FE Guild countdown picks up pace

The latest stage in the development of the proposed FE Guild is “going to be difficult” to complete in such a short pace of time, according to the independent chair of the guild’s steering group.

A formal consultation has begun, and will run until Friday, February 22,  leaving providers who want to contribute just three weeks to respond.

David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, who chairs the steering group told FE Week: “I don’t underestimate that it’s going to be difficult and the time we’ve had to pull together the consultation document has also been really short. It would have been lovely to have another week, 10 days longer, but we haven’t got that time.

 a six-week consultation might have been better than three or four.”

“Right or wrong, the decision by government to announce the end of funding for the Learning and Skills Improvement Service has pushed the timetable very tight.”

He added: “I don’t think a 12-week consultation would have necessarily been better, but a six-week consultation might have been better than three or four.”

Following the informal consultation, which ran online and through consultation events between November and January, Mr Hughes said he was hopeful of a strong response from the sector.

“I suspect it will take up two to three hours of somebody’s time but I think it’s an important issue so I think a lot of people will take that time and make that effort,” he said.

“I was surprised we got more than 400 responses to the small online consultation – I didn’t expect to get many as it was around Christmas time, nobody really knew what the guild was, and there wasn’t really a proposition for people to respond to.”

Many respondents to the initial consultation raised questions about what the remit of the guild would be, and 42 per cent admitted they were unsure until they knew more.

Mr Hughes said he hoped the consultation document would provide clarification, but the guild would be shaped by the consultation and beyond.

He said: “The consultation isn’t the end of it, it’s to establish what needs to go into the implementation plan, and part of that has to be saying ‘how do we carry on engaging with people and properly understanding what people want through the life of the guild?’

“If the guild gets established it will want to carry on refreshing its understanding and meeting the needs of the sector so we think the consultation is really a chance for hundreds of people to come and give their views.”

He added: “When I started out just two and half months ago I wasn’t convinced it was necessarily the right thing, but now I’m more and more convinced we need something and that there’s a gap which needs to be filled, and I’m more and more convinced there’s a will to make it work among people who have engaged so far.”

And with just three weeks for the consultation, Mr Hughes called for input. He said: “I hope we get people being realistic about engaging with the document, trying to understand what we’re suggesting and being constructive with their feedback.”

Visit www.feguild.info for more details.

AoC in India supplement preview: Colleges make New Delhi move

A host of UK colleges are hoping a new initiative in India will allow them to capitalise on their FE expertise. A number of senior management members made the journey east for its launch and were joined by FE Week editor Nick Linford and reporter, Shane Mann.

On first hearing that 30 FE colleges were to have a permanent presence in India I was intrigued. I asked myself, is there not enough of a challenge educating learners and supporting employers during tough economic conditions in the UK? Why use precious resources chasing contracts in unfamiliar countries, where many have tried and failed before?

And was Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector for Ofsted, right to ask in his first speech to FE colleges, if international work is a distraction from the urgent need to raise the standards of teaching and learning for our own learners?

My next question was whether it was worth the time and financial cost of flying to India with FE Week colleague Shane Mann to find out. That was easy to answer — yes.

AoC [Association of Colleges] India is an important development in FE. It is a story we couldn’t possibly do justice to from our office in London.

For this reason, we have produced a supplement, in partnership with NOCN, on the development. It starts by introducing you to the colleges taking part (31 at the time of going to print), each one investing £20k for a two-year membership to AoC in India.

From left: FE minister, Matthew Hancock, Asha Khemka, principal of West Nottinghamshire College and Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, speaking at the opening event

We then introduce you to Sannam S4, the consultants with the contract from AoC India to be the eyes, ears and representatives on the ground.

Next up comes interviews with the chair of the group, Asha Khemka OBE, and project director John Mountford.

Further education Minister Matthew Hancock was also visiting India seeking opportunities, learning about India’s plans to train half a billion people by 2022 and, as a Parliamentary cricket team member, quite reasonably taking a spectator seat for the one-day international between England and India in Changralat.

