On your (Den)marks, get set, go

Team UK finished day 1 of EuroSkills 2025 quietly confident after completing some of the more challenging tasks of the three-day European skills competition in Herning, Denmark.

UK restaurant services competitor Yuliia Batrak, from Grwp Llandrillo Menai, said her first task was the coffee service element of her competition, which she was least looking forward to.

“I had to come out with my signature coffee recipe, a black forest gateau iced latte. My mum used to make it in my childhood, so I was inspired by this,” she said.

Batrak also had to deliver an afternoon tea service and serve a prawn cocktail.

“It was very busy, but when you’re in the competition, you can’t feel how time goes,” she added.

The next two days will be less stressful for Batrak, as she looks forward to her fine dining test tomorrow, and cocktail making on the final day “just for a little celebration to end this competition”.

Luke Roberts, welding competitor

Batrak works at St George Hotel in Colwyn Bay, Wales and combined with studying, she said participating in WorldSkills competitions made her manage her time better so she can still socialise.

Batrak’s family fled the war in Ukraine in 2022, and she began studying catering and hospitality at Grwp Llandrillo Menai when her family moved to Wales.

“I’m so extremely proud of myself to be able to compete in the scale and represent such a great country as the United Kingdom. And also I feel like I’m kind of privileged to compete with the best people in restaurant service from whole Europe.”

Meanwhile, Luke Roberts, Team UK’s welding competitor was also proud of his first day on the EuroSkills floor.

Roberts, who is an apprentice with Haven Engineering and studies at Pembrokeshire College, said he “surprised himself” on the first day, mainly because his first task was welding aluminium.

“I don’t like welding it whatsoever. It’s not my biggest fan at all,” he said.

“It’s the hardest one to weld out of all of them, but I surprised myself and they came out better than I thought it would so I was happy.”

Roberts was also up against welding four test pieces, all out of carbon steel, but he’d only ever practiced one before.

“One wasn’t too bad, but the other three I’d never done and I surprised myself as well as they came out not too bad too,” he added.

Opening ceremony pride

Both competitors were beaming after last night’s opening ceremony.

Roberts, who had never flown before, said last night was also another first.

“It’s like a once a lifetime opportunity. I’ve never been on stage before. Just got to take it all in and hear everyone clap and cheer and it’s nice feeling,” he said.

Batrak added: “Oh, my goodness, the opening ceremony is something that I’ll never forget in my life because the amount of people, cameras, lights and everything, you feel like you’re part of something huge, and you feel like you’re not living your life.”

She said she was even more looking forward to the closing ceremony with more people and hopefully a gold medal as well.

Pair of Swiss-owned training providers suddenly close

Two training providers owned by the same Swiss investment firm have ceased trading after the Department for Education terminated their apprenticeship contracts.

West Yorkshire-based Woodspeen Training and Merseyside-based Jarvis Training Management, which between them train thousands of apprentices and hundreds of adult learners, announced insolvency today.

Around 175 staff are employed by the providers, according to Companies House.

A spokesperson for both training providers said their collapse follows “recent Department for Education decisions under the apprenticeships accountability framework”.

“The outcome reflects historic performance challenges, particularly around timeliness measures that lag behind recent operational improvements,” the spokesperson explained. 

“Since April this year, the new leadership team has refocused the business on its core strengths, strengthened governance, and launched intensive learner support initiatives.

“Despite these efforts, the formal review concluded before improvements could be sufficiently evidenced. 

“Our priority now is to work closely with the Department to transfer learners smoothly to alternative providers and support staff through the transition.”

Woodspeen Training has operated for over 30 years ago. It was judged ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted this year and trains over 1,800 apprentices in business, care and health, as well as 70 adult learners on courses in beauty and fitness. It also offers skills bootcamps in pharmacy and in public service delivery funded through the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Liverpool City Region.

The provider’s overall apprenticeship achievement rate in 2023-24 was 42.8 per cent, according to latest available government data.

A key criticism in Ofsted’s report on Woodspeen was that “too many learners and apprentices leave their programmes early and do not achieve”.

Jarvis Training Management (JTM) is owned by Woodspeen but has itself been running since the 1980s.

