Gemma Knott, policy and communications officer, 157 Group

“The worst thing that could happen to me is for someone to say that I didn’t try hard enough,” says Gemma Knott, the 157 Group’s policy and communications officer.

A self-confessed “geek,” she loved reading and writing from an early age and excelled academically. But there were few role models on Northfields estate in Leicester where she grew up.

“There were low aspirations, a lot of people living on benefits and struggling with money, and once you’re on an estate like that, it can become a vicious cycle; you don’t broaden your horizons and it gets harder to escape.”

While her own ambition, and her parents’ support, undoubtedly had a role to play in her educational success, Knott says she also benefited from the Aim Higher scheme, an initiative developed under the last Labour government, which aimed to encourage young people from deprived areas to consider higher education.

This gave her the opportunity to go to open days and summer schools at various universities – including Oxford, where she was later selected for interview. Although she learned a lot from the process, it was a “very daunting experience,” she says.

“I am an ambitious person, but I still felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb at the interviews.

“Talking to the other applicants – and this might sound judgmental – they did sound like they were born with silver spoons in their mouths; they weren’t just comparing grades, they were comparing 100 per cent scores. There was a very competitive edge to everything.”

While her Oxford application was unsuccessful, Knott was offered a place to study history at Warwick University. And while her parents – a forklift truck operator and an administrative clerk – were supportive of her aspirations, they did worry about her getting into debt.

I have to pinch myself sometimes with the people I get to talk to”

“No one in my family had ever been to university – not many of them even own their own houses – and in that kind of culture there is a fear factor about owing money,” she says.

Among the first cohort of students to see tuition fees rise from £1,000-a-year to more than £3,000-a-year, Knott says she can empathise with prospective students (who, from September, will have to pay up to £9,000-a-year) who are fearful of debt. “When you’re from that kind of background, you don’t want to spend any more than you earn.”

Determined not to be a financial burden on her parents, from the age of 16, Knott held down numerous part-time jobs, including several stints as a tour guide at Buckingham Palace. In the final year of her degree, she got up at five in the morning to do a cleaning job at the university.

“I think my housemates thought I was crazy, when they heard the front door closing at 5am,” she recalls. “I got the 2:1 I wanted but, when I look back, I wonder how I did it.”

While she admits she “could have slowed down at bit”, juggling education and part-time work stood her in good stead when it came to finding her first job, she says.

“I made so many friends, I networked and I earned my money and learned the value of a hard day’s work. When I worked in a call centre, I learned how to listen and all those other soft skills employers really want… it’s amazing how many people are clever and have qualifications that don’t have that.”

After graduation, Knott had set her sights on a career in law, but a short-term temping job – covering for the PA to the principal of Warwickshire College – changed everything.

I’m always looking for the next strategic challenge in FE and I have got so many ideas whirring around in my head”

“It was never my choice to go into the education world but once I started work at Warwickshire College, I loved it,” she says. “I saw how hard-working and how innovative FE staff are, and I loved the buzz and the atmosphere at the college and how forward-thinking it was.”

Landing her current job at the 157 Group – less than a year after graduating – is the best thing that has ever happened to her, she says.

While there is no “typical week,” her job can involve anything from writing press releases and policy briefings to having tea at Number 10.

“I have to pinch myself sometimes with the people I get to talk to, but at the same time I have to keep myself grounded because I have to bear in mind it is all about the learners,” she says.

“You can’t get carried away, having tea and wining and dining in the House of Lords, because you have to remember you are there primarily for the learners and the agenda of the membership.”

Knott admits she is her “own worst enemy” when it comes to workload and is so full of ideas, she sometimes ends up working around the clock to get things done.

“I have so many ideas and I guess I have an advantage with my age and not being out of university that long, which means I can empathise with learners and what their problems are.

“It is a busy role, but I do make time for other things as well.”

Whatever role I do, for me it will just be a blessing to stay in the sector”

After taking up running just a year ago, Knott recently completely the Paris Marathon, raising £800 for the Stroke Association and is already considering training again for another long-distance run in the future.

At 23, she is relaxed about her future career plans, although she would like to remain involved with the FE sector. What continues to drive her is her aspiration for all young people to have the chance to fulfil their potential, she says.

“I like the policy and communication side of things, but whatever role I do, for me it will just be a blessing to stay in the sector. I’m always looking for the next strategic challenge in FE and I have got so many ideas whirring around in my head – as long as I am in the sector I will be really happy. I guess it all comes back to what education has done for me; I want to make sure that all learners have access to the same kinds of opportunities.”

But she “would be lying” if she said didn’t ever feel she was taken less seriously by colleagues in the sector because of her age. “I have often felt that when I walk into a room of one of these national groups ‘Hmm, she’s a bit of a whippersnapper,’ but in a way that’s my own insecurity and I think people judge you on your outcomes.

