The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has today launched a long-awaited consultation into introducing maintenance loans for learners in FE.

The consultation, which closes on June 16, is around the premise of introducing loans for FE learners aged 19 and above at levels 4 to 6.

The aim of introducing the loans, the consultation document states, is to increase take-up of technical and professional learning, particularly at National Colleges and Institutes of Technology.

“The central proposition is for the introduction of maintenance loans on a par with the level of support available in higher education (HE) to support learners aged 19 plus undertaking level 4 to level 6 technical and professional learning (excluding apprenticeships) at specialist providers, including the new National Colleges, and longer term, at the emerging Institutes of Technology,” the consultation states.

The loans are designed to make technical and professional learning “accessible to the best learners, irrespective of their background or location”, the consultation states.

The government’s assumption, the document goes on to say, is that the “higher technical provision” covered by the loans “will primarily be delivered through National Colleges and Institutes of Technology.

Introducing loans would mean “providing individuals with the choice to attend a college outside their local area, for example a National college or future Institute of Technology in another region”, the document states.

“We need to ensure that the incentives are there for National Colleges, the future Institutes of Technology, and other institutions to focus on delivering high quality vocational qualifications, while ensuring that learners can afford to take advantage of new opportunities even if they require living costs to be provided,” it continues.

In his foreword to the consultation, Skills Minister Nick Boles says: “This consultation is also about what more we can do to get the new National Colleges and the emerging Institutes of Technology off to a flying start.”

The consultation also includes questions around eligibility for the maintenance loans, including whether they should be means-tested.

The government’s intention is “that the personal eligibility rules for FE maintenance loans would mirror the personal eligibility rules for HE maintenance loans”, the document states.

“As a guiding principle it is reasonable to assume that learners should be neither worse nor better off whether they choose to study in HE or FE,” it continues.

Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, questioned the focus on National Colleges and Institutes of Technology.

Mr Doel told FE Week: “We have been pressing for many years for maintenance loans to be available to FE students and we can see that this proposal could serve to stimulate technical and professional education.

“But if the government is serious in its intention to promote technical and professional learning, it cannot be right to limit the loans an embryonic and pre-embryonic set of institutions,” he said.

Policy consultant Mark Corney called the consultation “potentially path-breaking”.

“The opportunity exists to breakdown the unfairness between maintenance support for full time and part time higher education and full time and part time adult professional and technical education,” he said.

Maintenance loans in FE were first announced as part of the government’s spending review in November, as part of expanded package of loans for FE learners.

The consultation closes on June 16 and is available via the Gov.uk website.

Midday update: Sadly Martin Doel hasn’t been appointed our new editor, because this was, of course, another infamous FE Week April Fool.

However, today does mark the start of our search for a new full-time editor for FE Week. The ad is now live on the Guardian jobs website, with applications due by the end of the month.

FE Week is delighted to announce the appointment of Martin Doel CBE, as the paper’s new editor-in-chief.

Taking on the leadership of FE Week will complete Mr Doel’s triumvirate of FE roles, alongside his current post as chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC) and his recent appointment as the first professor of FE and skills at the Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL).

“I’m really excited about this opportunity,” he said.

“It’s a big moment of change for me and this gives me another area to explore and to develop into — I’m looking forward to the chance to express myself creatively.”

Mr Doel said he was confident that juggling the three hats would not affect his ability to take an impartial view of the sector.

“I am certain that I can fulfil my duties in each post without a conflict of interests. I’ve always seen myself as a chameleon in the workplace,” he said.

He added that moving into the world of journalism was an important next step for his career.

“My eight years of experience at the AoC have given me many opportunities to engage with the work of FE Week, and I’m thrilled to be now taking that relationship to a new level.”

In discussing the rigorous interview process that led to his success, Mr Doel said he approached the experience with optimism and an open-mind.

“I just knew I was the right man for the job,” he said.

“It wasn’t tough in so far as the act I have to follow – taking over from Nick Linford [interim editor of FE Week] presented me with a real opportunity to add value.”

