Vocational education and skills was top of the agenda when top politicians addressed business leaders last week.
Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband all spoke about FE when they addressed the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in London on Monday.
Mr Cameron praised businesses for their role in securing 2m apprenticeship starts in this Parliament, and emphasised his commitment to taking the total to 3m by 2020.
He added: “The ambition I have is that all our young people, leaving school at 18 rather than 16 should be thinking ‘which path am I going to take?’ Is it either a path to university and to a degree or is it an apprenticeship and the potential of doing a degree through that apprenticeship as well.
“I want to see fewer and fewer people leaving school and going straight into the workforce, or indeed, I want to see us almost abolish youth unemployment.”
While Mr Miliband said that a “revolution” was needed in vocational education to deal with a “discontent” among the British public, Mr Clegg spoke about the need for good careers advice and guidance.
A second general FE college principal in a fortnight has issued a public safety announcement following a safety scare.
Norfolk police are investigating a deliberate chemical spill at College of West Anglia on Friday (November 7) that left 30 students needing treatment and one in hospital.
The incident prompted principal David Pomfret to speak out to ease safety concerns.
“I would like to reassure students and staff that we have already started an internal investigation to support the police and will be leaving no stone unturned to ensure this matter is brought to a speedy conclusion,” he said.
The incident was initially thought to have been caused by a gas leak but police and fire service investigators suggested CS gas, mace or pepper spray was deliberately set off.
The incident came just days after Newcastle College principal Carole Kitching announced police would be patrolling its campus as 18-year-old Liam Lyburd appeared in court accused of planning to detonate a pipe bomb at the college.
Lyburd is due before Newcastle Crown Court on November 20. Meanwhile, a Norfolk Constabulary spokesperson told FE Week that no arrest had been made in connection with the chemical incident.
How the 660 FE Week manifesto survey respondents felt about the five most popular reader-generated policy pledges
More than 600 members of the FE sector contributed to FE Week general election manifesto.
After selecting 14 key policy ideas with the help of 35 readers, an online survey was launched to determine which pledges should form our manifesto in the run-up to May’s election.
On these pages and in a 28-page manifesto document published with this edition of the newspaper, we look at the 14 pledges in detail, the five that won the most support, and the sector’s reaction to the survey.
ne education and training funding agency with merged funding streams along with funding stability over the course of a Parliament top the list of pledges in the FE Week election manifesto.
The remaining three most popular pledges to have made it into the select list were increases to the apprentice minimum wage, funding for training for all unemployed young people and free transport for full-time learners up to the age of 21.
In a telling sign of our times, funding was the theme running through the most popular pledges, whether FE funding in general, for transport, to tackle unemployment or rises in the minimum wage.
Sector leaders welcomed the results of the manifesto survey, and the message was clear — money makes the FE world go around.
Martin Doel (pictured), chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: “It is not surprising that the call for financial stability in the FE sector has been supported most widely in this survey. We can all appreciate that the government needed to make savings, but the FE sector seems to have had more than its fair share of funding cuts.
“Good careers education is vital to support young people at the age of 14 and 16 in making decisions which could affect their whole future. AoC, through its Careers Guidance: Guaranteed, has been campaigning for career hubs in each local area for the past year, and it is something we have already raised with Nicky Morgan since her appointment as Education Secretary.
“Colleges already work closely with Jobcentre Plus to provide education and training for the unemployed but this is one area where constant funding would be useful to allow them to plan ahead. Supporting adults who are unemployed to retrain is as important for that person as it is for the UK economy.”
Dr Lynne Sedgmore (pictured), executive director of the 157 Group, said: “As the voices of those working in FE, these proposed pledges deserve serious consideration. Two key themes — stability and equity — are present in many of the suggestions.
“The ability to plan for the long-term is vital, and a funding settlement for the whole of the next parliament would be a most welcome achievement. It is also right to call for different pathways through our education system — regardless of age and type of institution — to be treated equally, both in terms of funding and quality assurance.
