The last piece I wrote for FE Week, about the extremely troubling rise in misogyny and the damaging insidiousness of the ‘manosphere,’ was written before the TV drama show Adolescence was released. I have been reflecting on the resounding and widespread visceral reaction to that programme.
As you all surely must know by now, (who can have missed it!) the programme involves a young teenage boy committing an act of terrible violence against an innocent girl, following his radicalisation into incel ideology via the internet; or rather, by those promoting misogyny, violence and hatred on the web.
The programme provoked such an extraordinary reaction it was even discussed in parliament, with PM Sir Keir Starmer suggesting every child attending school should watch the series. If it is Question Time, Prime Minister, I am interested to know exactly what you think that would achieve?
The assumption that every child would relate to, understand and interpret the messaging in that script is a bold one. The 13-year-old perpetrator had a loving family, albeit with a slightly emotionally stunted father who couldn’t express his feelings very well. A pretty stereotypical portrayal maybe?
Too many of our children and young people do not live in a loving, binary family setting, and concern about online behaviours is not on the radar of parental awareness.
Maybe, I would respectfully suggest, an alternative response would be to introduce serious restrictions on what is permissible and available on the net and actually protect our children before they become the manipulated fodder of those who are making fortunes out of creating such bleak and devastating misery.
As reported by The Guardian, over 850 men are arrested every month for child abuse offences online, including police, doctors and teachers. The ‘spiralling global crisis’ saw the UK’s Internet Watch Foundation remove over 300,000 web pages last year, each containing hundreds and thousands of illegal images. The explosion of free-to-view pornography is creating a short and rapid pathway to serious criminal offending.
The Online Safety Act does not go far enough
The Online Safety Act does not go far enough to protect children. It does not ban harmful pornography, choking, strangulation, images of sexual violence or nuanced content which promotes child abuse or incest at the behest of the algorithms which control content. We are moving at a glacial pace when lives are at stake. It is not good enough.
The National Crime Agency is collaborating in a joint taskforce with counter terrorism to tackle the increasing threat of young men and boys being radicalised by misogynistic online content to the point of seeking out vulnerable girls and young women with intent to cause them harm. Serious stuff.
Yet this misogyny is not classed as extremism. It might appear, to the naked eye, that we have the power and authority to control this situation. But we are choosing not to do so. One rational conclusion is that the online industry is worth billions; and there’s the rub. If we allowed this content to be put up then surely we can also take it down?
I am grateful that Adolescence initiated so much discussion and awareness. But it does beg the question; do we need to make a TV programme before such topics are taken seriously? Have we not been shouting for years now about the danger our children are in from the unpoliced internet?
Do we not already know that chat rooms are showing our kids how to kill themselves and hurt others? Do we not already know that sexual violence is becoming a dangerous ‘norm’ and that incel ideology is just one click away? And yet we are doing so little about it. And what we are doing has taken us years.
I understand how impossible it is to put the genie back in the bottle, but we can at least do our absolute best to put strict and rigid laws in place to protect our young people; including a total ban on certain content and legal definitions of misogyny and inceldom which are appropriate for the terror and harm they inflict.
It is our moral duty of care to do so, and do so quickly.
Over the past quarter of a century, maths education in England has made huge strides. Today, four in five young people leave compulsory education with at least a standard pass in GCSE maths – up from around 50 per cent in the 1990s.
Maths is now the most popular subject at A-level. Globally, England sits among the top-performing countries outside East Asia.
This is something to celebrate, and FE has played a crucial role. Colleges have enabled tens of thousands of students each year to achieve that vital GCSE maths pass.
But for all the progress made, one problem stubbornly remains: most young people still stop learning maths at 16.
In a world increasingly shaped by data, technology and AI, numeracy is a fundamental skill. Whether you’re managing a budget, weighing up risk or making sense of statistics, the ability to reason mathematically is more important than ever.
That’s why the Maths Horizons Project is calling for a 16-19 maths entitlement: a commitment to ensuring every young person continues learning maths beyond age 16, whatever path they’re on.
The aim of a 16-19 entitlement is not to push everyone into A-level maths. It’s about providing the right pathway for every learner – whether that’s core maths, a reformed resit offer or meaningfully embedded content in technical routes. It’s about ensuring every student builds fluency, confidence and the ability to apply maths in the real world.
We know from our international counterparts such as Singapore and the Netherlands that it is achievable for over 90 per cent of young people to reach the equivalent of a GCSE standard pass by 19. In England, it’s around 80 per cent.
Too many students resit without adequate time to revisit the topics holding them back. Some are re-entered just months after their first attempt, with minimal additional teaching time. This is demoralising for learners and teachers alike.
“It risks skill loss just as employers are wanting more“
For those who do pass at 16, most will never study maths again, risking skill loss just as employers are expecting more.