We were granted an exclusive interview with the minister en route the official launch party for AoC India, held at the UK High Commissioner’s residence in New Delhi.

As reported in the last edition of FE Week, AoC in India is by no means the first nor the only FE college venture into the Indian education market.

What struck me was that by clubbing together the colleges have chosen a relatively low risk form of investment. The use of an Indian market entry specialist firm makes a lot of sense. Sannam S4 is well-placed from New Delhi to quickly spot a good opportunity from an unrealistic or poor one. They have also already made impressive headway in arranging meetings with the relevant Indian agencies.

The challenge now will be not just to convert ambition into returns on investment, but also dealing with the tricky operational and strategic issues, presumably familiar to all new partnerships made up of competing businesses.

I also attended the official opening of New College Nottingham’s International Lifestyles Academy, to which its East Midland parent college is contributing curriculum design and quality assurance.

Finally, as for my most unexpected experience in India? That was being invited to stay for dinner after the AoC in India launch and being told by the ambassador’s wife that the apples in the crumble were a gift from the King of Butan.

From left: Martin Binns, Bradford College, Ronnie Todd, Bradford College, David Taylor, New College Durham, Natalie Warren-Green, Highbury College, Sanjeev Ohri, Dudley College, Manjeet Kumari-Lal, Walsall College, Nicole Barber Westminster Kingsway College0, Myrtle Northage, Warrington Collegiate, Sally MacPherson, Havering College, Rosy Banwait Burton and South Derbyshire College

All new twitter guide – in partnership with NCFE

Click here to download the Twitter guide pdf (11mb)

Intro to the guide:

Love it or loathe it, Twitter is seemingly everywhere. Across the globe last year, there were an estimated 500 million users.

From Joe Bloggs and the guy who runs the local chip shop, to Hollywood celebrities and multinational corporations, more and more go on there by the week.

So what is Twitter and why should you sign up?

To many, it looks like another social networking fad similar to MySpace — and let’s be honest, keeping on top of your e-mails is bad enough, right?

The main thing to know is that you’ve got just 140 characters to say what you want on Twitter.

And what you say with those characters is posted for all to see, unless that is, you’ve made your Twitter account private.

However, the assumption in the pages that follow is that you want to communicate publicly and for your tweets to be seen by all.

It really is that basic in essence — write something and hit enter.

On top of that you can choose to follow users to see what they’re saying, what conversations they’re involved in and who they’re following. Likewise, other users can do the same to you.

This simple website has revolutionised the way millions of people discuss, organise and market themselves.

If you’re a college, sixth form or any other kind of FE body or professional, now is the time to jump in and take advantage.

Others in the sector have already done so, including FE Minister Mathew Hancock, a host of college principals, lecturers, provider directors and staff and key organisations such as the National Apprenticeship Service and the Skills Funding Agency.

Creating an online debate has never been easier thanks to Twitter. Are you considering whether or not to scrap a particular subject? Or do you want to know what other people think of the latest fee policy? A quick tweet and you could have a large selection of people telling you what they think. With the right use of hashtags (don’t worry, it’s covered inside), it’s the perfect way to take a quick reading of public opinion, or even join in with the latest discussions trending (again, don’t fret – see inside) worldwide.

Best of all, it’s free. The only resource it uses is time – and even that, it’s arguable, is a small price to pay considering the business and public service opportunities it offers.

Still getting stuck? Then watch our handy video guide below.

Government acts on ‘conflict of interest’

The government has set up a Skills Funding Agency-led review to look into the issue of potential conflicts of interest where awarding organisations also deliver education, FE Week can reveal.

Ofqual, the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) are also on board in a task and finish group set up to look at joint ownership.

It was set up following a BIS Select Committee report on apprenticeships in November that said the government should look “critically upon this serious issue [joint ownership].”

“We accept that the practice of joint ownership is not unusual but learner experience is key and should not be put in jeopardy by conflicts of interest,” said the committee report.