JTM was judged ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted in 2023 and delivers hundreds of apprenticeships in the early years sector. The provider also offered courses to over 100 adults in beauty therapy at the time of the watchdog’s visit.

This provider’s overall apprenticeship achievement rate was 51.9 per cent in 2023-24.

Similar to Woodspeen, JTM was criticised by Ofsted as there were “too many learners and apprentices [who] fail to complete and achieve within the planned time”.

According to Companies House, JTM is owned by Woodspeen Training which itself is ultimately owned by Alphen Trust, an independent investment advisory and asset management company based in Zurich, Switzerland.

The spokesperson for the providers said: “We are proud of the progress made under the new team and grateful to colleagues for their professionalism.”

How student-led tech projects helped reshape our FE curriculum

How do colleges effectively and authentically embed emerging technology across diverse curriculums without overwhelming staff? It is a common headache. Institutions often hit barriers such as staff hesitance, alignment to curriculum and a lack of time. Meanwhile, the demand for those skills is only growing with the rapid emergence of AI. At Gower College Swansea, we have found a way forward by using students as our digital ambassadors to drive tech-based curriculum enhancement.

This is not about top-down training. It is a practical, replicable model that is enhancing curriculums, inspiring staff and empowering students. And it has all been achieved with just two hours a week of my time.

The idea clicked for me after a visit to Humber College in Toronto in 2024. I was blown away by how confident and comfortable their students were with emerging technologies. They were curious and unafraid to experiment if it aided their learning. That is what technology-enhanced learning should look like – a culture in which students are the researchers and testers. We have relied for too long on staff CPD sessions that merely tempt staff to try something new. The learners are the ones receiving these skills, so they need a real say in the tech we embed.

How we do it:

My role as a tech enthusiast is to provide knowledge and guidance to a small group of student digital ambassadors. Each learning area from across the college is asked to provide one learner, with whom I work one-to-one. After showing them a range of emerging tech (VR, AR, 3D printing, drones, AI, content creation tools), I let them choose what technology they want to explore and how they think it could fit into one of their subjects. I am certainly no expert in criminology, healthcare or geology, and that is the point. I facilitate from a “technology coach” perspective, while the students bring the crucial curriculum know-how. All it takes from them is a bit of enthusiasm and a short meeting every couple of weeks.

To give you a clearer picture, here is how the Curiosity Project model typically unfolds:

This approach has a brilliant side-effect. It subtly piques the curiosity of staff. 

When our geology team saw one of their students using drone technology to scan a cliff face, 3D-print it and make a tabletop mobile AR experience from it, it had a direct impact on the student but also a big impact on the lecturer. They could suddenly see how this could make their field trips more valuable and generate bespoke, tactile resources. Before this, talking to a lecturer about embedding 3D-printing might have been met with reluctance. Now, they see the potential – it demystifies the tech and truly inspires.

Take our level 2 landscaping course. Imagine trying to convince a lecturer to use VR. You would get questions about its necessity and practical application. But three landscaping students I worked with solved that for us. They developed a mixed reality solution where they could draw different coloured plants into an empty planter to test colour harmonies. This would otherwise take much longer and generate a lot of waste, showcasing a clear, sustainable benefit.
  

To see some of the other projects our students have delivered, from business students using NFC technology to criminology students using VR, visit this link: https://www.jon-parker.xyz/projects

Across the nine student-led projects we have delivered, involving 34 learners, staff have been genuinely inspired by the outcomes. This has directly impacted future course enhancement and will benefit countless learners yet to study with us. This student-led model has proven to be a powerful and sustainable way for Gower College to make an impact, fostering genuine curiosity and confidence in technology. We are really excited to see it grow next year.

Redundancy shouldn’t spell end of an apprenticeship dream 

An apprenticeship is supposed to give a young person a strong start in work. But redundancy can abruptly end that journey. Too often, apprentices are left without support, losing not only their income but also the chance to finish what they started and gain valuable skills.  

I know this from personal experience. My employment contract ended before my apprenticeship was complete, and my employer refused to extend it. Experiences like this highlight a gap in support that needs addressing.  