There is significant public support for a post-16 maths requirement. Public First’s polling for the Maths Horizons project found 72 per cent of respondents were in favour. Employers in sectors from engineering to retail report growing demand for numeracy, data literacy and quantitative reasoning.
Politically, this idea has come in and out of fashion. But it shouldn’t be partisan. While the last Conservative prime minister championed a version of this policy, the case for action is rooted not in ideology but principles of equity and national renewal. A 16-19 entitlement aligns with Labour’s aims to deliver rising standards, prepare young people for the future and break down barriers to opportunity.
Above all, this entitlement must be properly funded and flexible. That means continued investment in FE teaching capacity – including pay and workload reform – and clarity that this is a system-wide challenge, not something for colleges to shoulder alone.
It also means ensuring qualifications work for students. At Get Further, we’re recommending a new GCSE step qualification for students who leave school with the very lowest prior attainment in maths – a one-year course focused on the fundamentals to support progression to a full GCSE by the end of their compulsory education.
We must avoid creating alternative qualifications that lack the status or recognition of a GCSE. By signalling to employers who didn’t meet the required standard by age 16, this would risk cutting some young people off from opportunities – disproportionately affecting those with SEND and from disadvantaged backgrounds. Instead, we should make existing routes more meaningful and achievable.
We’ve come a long way. But we won’t go further unless we build on the foundations we’ve laid. A 16-19 maths entitlement is the logical next step. We can become the country others look to on maths education and ensure every young person leaves the system with the skills they need to thrive.
Post-16 SEND policy should sit with the skills minister, and the independent status of specialist colleges should be reformed, MPs were told today.
Natspec chief executive Clare Howard told members of the House of Commons education committee that specialist colleges routinely found themselves in a “policy vacuum”, particularly around capital funding, due to their independent status.
The wide-ranging evidence session also covered student attainment gaps, adult education devolution, mental health support and Skills England independence.
Here are the highlights…
Redesignate specialist colleges
Howard was asked specifically about how further education special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) policy and funding could stop “falling through the cracks of ministerial responsibility”.
All of SEND and high needs policy currently sits with the minister for schools, Catherine McKinnell, whereas skills minister Jacqui Smith is responsible for education and training for non-SEND learners aged over 16.
Specialist colleges share a similar status to independent training providers, despite being often the only viable option for students with complex needs. They legally tend to be constituted as charities or private companies. Howard said it was “illogical and inequitable” that they didn’t have a dedicated minister while learners were placed in “buildings falling apart”.
She said: “We’re very keen that the designation of specialist colleges is looked at. There is no alternative to mainstream FE other than specialist colleges so, in effect, they are the equivalent of maintained special colleges”.
MPs highlighted that specialist colleges are excluded from accessing funding through the Department for Education’s various FE capital budgets.
“I do think we need to bring specialist colleges into the FE sector and make them part of FE estates planning and the FE capital grant,” she said.
“We’ve got buildings falling apart and learners that are really missing out. [Specialist] colleges are looking at fundraising and private loans, and it’s very difficult for them.”
Better for everybody
Classifying specialist colleges as statutory further education bodies, with an integrated SEND and mainstream budget under one minister, could also help reverse the diminishing availability of local authority-funded transport for learners to get to college or work.
Local authorities’ statutory responsibilities for providing transport for education stop at age 16. As council finances have come under increasing pressure over the last decade, families have been asked to pay for transport services themselves, or services have been cut altogether.
Howard said: “Colleges would like to do more in terms of their own transport, but they’ve not got the capital funding to do it.
“Member of our student voice parliament are hugely frustrated that their disabled bus passed can’t be used before 9.30 in the morning; they can’t get to work, can’t go to college, can’t get to a work placement”.
Skills England tension
The government’s new skills body, Skills England, launched a series of reports yesterday analysing the skills needs in the government’s ten priority sectors.
Employer and adult education representatives were asked how Skills England should improve apprenticeships so they better meet the needs of local economies.
Skills Federation chief executive Fiona Aldridge, who is also a member of the Skills England board, said the key to growing apprenticeships was to grow jobs.
“If you want to increase apprenticeships, we have to think about the labour market and what would encourage employers to offer those employment opportunities,” Aldridge said.
“But I would also say that apprenticeships, while they are brilliant, are not the right solution for everyone in every circumstance. It might not need to be an apprenticeship. We need to think about other things, short courses, modules, other types of provision that could be funded too.”
Susan Pember, policy director at Holex, pointed to Skills England’s position as an in-house government agency while simultaneously being tasked with advocating for the needs of employers.
She said: “We’ve got Skills England. It’s supposed to be impartial. There is a bit of a tension and conflict because they’re also the owner and the deliverer of apprenticeships [policy]. So there will be a time where do they recommend government put spending into short courses that are not apprenticeships, or do they understand that they’re not meeting the apprenticeship target, and therefore they want to put more into apprenticeships.
