SFA ‘moves goalposts’ for small contracts

The future of the Skills Funding Agency’s minimum contract level policy has been called into question after it emerged 50 providers have been given allocations of less than £500,000.

More than £7m could be paid out by the agency on contracts below its minimum level.

The smallest of these is for £11,274 and the biggest £414,832. They appear on the agency’s website under its outcome of quarter two review for 2012/13.

Paul Warner, Association of Employment and Learning Providers director of employment and skills, said: “The large number of new providers on the latest allocations list has to prompt the question of whether the minimum contract policy has been abandoned.

“We are increasingly taking the view that any good quality provider who wants a direct contract should have one.”

The total amount allocated to the 50 providers is £7,312,834. Included in the figure is funding for 16 to 18 apprenticeships, which the agency has said also falls under the minimum contract level rule. But, despite the number of allocations below the minimum level, an agency spokesperson said the policy was still in place.

“We continue to apply the principles of minimum contract values,” she said.

“The level at which these are set for individual procurement exercises is driven by the ability of providers to meet the needs of their communities and the provision procured.

“Investment in apprenticeships continues to be a priority for the agency.

“To ensure we continue to meet the needs of employers, in 2012/13 the agency invited new organisations on the Register of Training Organisations to submit plans to deliver new high quality apprenticeships.”

The minimum contract policy of £500,000 came into place for the 2011/12 academic year. The agency claims it has “allowed efficiencies to be realised within the sector through a reduced agency role; economies of scale and more opportunities for shared services between training organisations”.

It is understood that more than 200 providers lost their agency business when the policy was introduced because they were unable or unwilling to increase their contracts to the £500,000 mark.

“If the goalposts have now been moved, we need to have a discussion with the agency about it and perhaps have a review for the good quality providers who lost their contracts when minimum contract was first introduced,” said Mr Warner.

Lindsay McCurdy, chief executive of Apprenticeships4England, said: “It’s fantastic if the agency is reducing minimum contract levels, but there needs to be more clarity on how this has been done and how providers can get these contracts.”

An agency spokesperson said: “We ran three pilots for apprenticeships, one contracted in September for 19 to 24 apprenticeships, and two for 16 to 18 apprenticeships contracted in April and May 2013.

“All provision was openly and competitively tendered, and contracts were awarded to the organisations that could demonstrate the highest quality and support from employers.”

Traineeships launched, but only for some

The 11-month wait for a government outline of traineeships is over — but “disappointment” has been expressed about who can take them.

They were first proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in June last year to help 16 to 24-year-olds gain work-related skills and attitudes.

But it wasn’t until today that the Skills Minister Matthew Hancock finally revealed their framework (click here to download the document).

They are being rolled out in August, but only 16 to 19-year-olds can take them, along with young people with learning difficulty assessments up to the academic age of 25.

David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, said: “It is disappointing, but understandable given the split of funding between government departments, that the statement is only about 16 to 19-year-olds.

“The need for traineeships is as compelling and urgent for young adults as it is for 16 to 19-year-olds and we are looking forward to an announcement on their offer soon.

Graham Hoyle, Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive, said: “It is very disappointing that the government has decided to restrict traineeships to 16 to 19-year-olds only, even if ministers have promised to review the criteria at some point.

“To make a real impact on the NEET figures and to provide a ladder for more young adults to get on to apprenticeships, the start of this vital new programme should have been more ambitious.”

Shadow Skills Minister Gordon Marsden said: “It is deeply concerning that the government at this stage is only bringing forward this policy for 16 to 19-year-olds, despite the high levels of NEETs aged 20 to 24.

“Government ministers must ensure traineeships provide a clear progression route for young people into apprenticeships or employment.”

Martin Doel, chief executive at the Association of Colleges, said: “We look forward to continuing to work alongside government and employers on the initial roll-out of the traineeship programme on the basis of our experience of delivering to 16 to 19-year-olds and to the potential of extending them to young people up to the age of 24, for whom we think traineeships could represent a very effective means of improving life prospects.”

A government spokesperson said: “We are announcing the 16 to 19 framework so that delivery of traineeships for this age group will be possible from the start of the 2013/14 academic year.

“We are looking to extend the traineeships programme to young people up to age 24 and we are continuing to explore the implementation issues.”

Traineeships will include work placements of up to six months, flexible training to build character and to help young people get ready for work — such as job search and interview skills, time-keeping and team working — and will develop learners’ English and maths.

