Stephen Evans, CEO of Learning and Work Institute

Battling cuts to adult education has been the defining task for Stephen Evans at Learning and Work Institute, but money was no object when his career began at the Treasury under Gordon Brown, he tells Jessica Hill

Stephen Evans’ decade as chief executive of Learning and Work Institute (L&W) has been a fight against the relentless erosion of adult education sector funding.

When he joined L&W’s predecessor in 2014, £5.06 billion was spent on adult education. Last year, it was predicted to drop to £4.75 billion.

His career began at the Treasury tackling child poverty, but he says his proudest achievement is that L&W “still exists – and hopefully makes a difference”.

“It’s the small flashes of light I see happening across the country that give me glimmers of hope,” he tells me.

Stephen Evans, CEO of the Learning and Work Institute

Becoming a leader

Evans’s self-deprecating manner endears him to those he works with. And it does not come at the expense of substance and authenticity.

But his appearance as a fresh-faced policy boffin with a prodigious intellect meant when he first took on the CEO role, some were unsure whether he had what it took to lead the organisation through the stormy waters ahead.

He was deputy chief executive of L&W’s predecessor, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), when in 2015 financial concerns caused by government cutbacks sparked a merger with the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion. Government grant money had dried up and staff headcount had plunged from 80 to 45.

After NIACE’s CEO David Hughes left to head the Association of Colleges, Evans took the helm with some trepidation.

 “My first concern was, I’ve got 45 people’s livelihoods in my hands,” he recalls. “If I get it wrong, that affects their jobs. And this organisation had been around for almost 100 years – I didn’t want to be the one that crashed it.”

His strong moral compass comes from his Catholic upbringing (he was taught by nuns). Evans’s mum worked for the benefits agency and his dad for a local authority. “Both were very clear, you should use your talents to help others and tackle inequality and injustice,” he says.

Ironically, Leicester Royal Infirmary where he was born stands within sight of the office that L&W retains in Leicester. His East Midlands accent gets stronger when he’s back in his hometown.

But I meet Evans on the rooftop garden of L&W’s London office in Vauxhall, in a building which also houses charities such as the Prison Education Trust.

L&W’s new home beside Big Yellow Storage feels “much safer” than their previous address next door to MI5, where bomb threats were a regular occurrence. “We’d get blown up in every James Bond film”, he comments wryly.

Stephen Evans, CEO of the Learning and Work Institute

A cloistered education

Evans never considered applying to Oxbridge until it was suggested to him by his business and economics teacher, who went on to tutor Evans for the challenge and “tried to persuade” his parents to swap their tabloid newspapers for broadsheets. Evans did not hold out much hope of success.

His “very intimidating” interview for a place at Queen’s College in Cambridge to study economics took place beside a log fire in a cloister, at a time when Evans “didn’t know what a cloister was”.

Many of his fellow students at Cambridge already knew one another from attending the same private school or playing lacrosse. Evans realised they were no cleverer than his former schoolmates but simply more privileged.

“It gave me a bit of a window on a world you don’t often see, then inspired me towards changing it,” he says.

Stephen Evans, CEO of Learning and Work Institute

Treasured times

Upon graduating, Evans was “chucked in at the deep end” as a policy advisor at the Treasury under Gordon Brown. On his first day he was sent to the Office for National Statistics to get advance copies of the labour market statistics and given just two hours to file a briefing for Brown on “what he should say about them”.

It was a golden age of flowing government coffers, and Evans and his team could pull numerous levers in the mission they were tasked with to eradicate child poverty. 

Growing public services rather than dialling down spending provided Evans with plenty of job satisfaction.

His job was to get more lone parents into work through the national minimum wage, tax credits and employment support, and “invest in adult skills so people could improve their circumstances”.

He also worked in the Treasury’s productivity team (“like a think tank in the Treasury running projects”) where his brief included delving into the operation of ports and the pivotal 2006 Leitch review of skills.

This independent review, led by Lord Sandy Leitch, had similar aims to Skills England – “to identify the UK’s optimal skills mix… to maximise economic growth, productivity and social justice” and work out how to achieve it.

As a result of its recommendations, a quango, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, was formed, and the statutory age at which young people could leave education was raised to 18.