Scotland found a solution to this problem with its Adopt an Apprentice scheme. The programme, run by Skills Development Scotland on behalf of the Scottish government, was part of a £10 million effort to recruit and retain apprentices. It offered financial support of up to £5,000 to employers willing to take on apprentices who had been made redundant. It became especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping young people continue their training when businesses were closing or scaling back.  

The impact was significant. While the grant was active, nearly half of redundant apprentices were able to carry on with a new employer. And over 75 per cent went to businesses that accessed the grant. Once the scheme ended in 2023 continuation rates fell to just a third, highlighting the difference the programme made.

England’s apprenticeship challenge

England faces a similar challenge. Within the last five years, an average of 3,896 apprentices were made redundant each year. Nearly two-fifths of them were under 19. Supporting them through a grant scheme like Scotland’s would not only allow them to complete their qualification, but also reduce the risk of them becoming NEET, one of the country’s most pressing challenges.  

The government already has ambitious goals around tackling youth unemployment and building a skills-first economy. Apprenticeships are central to that vision. But those ambitions will fall short if young people lose their jobs and slip through the cracks. A scheme like Scotland’s would not only safeguard apprenticeships, but also align with national priorities on reducing NEET figures, increasing social mobility and meeting labour market needs. By enabling apprentices to finish their training, England would be making a practical investment in its workforce, supporting both immediate recovery and long-term economic resilience.  

The economic benefits are clear. Research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research shows that every £1 spent on apprenticeships generates £21 for the economy. Based on recent redundancy figures, a grant scheme could enable 531 additional apprentices to complete their training each year. With the median public cost per apprentice in 2020 at £7,058, according to a report for IfATE (now Skills England), supporting these extra apprentices could conservatively add nearly £78.7 million to the UK economy annually, outweighing the £3.74 million annual cost based on latest publicly available data.  

However, a grant alone cannot solve the problem. We must prevent apprentices being made redundant in the first place. Employers should be encouraged and supported to retain them wherever possible. The grant should act as a safety net, helping apprentices who are affected by unavoidable disruptions such as business closures or economic shocks.

A fair chance

Scotland’s experience shows that relatively modest investment can protect apprentices, support employers, and deliver tangible economic value. England has similar redundancy rates and the same opportunity. Introducing an Adopt an Apprentice-style grant, alongside stronger retention incentives, would shield apprenticeships from disruption, secure skilled workers for businesses, and give young people the fair chance they deserve to complete their training.  

Learning about Scotland’s programme has reinforced for me how much better things could be in England. We cannot afford to waste the potential of thousands of young people each year when a proven solution exists just across the border. 

One minister, two beasts: Can Jacqui Smith fix the skills system?

Jacqui Smith has taken on the unenviable but exciting job of straddling two Whitehall beasts, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Education (DfE). Her mission is to bridge the world of classrooms and workplaces, making sure skills aren’t just taught but used, and revitalising the apprenticeship programme.

We have seen versions of this before. Back in 2016 Nick Boles held a joint brief spanning The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and DfE, trying to knit business needs with education. Smith’s appointment follows in that tradition but takes on an even broader challenge: workforce and education side by side, and the complexity of levy funded apprenticeship programme.

We welcome this move. But ultimately, learners, apprentices and employers want results, not structural tinkering in Whitehall. They want well-funded, flexible courses that lead to decent jobs. If Smith’s role is the start of a more joined-up skills system, backed by a cross-government push, it could be the long-term strategy the UK has been missing.

Still, her brief only runs across DWP and DfE. The real world of skills and retaining doesn’t fit neatly into departmental silos: health, migration, business, housing, defence all depend on a skilled workforce. We would like to see a proper cross-government skills taskforce, chaired by Smith, bringing in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Department of Health and Social Care, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government too. This would:

  • Make sure big recruiting departments invest in staff skills through procurement and there are openings for young people to become apprentices.
  • Link health and care workforce planning with lifelong learning.
  • Align visa and immigration rules with home-grown skills policy.
  • Join up local and mayoral skills powers with national ones.
  • Give voice to learners and employers who are usually left out.

Such a task force could turn a promising start into a truly integrated skills system, one that ties education, employment, health and economic growth together.