However, providers without an Ofsted grade one or two will not be able to run traineeships in the scheme’s first year.

The framework document says: “Where this means there is no eligible provider in a location, we will support efforts to ensure that outstanding and good provision becomes available in that area.”

Lynne Sedgmore, 157 Group executive director, said she would be speaking to members about the policy, adding: “Ofsted grades are but one way of assessing provider quality.”

The AELP declined to comment on the Ofsted grade limitation to traineeships and nobody from the AoC was available for comment.

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Editorial: Good, but not perfect

The long-awaited traineeships announcement came with news that colleges and training providers without an Ofsted grade one or two will be banned from being involved.

This will have come as a surprise to many as the ban was not floated in the traineeship discussion document published in January.

In the FE Week office, there has been an interesting debate about the merits of the ban.

On the one hand, the policy is simple, transparent and sends an important and strong message about the importance of quality.

But is an overall Ofsted grade a reliable indicator of quality in the context of delivering traineeships?

For example, typically an Ofsted grade for a large college relates to long qualification teaching and success rates for classroom delivery — not the type of innovative employer engagement traineeships will demand.

So, an overall Ofsted grade is likely to be a crude and potentially unreliable measure.

But, on balance, and with no time to consider tenders or individual cases, it probably is the better quality criteria at hand.

All that said, a ban based on an Ofsted grade does raise a number of important questions.

What will happen to traineeship providers if an Ofsted inspection leads to a downgrading to a grade three or four?

And what pressures might this put on Ofsted to revisit providers?

Further, will providers without a grade one or two be banned from being a traineeship subcontractor?

And finally, given traineeships are part of the 16 to 19 study programmes, is the policy inconsistent because grade three and four providers are funded to deliver these?

Nick Linford, editor of FE Week

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Want to find out more? The sign up for this free webinar delivered by Nick Linford, sponsored by NCFE Traineeships, 3-4pm on Wednesday 15th May. Click here to register.

New chief executive at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers

The incoming chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers has told how apprenticeships will be at the top of his agenda.

Stewart Segal (pictured) takes over from Graham Hoyle OBE in three months having impressed association bosses who interviewed more than 50 candidates for the job.

Mr Segal has experience of the FE sector, where he counts funding issues among his areas of expertise, having already worked with the association for a number of years. He was also chief executive of national training provider Spring Skills and Hertfordshire Training and Enterprise Council.

The married father-of-two has also worked with the Learning and Skills Improvement Service and the Skills Funding Agency and Education Funding Agency, serving on a number of advisory groups.

And apprenticeships were top of his ‘to-do’ list for the new job, he told FE Week, in his first interview after being appointed.

“We need to take the apprenticeship programme on at a time when budgets are pretty tight and funding is under pressure,” said 56-year-old Mr Segal, from Maidenhead, Berkshire.

“We need to ensure the programme is transparent and open and has a great deal of engagement with employers.”

He added: “We know that there is pressure on government funding, but we are now seeing an apprenticeship programme that is getting the recognition and credibility that it deserves.

“These major improvements have been delivered by effective professional training providers responding to employer and learner needs. That is what will drive even further improvements in the sector.”

Traineeships, a new skills funding system, study programmes, work programme challenges and the need to respond to a number of recent reviews will also figure in his new chief executive agenda.

“This is a challenging agenda but I am very confident that the association and its members will have a vital role to play if we are to create an even stronger skills agenda that supports economic growth in the UK and gets more people back into work,” said Mr Segal.

He said he was “delighted” with his appointment and said he had a keen interest on working on the development FE Guild.

“The FE Guild is a great opportunity for the sector to take more ownership of professionalism and quality of delivery,” he said.

“It will be an important part of establishing the credibility of the sector. I’m sure I will continue to support the development of the guild.

“Hopefully, I’ll build on the programme that’s been set out already so that all training providers can develop in their professionalism. This will help the status of vocational learning.”

Association chairman Martin Dunford OBE said: “Stewart has extensive experience of direct delivery of training as well as his knowledge of the policymaking roles of the key stakeholders. This is a challenging time for training providers with reducing budgets and a range of reviews and recommendations on the future of skills funding while the effectiveness of the work programme is also under scrutiny.

“Stewart has been involved in the major improvements made in the sector in terms of responsiveness and quality and we know he will take that agenda forward.

“We have an important role to play in shaping the skills and employment agenda for the future and Stewart will work with our partners to ensure that we remain focused on delivering high quality training provision to employers and learners.”

