Agency restructure sees two directors remain but four out

Three directors and a chief information officer have been identified as among the first to go in a programme of Skills Funding Agency job cuts that has left more than 1,000 staff facing an uncertain future.

Julie Robson, executive director for growth (Midlands and North), Sally Stewart, executive director for people, Richard Field, chief information officer, and Marinos Paphitis, executive director provider management (South), will leave next year.

The agency told FE Week they would not be replaced, so the total number of staff on its executive management team (EMT) would be halved to four.

Chief operating officer Paul McGuire will stay on in the EMT to lead the operating division. Keith Smith, executive director of funding and programmes, will continue with his brief and chief executive Kim Thorneywork will remain in post. An EMT vacancy to lead the standards and services division is due to be advertised over the next month.

The agency is also preparing to cut the number of its senior managers from 36 to 23 by April.

An agency spokesperson said: “The agency has just announced a restructure which will see its executive management team being reduced by 50 per cent and its directors by approximately 35 per cent in the 2013-14 financial year. Once this phase has been completed, it is the agency’s intention to reduce the headcount of the rest of the organisation.”

More than 1,000 agency workers, below senior management level, were warned on September 23 their jobs could be under threat as part of a second phase of the job cuts in response to the “Civil Service Reform Agenda”.

The agency confirmed the final number of job losses had still not been determined. Tony Conway, industrial officer at the Public and Commercial Services Union, told FE Week staff meetings about the job losses would be held at each of the agency’s 13 offices around England by the end of next month.

The first meeting took place in Coventry on Thursday, September 12, and was attended by around 30 staff.

He said: “The staff had already had a lot of change imposed on them over the last couple years. I think a lot of them are still pretty shell shocked after this latest announcement.

“I know the local rep was pleased with the turnout at the Coventry meeting and there was a lively discussion about the job cuts. It is too early to say at the moment whether there will be any form of industrial action, as we don’t know the full scale of job losses yet and the period of time they will be imposed over.”The priority for the moment is to speak to as many members as possible about their fears over job security and how they want to proceed.”

The agency has shed 600 of its 1,900 staff in the last four years through cost-cutting schemes launched in October 2010 and December 2011. In April this year, Business Secretary Vince Cable wrote to the agency warning that its administration budget, which includes salaries, was expected to drop £8m, to just under £85m for 2014-15.The agency delivers £4.1bn of skills training through contracts with more than 1,000 providers.

Government figures show 16 to 18 apprenticeships down nearly 15,000 in a year

Figures published this morning show a 12 per cent (14,600) fall in 16-18 apprenticeship starts, and a one per cent (7,400) fall across all ages.

The first set of figures below compare the full year provisional 2012/13 apprenticeship starts with the same report from the previous year.

The second set of figures compare the full year provisional 2012/13 apprenticeship starts with the final year figures for 2011/12.

Children sitting comfortably for story time

Carpenters from the North arrived like knights in shining armour to rescue schoolchildren from boring story-times by creating fairytale-inspired outdoor furniture.

The carpentry and joinery students from Wigan & Leigh College designed eight pieces of bespoke furniture, including a throne, for pupils at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, in Wrightington.

Yvonne Barber, college divisional manager for construction crafts, said: “The students worked really hard to create furniture that they can really be proud of.”

Louise Cherry, the Parents, Teachers and Friends Association member who initially contacted the college, said: “The furniture is perfect. The children really love it and are looking forward to using it more.”

SFA lifts blanket ban on new Elmfield learners after minister orders Ofsted revisit

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has lifted its blanket ban on new learners at Elmfield Training after an early Ofsted revisit ordered by Skills Minister Matthew Hancock resulted in a positive report.

The SFA will now assess any request from Elmfield to start apprentices with, for instance, current client Barclays Bank on a “case-by-case basis”.

The latest Ofsted report, published this month, states: “At the request of the Minister for Skills [Matthew Hancock], Ofsted inspectors conducted a monitoring visit in September, three months after the last inspection rather than the usual six to eight months.

“The aim of the visit was to explore the progress being made towards the recommendations of the inspection in June.”

The SFA issued the training provider with a notice of serious breach after a full Ofsted inspection in June, which resulted in a grade four (inadequate) rating.

The notice included a condition that Elmfield could not start any new learners with new or existing employers, or apply for more government funding.

However, an SFA spokesperson told FE Week its position had now softened, following the encouraging findings of the monitoring report, which unlike full inspections does not result in an overall grading.

She said: “The notice of serious breach remains in force. However, the agency retains the right to alter the conditions of the notice should we be satisfied with the progress being made.