Stephen Evans back in 2015

Reviewing regrets

A target was set for all employers to commit to training all their workers to level 2, the equivalent of five GCSEs at A-C, by 2010. But the onus was placed on businesses to provide the plan.

The Treasury had wanted to go “further and faster” on skills. But it was a “political decision” to give employers “one last chance” to achieve the Leitch review’s goals through incentives. If that was not successful, a “levy and compulsion” would be the next step.

Unfortunately, the subsequent financial crisis and general election derailed these reforms. Evans now regrets they did not force employers to go further.

Boris’s gods

Evans then became chief economist for the Social Market Foundation, a think tank aligned with the Labour government’s priorities at the time, where he relished the opportunity to debate issues that had been off-limits as a civil servant.

A year later he returned to the policy driving seat as director of employment and skills at the now-defunct London Development Agency.

In London, the mayor and the Greater London Assembly were tasked with making local policy decisions, while the agency was beholden to the Department for Education. “We could do anything we wanted as long as the DfE agreed, which meant we could do whatever the DfE wanted,” recalls Evans.

Boris Johnson swept into office in 2008 as mayor armed with a list of 12 projects he wanted to achieve, all named after Greek and Roman gods. Project Oracle was the mission to build an evidence base and share best practices, and Evans was tasked with commissioning Project Daedalus to support young offenders.

“The Wikipedia hits in that office building went up significantly after Boris came in”, as Evans and his team tried to work out who these gods were. Daedalus had created the world’s first prison to imprison the Minotaur.

Evans took what he had learned at the Treasury about measuring funding outcomes to prove the impact of the £80 million he had to spend. He set about making it go further by cutting the number of projects supported and limiting them to longer-term initiatives with higher success rates.

Stephen Evans speaking at an AoC event with his old boss David Hughes

Learning outcomes

But he concedes that for adult education, it is not always possible to quantify an intangible impact.

“The classic criticism of economists is that they know the price of everything and the value of nothing. I hope I don’t quite fall into that trap, but others will judge,” he says.

“Often, you’re not going to help people with multiple complex difficulties turn their lives around in six months. You need to work with them for years, and that’s where short-term funding doesn’t really help at all”.

He gives the example of the citizens curriculum, a programme piloted by L&W shortly after he took over, where adult learners co-design the curriculum content. Its evaluation focused on a range of targets, proving that participants were subsequently more likely to use preventive services than emergency ones, with less school truancy among children and fewer callouts for anti-social behaviour.

But having that focus on broader outcomes is “very difficult” in the world of public policy where – “to paraphrase the Lord of the Rings, it’s a risk of one scheme to end them all, as though just one project can solve the ills of the world. It can’t”.

While the projects saved money for the public purse, the challenge was that those savings were split between the NHS, the criminal justice service, DfE and the Department for Work and Pensions. “They didn’t all think, ‘well, let’s invest together, because we all care about these things’. That’s the nut we’re always trying to crack.”

Getting the nation learning

After two years as a director for training provider Working Links, he then became deputy CEO of NIACE at a time of acute funding pressures. Three-quarters of NIACE’s income came from a DfE grant.

He recalls how “all our eggs were in one basket, and the basket had a hole in the bottom”.

He and Hughes embarked on the merger with Inclusion, an employment-focused organisation which shared a similar social purpose, and L&W was born.

L&W has just launched the Get the Nation Learning campaign to champion lifelong learning, and the Festival of Learning, which it has run for over 30 years, has been rebranded as Get the Nation Learning to celebrate inspiring work in the adult learning sector.

A vital part of L&W’s role is also to “shine a light” on “the scale of the cuts” to adult education and skills, particularly when shiny new announcements such as the recent £600 million for construction training are made. “When you net that off against the reductions they haven’t announced to the adult skills budgets and the end of the Multiply programme, it’s not quite so rosy in the garden,” Evans says.

But the “flip side” of Evans’ basket – which he concedes still has a hole in its bottom – is that now he has “plates spinning everywhere” which he has to keep moving.