Mr Segal is expected to speak at the association’s national conference, which takes place in London on June 10 and 11.

Guild to meet at Windsor Castle for ‘complex thinking time’

Twenty-nine “key people” from FE have been invited to eat, drink, sleep and “think” in secret at Windsor Castle about the sector’s new professional body.

A spokesperson for the proposed FE Guild — which will set professional standards across the sector — said it had hired St George’s House, a retreat within the castle, for 26 hours from May 13 to allow delegates to “commit their time to confidential thinking” and to  “help drive forward” the body due to launch in August.

She said the delegates — including Skills Minister Matthew Hancock — had been asked along to ensure the guild was committed to being “sector-owned and led” and “fully fit for purpose”. But while the guild confirmed 27 delegates would attend, a spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said the meeting was “not in the ministers diary”.

The new body — yet to be officially named — would foot the £8,265 bill, equal to £285 per person, to include lunch, a three-course dinner, drinks and accommodation, the guild spokesperson said.

It represents fair value for delegates who we are asking to commit to 26 hours of their time to complex, in-depth and detailed confidential thinking on behalf of the sector.”

But one FE leader, who did not wish to be named, told FE Week: “I question the wisdom of spending money on high profile external venues when funding is so tight, redundancies are rife and any number of boardrooms could have been used at little cost.”

The guild spokesperson defended the move saying: “While this is, of course, more than we spend on routine events, it is appropriate for a strategic sector-wide meeting that will shape the guild over the next decade and represents fair value for delegates who we are asking to commit to 26 hours of their time to complex, in-depth and detailed confidential thinking on behalf of the sector.”

Over the two days, delegates would consider the body’s priorities, and strategic and operational relationships with employers, and would agree on what was meant by “collective leadership”.  Represented bodies would be invited to commit to the new organisation.

The spokesperson added: “The venue was chosen because of its values of openness, honesty, trust and respect.

“People from all areas of society, holding diverse views, opinions and beliefs attend St George’s to debate freely. It is important to all of us in the learning and skills sector that this is the spirit in which we, too, can shape our own future at this strategically crucial time.”

Described on its website as a “safe haven, an environment receptive to new ideas, to taking risks, to living at the intellectual edge,” the venue also gives delegates the chance to pray three times over their stay.

In a leaflet advertising the venue it says: “The offering of prayer in the chapel finds a practical expression in consultations, where the house offers space for nurturing wisdom.”

FE Week reported last month that BIS had confirmed funding, excluding VAT, of £18.8m for August to April next year and the same figure again for 2014-15 to develop the guild.

David Hughes, independent chair of the guild’s development steering group and chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, said at that time the group would now be able to recruit a chief executive before its launch.

Scott makes it through the Maze

A young chef from Lincolnshire has joined celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s Maze restaurant in London.

Scott Brackenbury, 17, who is completing a catering apprenticeship at Boston College’s restaurant, was given just two days’ notice to attend a trial day at the top restaurant.

Staff were so impressed that they offered him a job as commis chef half way through his 16-hour trial, a decision that normally takes a few days.

Scott said: “I am really excited but a bit nervous too.

“I always knew I wanted to go down to London; I’m really looking forward to learning lots more and hopefully progressing within the restaurant.”

Scott follows in the footsteps of another former Boston College student, Jason Atherton, who was Ramsay’s executive chef when Maze was launched in 2005. He has since started his own restaurant company.

Featured image caption: Scott Brackenbury, 17, has got a job as a commis chef at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant

‘We’re doing this for the people we’ve lost’

A four-storey staircase will become Mt Everest for a day this month at Canterbury College. Rebecca Cooney
explains why

A team of Canterbury College staff is planning to climb the height of Mt Everest  — without leaving the college.

The 13 members of the college’s estate team, led by estate manager Craig Nimmo, will go up and down a four-storey staircase 737 times, which adds up to 8,848m — the height of the world’s tallest mountain. The aim is to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Craig’s father, David, an ex-soldier in the Gordon Highlanders, died of lung cancer aged 67.

Craig, 39, said: “My dad was looked after by Macmillan, which is our charity this year at the college . . .  suffering with cancer’s not easy, so I thought let’s do a challenge that’s not easy.”

The “climb”, which will be completed in full mountaineering gear with backpacks, ice axes and rope, will take place on Wednesday, May 29, the 60th anniversary of the first successful ascent by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

Craig’s love of mountaineering gave him the idea for the challenge.