He added: “It is time for someone to bring greater intellectual depth and vigour to the paper.”

Mr Doel said he was “really looking forward” to working with the FE Week team, and has already begun laying out his vision for future developments.

“I can’t wait to finally give them the opportunity to show their underlying talent,” he said.

 

“I’ll be pioneering a new section called ‘The Good News’, which I’m sure will be a hit with the readers.”

When asked what this might include, Mr Doel said it was “a work in progress”.

Shane Mann, managing director of Lsect, the publisher of FE Week, said Mr Doel’s appointment singled a pivotal moment for the paper.

“This change heralds the dawn of bright future for FE Week,” he said.

“Martin is an excellent choice and I know his wealth of experience in the sector and his sharp intellect will be invaluable.”

He added: “I’d like to thank Nick for his efforts in stepping in as interim editor until the post was filled.

“He has done a great job but I know he is now looking forward to spending more time at home with his four chickens, and his wife and children.”

Dame Ruth Silver, FETL’s founding president, joined Mr Mann in congratulating Mr Doel on his new appointment.

“FETL is delighted that Martin is combining our professorial work with FE Week. News in time becomes knowledge for us all, and fitting them together in this way plays strongly to Martin’s experience and sense of accuracy. We wish him all the best,” she said.

However, not everyone welcomed the news of Mr Doel’s appointment. Dominic Ponsford, editor of journalism trade paper The Press Gazette, warned that “this seems to be a case of gamekeeper turned poacher”.

“I hope this is not going to be a growing trend of papers appointing editors who have a wealth of sector-specific knowledge but who don’t have any journalistic experience,” he added.

Responding to these concerns Mr Mann added: “We interviewed a number of individuals for this role with a wide range of experiences in both the further education and skills sector and journalism. Martin’s wealth of knowledge of the issues in FE is unquestionable and it did not take me long to decide on his appointment.”

Mr Doel will officially take over as editor on Monday, April 4 2016.

Cash-strapped Carlisle College has been in talks with a view to join the Newcastle College Group (NCG).

A spokesperson said the merger proposal had been put forward to strengthen and further develop Carlisle College’s provision and meet the needs of the local community at a time when small colleges are facing “challenges in a difficult funding environment”.

In January, FE Week reported that Carlisle College, which caters for more than 2,000 students, turned to its county council for a £700,000 loan to help address a “need for short-term cash flow support”.

A spokesperson told FE Week that the proposed merger with NCG would not have an impact on the loan, and it will still be repaid to Cumbria County Council in May 2016 as planned.

The proposal is now moving into detailed discussions with NCG and the takeover, if agreed, could happen before the next academic year starts in September.

If the takeover goes ahead, Carlisle College will keep its name and campus site.

Carlisle College principal, Moira Tattersall, said: “This is a really exciting time for the college and for Carlisle. NCG has a fantastic reputation for innovation and professionalism, and becoming part of the group will enhance our ability to respond to new skills needs in the area.

“The college will continue to do all the things it is known for and will have the resources and stability to develop new opportunities and address the needs and priorities that we cannot tackle alone. There is an opportunity to learn from NCG’s Aviation Training Centre at Newcastle Airport and their Rail Academy and see how this can help develop the colleges offer in Carlisle.”

Chief executive of NCG, Joe Docherty, said: “We are delighted that Carlisle College wants to join NCG. We share their focus on providing what employers and students in Carlisle need to develop skills for their local economy, and we are pleased to be able to back that with the expertise and capacity of a major national group.”

The consultation on this plan will coincide with the government-led area review of Cumbrian colleges starting next month.

City College Brighton & Hove and neighbouring Northbrook College have announced plans to merge into a new Regional Institute of Arts & Technology.

A spokesperson for the two colleges said their intention is to create a single institute that places apprenticeships and work-based learning “at the heart” of its plans to “transform the lives of young people and adults across the City Region”.

The new college is proposed to be called The Greater Brighton & Sussex Institute of Arts & Technology.

It will teach around 3,500 16 to 18 year old students, 7,500 adults, 1,000 undergraduates and more than 800 apprentices generating a turnover of around £40m, the spokesperson said.