Evans is pragmatic that more government funding for adult education is unlikely to emerge in the short term so he is focusing efforts on getting employers – who are now investing 26 per cent less in training than they were in 2005 – to “step up”. It is “not right”, he believes, that graduates are three times more likely to get training at work than non-graduates.

Lately, Evans has been rereading his books about the history of skills policy in the UK to prepare for an L&W report showing how adult participation in FE has hit its lowest point since the aftermath of the Second World War.

The findings have prompted him to pause for reflection on how historically, adult education initiatives were often instigated by faith and community groups, and later by socially responsible employers such as Joseph Rowntree. “Fast forward to now, it’s always ‘what can the government do for us?’” he says. “We’ve lost that self-organising of employers and communities.”

Stephen Evans, CEO of the Learning and Work Institute

Devo challenge

Evans would like to see regional mayors topping up adult education from their other budgets to “get political salience for adult education” but concedes that boosting adult education is not viewed as a vote-winning policy.

Seeing adult education being deprioritised by the government while employers spend less on it too has been “pretty frustrating” for Evans during his time as CEO.

Our time is up, and Evans bids me farewell. “It feels so weird, rabbiting on about myself. You’ve done well not to look bored,” he remarks in his typical self-effacing style. Not at all, I assure him – it’s been fascinating.

Is your careers provision ready for the even greater Gatsby?

From September, a set of updated Gatsby benchmarks will become statutory guidance for all schools, colleges and, for the first time, independent training providers (ITPs).

This moment represents a raising of the bar in how we deliver careers education. It’s crucial that robust systems are in place to support ITPs, ensuring consistency and quality across the entire education landscape.

By embedding the updated benchmarks into strategic planning linked to school, college and ITP priorities, we signal to every young person, parent and employer that careers guidance is not an optional extra, but lies at the very heart of an equitable education system.

Originating from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation in 2014, the eight benchmarks have become the gold standard for careers provision. Over 90 per cent of schools and colleges measure their progress using the benchmarks.

Their purpose is simple yet profound: to ensure every student benefits from impartial advice, meaningful employer encounters and tailored support.

I’ve seen this in action recently at Lancaster and Morecambe College in Lancashire, where every element of the careers programme links back to the curriculum.

The college developed a careers strategy that places it at the forefront of environmentalism and sustainability within FE, inspired by the Eden Project. Most importantly, the college curriculum connects employers, schools and the wider community to develop understanding of real-world skills and local opportunities.

Colleges and schools that meet all eight benchmarks evidence stronger alignment with labour-market demand, increased career readiness for students and a narrowing gender gap in STEM pathways.

For disadvantaged students, the benchmarks are a proven lever for social mobility and measurably reduce NEET (not in education, employment or training) figures.

Evidence of success

Training provider Kaplan has been implementing the updated benchmarks during the last year.

Kaplan’s careers strategy helps individuals achieve their goals by providing an accessible and stable careers information, advice and guidance programme that meets students’ needs at every touchpoint.

In collaboration with employers, staff have been on a journey of embedding careers into the curriculum, tailored to different levels for students at various stages and ages. With the help of national support systems Kaplan subsequently raised its Ofsted personal development judgement from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘outstanding’.

What’s new?

The updated guidance preserves the eight-point core but brings it into the digital age and addresses widening inequalities through five core themes:

  1. Leadership-driven careers culture – careers strategy co-owned by senior leaders and governors
  2. Greater inclusion and support for disadvantaged/SEND students – targeted interventions and tailored pathways for all students
  3. Richer, more reflective employer and workplace encounters – multiple meaningful workplace visits that develop skills
  4. Smarter use of data to track and tailor support – identifying gaps and targeting for personalised programmes
  5. Parental engagement – embedding parent and carer engagement into planning, and specifying the need to share information. 

These refinements reflect modern challenges, from AI-driven recruitment to the gig economy, while safeguarding what works.

Why leaders must prepare now

With three months until implementation, institutions cannot afford to wait. Embedding a leadership-driven careers culture takes time and involves establishing governance structures, upskilling staff and forging more employer partnerships.

Many careers leaders have already begun the journey but the year ahead is critical to secure stronger student outcomes, sharpen approaches to career readiness and foster cross-departmental collaboration.