“It’s a very difficult organisation.”
Devolution postcode lottery
Pember also criticised inconsistent adult education provision between devolved and non-devolved areas, particularly for ESOL and basic skills, citing cases where authorities had capped ESOL spending or removed community learning programmes altogether.
While supporting local control in principle, she warned that devolution has resulted in a “postcode lottery”.
“Wherever you look now, it’s a disparate mix. Now there could be a good reason for that, and that’s what localism is all about. But it doesn’t feel there’s a good rationale in all areas, and we are the ones working with people furthest away from the workplace, furthest away from the community. We can see funding for those being deprioritised and going to people who’ve always already been well funded by the state system.
“We would like to see some framework so it doesn’t go to the extreme.”
Student vs the system
Several panellists argued for improved student maintenance support in FE to reduce attainment gaps and mental health concerns.
Qasim Hussain, vice president (further education) of the National Union of Students, told the committee he is seeing “more and more students juggling work with caring responsibilities and struggling to keep up with their courses”.
“The cost of living crisis is having a huge impact on students’ education, especially those who are coming from lower income backgrounds. We’re seeing mental health decrease, there’s cases where learners are struggling to get to college, to get to their place of work, to keep up with meals,” he said.
“We’re starting to see learners feeling disengaged with college and feeling like it’s a system where its them verses college.”
Nuffield Foundation’s Emily Tanner said a targeted student premium, similar to the pupil premium, would “enable extra support and intervention” to help improve experiences for disadvantaged students.
There was some disagreement about whether reintroducing the Education Maintenance Allowance, which funded disadvantaged students directly, would be preferable to a student premium where the extra funding went to colleges.
Tanner seemed to land on the premium as a better option because it could be used on “wider issues around funding, around teacher pay as that has an enormous influence of disadvantaged students”.
Hussain however said the financial pressures on students were so broad, encompassing travel and living costs as well as study costs, there are always some that miss out on exiting bursary policies.
He said it was “more important to direct money to students rather than institutions … giving students the power and autonomy would go a long way”.
A marine training provider has been awarded top marks by Ofsted after inspectors witnessed apprentices filling the skills gaps left by an “ageing workforce”.
Plymouth-based SeaRegs Training was handed an ‘outstanding’ rating today following its first ever full Ofsted inspection.
The watchdog heaped praise on the provider’s success in its highly ambitious curriculums and “carefully considered” pathways to accelerate apprentices’ knowledge and progress.
As a result, “almost all” apprentices complete their studies and obtain a “comprehensive” suite of qualifications to develop careers in the marine industry with their employers.
Ofsted said: “Highly skilled mariners are in great demand in both the public and private sectors. Searegs’ leaders work skilfully with employers to teach apprentices the skills they need to fill the skills gaps left by an ageing workforce.”
At the time of the April 30 to May 2 inspection, SeaRegs had 33 apprentices on the level 3 small commercial vessel (crewmember) apprenticeship and 20 apprentices studying the level 3 boatmaster apprenticeship.
Eight apprentices were aged under 19 during the inspection. Simon Jinks, director of SeaRegs Training, told FE Week that the provider attracts apprentices of all ages from 16 to 56 by sponsoring local football teams and talking to local sailing clubs.
Jinks, who runs the ITP with wife Vicky, said although it was their first Ofsted inspection, they were used to being inspected every six or seven weeks by a number of accredited regulators.
“We were delighted,” he said, reacting to the Ofsted outcome.
“Realistically, I can’t thank the staff [enough]. As a training centre, we are as good as the teachers that are teaching for us and the staff who are backing it up with making sure that the paperwork and the processes are there.”
Ofsted was impressed by the “highly valuable” curriculum taught by instructors, who give apprentices additional learning options such as extra yachtmaster skills so they can further their knowledge.
“This prepares apprentices well for future job opportunities that interest them,” inspectors said.
The report commended teachers for their “well-honed” expertise which they apply to their own practice, which makes apprentices learn the context and potential dangers of working on maritime vessels.
The report also found that leaders worked “expertly well” with employers to plan and shape the curriculum so apprentices learn about the wide range of employers and vessels in the maritime industry.
One example is the adaptation of the curriculum for both motor and sail-powered vessels so that apprentices can specialise in either discipline, which Ofsted said “widens the opportunities” when apprentices complete their studies.
Jinks said: “We’ve put in a lot of time with employer and trade associations who have been responsibility for putting the apprenticeships together.
“We try and future-proof the apprentices because it’s a very certificate-led industry. When they do come out into industry, often we’ve found they’re the most qualified people in their organisation.”
Inspectors also spotted this and noted in their report that that apprentices achieve “a comprehensive suite” of industry-recognised qualifications throughout their apprenticeship.
This suite includes safety and survival qualifications needed before any mariner can work.