“The most popular pledges are all about ensuring an excellent student experience – by providing adequate financial support, by providing high quality advice and guidance, by guaranteeing teacher professionalism and by assuring the value for money of new providers. These principles cannot be argued with.”
Stewart Segal (pictured), chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), said: “It was interesting to note that the highest-rated issue was the need to establish some policy and funding stability in the sector. This is something we have continually campaigned for.
“We are therefore not sure that changing funding departments will deliver the coherence we need. In the past we have seen duplicated policy development even within the same department.
“We believe that the apprenticeship funding reforms will only work if employers are given a choice over whether they are directly funded or the funding is instead passed to their chosen provider.
“For tackling youth unemployment, we have to build the credibility of traineeships which has to become the programme of choice for young people and avoiding new initiatives. Programmes for young people not in work should focus on high quality work related learning and work experience. This has to start with comprehensive careers information.”
David Hughes (pictured), chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace), said: “It is not surprising, in a time of great austerity, that the main focus for many people working in FE is on funding. But the longer-term game, and the real benefit of funding stability, is that it can provide the room for colleges and learning providers to invest in new, creative ways of engaging people in learning.
“We need to stimulate demand from people already in work to progress their skills, from people with very low level skills and low confidence and from employers. I hope that funding stability would give the space to help achieve that, because the long-term game for funding is about more employers paying and more people willing to invest in their own skills.”
The third national Skills Show kicked off in Birmingham on Thursday (November 13) with have-a-gos, careers advice, skills competitions and the finals of the National Apprenticeship Awards.
At a dinner welcoming exhibitors, visitors and VIPs to the show on Wednesday, Skills Show patron Theo Paphitis said he was delighted to be returning for the third year in a row.
“The first time I came to the Skills Show, it was like a light coming on,” he said.
Highbury College, Portsmouth on the Hairdressing Showcase stage
“Even as someone in business, I find as a parent I don’t always know how to advise my children on what they’re going to do with the rest of their lives, so having something like this is terrific.
“We should have been doing this years ago.”
As if making up for lost time, the first day of the show had more than 50 exhibitors and have-a-gos ensuring there was plenty to inspire the first batch of the Skills Show’s predicted 75,000 visitors, many from Midland primary schools.
Among the visitors was Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and FE Week caught up with him during his tour of the show.
“It’s been absolutely brilliant,” he said. “I was here for a day last year and I just really wanted to come back again this year.
Singer Alex Moir on the main BBC stage
“Yes, it’s a skills showcase but it’s also actually a celebration of a way of learning which I think we should do more of in this country — learning by doing.
“It’s about metaphorically and literally getting your hands dirty, learning things from the people who are mentoring you and learning some practical skills not just conceptual ones.
“We should be valuing both vocational and academic qualifications equally and I think that’s what’s on ample display at the Skills Show.”
Head of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) Sue Husband was also among the first day’s visitors.
“It’s just been so invigorating — that’s the word I’d use,” she said.
Skills Show patron Theo Paphitis tours the show floor
“It just hasn’t stopped and it’s been brilliant seeing the young people’s faces — some of them were just getting so excited.
When Ms Husband spoke to FE Week, it was too early to tell how many visitors had passed through the NEC during the first day, but she said early indications suggested it had been “better than expected”.
“In terms of the timings, people are getting here earlier now,” she said.
“Usually there’s an hour or so at the beginning where it’s really quiet but it picked up straight away this morning and we’re pleased with that.
“And some of the stands that were probably not expecting that much interaction today because there’s been mainly primary schools were actually surprised by how many came and interacted on the stands.”
She added: “I know it sounds a bit trite, but meeting apprentices has been my favourite bit of today — although I did secretly enjoy meeting the Strictly Come Dancing stars.”
WorldSkills champ Terron wins again
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg opened the National Apprenticeship Awards ceremony before WorldSkills 2013 gold medal-winning bricklayer Ashley Terron (pictured) claimed the apprentice champion of the year prize.
“The National Apprenticeship Awards really is one of my favourite events of the whole year,” Mr Clegg told the assembled employers, apprentices and sector figures.
“This night is always a celebration showcasing the talent, hard work and commitment shown by Britain’s top apprentices.”