High-quality careers provision transforms lives. Consider this: girls with a 100 per cent career readiness score are twice as likely to pursue engineering. This isn’t a peripheral benefit – it’s proof that careers education is fundamental to a well-rounded, future-facing education.

The Careers & Enterprise Company stands ready with 44 regional careers hubs offering tools, training and dedicated support.

CEOs, heads, principals and governors – prioritise this strategically today. The groundwork you lay will shape your whole careers programme for the cohorts ahead.

Early prisoner release incentive could fix broken prison education

In 2010 I visited an incredible school serving a particularly challenging community in America. Having been a teacher for four years, I’d never seen so much joy around education and learning as I saw in every one of its classrooms. When asked how come these children were so positively engaged, the principal told me it was about incentives.

Anyone leading an institution knows how powerful incentives are in driving culture. There are few places where getting this right is as urgent as in a prison.

Back in 2015 while working on the Coates review of prison education, we found too many barriers and too few incentives to engage with education in prisons. These problems lay at the heart of why the system wasn’t working. It meant that many of the inmates who most needed education never got to a classroom.

David Gauke’s sentencing review published last month recommended a brilliant solution to this. Prisoners who engage in purposeful activity and education during their sentence will be able to earn the ultimate incentive of an earlier release date.

“Rehabilitation should be a central part of a prison sentence”

At its core, this proposal is rooted in a simple truth: it is well evidenced that prisoners who engage in education are less likely to reoffend post release. It also reinforces that rehabilitation should be a central part of a prison sentence.

But in too many of our prisons the barriers to engage in any purposeful activity are extraordinarily high. And just having the incentive in place won’t fix this.

The latest report from the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons is sobering. Of 38 adult prisons inspected last year, more than half received the lowest possible rating of ‘poor’ for purposeful activity. Only one showed any sign of improvement. In many reception prisons, conditions are particularly bleak: more than half of prisoners are locked in their cells for over 22 hours a day, even on weekdays.

This raises an obvious question: how can we expect prisoners to earn early release if they have no access to quality education or purposeful work?

We must get real about how much support many prisoners need

Literally unlocking cell doors so prisoners can attend classes is clearly necessary, but we need to do more than this. We need to get real about how much support many prisoners need to engage successfully with education. Nearly half of all prisoners in England and Wales left school without a single qualification. About three-quarters struggle with basic literacy and numeracy. Expecting this cohort to leap into self-guided learning is not just unrealistic. It’s setting them up to fail.

Technological solutions, such as in-cell tablets or remote learning platforms, are often touted as a fix. But while these tools can be valuable for more confident learners, many prisoners need face-to-face teaching alongside a culture supporting vulnerable learners to engage.

Unlocked Graduates was set up to address exactly this problem. We focus on the role of the prison officer because it is officers who set the culture on the landings where prisoners spend most of their time. This is the person who reaches all prisoners.

The best prison officers don’t just manage behaviour. They actively support prisoners to make the most of their time in prison to make sure they never come back.

“Prisons need to be accountable for prisoner outcomes”

The early release incentive is potentially brilliant, but this will only be actualised if we develop officers to understand the transformative power of education.

Prisons need to be accountable for prisoner outcomes. They need to be supported to seek more collaboration with third-sector organisations that bring expertise, flexibility and creativity to prison education.

Without careful support for the most vulnerable prisoners, those who are already well-educated – who are also statistically less likely to reoffend – will be the ones to benefit from this policy and the earned release scheme will inadvertently reinforce existing inequalities. Worse, it could then become tokenistic, where early release is granted for little more than keeping out of trouble rather than meaningful engagement with programmes which make people less likely to reoffend.

This cannot be allowed to happen. The earned release incentive offers a rare chance to reshape the narrative around imprisonment. If we’re serious about our prisons improving public safety and delivering real value for taxpayers, we must ensure this incentive is used to its fullest potential.

When a teacher is accused, their life or the student’s will be ruined

“The student has said…” At the uttering of those words, your world tilts in an unsettling way. A whole chain of events inevitably follows. You know this as soon as the words are spoken.

