Ministers will be required to report annually on the progress of the expansion of the apprenticeship programme under measures outlined in the Queen’s Speech this morning.

The new full employment and welfare benefits bill was among the first pieces of legislation announced by Her Majesty during her address in the House of Lords.

The bill will create a duty for ministers to report against meeting the government’s target of 3m apprenticeship starts in this Parliament.

Towards the beginning of her speech, The Queen said: “Legislation will be brought forward to help achieve full employment and provide more people with the security of a job. New duties will require my ministers to report annually on job creation and apprenticeships.

“To give new opportunities to the most disadvantaged, my government will expand the Troubled Families Programme and continue to reform welfare, with legislation encouraging employment by capping benefits and requiring young people to earn or learn.”

Under the government’s “future youth offer” outlined in briefing notes on the bill, Jobcentre Plus adviser support will be introduced in schools across England to supplement careers advice and provide “routes into work experience and apprenticeships”.

The future youth offer will also put in place a new Youth Allowance for 18 to 21-year-olds with stronger work-related “conditionality from day one”. After six months young people will be required to go on an apprenticeship, training or community work placement. Further it will remove automatic entitlement to housing support for 18 to 21-year-olds.

As part of a proposed immigration bill, a consultation will be carried out on funding apprenticeship schemes for British and EU workers by implementing a new visa levy on businesses that use foreign labour.

A new cities and devolution bill is expected to give greater local control over skills to cities with elected metro mayors.

The chief executive of the Further Education Trust for Leadership (Fetl) is standing down with his post having grown to “take much more of my time than I originally expected,” FE Week can reveal.

The Fetl appointment of former National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace) policy director Mark Ravenhall (pictured above) was announced in July last year, as reported in FE Week. However, he announced last night that he would be leaving Fetl this month.

Mr Ravenhall told FE Week: “I am proud to have been part of the beginnings of Fetl and think that we have achieved a great deal in its first year.

“Indeed, what began as a part-time two-day per week post has expanded and reached the point where it is taking much more of my time than I originally expected.

“Therefore I have made the decision to step down so that I have sufficient time to fulfill my other commitments and interests.”

Jill Westerman (pictured right), principal of the Northern College and chair of Fetl, said it was a “mark of his success that the level of interest has been so high, which has meant that the work of Fetl needs more time and attention than we originally envisaged for this part-time role”.

Among the key roles of Mr Ravenhall at Fetl has been to oversee its first round of grants for research, and the names of the first five organisations to receive a total of £270,000 in Fetl grants to fund research were announced in March.

Applications from the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), Coleg Gwent, EMFEC, the University of Hull, and Working Well were chosen ahead of 51 other applicants.

EMFEC, a membership body for providers in the East Midlands, is developing new models of leadership through innovative governance, while AELP is investigating the impact of new leaders on the leadership of thinking in FE.

Coleg Gwent is looking at the impact of austerity measures on provision and in particular the role of governors in fostering a culture of enterprise and innovation. The University of Hull will aim to develop a practical understanding of behaviours and approaches adopted by ethical leaders in FE.

Working Well, a private sector company that specialises in organisational development, will develop a series of strategic seminars that focus on psychoanalysis and systems thinking and their applicability to FE.

The announcement came after Fetl, which was launched last summer with a budget of up to £5.5m left over following the closure of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, announced in January the names of the first four individuals it had chosen for research fellowships.

Alex Day MBE, Ruth Allen, Tim Ward and Ann Creed got up to £40,000 each to fund their research on attitudes to risk in leadership of sixth form colleges, leadership challenges among third sector providers, the impact of leadership on part-time teachers and fostering creative leadership in FE, respectively.

Nevertheless, Mr Ravenhall said that he would continue to support Fetl through its current funding round and “while the board makes its arrangements to cover my post”.

“I want to thank the Fetl board and our small team of dedicated staff for their help and support over the time I have been involved,” he added.

“I am sure the trust will go from strength to strength under new leadership.”

Ms Westerman said: “The trustees of Fetl are very grateful to Mark for his work in setting up the trust and launching the first round of fellowships and grants.

“It is a mark of his success that the level of interest has been so high, which has meant that the work of Fetl needs more time and attention than we originally envisaged for this part-time role, and we understand that it has become increasingly hard for Mark to meet the other commitments he wishes to honour. ”

She added:  “The board plans to make interim management arrangements to take forward the work of Fetl until a permanent appointment can be made. Mark will be working alongside us to ensure a smooth handover so that the growing work of Fetl to support the leadership of thinking in our sector is sustained and developed even further.”