The report added: “Almost all apprentices complete their studies and all who remain on the programme pass their final assessments. Most remain with their employers and continue to develop their careers in the industry by undertaking further training.”
Jinks said his next plan for SeaRegs was to focus on recruitment and training staff.
“Let’s not go running and jumping to try and rule the world. Just consolidate and make sure that what we’re doing, we’re doing well,” he added.
Failure to address deep inequalities in the labour market isn’t just an image problem; it holds entire sectors back from meeting their skills needs, stifling innovation and growth. Perhaps none have been forced to come to terms with this more in recent years than one of the most high-profile sports of all, Formula 1.
The UK has a rich motorsport heritage, with seven of the ten F1 teams based in the tranquil Oxfordshire and West Midlands countryside, known as Motorsport Valley. But the latest research exploring the sector’s skills needs, collated in Edge’s new Skills Shortages Bulletin with a special F1 supplement, indicates the scale of the challenges, both on and off the grid.
In 2021, the Hamilton Commission identified barriers to achieving greater diversity at just about every stage, from young people’s understanding and perceptions of motorsport careers to post-16 education pathways and recruitment practices. More Than Equal – a not-for-profit founded by David Coulthard with the aim of delivering the first female F1 World Champion – modelled what it would take to achieve a 50/50 gender split on the F1 grid. It found that female participation would need to soar to 84% of the entire global racing population.
But it isn’t just about the drivers.
As Owen Carless, Head of Mechanical Simulation at Red Bull Ford Powertrains, told us: “You see a team of highly trained mechanics, a couple of drivers and some people on the pit wall. That’s the external image, but there’s a lot more to the team than that. There’s maybe a hundred people track-side. There’s ten times that working back in the factory”.
Yet, 61 per cent of mechanical engineering vacancies, 58 per cent of design and development engineering and 54 per cent of electrical engineering vacancies are due to skills shortages. Carless explained, the sector will “always want people who are sharp mathematically”, but also, “Engineering is quite a creative subject. Inherent in what we do is creating new solutions, thinking around problems, coming up with new ways forward.”
In that very spirit, Edge has identified the proactive partnerships already working to transform perceptions, open up access and strengthen the pipeline of skills into motorsport. And it’s starting in schools.
One standout initiative is STEMx, a brand-new collaboration launched in January 2025 between Milton Keynes College and Oracle Red Bull Racing. CEO and Principal of the college, Sally Alexander, spotted an aspiration gap; some students arrived at the College with preconceived notions about STEM careers and struggled to see themselves working in the bold, shiny motorsport HQs on their doorsteps. But, as she told us, “If we want to effect change with young people, we are much more powerful in partnership with employers.”
STEMx offers children aged 9-14 a unique programme including pit stop challenges, livery design, coding, and media training, all carefully crafted around curriculum topics like the science of speed, maths and racing strategy, and environmental ethics. By integrating F1-inspired challenges into the curriculum it makes STEM subjects both tangible and exciting for young learners. 99% of pupils said they enjoyed and benefitted from the experience.
Similarly, Sir Lewis Hamilton’s described experiencing “an education system that worked against him”, spurring him to establish Mission 44 to address the barriers to opportunity in motorsport amongst disadvantaged groups. In partnership with Causeway Education, the foundation is helping students to understand the qualification pathways to pursue roles beyond the track and, after hearing from young people about what they want to see, working with employers to provide greater salary transparency.
At the older age range, our Skills Shortages Bulletin also explores how Formula Student – a competition established in 1998 by the Institute for Mechanical Engineering which sees over 100 university teams from around the world design, build, and race single-seater cars at the iconic Silverstone racetrack – is developing students’ engineering, teamwork, business and project management skills and expanding their networks. Illustrative of its success, many of the organisers themselves are former competitors, including chief judge, Dan Jones, a team leader at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains.
The initiatives outlined are tailored to the needs of F1 and the automotive industry. But beyond STEM, many of the shortages they face – including teamwork, collaboration, project management, and problem-solving – mirror those in sectors ranging from healthcare to the creative industries. The underlying principles of long-term workforce planning offer valuable lessons for any industry grappling with recruitment and talent gaps.
These insights are just as relevant to policymakers. Skills England, for example, could take a page from motorsport’s playbook: start early, diversify talent pipelines, and create equitable opportunities for all young people – if they succeed, they’ll truly prove their worth!
Removing public funding for level 7 apprenticeships is “unlikely” to lead to a “significant fall” in the supply of skills in the future, the education secretary has said.
Bridget Phillipson has also revealed that government officials did not find a “strong enough economic rationale” to exempt sector-specific level 7 apprenticeships standards from defunding.
As first reported by FE Week, the government will only continue to fund level 7 apprenticeships for those aged 16 to 21 in the future.
This policy will kick in from January 2026 across all sectors.
Experts have warned that the decision will have a dire impact on public service workforces including the NHS and councils.