You’ll be given the accusation in writing. The process will be explained. You will be given the details of a support service. You may be escorted from the building. You might have your ID removed. You must have no contact with anyone except personnel or your union rep. And then you are cut loose.

There is nothing you can do except trust the system. It’s easy to trust a rope bridge from a distance. But when you actually have to walk over it, it all starts to feel a little more existential.   

Imagine yourself in that situation. What races through your head as you scan back over every interaction, seeking anything which could have been misconstrued? How do you feel as you drive away from work? What is that shame? That feeling of guilt, even though you know you are innocent? What do you do next? Who do you tell?

In teaching, safeguarding procedures reverse the normal balance of justice. Necessarily, perhaps. You have to be treated as guilty until proven innocent. To do otherwise might leave guilty people in place with vulnerable minors. That is too high a price to pay. So we have the possibility of false positives. Even if this is a necessary imbalance, it is not a satisfactory one. But what’s the real alternative?  

A 2011 DfE study found nearly half of complaints made against teachers were unsubstantiated, and it admitted, “When these allegations are later found to be malicious or unfounded, the damage is already done. It can have a devastating impact and ruin a teacher’s career and private life.”

Most teachers are in the profession for noble reasons; they are caring people who want the best for their students. This all goes against the grain. 

But young people are not yet the finished product. The prefrontal cortex which controls the assessment of risk and consequence and regulates emotion isn’t fully formed. So when they take against a teacher, they may try to lash out with the little power they have. An accusation is shared tearfully at home. A shocked parent believes their child. And the system has to take it seriously, because safeguarding is serious.  

But there is an unpredictable element here and that is the student with malicious intent who is out to hurt without thinking through consequences, either for the teacher or themselves. They’re not evil. They’re just immature and naïve to the dire results of their small act of protest.

So the process grinds towards a terrible outcome for someone, whether you or them. The collaborative becomes polarised. What should be win-win becomes a zero-sum game. 

What is the solution to this? That is beyond a teacher’s ken. One does wonder, though, whether there could be a more informal way for complaints to be assessed before being elevated or dismissed? Surely not every complaint has to be taken through the whole formal process?

Back to being the object of investigation. As you sit at home waiting, your mind can go to dark places. Even if you are certain of vindication, it is still a relief to hear your innocence stated in that last awkward meeting with HR. But the whole thing feels stained and sordid from start to finish, just by the very airing of an accusation.

There is something sacred in the trust placed in a teacher. So when the teacher-student interaction is called into question it already feels like a violation, even if the supposed violation never happened. The accusation is itself a breach of the trust on which teaching relies.

You may be warier afterwards. But your students deserve the same commitment you’ve always given. You have to forgive if you are to be released from the hurt. You simply have to trust the system. Because when it’s all over for you, it will just be starting for that unwise student who has somehow become your opponent. They will have questions they need to answer. And nobody wins in a game that malice has started.   

Reversing the FE staffing crisis: How we built a teacher pipeline

In the realm of FE, the challenge of teacher and assessor shortages is a regular talking point in management meetings across the country.

At Wigan & Leigh College, we have transformed our approach head-on through the establishment of our Teaching & Learning Academy (TLA).

The academy was launched in 2021 after the success of a further education professional development grant pilot we ran, which supported subject-specific professional development and new educators. Over the past three years the TLA has become integral to our recruitment and retention strategy, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and excellence in teaching.

Switch to teach: Cultivating dual professionals

Our Be Brilliant – Switch to Teach programme identifies candidates with industry expertise and the potential to excel in education, regardless of formal teaching qualifications. We have attracted tradespeople including plumbers and electricians, and engineers in manufacturing firms. Some were self-employed.

This approach has led to 77 per cent of new staff appointments in 2024-25 being successfully filled on the first attempt. Four years ago our figure was around 50 per cent.

To support these new educators we offer financial assistance for teaching qualifications ranging from Level 3 to 7, aligning with individual aspirations. Over 75 staff members have completed these qualifications in the past three years, reinforcing the dual-professional model that is essential to FE.

Off to a good start

All new teaching staff participate in our six-week Be Brilliant Essentials induction programme which covers high expectations, effective planning and assessment for learning, culminating in a micro-teach session. This initiative fosters a sense of belonging and cross-college collaboration, with 165 staff members completing the programme.