The average impact of a college on its local economy is around £550m, according to a 157 Group report out today warning the FE sector should not be “ignored” or “undermined” by government.

The report, which is the result of studies conducted with 157 Group members over a number of years and across different regions, also claims college learners receive an average 11.2 per cent return on investment in terms of higher future earnings.

It goes on to say that society receives a 12.6 per cent return in terms of an expanded tax base and reduced social costs, while the taxpayer receives a 12.3 per cent average return, in the form of increased returns for the exchequer.

It says: “Colleges generate a wide array of benefits, many of which are not fully appreciated: learners benefit from higher lifetime earnings; society benefits from avoided social costs; taxpayers benefit from an expanded tax base; local businesses benefit from increased consumer spending; local employers benefit from a more productive local workforce.

“It can be tempting to see colleges simply as teaching and training centres and to neglect these wider effects.

“Certainly most people probably do not see them as an essential part of the economic lifeblood of their communities. However, economic impact studies have consistently dispelled this view.

“Time and time again colleges have been shown to be far more than centres of learning. They are an integral — even essential — part of local and regional economies, contributing to the growth of those economies, improving the lives of young people and adults by increasing their employability, and training a workforce in the essential skills that the local business community needs to prosper.”

Dr Lynne Sedgmore, 157 Group executive director, said: “What are the figures telling us? Quite simply, they show us that the FE sector is a vital part of the economic fortunes of their local and regional economies, and by extension that of the nation’s economy as a whole.

“Or to turn it around and answer the question that we began the previous section with, if colleges across the country were to close, given the impact seen in these three examples alone, can there be any doubt that the effects would be catastrophic?”

The report, produced with Economic Modelling Specialists International (EMSI), calls for the FE sector to be taken “more seriously than in the past” by the government, claiming that any attempted growth in the economy through a drive towards localism and regionalism which “downplays” colleges was “bound to fail”.

The report concludes: “As we move into a new parliamentary cycle, the national economy is sure to be one of the biggest challenges facing the new government. But as the drive towards localism and regionalism suggests, it is widely recognised that to have any chance of building a strong and successful national economy, building strong local and regional economies is essential.”

It goes on to say that the FE sector – or more particularly the individual colleges – have a “vital part” to play in anticipated growth, and that much of the impact and values of colleges “goes unseen”.

It continues: “What this means is that the FE sector is something that a government wanting to build solid and sustainable growth should not ignore, and must not undermine. We would go as far to say that any attempt to foster growth while downplaying an institution that provides so much positive impact to local and regional communities is ultimately bound to fail.”

Dr Sedgmore added: “This is the first time such a wide summary of work has been published and it confirms that the economic benefits colleges bring to business and the community are great. The report finds that, beyond the direct benefit to students and their employment chances, the benefit to local communities far outweighs the initial financial investment. Those of us working in the sector have long understood the importance of our work, but it is impressive to see the benefit of that work now quantified in economic terms.

“With the Queen’s Speech tomorrow likely to feature an enterprise bill, it is vital that policymakers recognise the vital contribution further education colleges make to the economy. Colleges are key employers and generators of wealth, as this report shows, and we hope that the government will trust college leaders to grow their offer and become more and more central to the economic recovery.”

 

Apprenticeship vacancies are not keeping up with demand, a report by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) is to claim next month.

The IPPR has released the headline figures from its research into apprenticeships, which was commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA), and has prompted a call for more powers for councils.

The IPPR’s research reveals there were 1.8m applications for apprenticeships compared to 166,000 vacancies advertised last year, and that 67 per cent of level two or three apprentices were already employed by their company, which clashes with government rhetoric around using apprenticeships to tackle unemployment.

The research also found more than a third (35 per cent) of apprenticeships were at level three or above, while the majority (65 per cent) of places were still at level two. It also showed that since 2010, 42 per cent of starts had been made by those over the age of 25.

According to the research, under 19s made up 56 per cent of applications in 2013/14, but only 27 per cent of starts, whereas those over 25 submitted just seven per cent of applications, but accounted for 37 per cent of starts.