Ofqual was already investigating the issue and a spokesperson said last year it would be “saying more about our thinking in due course”.

If necessary, sanctions can be put in place to ensure provision and the brand is not compromised”

However, the government’s response to the report said the agency would also be investigating.

“A task and finish group is being convened which is being led by the SFA and will include Ofqual, NAS and BIS,” said the government response, issued on Friday, January 25.

“The work will start with a review of those awarding organisations, predominantly, where there are instances of vertical integration with a training arm in order to understand what protocols and, if necessary, sanctions can be put in place to ensure provision and the brand is not compromised.”

The 11-month select committee review of apprenticeships recommended a host of changes, including “closer scrutiny, careful monitoring or even complete reform”.

It called for an “overarching government strategy and clear purpose for the apprenticeship programme,” along with a “formal” definition of apprenticeship.

It recommended a simplified funding system and a review of profit levels among training providers.

“The apprenticeship programme needs clarity, oversight and, in these straightened times, to demonstrate that it is providing value for money,” said committee chairman Adrian Bailey MP.

“There are many areas that require closer scrutiny, careful monitoring or even complete reform.”

The government said it agreed with many of the committee’s recommendations and had taken action, including asking entrepreneur and former Dragons’ Den investor Doug Richard to look into apprenticeships.

His findings, published in November, would be looked at, said a government spokesperson, and a consultation on implementing his recommendations would launch in the spring.

The spokesperson further said government strategy on apprenticeships was clarified in the 2010 Skills Strategy — Skills for Sustainable Growth and 2011 New Challenges New Chances.

“With a small number of specific exceptions, all apprentices must be employed, and working towards the completion of a recognised apprenticeship framework,” they said.

The apprenticeship system had also been made clearer, they added, with an apprenticeships website (www.apprenticeships.org.uk).

“The system helps individuals to understand apprenticeships better and search through vacancies,” said the spokesperson.

“It also enables employers and learning providers to advertise vacancies to a wide range of applicants.”

They added: “The agency and NAS monitors all aspects of the take-up and quality of apprenticeships and will continue to take action to ensure the apprenticeships offer meets the needs of employers and learners.”

Meanwhile, the committee’s call for government to take a more “active approach” to reviewing profit levels among providers elicited a positive response.

“The agency collects the annual financial statement of training providers as part of its risk management processes,” said the government spokesperson.

“Training providers may derive their income from different sources, however, where those financial statements imply that profits derive from agency programmes are unusually high, the agency will review delivery with the training provider to establish whether there is any risk to the efficient use of funding.”

‘Gifted’ student’s videogame to be turned into a franchise

A media student who taught himself computer programming was “shocked” when technology giant Sony wanted to turn his game into a franchise.

Liam Cozens, 17, who studies BTec media production at Canterbury College, spent a year putting together his 3D downloadable game Robots: Extreme Wars Live.

His game was inspired by the TV show Robot Wars, which ended in 2004 and where contestants pitted homemade robots against each other in an arena full of hazards.

Robots: Extreme Wars Live allows players to relive the game this, battling robots of different shapes and sizes in a variety of arenas.

Liam said: “Funnily enough, I’m not much of a gamer but I did watch the Robot Wars TV show when it was on and played some of the spin-off games. I decided to see if I could make a better version myself and that was how I got started.”

When the game was finished, Liam approached the website for Roaming Robots, a touring spin-off of the TV series.

The website producers had wanted to develop a game for years, and were impressed by Liam’s version.

The game was launched for PCs and Macs in October and has proved popular, but Liam never imagined this was only the beginning.

Much to his surprise, Sony contacted him to say they were interested in developing the game for other platforms, meaning Liam could see his game being played on Sony’s multi-million selling console, PlayStation or the PSP handheld device.

He said: “I was shocked when Sony got in touch. When I was making the game I thought it might make a minor impact and then
fade away.”

Sony has also asked him to continue developing the game, creating extra levels which can then be downloaded by players.