New educators also benefit from reduced teaching timetables, departmental mentors and support from teaching and learning coaches to ensure a smoother transition into their roles.

Embracing technology

We invest in cutting-edge, research-informed platforms to enhance teaching practices. All staff have access to Teachermatic, an AI-powered tool that streamlines administrative tasks, with 186 members regularly using it to save time.

Additionally, the HOW2 platform empowers educators to take control of their professional development, with 1,972 pedagogical techniques currently being developed within the college and 800 successfully embedded to improve teaching quality.

Workload and retention

Recognising that administrative workload contributes to staff attrition, we have tailored our professional development offerings to include tools and training that alleviate these pressures. Our efforts have yielded tangible results: staff turnover stands at 14 per cent, 3.7 per cent below the Association of College’s benchmark.

First-year staff turnover is 17 per cent, 8 per cent below the FE sector average, while staff sickness rates are at 2.3 per cent, below the AoC average of 2.7 per cent.

Collaboration and sector influence

The TLA extends its impact beyond our institution through strategic collaborations. We are currently partnering with Gatsby, Edge Hill University and other FE colleges on the Industry Associates initiative, offering a free 12-week programme to industry professionals engaged with FE curriculum design and delivery. This initiative ensures high-quality curriculum input whilst inspiring potential educators.

As part of the Greater Manchester Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) Education and Workforce project we are collaborating with the University of Manchester to integrate PhD researchers into FE teaching, particularly in STEM subjects. This innovative model not only addresses staffing shortages but also strengthens the FE-HE relationship, promoting a system-wide approach to bridging skills gaps.

The landscape of education is evolving, and traditional approaches to recruitment and retention are no longer sufficient.

Our Teaching & Learning Academy exemplifies how innovation, collaboration and a commitment to professional development can effectively address the challenges facing the FE sector.

By investing in our educators and embracing change we are not only meeting current demands but also shaping a resilient and dynamic workforce for the future.

Annus mirabilis for FE research…our sector is finding its voice

This year is proving something of an annus mirabilis for research in the FE and skills sector. Not only has the recent biannual conference of the Learning & Skills Research Network (LSRN) demonstrated the breadth of practice-based research in the sector, but a milestone book, Exploring Practitioner Research in Further Education, by Kerry Scattergood and Samantha Jones has placed it firmly in the public realm.

The year has also seen the reinstatement of the Education & Training Foundations’ pioneering Practitioner Research Programme at the University of Sunderland, many of whose graduates are moving onto doctoral research and taking up positions of influence in colleges.

The more recent Research Further scheme at the Association of Colleges is supporting others to develop their research ideas and encouraging college-centred research that can help influence policy and practice.

Across the diverse sessions of LSRN’s research conference last month – from formal presentations to digital contributions – several recurring themes emerged. These included the evolving identity and roles of FE educators, new approaches to CPD and rethinking observation and feedback practices.

This surge of research activity hasn’t arisen by accident, of course. The gradual emergence of a sustained culture of research is the long-term outcome of many initiatives, driven largely by enthusiasts. The “grandaddy of them all”, to quote from Scattergood and Jones’s book, is LSRN, founded in 1997. It has remained independent and informal ever since and is driven entirely by the willing efforts of volunteers.

New research infrastructure

Those brought together through LSRN activity have gone on to set up further elements of research infrastructure. The Research College Group brings together colleges that have committed at the highest level to supporting and conducting research.

FE Research Meet, set up in conjunction with the National Education Union, provides an informal environment in which practitioners at all levels of experience in an area come together to share and develop their work. FE podcasts provide insights into the research culture, though interviews with researchers on topics such as lesson observation, mentoring and GCSE resits.

So, what does this buzz of activity suggest about the future of FE research? It is clear that the sector is beginning to etch out a distinctive approach to research. The increasing numbers of practitioners acquiring capabilities through practitioner research programmes and post-doctoral study means the capacity to design and conduct studies is growing.

