Questions over Former Education Secretary Lord Baker’s University Technical Colleges (UTCs) programme will be reviewed by ministers after questions from an MP over the closure of the Black Country UTC.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said it was important the government asked itself “is this programme as successful as it can possibly be” before agreeing to open more of the institutions that, as reported by FE Week, have been fraught with issues around recruitment and attendance.

Mr Boles made the comments during a Commons debate on UTCs, tabled by Walsall North MP David Winnick, who raised concerns about Black Country UTC, which will close in August after around four years and following an inadequate Ofsted inspection result.

Mr Boles told the Commons: “I think it is very important now at the start of a Parliament that we look at this programme and we ask ourselves is this programme as successful as it can possibly be before we launch ourselves into the process of opening more institutions like this, which is something that we as a government are very firmly committed to do.”

Mr Boles said he hoped Mr Winnick understood that government had to “take some risks” when it was trying to “improve and innovate”, and said it was a “huge matter of regret” that the college had been forced to close “so soon after it opened and after so much taxpayers’ money was invested”.

The Minister re-assured Mr Winnick that the UTC programme received a lot of attention from both officials and elected politicians in the Department for Education, and added: “It would not have been a surprise to the department or officials that this college was in trouble, but of course it wasn’t until that second Ofsted report that the trouble perhaps crystallised.”

Mr Boles said the government was “firmly committed” to the UTCs programme, but promised to “look at all questions on how the model works”, including issues of recruitment and sponsorship.

UTCs are 14 to 19 institutions, often run by one or more academic or commercial sponsors, which allow learners to follow a technical route from an earlier age. Black Country UTC opened in 2011 and is now one of 30 currently open. Hackney UTC will also close in August.

See edition 141 of FE Week, dated June 15, for more.

The Privy Council today announced that the Queen had approved the grant of a Royal Charter to the Institution for Further Education in a first for the sector.

The Institution for Further Education, set up in 2013 by Lord Lingfield to pave the way for a new chartered membership organisation for colleges and training providers in the FE sector, has been granted its Royal Charter.

The institution will be devoted to developing the potential, reputation and standing of the further education sector.  Its mission will be to bring together the best training providers across the sector and collectively to promote, recognise and celebrate their professionalism and success.

Lord Lingfield said: “This is a  historic and long-awaited development. The new Institution will give the sector its first ever Chartered body.   It will be governed by the sector, for the sector.

“It will be part of the work of driving forward professionalism in further education, celebrating and building on what we do well, and bringing together the best performing organisations to take that work further.

“It will showcase what is best about the sector. I look forward to it helping to achieve for the sector a status both nationally and internationally equivalent to that enjoyed by our higher education colleagues.

“I am grateful to everyone who has helped us get here. There is much to be done to make the new Chartered corporation ready to open its doors to members. But we can move ahead knowing now that the principal uncertainties are behind us.”

Just over a month ago many in the sector were growing concerned that plans for an FE Chartered Status quality mark had “stalled” with no mention of the scheme in party manifestos and little in the way of news on its progress.

Plans, originally drawn up by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), for the Royal seal of approval to be granted to high-achieving FE institutions were revealed in July 2012.

It was almost another year before the appointment of Tory peer Lord Lingfield (pictured main, above) as chair of the Institution for Further Education (IFE), a not-for-profit company set up to launch the quality mark.

In March 2014 he told FE Week he expected “negotiations to be completed within months” that would allow for the quality mark to be launched. An FE Week survey on the mark was carried out in May last year unveiling concern it could simply “sink without trace.”

However, the body’s arrival today was welcomed by Skills Minister Nick Boles, who said: “I was happy to support The Institution of Further Education’s application for a Royal Charter and look forward to their work promoting world-class skills provision.

“A skilled workforce, able to meet the needs of employers and industries, is vital to our continued economic growth. Bringing together FE providers to encourage high standards will ensure that qualifications are sought after and respected by employers and learners.”

Former college learners who have gone on to shine in their chosen profession were celebrated the Association of Colleges (AoC) gold awards ceremony at the Houses of Parliament.

A world renowned designer, a Turner prize-winning artist and a former international football referee were among those who received awards, along with the colleges that taught them.

The awards were presented last night by AoC charitable trust chair Lord Willis of Knaresborough.

Lord Willis said: “So often we do not celebrate what is really brilliant about the FE sector.

“I do get awfully fed up of universities constantly telling ups what brilliant alumni they have and celebrating the people with great successes and it’s wonderful to see the FE sector doing exactly the same.”

Those being celebrated included designer and former Croydon College student John Rocha, artist and former Luton Sixth Form College learner Elizabeth Price, ex-referee and Rotherham College alumnus Howard Webb and Labour and co-operative MP Lucy Powell, who went to Xaverian College.

Also receiving an award were Muslim hair and beauty salon owner Mary Al-Khudri, from Barnet & Southgate College, University of the West of Scotland Professor and former Coleg y Cymoedd student Julien Baker, Carl Lygo, Vice-Chancellor of BPP University, who went to Doncaster College and Leeds Rhino rugby captain  Kevin Sinfield, who attended Oldham Sixth Form College.