Peter Box, the leader of Wakefield District Council and the LGA’s economy spokesperson, said councils needed to be enabled to help the government to reach its 3m apprenticeship starts target, which he said the LGA was “right behind”.

He said: “At present, too many new apprenticeships are low skilled and taken by older people already in work with their employer. Too few new apprentices are school-leavers trying to get their first job, and too few are getting the construction skills to build the homes and roads our local communities need.

“With the greatest will, government alone cannot engage over 2m employers from Whitehall. Rather than spend more money on a struggling system, this research underlines the need for devolved training that enables partnerships of councils, schools, colleges and employers to both boost opportunities locally and to ensure youngsters get the skills, experience and advice to thrive.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills claimed the government’s economic plan was working, despite the figures.

He said: “UK employment is at an all-time high, with the rate of young people not in work, education or training at its lowest for a decade.

“We will work with employers across the country to deliver 3m apprenticeships over the next five years – giving more people than ever before the chance of top quality training and a job with prospects.”

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and University College Union (UCU) have welcomed Oftsed’s decision to scrap graded lesson observations for FE inspections from September.

An Ofsted spokesperson said that it had “consulted with FE and skills providers” and “conducted numerous pilot inspections to test the changes” before deciding to go ahead with the change, which it confirmed today.

It comes after FE Week reported in June last year that the education watchdog would be trying out pilot inspections with no grading of teaching in individual FE sessions during 2014/15, as first revealed by Ofsted’s FE and skills director Lorna Fitzjohn (pictured main image) on Twitter, which led to a debate in the sector about whether they should continue or be scrapped.

Stewart Segal (pictured below right), AELP chief executive, told FE Week today: “On balance we think that not grading individual lesson observations is the right thing to do.”

However, he added: “It is essential that Ofsted inspectors share their findings with providers and evidence how they have arrived at their overall grading for teaching and learning.

“Even if individual lessons are not explicitly graded it must be very transparent as to what inspectors are looking for in the delivery of teaching and assessment.”

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt (pictured below left), also welcomed the reform.

She said: “UCU has long argued that graded lesson observation is a box-ticking exercise that piles the pressure on staff but ultimately is of no discernible benefit.

“Watching one lesson is not a fair or reliable way to judge a person’s professional competence and we are pleased Ofsted is looking seriously at getting rid of it.

“It is time for a sea-change in culture to overhaul this failed method of assessment.”

The UCU published a report on June 11 last year, called Developing a National Framework for the Effective Use of Lesson Observation in FE, that raised “serious questions about the fitness for purpose of prevailing observation assessment systems in FE”.

Ms Fitzjohn was the first to reveal via Twitter that its graded lesson observations in FE and Skills could be ending for good on June 9 last year.

She tweeted: “Ofsted is to pilot FE and skills inspections without grading teaching in individual sessions.”

The Ofsted spokesperson said today: “We have taken the decision to no longer grade the quality of teaching in individual learning sessions.

“This change will be reflected in Ofsted’s new handbook for the inspection of FE and skills, which we will publish before the end of the summer term.”

Latest official figures have shown the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) in the UK during the first three months of this year was the lowest of any quarter in the last five years.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) report said that there were 943,000 16 to 24-year-old Neets during this period — down 20,000 (2 per cent) from October to December 2014 and 45,000 (5 per cent) from January to March last year.

It meant that 13 per cent of the total number (7,273,000) of 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK were Neet, which was the lowest figure seen during any quarter-period over the last five years, according to the ONS (see below).

During the first quarter of 2010, for example, there were 1,108,000 Neets, which was 15.9 per cent of the total number (7,349,000) of 16 to 24-year-old in the UK at that time.

The report added: “For January to March 2015, there were 53,000 people aged from 16 to 17 who were Neet, down 5,000 [8.6 per cent] from October to December 2014 and down 3,000 [5.3 per cent] from a year earlier.”

Meanwhile, it showed that there were 889,000 18 to 24-year-old Neets for January to March this year — down 15,000 (1.7 per cent) from October to December 2014 and 42,000 (4.5 per cent) from January to March 2014.

The report added: “Just under half (46 per cent) of all young people in the UK who were Neet were looking for work and available for work and therefore classified as unemployed [during the first quarter of this year].

“The remainder were either not looking for work and/or not available for work and therefore classified as economically inactive.”