Phillipson said today that the Department for Education’s new executive agency, Skills England, spoke with over 700 stakeholders to evaluate the impact of defunding level 7 apprenticeships.
They found that “many” learners who completed these apprenticeships saw higher wages one year after study, compared with the average UK salary. It was “also clear that these apprenticeships are important for meeting the skills needs of the economy”.
However, Phillipson said alternative routes are “well supplied” and Skills England’s evidence “suggested there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding”.
“Therefore, we will be encouraging employers to invest in upskilling their staff to this level, to enable levy funding to be re-balanced towards training at lower levels,” the education secretary added.
Government faced calls for some specific level 7 apprenticeship standards to be exempt from the funding cull, such as the advanced clinical practitioner used in the NHS and chartered town planner used by councils.
But Phillipson said Skills England “did not find a strong enough economic rationale to exempt a small group of level 7 apprenticeship standards from defunding”.
She continued: “While level 7 apprenticeships can be a valuable route for some disadvantaged learners, a significant proportion are from non-deprived backgrounds and are significantly less likely to be deprived than apprentices at lower levels.
“Level 7 generally has a higher proportion of older learners than other apprenticeships, particularly the senior leader apprenticeship (where 99 per cent are over 25) and standards with an embedded postgraduate qualification.”
The education secretary noted that there are “several exceptions” which benefit young people at the start of their careers, like solicitors and accountancy or taxation professionals.
She said this is “why we have decided that younger learners, from all backgrounds, will continue to be funded under our reforms”, and added: “Level 7 apprenticeships are a valuable entry point for young people into good careers, such as law, accountancy and town planning; we have seen thousands take advantage of these opportunities and this will continue under our new approach.”
New data published last week showed that just 11 per cent of the 23,860 starts on level 7 apprenticeships in 2023-24 were by those aged under 22.
Phillipson claimed today that the defunding decision was “informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders”. Officials also “considered wider data and representations and weighed this up against the government’s clear priorities”.
Shadow skills minister Neil O’Brien told FE Week: “Huge numbers of employers and educators have warned the government about the disastrous effect this cut will have on the public services and on access to the professions for the less well off. But they have done it anyway.”
A leaked letter from Phillipson to Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, obtained by FE Week last month, suggested the age cap was introduced as a concession to win the support of her ministerial colleagues.
Applications for Technical Excellence Colleges opening soon
As announced at the chancellor’s spring statement in March, £100 million of new investment for ten technical excellence colleges (TECs) will soon be available. This will involve giving existing further education colleges “additional funding to create specialist facilities, equipment, and curriculum for construction courses to directly meet industry needs”.
Around £80 million will be for capital and the remaining £20 million will be for revenue spending, with funds made available from 2025-26.
Phillipson said today that colleges will be able to apply to become “Construction TECs” and the application process will “open this term for ten, to launch in September 2025”.
No further information has been provided at this point.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has reiterated Skills England’s role in boosting the domestic pipeline to reduce reliance on overseas workers in a list of priorities for the new body.
Phillipson’s letter comes a day after the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education officially closed, with its powers and functions transferred to the Department for Education.
Skills England, which is an executive agency within the DfE rather than an independent body like IfATE was, has now moved from being in “shadow form” to a fully established body.
The full board of Skills England was revealed last week, and includes a range of leaders from business, FE, unions and local government.
Today’s letter sets out the “priorities” for Skills England in its first year.
‘Data driven’ annual skills assessment
Skills England’s chiefs have been told to work with partners “across government and beyond” to provide the “single authoritative voice on the country’s current and future skills needs, so our skills strategies and policies can work together to meet them”.
An “annual skills assessment” will be produced by the new body, according to the letter, which will enable government departments to “make informed decisions on labour market policy and sectoral/regional priorities”.
Central to Skills England’s work will be to use “data and insights” to inform national and regional skills needs. This will include “co-creating and refining” the occupational standards underpinning a set of qualifications and training products with employers and other partners, to ensure that employers are driving the training required to meet labour market and economic need and deliver our missions”.
Phillipson mentions the first foundation and shorter apprenticeships in this section, which are set to be available from this autumn.
‘Simplifying access’
Another broad priority for Skills England is to “bring together the fragmented skills system, helping people take up technical education and apprenticeships, and employers access the skilled workforce they need”.
The body has been instructed to provide a “high-quality employer experience”, and use “insights and experiences with stakeholders to enable the department to improve the wider skills system too, tackling bureaucracy and duplication”.
‘Reduce reliance on overseas labour’
Skills England will also draw on data and insights from employers, unions, FE providers and experts to advise government to “enable responses to skills gaps”, including continuing to reform the apprenticeship levy into a growth and skills levy offer which funds other forms of training.