“I’ve been inspired by Hillary and Tenzing — and the people before and after them — and I’ve been to base camp myself. I’m a bit of an Everest nut,” he said.

As a teenager in the army cadets, Craig was chosen to climb Pisang peak in the Himalayas.

“I was a 17-year-old from Norfolk, which is not completely flat but hasn’t really got any hills or mountains. To go from there to the Himalayas in one go blew me away — and I’ve been hooked ever since,” he said.

Over the years, he’s attempted to climb Mt Blanc, has climbed in the Alps and the Pyrenees, and still has dreams of making it to the top of Everest.

His brother Jamie went with him to Everest base camp. “My dad said to me, ‘I can’t come with you but I’ll be in your rucksack’, and luckily enough he was alive when we went,” said Craig.

Despite people telling him that he was “mad” to re-create the climb on a 12m staircase, many staff were keen to take part.

Day cleaner Lyn Tomkins, 45, also lost her father to cancer. “He was supported by Macmillan and, more poignantly, his birthday was on May 29,” she said.

“He passed away just three years ago and I want to do this in his memory.”

Security officer Colin Davis, 34, said: “My father-in-law is suffering with prostate cancer and I’m keen to raise money for this great cause.”

The conditions may not be as demanding as the real thing, but Craig and his team have been taking their training seriously.

“We’ll be doing it without the view, so I think, dare I say it, it’s going to be quite boring, just going up the stairs looking at our feet, however I think we all realise why we’re doing it,” said Craig.

“We’re not doing it because it’s there, as George Mallory said when he was asked why he chose to climb Everest, we’re doing it for people we’ve lost.

“For me, it’s trying to give something back to the people who looked after my dad in his last moments and I’m sure each team member will be thinking of someone they’ve lost to cancer, or thinking how they can help those who suffer with cancer.”

The team hope to raise at least £884.80 — 10p for every metre. Visit www.justgiving.com/teams/canterburycollege to sponsor the team.

Featured image caption: Craig Nimmo (front red jacket), Lyn Tomkin (in green t-shirt) and Colin Davis (back, holding the yellow umbrella) with members of the team preparing for their ‘ascent’.

Young talent at Friday night gig

Young musicians in the North West sounded out their new recording studio at a recent launch night.

Lancaster & Morecambe College learners playing at the event includ the headline act, rising Lancaster talent Katy Pickles, 18, who has just recorded a five-track EP at the college’s new LMC studios.

Katy, who studies HNC level four music performance and technology, said: “It has been a privilege to work with my tutor, Louis Davy on this project.

“Not only have I had access to fantastic facilities run by a fantastic team, but I have been given support with several other aspects concerning my musical development and the release of my EP. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”

College principal, David Wood, described the event as “a perfect Friday night”.

Buggy gives a lesson in life skills

Practical skills students are putting together an off-road buggy to learn how motor vehicles are constructed.

The South Cheshire College entry level learners have just two weeks to learn how to read technical diagrams,  use a range of different tools, and how to solve problems on their own.

Lecturer Matt Duncalf said: “This fantastic project will enrich the students’ time at the college.”

The group will record their progress by producing a step-by-step construction guide that will include photos.

The course is part of a programme for students with learning difficulties and disabilities that gives them the chance to learn key life skills in a realistic setting.

Featured image caption: From left: Learner mentor Martin Downey, lecturer Matt Duncalf, students Josh Turner, 17, Chris Williams, 20, Jordan Robbins, 18, and Kieran Woolrich, 19, and technician Martin Apps

Staff share their favourite books

Staff at a London college gave away free copies of their favourite books to mark World Book Night.

Richmond upon Thames College library staff Helen Berry, Melanie Jones and Patricia Nicholls,  with  Cait Orton of student services, joined 20,000 others across the UK and Ireland as nominated ‘book givers’ who were sent free copies of their favourite book to give away.

“World Book Night is about sharing great works of literature and giving people the chance to read books they may not ordinarily be exposed to,” said Cait.

“The students here were really keen to become involved in the scheme and I’m hopeful that they will continue to pass the books on to friends and family to enjoy in the future.”

The staff chose The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness and Judge Dredd: The Dark Judges by John Wagner.

Featured image caption: International baccalaureate student Jordan Graham, 17, displays her free book alongside college staff  members and World Book Day donators Cait Orton, Melanie Jones, Patricia Nicholls and Helen Berry