Of course, there are questions. We now know that control over apprenticeships policy will move to DWP, while Skills England will continue to work across government. But will DfE and DWP budgets merge? Will Skills England be split so that the future skills need observatory stays with DFE and the management of apprenticeships more to DWP?

What happens to mayors’ devolved skills powers, bearing in mind they were desperate for apprenticeships?

Will Ofsted’s remit be expanded to cover DWP employability courses? And let’s not forget that the adult skills budget isn’t just about the basic skills entitlements and retraining. It also covers learner support, adult SEND, and family learning and a good quality apprenticeship is as much an education programme as it is a training programme. The German model sits firmly within their education system.

So what are Smith’s chances of success?

The upside:

  1. Joined-up thinking – one minister could finally close the gap between what’s taught and what’s needed.
  2. Better learner journeys – adults might escape the revolving door of the low-pay–redundancy loop, especially if rules like the DWP 16-hour cap (on permitted work before losing benefits) are rethought.
  3. Faster decisions – fewer circular Whitehall debates, more action.
  4. A visible figurehead – skills now have a public champion.
  5. Room for creativity – her dual brief could spark fresh approaches linking work programmes, digital skills, and local initiatives.

The pitfalls:

  1. Overstretch – DWP and DfE are both giants; it’s easy to be pulled in two directions.
  2. Employer-focused shift – Moving apprenticeships to DWP could align them more closely with employers and the world of work. But without careful oversight, there’s a risk of prioritising quick job placements over quality training, confusing providers, and leaving apprentices without lasting skills.
  3. Unintended disruption – Colleges and providers need stability; even small funding changes could inadvertently destabilise the sector.
  4. Missing links – Excluding Health, Home Office, or DBT leaves crucial connections dangling.
  5. Civil service turf wars – Budgets and priorities may be fiercely protected, complicating collaboration.
  6. Risk of symbolism – Without real control over budgets and levers, the role could risk being more about appearance than impact

Smith’s joint role is a step in the right direction. It is visible, ambitious and potentially game-changing. But to make a real difference, she’ll need clout, cross-government allies and a touch of Whitehall diplomacy.

It is a good start. But let’s go further, faster. And if anyone can do it, Jacqui Smith can.

If we do rejoin Erasmus+ then seize the opportunity, FE

Experiences beyond our familiar boundaries enable us to challenge ourselves, learn new things and grow. Our European neighbours offer such experiences, with their diverse economic, social and environmental landscapes, and different languages, cultural traditions and histories. Despite this rich variety on our doorstep, does the FE and skills sector make the most of the opportunities available for its learners and its workforce?

The landscape of vocational and technical education across Europe – including within the European Union – is complex, with different education systems and policies across nations. However, many of the challenges are similar to those facing our own FE and skills sector. Our European counterpart, The European Training Foundation, treats green skills as a priority and there is a shared focus on employer engagement in shaping an industry-ready workforce. Sharing effective practice and innovation, building partnerships and collaborating in these areas can help us, as a sector, to improve our own approaches and deliver against our government’s ambitions to drive clean growth, address skills shortages and break down barriers to opportunity.

At an institutional level, there is also a competitive edge to be gained by considering how international partnerships and experiences might benefit learners and staff alike. On a much broader scale, global issues such as the development of skills to manage the climate crisis and the upskilling and reskilling of people affected by conflict cannot be tackled in isolation. They require a collaborative, cross-border approach. 

Higher education (HE) institutions in the UK have long benefitted from collaboration and partnerships with our European counterparts. Universities have been particularly active in receiving EU funding through programmes like Horizon Europe, driving success in research and innovation. Before the UK left the EU, universities’ use of the Erasmus programme to provide students with overseas exchange opportunities was widely known across HE. Less well known, and significantly underused, were the broader opportunities available under Erasmus, expanded to Erasmus+ in 2014, both for learners and organisations across our wider education system and beyond. 

Erasmus+ offers a variety of opportunities to individual learners and educators in vocational and technical education settings and in adult education. These range from studying or taking a traineeship abroad, to short exchange experiences and professional development opportunities through training or networking periods abroad. There are also opportunities for organisations and employers to engage in development and networking opportunities and to support policy development. These are all ways for our sector to innovate, improve and build fruitful partnerships – often with funding support. Through my role as an evaluator of Erasmus, I had the privilege to observe first hand examples of vocational and adult education European partnerships, from tackling inclusion and mental health to digital innovation or intergenerational learning. 