I hope that I have now gained a voice at the table and that my age is no longer a reflection of my abilities.”

FE should learn ‘employment truths’ from welfare-to-work

The relationship between further education, the world of work, and local economic development is at a crossroads. With over one million young people unemployed for the first time, FE colleges are now in a unique position to revolutionise how they support learners’ migration from training into gainful employment.

The Wolf Review suggested we shift the focus from “the accrual of qualifications” to “employment outcomes” and this is the clear direction of travel for government. New funding streams have been opened up for colleges that train jobseekers, and colleges will begin experiencing funding outcomes related to a progression into employment. Additionally, the increase in apprenticeships and other incentives in the Youth Contract to boost youth employability all point to the pivotal role colleges must play in reversing the youth unemployment trend.

As FE principals consider the new role their institutions will play in getting young Britons working, there are three “employment truths” FE can borrow from the welfare-to-work sector that will boost employability outcomes and put their college on the front foot in tackling youth unemployment.

Qualifications matter much less than attitude
Our research into the value of vocational skills and apprenticeships found employers and young people recognise that securing meaningful work in today’s economy requires training beyond earned qualifications, namely an increased focus on employability or “soft skills”.

Communication skills, organisational skills, time keeping, team work and motivation are ranked as more important than qualifications achieved by the young people and employers we interviewed. FE colleges are well placed to incorporate these softer skills into the student experience. Learners must leave FE with not only work-ready qualifications but armed with a work-ready attitude.

Local economic growth relies on specific skill development
When an employer plans to invest in new manufacturing or distribution facilities, there is a long-term vision, looking at the likely labour market skills to support the business not in 2012 but in 2015, 2020 and beyond. FE institutions should also take a similar long-term approach when developing and marketing their course offering.

This requires better access to labour market intelligence, something colleges can achieve through more collaboration with their Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) or Chamber of Commerce. Colleges that trade in popular, but low need vocational skills (for instance media or hairdressing courses) for less well-known, but potentially more sought after skills (like process engineering and green construction) demanded by local entrepreneurship, will produce graduates with the training and qualifications that will help them secure sustainable employment.

Matchmaking and networking are critical to recruitment success
Mentors and professional role models build young people’s confidence, passion and experience, all critical factors for securing work in the current jobs market. Equally, local employers, with limited resources to recruit, benefit from access to a pool of skilled, passionate young employees. Working with LEPs or Chambers of Commerce, colleges can align local business services to effectively join up an “employer offer”.

Existing digitally or through traditional jobs boards and networking, colleges must increase employers’ engagement with learners before the official job search begins. Learners can build employability skills through industry master classes and mentoring schemes that give them access to successful local individuals and SMEs.

Colleges needn’t go it alone when it comes to placing employability at the heart of their student support. Collaborating with one another and working in partnership with organisations that have strong track records in addressing employability needs and securing job outcomes will provide FE learners with the additional career support necessary to secure a foot on the job ladder in a challenging labour market.

Whether through an outsourced or tailored model, colleges that set employment-outcomes at the heart of their operations will not only empower young people to build lasting careers, but prove their contribution to a competitive labour market ready to compete in the global economy of the 21st century.

Mike Lee, Head of Skills and Young People, Working Links

Shaping apprenticeships the Australian Group Training way

Before we look at shaping the future, I’d firstly like to look at the past by sharing some history behind the Australian Group Training model. Group Training in the Australian landscape involves organisations legally employing apprentices across many occupational sectors and, in turn, placing them with a host employer. The Group Training Company essentially manages all the associated paperwork, payroll, taxation requirements, effectively cutting bureaucracy out of the employment of an apprentice.

Group Training evolved in the early 1980’s when industry leaders in the construction and automotive sector developed industry groups to drive this unique and flexible apprenticeship employment model for their sector. The concept was largely developed in response to the needs of small businesses when these individuals found staffing difficult given the unpredictable nature of their operations and work patterns.

By 1990 there were close to 90 Group Training companies employing around 11,000 apprentices. Today in Australia, there is more than 180 Group Training Companies legally employing in excess of 50,000 apprentices, making the Group Training network the single largest employer of apprentices.

In England, this Group Training concept is known as an Apprenticeship Training Agency or ATA. The full capacity of the model is yet to be demonstrated in England having only been piloted since 2009. It must be understood that this agency model is a business that grows very organically as it seeds apprentice commencements, but should not be underestimated as for the opportunity it presents to small businesses that traditionally haven’t employed an apprentice. Another major function of the agency model which should not be overlooked is the structured support to apprentice learners.