Both Northbrook College and City College Brighton will retain their local campuses and delivery in Brighton, Shoreham and Worthing, but will be led by a central executive team and governing body “pursuing a single strategic plan”.

There will be a full public consultation later in the year to gather the views of staff, students and the local community.

Sue Dare, principal of Northbrook College, said: “For me this is all about creating an organisation with the capacity to invest in a broad curriculum offer establishing a sound educational footing of mathematics, English and employability skills for all our students while at the same time developing a suite of vocational specialisms up to and including degree level courses.

“These specialisms will be closely aligned to local economic priorities including creative, digital and IT in Brighton and Worthing, Engineering at Shoreham and Worthing, and construction at East Brighton.”

Nick Juba, chief executive of City College Brighton said the “expansion and growth” of apprenticeships will be a “key component” of their strategy for the institute.

“It will provide a genuine alternative to A-levels and University and access to a wide range of professional and technical qualifications to degree level,” he added.

“It will focus on giving our students the skills they need find jobs and careers across the City Region and beyond. That’s what we do best and it’s what will make the new institute different.”

When asked by FE Week about the new name dropping the word “college”, Mr Juba said: “At present we are simply developing proposals for the new organisation. This is true for the name too. Nothing is fixed at this stage although it is worth reflecting that there is a long history of the use of the term ‘institute’ within the further and higher education sectors and, in particular, in Brighton.”

The merger comes ahead of the recommendations of the government-led wave one Sussex area review, which had its first steering group meeting on October 22 last year.

The number of new 16-18 apprenticeship starts has continued to rise although the level of new starters in adult provision has fallen, according to new provisional Skills Funding Agency statistics.

Statistical First Release data published today for the first two quarters of 2015/16 show the overall number of new starts is up by 2,400 to 251,100 – a 1 per cent increase on last year’s figures.

The biggest driver behind this is again the rise of under 19 apprenticeships – up by 5,500 to 84,200 new starts (7 per cent).

However while 16-18 new starts rose, the number of adult provision continues to fall. The biggest decrease was in the 19-24 category, which saw new starts fall by 3,800 to 77,100 – a drop of 4.7 per cent.

Digging into the figures by levels show under 19 intermediate level apprenticeships rose by 2,600 to 54,900 (5 per cent) with advanced level apprenticeships for under 19s up by 2,500 to 28,200 (9.7 per cent).

In terms of percentage, the highest increase was the number of under 19s starting on a higher apprenticeship – up by 500 to 1,100 (83.3 per cent).

However the number of 19-24 intermediate level apprenticeship starters fell by 4,600 to 41,500 (10 per cent).

The figures also reveal that in the six months from August to January only 1,100 starts are on the new apprenticeship standards (0.4%), up from 400 for the whole of 2014/15 (table below).

A government response to the figures focused on a “dramatic increase” in the number of higher apprenticeships, which rose to 11,100 starts (4.4% of all starts) compared to 7,500 (3% of all starts) for the same period last year.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “Apprenticeships offer the life changing opportunities working people deserve. The growth in the number of higher apprenticeships is fantastic, and shows that apprenticeships deliver the advanced, technical skills businesses need.

“Apprenticeships and traineeships are creating the highly skilled workforce our employers and economy need. We are well on our way to creating 3 million apprenticeships by 2020.”

Hackney Community College and Tower Hamlets College have today confirmed that they will merge from August this year.

FE Week reported last month that talks had started to create a “single, larger and more sustainable college” which will see both colleges keep their individual existing campuses, names and branding.

After the decision was confirmed today, it was announced that Gerry McDonald, principal of Tower Hamlets College, will be the body’s new chief executive.

Both colleges have also agreed that a fixed-term, part-time merger adviser role will be taken up by Ian Ashman, current principal of Hackney Community College, until the end of December.

The position has been set up to “help and support the management teams in the successful implementation of the merger,” a spokesperson said.

The merger will involve a joint institution of around 17,000 students and apprentices, and 800 staff.