The interest from Sony was surprising for Liam as he’s never done anything like this before. In order to create the game, Liam first had to teach himself how to write computer programmes from scratch, using books and internet tutorials.

“Just learning the basics of programming took me two months,” he said.

Following the success of his first game, he is now considering specialising in game development as part of his BTec.

Zoran Tesic, head of Canterbury College’s media department, said: “This is excellent and we are very proud of Liam’s achievement. He is currently studying a creative diploma and is thinking about specialising in games development next year.

“We are excited to work with such a gifted and motivated student and that we are able to help him progress in his education and push his games development skills and career even further.”

Visit www.roamingrobots.co.uk to find out more about Robots: Extreme Wars Live.

SFA chief visits new development

Musically-minded Midland students met the boss of UK adult learning when she dropped by to see college developments first hand.

Kim Thorneywork, Skills Funding Agency interim chief executive, visited West Nottinghamshire College to see how work was progressing on a £24m revamp, including a state-of-the-art centre for creative arts and digital technologies called Create.

She also spoke to students, staff and governors at several college sites across Mansfield and Ashfield.

Ms Thorneywork said: “I’m incredibly impressed by the progress the college has made in refurbishing and rebuilding its estate.

“West Notts College has a very clear vision for its future. It’s got a clear focus on what it is doing for local employment and its communities and is absolutely driving forward on these agendas.”

The college’s Kirkby-in-Ashfield-based construction academy came in for special praise, described by Ms Thorneywork as having “a real buzz”.

She added: “There are many young people learning excellent skills there and I was very impressed.”

Principal Asha Khemka OBE said: “It was an honour to show Kim how we’re investing in new buildings and high-quality facilities to enhance the learning experience.”

Hairdressing student is streaks ahead

An award-winning young London stylist has been given the chance to show she’s a cut above the rest by passing on her skills to younger students.

Croydon College hairdressing and beauty therapy student Hannah-Corrine Patterson, 19 and from Brockley, was chosen to run workshops for Year 11 youngsters at Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls, in Surrey, after winning a college award for commitment to learning.

The five-week program of hairdressing-related learning activities was designed to engage younger students with vocational training, as well as allowing Hannah-Corinne to gain teaching skills.

She said: “When I first started I was very nervous, but over the weeks I built up my confidence and I now don’t want it to end.

“The pupils have really come a long way and I am very pleased to have had this opportunity.”

Priceless industry insight for learners

Young musicians and producers were all ears when top music industry experts gave talks as part of a two-day networking event at a London college.

MTV music editor Lindsay Wesker, Choice FM DJ Dave VJ and world music artist Najma Akhtar spoke to music and media students at Kensington and Chelsea College about the changing face of music, their own careers and how to get ahead in the industry.

Lindsay told students they needed a strong knowledge of music, its history and how record companies worked and to make sure as artists they were offering something different.

Meanwhile Akhtar urged them to broaden their horizons by exposing themselves to music from different cultures.

Paul Hall, the college’s head of music and media, said: “It is a real privilege to have such well-known and respected names from the industry take time out to meet the next generation of talent.

“Our students not only had the opportunity to network with our influential guests, but also gained the kind of advice you just can’t put a price on.”

Celebs drop in for Walsall fashion week

A Midland student bucked the trend by becoming the first at her college to put on a fashion week.

Chloe Adcock, a business student at Walsall College, came up with the idea after staging a few smaller fashion shows for a local clothes store. She teamed up with fellow student Dermot McNamara and the pair successfully hosted a six-day charity event featuring catwalk shows, style advice, hair and beauty demonstrations and an exhibition of vintage fashion, plus celebrity guest appearances.

Chloe, who has also set up her own modelling agency, said: “I eventually want to go into event management and this is a great way of getting work experience.

“I also realised that there has never been an event like this in Walsall so thought it would be a great way to bring the community together and showcase the talent of young local designers.”

Fashion students from the college styled models backstage and showed visitors how to customise clothes while funds were raised for a different charity each day including Acorns Children’s Hospice and Action for Children.