While the UK has not had access to Erasmus+ since it left the EU in 2020, ongoing negotiations could soon enable us to benefit. If this becomes a reality, the FE and skills sector must take full advantage of the wide range of opportunities for shared learning, collaboration and influencing. In the meantime, we must seize opportunities that exist outside of programmes such as Erasmus+. For example, it is fantastic to see collaboration and fruitful competition through events such as EuroSkills, organised by WorldSkills Europe, which is happening this year in Denmark. I am pleased to support this as part of the UK delegation. Ultimately, when we come together to address shared challenges and embrace overseas partnership opportunities, we build our own capacity to be a world-class FE and skills system that delivers for learners, communities and the whole nation.

Colleges are bracing themselves for the Whitehall power shift

The new academic year is a busy time in colleges, with the focus on enrolments and inductions. This year, however, a wave of announcements also deserve college leaders’ attention: the prime minister’s reshuffle, the defence skills policy, and the publication of the new Ofsted framework for inspection. Expect even more announcements in the coming months. 

The extensive reshuffle, triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation, sees Bridget Phillipson survive as education secretary and Jacqui Smith as skills Minister. The twist though is that responsibility for skills has moved to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with Pat McFadden as the new secretary of state. 

Reshuffles are disruptive, so Smith’s survival provides welcome continuity. With her strong grasp of the agenda, we expect the split of responsibilities to play out smoothly. But there is a lot to decide. It seems certain that the adult skills fund and the reformed apprenticeship levy will move to DWP, with regulation and oversight of FE colleges and 16-19 funding programmes remaining with DfE. This transfer will lead to a stronger focus on the youth guarantee and support for unemployed adults. So far so clear.  

Current uncertainties

The future is less clear for the sponsorship of Skills England, leadership on technical excellence colleges and local skills Improvement plans, and operational details. We can only speculate at this stage. 

The skills portfolio has moved several times in the past three decades. Colleges have each time adapted, showing their colours as vital anchor institutions supporting employers, their communities and the local economy. This move will inevitably lead to a strong focus on work skills but we need to fight hard to ensure that doesn’t overshadow the wider roles of adult education and lifelong learning – for a fairer, healthier, more tolerant and inclusive society.  

The adult budget outside higher education was decimated from 2010, leading to millions of learning opportunities lost and reduced impact on people’s lives. If the focus now narrows, we will see even more neglect of the broader benefits of learning, such as health, well-being, inclusion, community and empowerment. All these are core to the government’s overall ambitions for opportunity, better health and economic growth. 

The Ministry of Defence’s investment in skills is a welcome development. It brings new money into our sector, with colleges playing a central role. It is also recognition that other government departments need to invest to equip people with skills for growth industries rather than simply expecting the labour market to do that for them.  

Ofsted changes

The third big development this week was the publication of the new Ofsted inspection framework. The last few months has seen great resistance from schools, and deep concern among unions and leaders. We in the college sector have been less critical, but have set out our concerns about the need for inspectors to have great experience and understanding of FE and skills. This ensures more consistent judgements across regions, and better, quicker complaints procedures. 

It looks like positive changes have been made in response to our feedback, but some have not. This reflects a diversity of Ofsted stakeholders Ofsted, and belief in the efficacy of its approach. That is usual in a consultation. Ultimately, however, the first inspections will determine whether the new approach works. Now we have a very short window to digest the new arrangements before inspections start on November 10. It is not the best time for college leaders to prepare for that, coinciding with the busiest time of the year while enrolment and inductions are underway. 

We anticipate more important publications this autumn, including two white papers on post-16 education and skills and the SEND system, and the final report of the curriculum and assessment review. It will be a busy time for us all as we read them and make sense of the implications.  

Clearing hurdles – the journey to our brand new sixth form college 

Pudsey Sixth Form College opens this month in West Leeds after a massive and at times highly challenging undertaking. This bold project has been nearly ten years in the planning. But it was only 12 months in the making.