A college spokesperson said the new board of governors will be made up of an equal number of governors from the two existing colleges, with a new, independent chair.

The governance structure of the merged college will take on a new name and the spokesperson told FE Week: “We are currently consulting on a new name which will need to be approved by the Secretary of State ahead of the merger on August 1.”

Current Tower Hamlets College chair, Professor Martin Earwicker, and Hackney Community College chair, Tom Mautner JP, said: “This merger, a partnership of equals, brings together two very strong organisations, which play vital roles in their local communities and the wider region.

“While we will maintain the local names and identities of Hackney Community College and Tower Hamlets College, the merger will create a much stronger organisation, which will continue to meet the skills needs of local people, employers and our communities, for the foreseeable future.”

This comes ahead of the government-led London area reviews and after two other large London colleges, City and Islington College and Westminster Kingsway College, confirmed last month they would be merging.

This afternoon the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) sent colleges and training providers their eagerly anticipated funding allocations for next year.

As outlined in the Skills Funding letter for 2016-17, the new Adult Education Budget is to be kept for the next four years at £1.5bn, allowing for the SFA to end the cycle of annual cuts. Priority areas such as apprenticeships and traineeships see automatic provider allocation increases and advanced learner loan facilities, which will be also available for 19 to 23-year-olds for the first time next year, also automatically increase.

The SFA statement to providers reads: “We have now issued provider allocations for the 2016/17 funding year, which includes:

– Maintaining contract values at 2015/2016 (as at January 2016) for the newly formed adult education budget

– 19% increase on delivery over the 12 months from December 2014 to November 2015 for 19+ apprenticeships allocations

– 3% increase on delivery over the 12 months from December 2014 to November 2015 for 16-18 apprenticeship allocations

– 24% increase on delivery over the 12 months from December 2014 to November 2015 for SFA-funded 16-18 traineeship allocations

– 29% increase on advanced learner loan facilities, from current commitments

 

As reported in FE Week, the allocations had been held up by the Budget last week.

The Skills Funding Agency go on to say: “We have made great progress, with the support of our stakeholders, in simplifying the funding system, so far we have:

– begun work on preparing the sector for the devolution of the adult skills budget by publishing the Adult Education Budget: Changing Context and Arrangements for 2016 to 2017

– enabled grant funded providers to use their adult education budget more freely and flexibly in line with local priorities by allocating these funds as a block grant

– started to work with areas with devolution deals to help support their dialogue with their local providers about what will be delivered in 2016/17

– used a simple allocations methodology across all funding streams

– reviewed and rationalised the way we present our funding rules documents, early feedback suggests that this has been well received by our providers – Some 74% of respondents approved of the extent to which our funding rules have removed bureaucracy and simplified the funding system, which remains the same as last year.

– streamlined performance management arrangements for 2015 to 2016

– We have given colleges and other training organisations more flexibility to respond to the needs of their local area, using eligible qualifications and/or their components or bespoke, locally designed or tailored training provision (for example, employability skills and confidence-building).”

The SFA continued: “Over the next few years, we will be changing the basis of our allocation methodology in support of the government’s plans to devolve the adult education budget to local areas: this may result in changes to individual provider allocations over that period. Providers will need to plan for this. We are working with our Funding Reform and Localism Steering Group to develop proposals for how the allocations methodology will change.

“In the funding statement and covering letter issued to providers with their funding allocation, we have signalled that apprenticeship allocations from April 2017 may be subject to change as new starts begin to come through the Digital Apprenticeship Service.  It is important that providers factor this into their planning.  More information on the apprenticeship levy operating model will be published in April.

“We have recently opened applications for growth in line with performance point 2 in our performance management rules 2015 to 2016. We will also be publishing soon criteria for a targeted growth exercise on apprenticeships that we are going to run, ahead of the start of the 2016/17 funding year (related to 2016/17 allocations).”