Not only is this leading to greater quantity and quality of research. It also means that FE and skills practitioners are making their mark in the wider research community by contributing to journals and conferences and taking up roles within research organisations such as the British Educational Research Association (BERA). Key to the distinctiveness of this work, however, is close attention to the detail of contexts relevant to the sector – the classrooms, laboratories, workshops and salons that characterise education across the vocations, and in training and community settings for adults, language learners and offenders.

The inclusive approach extends to the pathway into research. Opportunities are being extended at every level for practitioners to follow up their curiosity, and embark on a journey with the support of colleagues already on that pathway.

Through informal networking and online sharing, the intimidation often felt about trying to engage with research is alleviated. Questions and challenges arising directly from one’s day-to-day teaching experience can be brought safely into the research arena.

As the research culture continues to develop from the bottom-up, it is possible to imagine a future in which serious, locally developed evidence will inform decision-making in our institutions as well as our classrooms. Governors and leaders, as well as people at the chalkface, may look to soundly based evidence to inform the decisions they take.

Deputy Jones to succeed CEO Booth at Luminate

Bill Jones has been promoted to chief executive of Luminate Education Group, effective from January.

The current deputy CEO of the organisation, which is one of England’s largest college groups, will take the helm when current chief Colin Booth retires at the end of the year.

Jones has been deputy at the group since 2015, as well as being executive principal of Leeds City College.

As deputy, he leads the college group’s initiatives across teaching, stakeholder engagement and institutional performance.

Jones said: “It is an immense privilege to be appointed as the next chief executive of Luminate Education Group. Having worked within the group for over 10 years, I’ve seen first-hand the impact our members, staff and students make across our communities every day.

“I am proud of what we have achieved together under Colin Booth’s leadership — and I’m excited to build on that strong foundation. As we look ahead, my focus will be on deepening our commitment to inclusive, high-quality education across both further and higher education, while exploring new ways to innovate, respond to local and national priorities, and strengthen our partnerships across sectors.”

With a career in education spanning nearly three decades, Jones began as an English teacher at the now-closed East Birmingham College.

He then worked his way up to hold senior positions at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology and Burton & South Derbyshire College. 

Before starting at Leeds City College, he spent six years at Sheffield College leading curriculum planning and quality assurance.

John Toon, chair of Luminate’s board, said: “This appointment follows a rigorous and highly competitive recruitment process, attracting interest from across the education and public sectors. 

“Bill demonstrated a clear vision for the future of Luminate, with a deep understanding of our values and the challenges and opportunities facing education at both a regional and national level. The Board is confident that he will provide outstanding leadership in the years ahead.”

The search for a new group CEO began in April when Booth announced his retirement after a 40-year career, ending with 10 years at Luminate.

Luminate Education Group is one of the largest colleges in England, with more than 30,000 students across its three FE colleges, one sixth from college and two higher education institutions. It generated £128 million in group income in 2023-24.

The group maintained a ‘good’ Ofsted rating following its latest inspection in February.

Our survey says… all employers want more control over training

If you speak to any employer about the skills challenges they face, one message comes through clearly: we have a great opportunity to improve the current system to better serve both employers and learners.

In our latest report, Skills for All: Ten Key Insights from Employers, The St Martin’s Group (SMG) in partnership with Ipsos gathered the views of more than 800 employers from two surveys across England.

The insights are impossible to ignore. Employers want an inclusive skills system that works across all ages, levels and sectors, which reflects the realities they face and supports growth.

It chimes with the recently published Skills England report Sector evidence on the growth and skills offer, which looked at employers’ experiences of the apprenticeship system. Both reports found small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face challenges in delivering apprenticeships and content, and delivery frameworks can be too restrictive. They often don’t help address the skills gaps that employers suffer.

When confronted with a skills gap, most employers (52 per cent Ipsos; 54 per cent SMG) don’t default to recruitment. They upskill existing staff. Skills policy that ignores the existing workforce risks missing the point entirely.

That’s why nearly half of employers (47 per cent Ipsos; 59 per cent SMG) say a national skills policy that trains all ages and all levels would most benefit their business.

Employers are not asking for special treatment; they’re asking for a system that reflects how they operate. And with 55 per cent (SMG) and 49 per cent (Ipsos) of employers struggling to recruit for higher-level roles, the case for lifelong learning and upskilling is undeniable.