The original decision to create a new college in Pudsey was prompted by a lack of local provision and a looming demographic change. The sixth forms at local schools were over-capacity. And, with the number of 16-18 year olds across Leeds predicted to rise, the pressure on places was only set to intensify.

So in 2018 a new, dedicated sixth form college that could offer a broad range of subjects was proposed by a partnership led by Leeds Sixth Form College, Crawshaw Academy, Co-op Academy Priesthorpe and Leeds West Academy.

We’ll be offering up to 650 young people from our partnership’s schools the chance to study a wide range of A level, T Level, hybrid and GCSE courses.

The culmination of our project’s journey will be in year three when we’ll be at full capacity. Our journey so far has not been without some significant hurdles.

One of our original partners dropped out. And there were significant delays to the project. But the ‘fun’ really started when the Office for National Statistics reclassified FE colleges as public sector bodies in 2022. The impact of this on how colleges could manage their finances meant that we had to quickly reconsider how we were going to finance what ended up being a nearly £13 million endeavour.

The original plan had been to secure most of the money through commercial borrowing. But the new lending rules scuppered that. Given the resources – including some £1 million in design, consultancy and planning costs – that our partnership had already invested, allowing the project to fail wasn’t an option.

So we quickly mobilised, teamed up with organisations like the Association of Colleges, and contacted politicians spelling out our concerns. Thankfully, in April 2023 DfE introduced a scheme to help colleges overcome such obstacles. This enabled us to finance our college via a £12.7 million loan.

Meanwhile, there were other obstacles to overcome in the planning process. Some residents and councillors had raised concerns about the college’s likely impact on the local road network and parking. Since maintaining excellent community links and becoming part of the fabric of Pudsey was a core, non-negotiable part of our vision for the college, we were determined to tackle this head-on. We proposed a raft of traffic calming measures which we’ll be monitoring, alongside Leeds City Council, to ensure they work as intended.

But the loss of a disused playing field on the development site next to Crawshaw Academy created the greatest uncertainty. Sport England’s objections meant the Secretary of State could have ‘called in’ our proposals for further scrutiny. This would have potentially delayed or even scotched the project. Thankfully, this was not judged necessary.

Since our plans were approved in May 2024, we’ve been working flat-out with our contractors Caddick Construction. In February we were delighted to give the Chancellor, Leeds West and Pudsey MP Rachel Reeves, a tour of the under-construction building.

To get to this point is a great achievement. And many valuable lessons have been learned. The most extreme challenge has been just how quickly we’ve had to do it all. Within just over an academic year the college has been built, staffed and promoted to prospective students. Ideally, we could have done this in stages but that’s not been possible. We’ve had to make a viable and full offer from the start.

In hindsight, I also wouldn’t have timed having a baby. Our second child Emily was born in November 2024. During all this!

But we’re on track and we’ll be making this new sixth form college the best it possibly can be. It will help learners to progress into great careers or universities hand-in-hand with an inclusive approach so everyone fulfils their potential.

While we already run a successful sixth form, Leeds Sixth Form College, we know that we can’t just trade off that reputation in Pudsey. Proving our credentials to the community will rely on forging close collaborations with its organisations and businesses. That might just be the biggest, and most exciting challenge of all.

New ‘school profiles’ to be explored for colleges

Ministers intend to introduce new digital “school profiles” for colleges, it has been revealed.

The plan was unveiled yesterday in the Department for Education’s response to a consultation on school accountability reform.

Officials are developing a new “digital service” to act as a “one-stop shop” for parents and the wider public to view a “broad range of information” about a school.

It will feature information from inspection report cards, along with performance data, like exam results, along with achievement and attendance stats.

A pilot version will be tested this academic year, with “the aim for the service to be launched publicly in 2026-27”.

DfE said it considers it “important for there to be coverage of 16-18 institutions as many young people will carry on their 16-18 education in schools or colleges”.

It added: “We will therefore also undertake further research in 2025-26 to explore how best to introduce similar profiles for 16-18 institutions, which will include further education colleges.”

At present, there are multiple online databases for the public, such as “get information about schools”, “compare school performance”, Ofsted’s website and scores of weekly, monthly and annual publications on things like attendance.

DfE intends to discontinue the “compare school and college performance” and “analyse school performance” tools once profiles are up and running.