“I was honoured and I wasn’t expecting to win,” said Mr Terron.
Mr Terron, whose father is also a bricklayer, said he was driven to achieve in his apprenticeship and to promote it to others by his headteacher, who questioned why someone as bright as him might do a bricklaying apprenticeship.
“I took a bit of offence, that he was questioning my family trade and me — even though I had my path set out,” said Mr Terron.
“And I’ve always had that in my mind. That spurred me on to try to strive and achieve the next best thing and that’s kept me going.
“I’ve since got back in touch with the school and oddly he’s taken a U-turn on his stance on apprenticeships.”
He added: “I was lucky that I worked with my dad so I had a chance to try bricklaying, but a lot of people don’t have that and more needs to be done to help people see what kind of opportunities are out there.”
Intermediate apprentice of the year went to Co-operative business admin apprentice Lois McClure, aged 20, who did her apprenticeship through Learndirect.
“I took an apprenticeship I didn’t really know what it was about they didn’t talk about it at school or college,” she said.
“I think I’ve won because I’ve just taken every opportunity I can. It’s amazing to win.”
Higher apprentice of the year was won by Hayley James, a Highbury College apprentice with IBM UK, while advanced apprentice of the year went to Anna Schlautmann, 21, a logistics apprentice with Alliance Learning, employed by MBDA Missile Systems.
Small employer of the year went to design company Blue Moon Creative, the medium employer award went to hovercraft designers Griffin Hoverwork, large employer of the year went to MBDA UK and the macro employer award went to housing developer Barratt Development.
Skills gap ‘between school and degree’
The Skills Show’s opening day also saw the publication of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD Skills Beyond School report at the National Vocational Education and Training (VET) Conference.
The conference took place alongside the Skills Show at the Birmingham NEC.
The report called for the UK to put workplace learning at the centre of vocational education, warning that there would otherwise be a widening gap between qualifications and the skills employers need.
Simon Field, OECD lead vocational education researcher said the report contained two key messages for the UK.
Performers from Birmingham Metropolitan College
“One is the need to do more to provide intermediate technical and professional skills, beyond school but less than a bachelor’s degree,” he said.
“The second is to integrate work-based learning systematically into programmes.”
The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) welcomed the report.
Michael Davis, UKCES chief executive, said: “We support the view that higher level vocational training must have a clear line of sight to a job. Employers must be as close as possible to training to ensure the skills people develop are the ones businesses need.”
Association of Colleges chief executive Martin Doel said: “As OECD’s report says, ensuring workers have basic skills is important, but what is even more important is that education does not stop when someone enters the workplace.”
He added colleges in England worked` with an average of 600 businesses and were “always ready and willing to do more.”
Ofsted’s eight-week consultation on bringing an end to its independent FE and skills inspection regime comes to a close next month.
All education inspections would be “harmonised” under the proposed common inspection framework (CIF) for nurseries, schools and colleges from September next year, as revealed exclusively by FE Week at the start of August.
It is also proposing to halve the time between inspections of good FE and skills providers. Currently, good FE and skills providers face reinspection up to every six years if there are no concerns to trigger an earlier revisit — but Ofsted is looking at changing that to a “short inspection” up to every three years, unless concerns trigger one sooner.
The consultation further sets out proposals for four categories for judgements — leadership and management; teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; and outcomes for children and learners.
With the consultation — available on www.ofsted.gov.uk — closing on December 5, Ofsted director of FE and skills Lorna Fitzjohn (pictured) spoke exclusively to FE Week to address concerns the proposals have raised within the sector.
What would the proposals mean for FE?
The proposals we have set out will be some of the most far-reaching reforms for education inspection in the last 25 years. At the heart of these changes are measures to help maintain and accelerate education standards in England.
We plan to introduce more frequent, but shorter inspections for good schools and FE and skills providers, with a clear focus on making sure that standards are staying high.
We are also planning to introduce a common inspection framework across all of our remits. The guidance in the handbook and the report structure will be adapted to suit FE providers. This will make it easier for employers and learners to compare providers and make informed choices.