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “These record low rates of Neets demonstrate that our economic plan is working. No young person should be left without the opportunity of a regular wage and high quality training, that’s why we will create 3m new apprenticeships over the next five years.”

The government, which had previously refused to acknowledge the ONS UK figures, has put out its own release using different figures adjusted based on its own rules and covering just England.

It showed that the number of 16 to 24-year-old Neets stood at 738,000 for January to March this year. The figure was lower than for any comparable three-month period over the last five years.

It represented a 6.2 per cent decrease on the figure (787,000) for the same period of last year and was 19 per cent down from 912,000 16 to 24-year-old Neets recorded between January and March 2010.

However, between the last quarter of 2014 and the first quarter this year, the number of 16 to 18 Neets rose 1,000 to 134,000.

Chris Jones, chief executive of City & Guilds, said: “It’s great that more young people are in education, training, or work, but it’s a tiny victory. We have a long way to go to make sure that no one is slipping through the cracks, especially given the slight rise in the Neet rate among 16 to 18-year-olds.

“One of the best ways to do that is by improving careers advice so that young people are fully aware of their options. That includes using labour market information and the latest data on skills gaps to shape the careers advice on offer. That way, young people can get up to date advice on the industries and jobs that are in demand.

“The Government’s ambitious goal of  3m apprenticeships sends a clear message about the importance of vocational training and is helping to overcome the misguided view that apprenticeships are a choice for those who aren’t ‘clever’ enough for university.

“But a quality teaching and learning experience must underpin each and every one of those three million apprenticeships. That’s the only way they are going to make a lasting difference.”

The damning Ofsted report cited as one of the reasons behind the closure of one of the flagship University Technical Colleges (UTCs) was today released, revealing inadequate grades across the board and a failure to promote vocational options.

Black Country UTC (BCUTC) announced plans to shut in April partly blaming a “disappointing” Ofsted report for the decision to close its doors from August 31.

The report shows the UTC, which offers specialist engineering training for 14 to 16-year-olds alongside core qualifications, had been placed in special measures following concerns raised by inspectors over learner safety and achievement — and concerns that its sixth form was failing to promote vocational options to leavers.

It said learners had “limited access to appropriate careers advice and guidance” and also found student achievement was “well below the national average and should be higher”.

The UTC has apologised to the students and parents who had been “let down” by its underperformance. Meanwhile, the Baking Dearing Trust, which oversees UTCs, admitted its response to the UTC’s problems should have been “more robust”.

Governors of the University of Wolverhampton and Walsall College-sponsored UTC, which opened in 2011, announced their decision to close the school on August 31. Black Country UTC principal Paul Averis (pictured) said when the closure was announced: “This has been a difficult decision for all concerned.”

The UTC has 158 learners on role, which, inspectors noted, was “considerably smaller than most schools” — and less than a fifth of learners at the college are girls, while the majority of students were white British.

According to 2011 census data, almost one in four members of the population of Walsall is from a minority ethnic  group (23.1 per cent)

Meanwhile, standards in the UTC’s sixth form provision were “very low” according to the report, with poor guidance for learners opting for a vocational route — despite the UTC’s own vocational focus.

“Students who intend to apply to university are well supported with their applications,” the report said. “Students who intend to follow other pathways, for example apprenticeships, receive less guidance.”

Inspectors also raised concerns about  students not being guided onto appropriate courses within the UTC, inspected in March.

“A number of students are on courses that are too hard for them and they are unlikely to be successful,” the report said, adding a lack of effective tracking meant students had not been identified quickly enough to allow them to move to more appropriate courses.

The UTC was previously inspected in April last year, when it received a grade three, and the most recent report found key concerns raised last time had not been dealt with.

“Leaders, including governors and the sponsors, have not addressed low standards, poor behaviour, low levels of attendance and weak teaching in the college,” the report said.

A spokesperson for the UTC said the governors accepted Ofsted’s verdict, “with regret”, but a “thorough assessment” of the report had led to the decision to close.

“We are very sorry that the positive hopes we had for the BCUTC have not been fulfilled,” she said.

“We apologise wholeheartedly to the students and parents that have been let down by the performance of the BCUTC.

“It was very difficult to decide to close the BCUTC and we are giving full support and guidance to students and parents affected by the closure.

“The principal and staff are working closely with the Department for Education, Walsall Council and local education providers to ensure a smooth transition for all students.”