Reducing reliance on overseas labour is mentioned twice in Phillipson’s letter. She tells Skills England to “drive progress” in government’s Labour Market Evidence Group, working with the Migration Advisory Committee, Industrial Strategy Council and Department for Work and Pensions to “boost the domestic pipeline of skilled workers in priority areas, reducing our reliance on migration”.
Local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) also get a mention, with the education secretary telling Skills England chiefs the plans must be “consistent”, “high quality”, and include a “clear role” for FE and HE provision to respond to national priorities and local labour market needs.
Phillipson has also tasked Skills England with attracting “significant internationally mobile investors”. This will involve the body working across government to “develop a service to help investors navigate the UK skills offer, providing access to skills and talent development through convening key partners”.
The education secretary signed off the letter by stating that this agenda is “urgent and central to the government’s missions”, and added: “I know you will build on the momentum from Skills England’s time in shadow form to firmly establish the organisation at the centre of our national skills landscape.”
Only one in four skills bootcamp participants in the third year of the programme were offered a “guaranteed” job interview, a new survey has suggested.
An evaluation of outcomes from ‘wave three’, which ran through the 2022-23 financial year, surveyed more than 500 learners who completed the intensive courses focused on sectors such as digital, HGV driving and construction.
About half of learners answering the survey said they were promised a job interview, which are supposed to be a mandatory part of the course offer, at the start of the training but only about 24 per cent said they were actually offered the job interview or had one lined up.
Although learners reported feeling “dissatisfied” when the promised interview “did not materialise”, about half still agreed that the course was essential to securing a new job.
The evaluation was based on a learner surveys sent to 546 of the 27,730 who completed the course in the 2022-23 wave.
As reported by FE Week in November, there were 42,430 starters on skills bootcamps in 2022-23. Of those, 65 per cent completed the course and 37 per cent recorded a positive outcome such as moving into a new job or apprenticeship.
The research report comes days after the Department for Education announced an additional £132 million for skills bootcamps “across a range of priority sectors” in 2025-26, which is alongside £100 million already announced to extend the courses in the construction sector.
Here are key findings from the report by CFE Research on wave three bootcamps, which was published yesterday…
‘Tick-box’ interviews
Researchers called the guaranteed interview and employment support included in skills bootcamps “integral and unique” elements that all eligible participants should be offered.
But only 20 per cent of learners who answered the survey were offered an interview, with another 4 per cent reporting a “scheduled” interview in the future.
One learner said they had no support or job interview and were back in their previous career “having wasted all that time and energy for nothing”.
Those who weren’t offered an interview were “especially dissatisfied” although some “appreciated the challenges” their target sector was having with vacancies.
The report said that wave two completion and outcome findings “indicated that some respondents perceived the guaranteed interview process as a ‘tick-box’ exercise for the providers”, and this “sentiment continued at wave three with some respondents perceiving that the guaranteed interview was not for a legitimate job and that the training had been ‘mis-sold’ to them”.
One digital skills bootcamp learner told researchers: “The guaranteed interviews arranged by the programme seem questionable…. after discussing with my peers, it became evident that none of us have successfully landed a job through these guaranteed interviews.”
Job interviews are a key plank of the short courses and are a requirement for training providers to claim the second of three available “milestone” payments, worth 35 per cent of the £3,591 average cost per learner in London.
This milestone approach is part of the reason the government only spent £82 million of the £150 million was budgeted for wave three, despite the Department for Education (DfE) and local bodies managing the courses overshooting their 36,000 national starts target by 6,340.
Better off bootcamping
Learners on skills bootcamps had “better” employment outcomes than those who couldn’t get a place on a course, researchers concluded by carrying out a “comparator” survey of 289 adults who “unsuccessfully” applied.
Three in five (60 per cent) of survey respondents said their job title changed after completing the course, compared to 33 per cent in the comparator survey.
Who studied and what sectors?
Similar to wave two, more than half (60 per cent) of learners enrolled on digital skills courses and the next largest sector was heavy goods vehicle driving (16 per cent).
But the courses expanded into construction, green, engineering and other sectors that mayors and local authorities had freedom to prioritise, such as health and social care.
Learners were 35.5 years old on average, two thirds were male, they were a variety of ethnicities, there was an even spread across the country and about one fifth were on Universal Credit.
Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, said that while the report showed some “positives”, only 20 per cent of learners were qualified at GCSE level or below.
He said: “This might sound like a techy point, but it isn’t. There’s £1 billion less skills funding in England than in 2010.
“The government is spending an increasing chunk of what’s left on those qualified to A level or degree equivalent, rather than the nine million adults with low literacy or numeracy.”
Local, ethnic and sectoral outcomes
Groups with higher completion and positive outcome rates included those not on benefits, white British people, people living in the north east of England and those on construction, rail or green skills courses.
White British people had 49 per cent outcome rate, such as a new or better paid role, compared to 20 per cent for black, Caribbean or African and 25 per cent for Asian or British Asian.