“Ofsted has published the full report from its recent monitoring visit and the inspectors have noted the reasonable progress against five of the six actions taken by Elmfield and significant progress against one action.

“We will assess any request from Elmfield to start new apprenticeships on a case by case basis.”

An Elmfield spokesperson said: “We are pleased to see that we have been able to demonstrate progress in all areas of our work examined by Ofsted in a very short space of time.”

In May this year FE Week reported how Elmfield’s success rates showed just 47.5 per cent of its 13,420 leavers in the retail and wholesale sector, aged 25+, walked away with an apprenticeship certificate in 2011/12.

Ged Syddall (pictured giving evidence to the BIS Select Committee last year) then resigned as Elmfield chief executive in July, in light of the grade four Ofsted result, and as director during a Newsnight investigation last month, although it is understood he remains majority share-holder.

The BBC probe looked into allegations that workers had been signed up for apprenticeships despite turning down the programme.

The SFA has also told FE Week it was “investigating further allegations made against Elmfield Training Ltd and so we are not able to comment on the details”.

Nevertheless, the monitoring inspection, carried out over two days by two inspectors, found “significant progress” had been made in how Elmfield co-operates with employers over its training programmes.

Inspectors also found there had been “reasonable progress” with improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and the rate at which learners achieved their qualifications.

Their report stated: “Improving success rates, especially the rate at which learners achieve their qualifications within the planned timescale, is now a key focus for all staff.”

It added that reasonable progress had been made with improving the development of learners’ key and functional skills.

However, the report warned a number of learners near the end of their training programmes had still not taken functional skills tests.

The Elmfield spokesperson said: “The new leadership of Elmfield has worked hard since our June 2013 visit by Ofsted to ensure that everyone in our business is focused on delivering high quality training for our learners on behalf of our clients and funding partners.”

Jodie takes a dive for critically-ill tots

A health and social care student raised more than £1,100 with a skydive to provide equipment for critically-ill newborn babies.

Farnborough College of Technology student Jodie Matthews, aged 17, took the plunge for Frimley Park Hospital’s Saving Tiny lives Appeal.

She said: “The money raised was for my local hospital so it was a cause I was particularly interested in.

“It’s always nice to give something back to the community and challenge yourself at the same time. It was an amazing experience.”

Health and social care programme manager Lesley Harden said: “Jodie really is an excellent example of a student who is doing something inspirational for other people.”

Girls are brightest engineering sparks

Engineering bright sparks were recognised at their college’s annual engineering awards ceremony, with female learners shining particularly brightly.

Of 11 categories at the Hartlepool College ceremony, eight were won by girls, with Kelsey Richardson and Georgina Ireland taking two each, Hannah Carr, winning one and Emily French winning three, including overall engineering student of the year.

Principal Darren Hankey said: “Each winner is a credit to the staff who steered them through their qualifications and their family and friends who gave them the support they needed. It’s excellent to see female learners following engineering courses and I’m sure Kelsey, Emily and Georgina will be an inspiration to other female learners who may wish to follow a similar route.”

Good advice from business leaders

Students in Newcastle quizzed business leaders about the skills they need to get a job.

Gateshead College youngsters met with employers at a two-day event as part of the college’s Work Ready campaign designed to tackle the area’s 10.4 per cent unemployment rate.

A-level student Tammy Farrer, aged 16, said: “This event has been a great introduction to the world of work.

“I now understand that employers are not just looking for academic achievements. They want to see evidence of other skills gained through, for example, voluntary work or a part-time job.”

Principal Judith Doyle said: “It’s vital that young people are better equipped with transferable skills and attributes that will help them find work.”

Footballers score with sports award

College student footballers have been named Under 19 Team of the Year at the inaugural Birmingham Sports Awards 2013, following a season of trophy success.

The Birmingham Metropolitan College team were unbeaten in their last nine games and scored a hat-trick of wins, becoming West Midlands County Cup Winners, Three County League Champions and National seven-a-side champions.

Team coach Nick Heath said: “We’re all really proud of this award because it recognises the achievements of our 18 players over the last 12 months.

“Week after week, the team demonstrated a desire to play at the highest level and their hard work continued to pay off.”

Coffee morning for cancer research

Staff and students raised more than £500 for charity through a cake-filled coffee morning at their college.

Doncaster College level two and three catering students ran the event at the college’s Waterfront restaurant, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Contributions to a tombola, cake stalls, along with sweets-in-a-jar and guess-the-name competitions were organised by catering, travel and business students.

Jane Fishwick, assistant director for hospitality, travel, business and accounting said: “We chose Macmillan due to the number of lives affected by cancer.

“We have had two young learners affected in the past two years, as well as lots of family members across the staff and students. Both these students are doing well currently.”