Apprentices employed through the agency model have the ability to be placed with multiple host employers during their apprenticeship, which enhances learning experience and develops deeper applied knowledge and skills. If we explore completion rates of an agency employed apprentices in Australia, typically we find successful completion rates are quite higher than traditionally direct employed apprentices. This is due to the quality structured recruitment process that agencies and Group Training provide, particularly for the small business sector that have limited resources and are unfamiliar with recruitment procedures.

The other key element that supports successful completion rates for agency employed apprentices is the solid pastoral care framework that apprentices and host employers receive. The Apprenticeship Training Agency is effectively an impartial third party that monitors the workplace performance of the apprentice, host employer and training provider or college attached to the relationship.

Smaller businesses in England that we currently work with have embraced the employment model, seeing it as the way to assist with the procurement of an apprentice and reducing the associated burdens that are perceived with apprenticeships.

Although there are similarities between England and Australia’s employment and apprenticeship systems, there are naturally many variations. The Australian apprenticeship programme is heavily subsidised by Government, providing employers and Group Training Companies with incentives; in addition to funding associated training costs. Government incentives can assist in reducing some wage associated costs, including training downtime for employers and, if applied in an ethical manner, can reward good employer behaviour.

In light of recent media coverage on quality of apprenticeships we feel confident the agency model can, and will, provide a long-term solid structured safety net to all stakeholders. If we revisit the Australian Group Training model, many organisations are required to operate with eight National Standards for Group Training Organisations, which essentially underpins the operation and are audited by Government State or Territory Training Authorities (STAs). STA’s are responsible for compliance, audit evaluation, including an independent audit program to ensure compliance with the National Standards for Group Training Organisations.

We are optimistic as to the future of apprenticeship training agencies in England and strongly feel that, as the model matures, it will demonstrate success for all parties; apprentices, host employers and local communities.

Ashley Langdon, Chief Executive Officer,
IMPACT Apprenticeships

College redundancies and restructures

Staff from Gateshead College protest over pay cuts and increased working hours.

As the economic downturn continues to put pressure on the sector, staff at FE colleges up and down the country are increasingly facing the prospect of redundancy.

In the last few weeks, a wave of institutions have revealed plans for potential redundancies in a bid to cut costs following the loss of government income; some colleges have been hit by up to 12 per cent.

But as figures revealed last week show the country slipping into a “double-dip” recession, the threat, according to the University and College Union (UCU), is showing little sign of letting go any time soon.

Barry Lovejoy, national head of further education at the UCU, said that around 50 colleges are undergoing consultations on possible job cuts, affecting potentially 500 jobs, as well as changes in work conditions.

Some changes, he says, include “how far a teacher can progress” and their pay scales being reduced to slash wage bills.

He also added: “I would anticipate that over the next couple of weeks that it will increase to other colleges.”

However, Mr Lovejoy is “unsurprised” by the news. He said: “Colleges didn’t get their final allocations until the Easter period which shows up where they are in cash terms.

“The big picture, as I understand it, is that there’s around a seven to 12 per cent cut in terms of loss of income to colleges.

“It does vary. The amount will vary on a college’s historical position and on where its main focus of work is, adult or under 19, and there’ll be different combinations of that.

“Plus, another impact is the removal of the education maintenance allowance as that has had an impact on student numbers, which has a knock on effect on whether they can get the numbers they required.”

Just days before the start of the Easter break, Sunderland College announced it intends to make 36 people redundant as part of a bid to save £2.26 million in 2012/13.

The cuts have also led the college to review job descriptions for all teaching staff with a proposal to put in place a number of pay bands, with a formal consultation already underway.

Angela O’Donoghue, principal of Sunderland College, said: “Due to government funding cuts, we have been required to undertake a review of our staff job descriptions and department structures to ensure that we can continue to deliver excellent education for our students.

“This extensive work has concluded the need to change both. Regrettably the impact of these cuts has meant the changes we need to implement will lead to 36 redundancies.”

However, they insist that the level of service to students and customers will not change.

The principal added: “The college’s vision has always remained the same despite the tough times in which we operate.”

Although no job cuts or redundancies have been announced at Gateshead College, plans have been shared with teaching staff to “transform the way they deliver the curriculum, to improve students’ experience and ultimately their job prospects”.

However, the move has led to industrial action by UCU members, who staged a demonstration two weeks ago outside the college, after claiming the college intends to cut teachers’ pay and increase working hours.

Richard Thorold, principal and chief executive of Gateshead College said: “The proposal involves the introduction of a new staffing structure for the teaching workforce.

“It does not involve any compulsory redundancies and there will be job opportunities for everyone affected.

“If we are to address the issues of youth unemployment and help stimulate the growth of our regional economy, we need to ensure that people leave our college with qualifications but also with a unique set of skills that make them highly employable, effective in the workplace, or in creating their own start-up businesses.

“Developing and implementing new and innovative curriculum models and skills sets is vital if we are to achieve this.”