Lord Willis said the “raft of talent” on show at the awards would leave audience members asking ‘is that really what’s happening in the FE sector? Is that really what we can achieve?’

“And the answer is, yes it is,” he said.

On receiving his award, Mr Rocha urged young people to copy his example and “follow your dreams”.

He said: “I have been lucky throughout my career, to do something I love, and to be successful at it, to have this work acknowledged in this way is a very real honour.

“Needless to say without the foundation of my education and experience in Croydon, I would not where I am today. It really was a wonderful experience and a really enjoyable time in my life.”

Alongside the award winners, each of the colleges and their alumni nominated a future star — someone in the same field as their college’s winner who had shown the talent and the determination to follow in their footsteps.

Barnet and Southgate College  nominated level two hairdressing student Brishna Safi, aged 35,  Coleg y Cymoedd nominated A Level biology, maths and physics student Calum Haggett, 18, Croydon College put forward fashion diploma student Morgan Coghlan, 16, while Doncaster’s future star was business and administration student Nathan Forster, 21.

Olivia Cummins, 18 ,  a Luton Sixth Form College BTec Level three diplomas in art, design and graphic design student was also nominated, while Amy Clinton, an A level PE, maths and biology student was Oldham Sixth Form College’s nominee, Rotherham College put forward HNC level four media production student Alisia Angel,19, and Xaverian College put forward Maryam Watson, an AS Level in government and politics, maths, history and photography student.

Main pic, from left: Mary Al-Khudri, Carl Lygo, Lucy Powell MP, Julien Baker, Elizabeth Price and John Rocha

Happy VQ Day! Today will see the efforts of vocational learners up and down the country celebrated.

It is the eighth annual VQ Day and so stay tuned to feweek.co.uk for Twitter updates of #VQDay events, below.

And also look out for edition 141 of FE Week, dated Monday, June 15, for a 16-page supplement covering all things VQ Day — including coverage of last night’s VQ Day Awards, expert articles, and plenty more besides.

Click here for the FE Week guide to VQ Day events taking place over the next month.

#vqday Tweets

It should not be assumed that “very large” in-year cuts facing the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Department for Education will all fall on the FE sector, Skills Minister Nick Boles has told MPs.

Speaking at the end of a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament held in anticipation of tomorrow’s VQ Day celebrations, Mr Boles sought to re-assure fellow MPs that the £450m savings bill faced by each department would not fall “entirely” on colleges and independent learning providers.

He also sought to defend an earlier 24 per cent cut to this year’s adult skills budget, claiming the prioritisation of apprenticeship funding had “necessitated rather larger cuts” to the remaining cash.

In response to a question from Labour MP and former college principal Nic Dakin, Mr Boles said: “While I cannot go into detail, because it would be way above my pay grade to do so, he should not assume that the only way of cutting the unprotected part of the DfE budget is by cutting the funding for 16 to 19 education including that funding that goes of FE colleges.

“He should also not assume that the only way of cutting part of the BIS budget is by cutting the funding that does to FE colleges.

“No doubt everybody will have to make a contribution but he should not assume that those very large figures of cuts will fall entirely on the sectors that he so admirably represents in this house and this debate today.”

On the 24 per cent cut, Mr Boles said the government was justified in its attempts to focus funding on apprenticeships and away from areas of “lower value”, citing government survey figures which he claimed showed that a level three apprenticeship boosted earnings by 16 per cent, while a level three non-apprenticeship course boosted earnings by just four per cent.

He said: “I am not for a minute suggesting full time FE courses don’t have a positive impact, they do, but their positive impact on people’s earnings are not as high, not nearly as high, as apprenticeships.

“There are positive impacts from full-time courses, but the averages do suggest that it is sensible to do what the government has been doing which is to shift resources out of full-time FE courses.”

Mr Boles was also grilled by Shadow Skills Minister Liam Byrne, who said his party would “constantly focus” on ensuring that apprenticeship “quantity is not at the expense of quality”, adding that the biggest challenge facing the Minister was the funding settlement with which he has to contend.

He said: “If we are to fix the productivity gap, we have got to support technical education in a radically new way. The minister will know about the fact some colleges are now quite simply unviable. Many colleges are now already on the brink.”

Mr Byrne said England needed a system of technical education “worth its name”, adding that what currently existed was a system of “piecemeal, ad-hoc system of institutions, exams and funding entitlements which are sort of yolked together, often in a very rudimentary way”.

He added: “It does not allow young people a clear line of sight from the age of 14 for a technical education career that goes up to the degree level of skill.

“In our schools there has to be a bigger and bolder effort to expose more 14-year-olds to technical education. I seriously hope that we make serious progress on building a strong careers service over the course of this Parliament.

“It was I think the CBI of all people that said before the election that the careers advice system in this country was in their eyes ‘on life support’.”