Learners in the north east of England had the best outcome rate at 51 per cent while London had the lowest, at 25 per cent.
Employed learners reported a 41 per cent positive outcome rate, 13 per cent higher than unemployed people.
Wider benefits
Outcomes are tied to strict definitions of a positive employment outcome required to receive the third ‘milestone’ payment, worth 20 per cent of the total available funding.
But behind these figures, learners reported benefits including gaining useful knowledge and skills, increased confidence about work or further study, or moving off benefits.
About two thirds (68 per cent) agreed that the course gave them new skills and knowledge that were useful for employment, although this was a slight drop from the 74 per cent in wave two.
Three in five (59 per cent) reported improved problem-solving skills, half agreed they worked better in a team, and 59 per cent felt their confidence had increased.
Drop outs and completions
The main reasons for the one in five (19 per cent) learners dropping out – which was a three percentage point increase since wave two – were because the quality of delivery “did not meet their expectations”.
One learner said they quit “from frustration” as their tutor did not stick to the course content.
Other reasons included struggles to fit the course around other commitments, it taking longer than expected, or failing to pass essential parts such as medical assessments or theory tests.
Simon Ashworth, deputy CEO of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said the findings are “encouraging” for a programme that is “yet to reach maturity”.
“The continued evolution of the programme, particularly the growing role of Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Authorities in commissioning provision, should help sharpen local delivery”, he added.
“More timely data from government would also help skills bootcamps to become even more effective at supporting people into well-paid, meaningful work while meeting employers’ skills needs.”
Improvements in teacher pay, higher representation of Black governors and an uptick in permanent contracts have been identified in new FE workforce data.
The third release of the Department for Education’s collection, as promised in the 2021 Skills for Jobs white paper, covers FE workforce statistics from 1,326 general FE colleges, sixth form colleges and training providers for the 2023-24 academic year.
Here are some of the key takeaways…
FE college teachers earned 6.1% more than previous year
The median salary for teachers in general FE colleges rose 6.1 per cent in 2023-24, increasing from £34,234 in 2022-23 to £36,316.
The part of the sector that saw the biggest teacher pay rise was “other public funded provider” with a 9.1 per cent increase to £38,626 in one year. This group includes HE providers, local authority providers and a small number of university technical colleges, specialist colleges and 16 to 19 free schools.
Sixth form college teachers remain the highest paid in further education, earning a median of £47,133, which is a 6.5 per cent jump from the previous academic year when they earned £44,256.
Teachers in independent training providers (ITPs) are among the lowest median salaries, at £31,200 in 2023-24, 4 per cent higher than £30,000 the prior year.
DfE’s statistics only count the median annual salary for teachers on full-time equivalent (FTE) contracts, so permanent and fixed-term staff only.
The number of FTE teachers in FE colleges and sixth forms increased from 35,900 in 2022-23 to 36,600 in 2023-24.
Teacher
Support
Admin
Manager
Leader
General FE College incl Tertiary
£36,316
£23,034
£25,580
£44,315
£70,598
Sixth Form College
£47,133
£24,082
£26,838
£49,757
£73,111
Private Sector Public Funded
£31,000
£25,000
£27,000
£40,015
£56,000
Other Public Funded Provider
£38,626
£23,765
£27,810
£43,134
£62,326
Independent Training Provider (ITP)
£31,200
£30,000
£27,000
£41,000
£56,000
Local Authority with an Education Remit
£32,378
£25,742
£27,803
£39,513
£55,125
School Based Providers
£47,133
£22,432
£25,496
£49,243
£71,728
Special Post-16 Institution
£31,000
£22,303
£25,958
£38,376
£57,000
2023-24 annual median salary, Source: DfE
No gender pay gap among sixth form teachers
The data release also revealed that female sixth form college teachers have been paid equally to their male counterparts for the second year running.
Both earned a median salary of £44,256 in 2022-23, going up to £47,133 in 2023-24.
In general FE colleges (GFEC), the teacher gender pay gap remained similar to last year. Women earned 3.75 per cent lower than men – £35,620 compared with £36,984.
Meanwhile, the gap widened among GFE college leaders.
In 2022-23, women leaders earned a median of £64,955, which was 5.3 per cent less than men who earnt£68,497. In 2023-24, women earnt 5.6 per cent less (£68,895 vs £72,901).
There were some positive pay gaps, where women earned more than men. This was among leaders in school-based providers, where female leaders were paid a median of £72,608, compared to male leaders earning £70,078. The proportion of women in this sector was 52.9 per cent as opposed to 47.1 per cent of men.
SEND support staff lowest paid in FE
Support staff working in specialist post-16 institutions were the lowest paid group in FE in 2023-24.
They were paid a median salary of £22,303, up 8.2 per cent from £20,601 the year prior.
The dataset also showed that specialist colleges have proportionally more support staff than any other provider in FE.