What do you think is wrong with the way Ofsted inspects FE institutions at the moment? Is there any update on the negotiations about direct inspection of sub-contractors?
Ofsted has always played a vital role in promoting high standards so that the quality of provision improves for all learners. It is worth noting that more than nine out of ten providers said they were satisfied with how their recent inspection was carried out.
However, there is now a strong case for a more proportionate system where we move away from full inspections for good providers. Instead, we want a system based on professional dialogues between the inspectors and leaders, with a clear focus on whether the good standards are being maintained.
We understand that for some FE providers the use of sub-contractors counts for a substantial part of their provision. This is being looked at as part of the consultation and we are working to ensure that the quality of sub-contracted provision is included in any judgement we make about the provider.
Will there be a period of stability after these proposed changes are enacted?
Ofsted’s duty is to make sure that all learners receive the level of education and training that they deserve. For this reason, we are always reviewing the effectiveness of the way in which we inspect providers.
We understand that some teachers and trainers can feel uncertainty about what Ofsted looks for during inspection and this is something we want to avoid.
We will therefore be shortly publishing a ‘mythbusters’ document specifically aimed at those working in the FE and skills sector. This will dispel some of the rumours and hearsay about the inspection process and help sector workers to focus on what really matters — making sure they are giving learners the best education and training possible.
With the proposed move towards a single CIF, is there a danger that school specialists will inspect FE colleges, and vice-versa?
The move to a single inspection framework will in no way impact Ofsted’s ability to inspect providers. Those with experience in FE and skills will continue to inspect FE and skills providers.
A single framework will make it easier for providers, including University Technical Colleges, 16 to 19 academies and schools with sixth forms, to know what they are being judged against. We feel this will benefit the post-16 sector as a whole.
One proposal is to make clearer our judgements on the different types of provision. For example, someone reading an inspection report for a specific college would be able to clearly identify the quality of any apprenticeships, 16 to 19-year-old provision or adult courses which it offers.
Once the new framework is in place we will issue, as is normal practice, a handbook for FE inspectors on how to interpret the framework for the inspection of FE and skills so that it clearly relates to the sector and the different types of provision offered.
Will the proposals result in any job losses at Ofsted as departments inevitably move closer together?
The changes we are proposing are about maintaining and improving the quality of education and training in England. This is not a money-saving exercise.
We have carefully costed the new model in relation to inspection resource and are confident we can deliver within our existing budget.
Ofqual boss Glenys Stacey has said qualifications should remain “as stable as possible” as Skills Minister Nick Boles looks at a Functional Skills rebrand.
Ms Stacey replied to a letter sent early last month by Mr Boles, in which he said Functional Skills would “continue to be one of the types of qualification that learners have available”.
In her letter, Ms Stacey welcomed the minister’s “clear statement about the importance you attach to Functional Skills qualifications”.
But, she added: “The brand of a qualification is important. It takes some years for qualification titles to become understood and trusted, particularly by employers and others who are not close to the education system.
“In general, our view is that we should keep the qualifications system as stable as possible, to allow qualifications time to prove themselves.
“We did a small survey of employers and others recently and found that employers in the survey had a broadly positive view of Functional Skills qualifications, as do colleges and other providers.”
See page 22 for an expert piece by OCR’s Charlotte Bosworth and visit feweek.co.uk for more, including a link to the letter in full.
Further education has already taken its “fair share” of cuts, the Association of Colleges (AoC) has warned amid claims another £48bn could be slashed from government budgets.
The organisation has called for a review of education spending after warnings in national media that cuts could spiral way above the £25bn suggested by Prime Minister David Cameron, and a former civil servant warned the situation could be tough for FE for another decade.
A spokesperson for the AoC told FE Week: “Fair funding for colleges is always something that is high on our agenda and forms part of our discussions with the three main political parties.
“So far the FE sector has taken more than its fair share of funding cuts and we’re calling on the government to carry out a once-in-a-generation review of education spending to ensure that all age groups get an adequate budget. More stable funding would allow colleges to plan in the longer term.”