Commenting on the announcement, Martin Doel, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, told FE Week: “It’s good to see the Spending Review commitments being confirmed in year one of the settlement.  After years of damaging cuts these allocations give colleges a firmer base to build on in maintaining services to their students, communities and employers.  It would be even better if the allocations had been earlier and if they could be made on a multiple year basis.”

Stewart Segal, Chief Executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said: “The increase for adult apprenticeships is very welcome and is further recognition that apprenticeships are regarded as an all-age programme. It will help to reverse the decline in starts we have seen so far this year for the 19-24 age group. Providers will also be pleased that they have an opportunity to offer more traineeship opportunities for young people as the programme is proving to be an effective stepping stone to an apprenticeship and sustainable employment.”

If you have a view on the allocations for 2016/17 please leave a comment below.

FE Week’s second Annual Apprenticeship Conference (AAC) saw more than 900 delegates fill Birmingham’s International Convention Centre for three days from March 16 to 18 to hear the latest on the government’s apprenticeship reforms.

With speakers including sector leaders, key civil servants, government advisers, awarding bodies and apprentices themselves, the conference covered just about every aspect of the apprenticeship programme – except, perhaps, concrete answers from the government on some of the big questions.

David Hill, the first of two Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) representatives, opened the event with an overview of the government’s reforms.

His colleague, Keith Smith (pictured left), the newly appointed head of levy implementation at BIS, revealed a few more tantalising glimpses of how the levy system – the cornerstone of the apprenticeship reforms – would operate.

The levy system will “change how you do business”, Mr Smith said, with providers contracting directly with employers and no longer able to rely on the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) to give them certainty over their budgets.

More detail would be available in April, Mr Smith said, including “a bit about how the system is going to work for those small businesses, and how we see the service for small business developing over time”.

However, some of that detail came a little earlier than April – at the end of the second day, to be precise.

During a Q&A session Nadhim Zahawi (picture below), co-chair of the apprenticeship delivery board, dropped the bombshell that only levy-paying companies will have access to the new funding system when it is launched in April 2017.

“The core offering that we will be launching in April 2017 will effectively be delivering the levy for the two per cent levy payers, while maintaining stability in the rest of the system,” Mr Zahawi, who is also apprenticeship adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron, said.

Sue Husband, the SFA’s director of apprenticeships and delivery service, then confirmed that “non-levy paying companies will still have access to government funding” once the levy has been launched.

This lack of detailed information from government about the reforms led a number of speakers to express their concern and frustration.

During a panel discussion at the end of the first day, Graham Taylor, principal of New College Swindon, called the new system “far too complex, unnecessary waste, increased bureaucracy”.

Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, criticised the complexity of the system, adding that “the fact is that we’re here only a year way from a complete change and we’re low on details”.

Iain Wright (pictured left), MP and chair of the BIS select committee, was strongest in his criticism. He hit out on Thursday morning, accusing the government of “making this up as they go along”.

“They have announced the policy and now are frantically thinking: ‘How on earth are we going to do this?’” he said.

His comments echoed those made by shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden earlier in the day.

“There’s absolutely no detail frighteningly so close to the implementation date,” he said.

In his keynote speech on the Friday morning, former business secretary Sir Vince Cable added to the criticism.

“What the government has done is to come up with a big idea hoping that the details will sort themselves out. I’m not sure that’s true!” he said.

Elsewhere, Sir Michael Wilshaw – whose speech on Thursday morning was perhaps one of the most hotly-anticipated of the event – was on fighting form as he defended his recent comments about the FE sector.

“It’s not a bias, it’s a criticism of what we see – and have seen for a number of years,” he said.

Alongside these arguments about the pace of reforms and standards, the conference also provided the opportunity to hear from the apprentices themselves.

Shakira Martin (pictured right), vice president for further education at the National Union of Students, exhorted the government to include apprentices in its reforms, calling for the apprentice voice to be “integrated” into the new Institute for Apprenticeships.

This was followed by Laura-Jane Rawlings, founder and chief executive of Youth Employment UK, who gave a compelling reason for including the apprentice voice in reforms.

“How the hell can pale, male and stale know what it’s like to be 16?” she asked.

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