There was a headcount of 6,288 support staff in SEND colleges, making up 63.4 per cent of all staff in the specialist institutions.
FE teacher vacancy rate at 3.9 per 100, stats show
DfE’s statistics show that by the end of the 2023-24 academic year, 3.9 per 100 teaching positions were vacant in FE.
GFECs reported a 4 per 100 vacancy rate, and ITPs said they had 3.6 per 100 of unfilled positions. The highest rate was amongst local authorities with an education remit, with an unfilled teaching vacancy rate of 6.8.
Sixth form colleges (1.0 per 100) had the lowest unfilled vacancy rate for teaching staff and other public funded providers the highest (5.4 per 100).
Meanwhile, 2.3 per 100 leadership positions across FE were vacant and 6.6 per 100 governor positions were unfilled.
Separated by subjects, the highest unfilled vacancy rates per 100 teaching positions were economics (11), functional skills – IT (9.2) and SEND – communication (8).
DfE caveated the data, saying that it was incomparable to previous data, as only 79.8 per cent of providers filled this in and were a different set of providers from the 2022-23 cohort.
But fresher data reported last month by the National Audit Office found the FE sector was the “worst affected” type of education provider by long-term recruitment pressures with a teaching vacancy rate of 5.1 of every 100 roles. This amounts to 2,500 empty positions in colleges as opposed to 1,500 schoolteacher vacancies.
Susan Acland-Hood, permanent secretary of the DfE, recently told the public accounts committee that the government was more “concerned” about the FE vacancy rate than schools.
More teaching staff on permanent contracts
Today’s stats also showed that the proportion of all FE staff on permanent contracts has increased over the last three years.
A total of 81.9 per cent of staff in 2021-22 were permanently employed, rising to 84.8 per cent in 2023-24.
The increase was also seen among teaching staff, where 80.9 per cent had permanent contracts, up from 79.2 per cent in 2022-23.
It explains the rise the number of FTE teachers. There were 35,900 in 2022-23, increasing to 36,600 in 2023-24.
Unions have long fought to “stamp out” casualisation amongst teacher contracts in FE. Members of the University and College Union recently voted at its FE sector conference to work to protect the roles of casualised staff in FE from redundancy and to set up a group to increase the membership of casual FE staff.
Fewer governors in post longer than 9 years
Colleges and sixth forms reported a decline in the headcount of governors, based on a 92 per cent response rate.
In 2023-24, there were 3,700 governors, down from 3,800 the previous year.
Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of governors in GFECs were independent governors, higher than the 67.4 per cent reported in sixth form colleges.
But given that sixth forms have to have parent governors, the stats show that parent governors accounted for 6.3 per cent of all sixth form college governors.
In terms of their length of service, the data shows most governors have joined their boards in recent years, as directed by the FE commissioner in 2022.
Just over two-thirds (68.3 per cent) of governors had been in their role for four years or less. In 2023-24, compared to 66.6 per cent the previous year.
Sixth form colleges have more governors who have been in their role for 12 years or longer, 10 per cent compared to 2.6 per cent in GFECs.
In GFECs, governors serving terms more than the recommended eight years have diminished in size. Around 9 per cent of governors were in post for nine years or longer in 2021-22, a proportion which fell to 7.3 per cent in 2023-24.
FE Commissioner Shelagh Legrave previously said that governors serving long terms were “too comfortable” with senior teams and recently reiterated the concern to principals following a governance failure investigation into Weston College.
In a letter sent to principals last week, Legrave reminded colleges that a governor should not normally serve for more than two terms or a maximum of eight years.
She said: “The Further Education Code of Good Governance says that a governor should not normally serve for more than two terms or a maximum of eight years. A governor’s term of office should be extended beyond the recommended maximum only in exceptional circumstances (which would not include any individual being ‘irreplaceable’).”
Slight increase in Black governors
Ethnicity data shows a marginally growing population of Black governors in FE. A total of 18.8 per cent identified as belonging to and ethnic minority group in 2023-24, up from 18.2 per cent in 2021-22.
The figures also reveal a smaller proportion of Asian and white governors in 2023-24.
Asian and Asian British governors made up 7.1 per cent of the cohort in 2021-22, declining minutely to 6.8 per cent last year.
While still the majority, there were 86.6 per cent of white governors on college boards in 2021-22, dropping to 85.7 per cent most recently.
However, the proportion Black governors and governors from mixed ethnicities has increased.
Around 4 per cent of governors identified as Black/African/Caribbean/Black British, up from 3.7 per cent in the first year’s data release. Additionally, just 1.9 per cent of governors were of mixed or multiple ethnicities in 2021-22, which increased to 3.1 per cent in 2023-24.
By comparison, the 2021 Census shows 10.1 per cent of the working age population were Asian or Asian British and 4.4 were Black or Black British.