Education and Training Foundation chief executive David Russell said: “We have known for some time the fiscal climate for public services will remain very challenging for another five to 10 years.
“This presents a huge challenge to those delivering public value with public funding. It is the reason why excellent leadership, management and governance are vital to success of the FE and training system.”
The Treasury declined to comment. See feweek.co.uk for more sector reaction.
The Association of Colleges (AoC) has backed Ofqual plans to ditch current regulatory arrangements for the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF).
A consultation launched in July on the QCF, which was itself launched in 2008, proposed that qualifications should be regulated by Ofqual’s general conditions of recognition.
A number of submissions from FE organisations, including representative bodies and awarding organisations, have now been seen by FE Week (see table).
AoC senior skills policy manager Teresa Frith (pictured), who submitted the response on behalf of the representative body, supported “efforts to reduce the amount of regulation”.
She said: “All qualifications should be valid regardless of their structure but [we] recognise that, in some instances, the QCF regulatory arrangements have not supported this intent.”
Ofqual stated in the consultation that it would not “impose design requirements about how QCF-type qualifications are structured [following the withdrawal of QCF regulatory arrangements]”.
Ms Frith said: “This proposal should provide a welcome degree of flexibility in qualification and unit design.”
But she raised concern that “the removal of regulation might be seen as the removal of QCF, rather than allowing for a greater degree of flexibility to ensure ‘validity’.”
She warned scrapping the QCF regulatory arrangements “could be perceived as removing the ability to create credit bearing, unitised qualifications.
“A renaming of the remaining qualifications framework might be considered to ensure the sector remains clear that such an approach is not being prevented by the proposed changes to regulation,” she added.
Ms Frith said the AoC would like “clear reassurance” that the regulatory reforms would not lead to the complete “withdrawal of QCF from the system”.
Jeremy Benson, Ofqual’s director of policy, said: “This isn’t the end for qualifications based upon the QCF. We expect those QCF qualifications which are good quality and valuable to remain. But where they are found to fall short of our requirements, we would expect them to be either developed or withdrawn.”
Ofqual also asked for comments, through the consultation, on its plans for “QCF-type qualifications” to be “governed simply through our general conditions of recognition”.
Ms Frith said: “This appears to be a sensible way forward which should simplify regulation without removing the possibilities for easy accreditation of prior learning arrangements, unit assessment and the currency of credit. Any funding ramifications would need to be considered however.”
An Ofqual spokesperson said it was still considering responses to the consultation that closed last month.
A Midland college has been warned about its “hand-to-mouth” financial situation by FE Commissioner Dr David Collins.
Dr Collins visited Birmingham’s 12,000-learner Bournville College (pictured), which has a current Skills Funding Agency (SFA) allocation of £8,495,746, in August after it was issued with a financial notice of concern by the in April.
In his report, published last week by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Dr Collins praised the leadership and governance of the college and the quality of the provision offered to learners, which was rated good by Ofsted after a visit in May, but said it needed to do more to balance the books.
He said: “The college has successfully improved its quality and diversified its income streams over the last few years. It has grown by more than 5 per cent per year and predicts that it will be able to continue on this growth path into the foreseeable future. However, while this is an ambitious and commendable approach it is not without its risks.
“Not all projects have delivered the returns forecasted and a failure by the college to address inefficiencies in parts of the college’s operations has led to high levels of borrowing and serious cash flow issues.
“The present “hand to mouth” situation cannot be allowed to continue and there are opportunities to improve the position significantly if the college is prepared to bring its expenditure into line with sector norms. Fears that this will lead to a diminution of quality are not borne out by the evidence elsewhere.”
He said new projects or ventures into new markets needed “to be considered with a far greater degree of scrutiny by the governing body” and added that the college’s income base had “not been matched by an appropriate control of costs”.
College marketing director Alma Aganovic said: “We welcome the feedback from the FE Commissioner and are already in the process of implementing the recommendations from the report. The college would like to point out that last year we achieved a substantial improvement in our financial position which is commendable in the current climate. We were also recently inspected by Ofsted and achieved outstanding for leadership and management.”