Equally important is the call for flexibility. Whether it’s the structure of apprenticeship programmes or access to levy funds, employers want greater control. Most surveyed (53 per cent Ipsos, 70 per cent SMG) chose flexibility over the content and structure of programmes – a strong signal that a one-size-fits-all approach is not fit for purpose.

The growth and skills levy is a step in the right direction. With 62 per cent of Ipsos respondents (70 per cent SMG) supporting its use to fund vocational and higher technical qualifications and management and soft skills training, the appetite is there. But any reform must ensure levy flexibility does not come at the cost of apprenticeship volume or quality.

That balance matters. Apprenticeships remain a vital pathway into skilled employment. 80 per cent (SMG) and 79 per cent (Ipsos) of employers surveyed said they are likely to hire apprentices in the future.

But we must not force every skills solution through the apprenticeship route. Employers want high-quality short courses, pre-employment soft skills programmes and modular training that reflects real-world needs.

That need is especially acute for young people. Only one third (33 per cent) of large employers responding to SMG find it easy to develop young people’s soft skills, compared to 58 per cent of those who feel confident developing technical ones.

So we must invest in access-to-work initiatives, career-readiness programmes and interventions that bridge the gap between education and employment.

We need a system that works for SMEs and large employers alike. Our polling shows marked differences between them in their government engagement, the training they value and their likelihood to adopt new programmes such as foundation or shorter apprenticeships. A responsive skills system cannot be centrally prescribed and locally irrelevant.

That’s why more than 62 per cent of employers surveyed by Ipsos and 74 per cent by SMG want skills policy coordinated at both the national and local level. Employers understand their local labour markets and know what works. Government’s role should be to enable and incentivise.

The creation of Skills England, the evolution of the levy and a growing employer appetite for training all create fertile ground for reform. But for reform to be effective it must be rooted in employer reality.

We must back a system that supports inclusive growth – one that helps young people move into work, enables adults to reskill and upskill throughout their careers and gives employers the tools they need to invest in their workforce.

Principal of cash-strapped college to retire

A long-serving principal has announced his retirement – two months after the Hampshire college he leads was placed in government intervention.

Havant and South Downs College (HSDC) boss Mike Gaston will step down from the post to “focus on my family and personal life”, he said in a statement today.

Gaston’s decision comes just shortly after the Department for Education hit HSDC with a financial notice to improve (FNTI) amid “serious cashflow pressures”. The college has warned there will be “substantial” redundancies as a result.

Gaston will stay in the post during a “planned transition period” until January 2026 to lead the college through its financial recovery strategy, the college said.

Gaston has been the principal and CEO of HSDC for over a decade. He led the group through two mergers: The South Downs College and Havant College merged in 2017, and Alton Sixth Form College joined in 2019. Gaston also steered the merged college group through two ‘good’ Ofsted inspections.

He said the decision was “not made lightly” after spending his 37-year career in the FE sector.

“Leading HSDC has been one of the greatest privileges of my career,” said Gaston. 

“Working alongside an exceptional team and inspiring students, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of further education. After 37 years in the sector and more than a decade at this college, I feel the time is right to focus on my family and personal life.”

He added: “When the time comes, I am confident that new leadership will bring fresh energy and vision to HSDC, building on the achievements of the past to create an even brighter future.”

The board said it will begin recruitment for the next principal “in due course”.

Clive Dobbin, chair of the corporation, said: “On behalf of the board, we extend our deepest gratitude to Mike for his dedication and leadership. His commitment to ensuring a smooth transition is invaluable, and we are confident that the strong foundation he has built will allow HSDC to emerge even stronger in the years ahead.”

Gaston warned last month of “substantial redundancies” to its 1000-strong workforce in light of the notice to improve.

Financial statements for the year ending July 2024 show a £550,000 deficit, a negative EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) and a high staff-to-turnover ratio of 72 per cent – 7 percentage points above the FE Commissioner’s benchmark.

He told FE Week at the time: “While the challenges outlined in the FNTI are significant, they compel us to take decisive action, including a process of right-sizing that may, regrettably, involve a substantial number of redundancies. I want to be unequivocal; these decisions are never made lightly.”