalent of an MBE for voluntary groups.

Held at the Royal Northern College of Music, the awards aim to recognise the achievements of young carers across the region.

Award categories included community and volunteering, sport, leisure and apprenticeships, with the ceremony culminating in the final award for being the ‘all-round inspiration’.

Speaking of his newest accolade, Robert said: “All-round inspiration is a very prestigious award and it’s another reason why this has been such a brilliant year!”

Featured picture: Robert Wright with his award

Arrival of baby corn snakes make history at college

The arrival of two baby corn snakes at a college in Gloucestershire have made history as the first reptiles ever to be hatched on site.

Hartpury College has a collection of over 70 different species of snakes, but never before has a reptile been successfully hatched at the college.

The corn snakes needed a specialised incubator to keep them at the correct temperature, with the eggs kept at a toasty 30 degrees and an 80 per cent humidity.

The new babies will provide a new learning experience for students at the college, who have so far had experience only in caring for a range of adult snakes.

The snakes are expected to grow to between four and six feet in length, and have a lifespan of around 15 years.

The animal collection manager at the college, Aleksandra Lipinska, said: “It has been a great learning experience for all the students involved and we are really pleased it has been a success.

“Now that we have successfully bred and hatched our first reptiles we are planning on doing some more breeding. We have plated lizards here that are quite rare so we are looking at getting a programme in place to breed them as well.”

Featured picture: The new baby corn snakes at Hartpury college