Its closure follows that of another early UTC — Hackney UTC. It announced in July that it had failed to attract enough learners to stay open beyond this academic year.

There are currently 30 UTCs operating, including Hackney, with 15 more due to open in 2016 and a further five in 2017.

A Baking Dearing Trust spokesperson also expressed “regret” over Ofsted’s findings, but said it supported the governor’s decision to close.

“Baker Dearing Educational Trust’s role in supporting Black Country, and other UTCs, is advisory,” she said.

“UTCs are autonomous institutions, controlled by their own board of governors which is ultimately responsible for the management and performance of the school.

“In this case, we accept that our interventions needed to have been more robust and plans are now in place that enables this to happen in the future.

“The Ofsted report is very disappointing and we take the issues raised very seriously.

She added: “Baker Dearing Educational Trust is committed to supporting all UTCs. There are many local factors, unique to this project, which led to the decision to close BCUTC and it isn’t a judgment on the UTC model as a whole.”

The spokesperson also said Baker Dearing would help to ensure the BCUTC learners where supported.

Nearly 40 per cent of FE workers struggle to get a mortgage because of their “casualised” employment contracts, research from the University and College Union (UCU) suggested today.

Its 17-page report, entitled Making ends meet: the human cost of casualisation in post secondary-education, looks at how workers lives are affected by zero-hour and other types of “casualised” contracts, it defines as also including variable with guaranteed minimum hours, hourly paid, fixed term and agency, among others (see below).

Critics of zero-hour and similar “casualised” contracts argue they create uncertainty in the workforce, leaving staff without sick or holiday pay, and make it difficult to get tenancy agreements, credit cards, loans or mortgages because it is impossible to show a regular income. But proponents claim they allow for flexible working patterns and mean employers can take on more staff.

However, the UCU surveyed 696 staff from FE, which included colleges, adult and prison education, and found 32.4 per cent of respondents were on zero-hour contracts (second most popular type of casual contract after hourly paid at 39 per cent) and that 37.8 per cent said their casualised employment contract had hindered them in getting a mortgage.

“The real extent of the problem is far bigger though as many who answered ‘no’ to the question reported that this was because they had never even tried and knew there would be no point while they remained on a casual contract,” according to the report.

The research also looked at whether FE staff had struggled with bills and 56.1 per cent of sector respondents said meeting household costs such as fuel and repairs had been a problem.

The UCU further found that  almost two-thirds (64%) of people work 30 hours or less a week and two-fifths (39%) earn less than £1,000 a month.

Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary, said: “People on casual contracts are unable to plan their lives month-by-month or even week-by-week. One in 10 people cannot even estimate how many hours they work on average each month or what they might earn. That is no way for anyone to live their life.

“Ministers and employers must stop trying to defend these practices as flexible. Any flexibility is not a two-way street and people who want security and a proper contract should be able to get one.

“The high levels of casualisation in further and higher education would shock many students and parents and expose the harsh reality of life in a modern university or college.”

The Association of Colleges (AoC) said UCU’s conclusions were “concerning” and “not representative” of feedback it received from its member colleges.

Marc Whitworth, AoC director of employment services and policy. said casual contracts were “beneficial for the students, college and employee”.

“Colleges have always needed a flexible workforce and they employ people on different types of contracts to respond to the needs of students and the college business,” he said.

“These needs include the levels of demand for some courses, covering staff absences and delivering short courses.

“Some teachers continue to maintain employment in their own profession whilst being employed by colleges on a casual basis as secondary employment.”

There were 2,551 responses to the survey between January 26 and April 12. More than two-thirds (71 per cent) of respondents (1,787) were from the higher education sector. Only FE respondents are covered in this report.

Ms Hunt said: “Millions of students of all ages now enter our education system, most of them paying considerable sums for it.

“They have a right to expect that they will be given a high quality education delivered by passionate staff who are respected and properly rewarded for their work.

“What many students probably don’t realise is that most of them are taught at some point, perhaps for most of their time in education, by people on insecure casual contracts.

“The exploitative use of casualised contracts breeds insecurity, anxiety, stress and forces people to work long hours for poor pay. This report exposes the true human cost of life on a casual contract and shatters any ‘aura of prestige’.”

Mr Whitworth said the report “makes some concerning conclusions but these are not representative of the discussions we’ve had with our college members”.