Peterborough Regional College has begun a consultation over plans to introduce management and organisational changes in the area of Curriculum and Quality.

The plan could affect around 60 staff in management, support and administrative posts at the college.

The big picture, as I understand it, is that there’s around a seven to 12 per cent cut in terms of loss of income to colleges”

A college spokeswomen said: “Many staff will simply transfer into very similar roles in our new structure; a number will need to apply for the new jobs we are creating that replace a larger number of existing roles.

“As we consult staff we hope to ensure the numbers of jobs lost overall will be small and we will seek to make changes through voluntary methods where possible.”

Budget savings from the plans could equate to approximately £240,000, with some of the savings being “reinvested into teaching hours”.

More significant, say the college, will be improvements to the service they provide as a result of the changes.

Angela Joyce, principal and chief executive at the college, said: “We would not be making these changes unless we thought them to be essential.

“The changes will ensure we can meet the enormous challenges faced by all FE colleges and continue to meet the needs of our students and employers in the years to come.”

Meanwhile, at the start of April, it was revealed by Chesterfield College that they “estimate 80 redundancies” across the institution.

Acting principal Trevor Clay said: “Chesterfield College has to act now in order to future proof the great service we provide to thousands of learners, employers and communities each year by bringing our costs in line with the funding we receive and the income we can generate.”

He added: “Our excellent track record of recruiting and delivering high quality education and training has, until now, enabled us to avoid the need for regular restructuring that many other colleges undertake.

“Currently 70 per cent of our expenditure is made up of staff costs and whilst every effort will be made to reduce non staff costs and wherever possible grow income it is, we regret, inevitable that posts at the College will be lost.

“Our estimate is that 80 redundancies, spread across all areas of the college, are required and it is hoped to reach this figure by staff electing for voluntary redundancy.”

The news from the college has been met with dismay by the UCU, who are balloting their members over the plans.

However, a consultation on similar proposals made by the College of West Anglia (CWA), which could result in net job losses of up to 19 staff, is due to close next week.

The college needs to make efficiency savings of £1.6m in 2012-13 to address reduced government funding and enable it to fund major building projects in King’s Lynn and Wisbech.

The proposals announced are designed to make savings of £400,000 in staffing costs and £1.2m in non-pay costs. The college employs around 800 staff and the posts which could be lost mainly affect non-teaching staff based in King’s Lynn.

The proposals include the closure of residential accommodation for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities at Plaxtole House in King’s Lynn and the closure of the Pulse8 fitness centre.

Principal David Pomfret said: “We are in the middle of a well-publicised period of public sector funding cuts which is affecting colleges across the country.

“CWA is also undertaking major redevelopment with new technology centres in King’s Lynn and Wisbech and a major refurbishment of the nine-storey tower block in King’s Lynn. We need to make budget savings of £1.6m in the coming year and, although we are planning to deliver the major part through reductions in non-pay budgets, we also need to take tough decisions which inevitably affect jobs.”

Elsewhere, Stockton Riverside College is facing a £1.3 million cut in government funding for the next academic year.

A consultation is underway which could see 25 posts affected by measures including voluntary redundancy.

Dr Sujinder Sangha OBE, the college’s principal, said: “This is compounded by a rise in National Insurance and pension costs, which means we expect to have £1.5m less to spend next year. Colleges across the UK and locally are facing a similar situation.

“As a direct result of this, we expect around 25 teaching and support posts to be affected. This does not equate to 25 people losing their jobs. We have met with staff as soon as we were aware of the scale of the cuts, so they were as prepared as possible. Some have expressed an interest in voluntary redundancy, reduced hours or job share options.”

He added: “Our main focus at the moment is on supporting staff and also seeking ways of minimising the impact of these cuts on students, so their studies will not be affected.”

Karen Sutcliffe, the college’s UCU branch chair, said: “We are disappointed that government funding cuts are resulting in more job losses at the college.

“We are having regular meetings with senior management to minimise the effect on staff as far as possible.”

Finger pointing as MPs criticise value for money at Morrisons

Geoff Russell, CEO of the Skills Funding Agency points to David Way, CEO of the National Apprenticeship Service, at the BIS Select Committee, chaired by Adrian Bailey

Members of the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee have criticised the poor value for money offered by retail apprenticeships.

MPs questioned David Way, interim chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) and Geoff Russell, chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) about the scheme delivered at Morrisons during an evidence session held at the House of Commons last week.

Ann McKechin MP said: “We have taken evidence from Morrisons, one of the major providers of apprenticeships in this country, and they stated on the record that they would have carried out this training anyway, the only issue was the issue of certification of their employees.

“For which the UK taxpayer spent £40 million in the last tax year; do you consider that to be value for money?”

Mr Russell said the apprenticeship programme at Morrisons did offer good value for money because it offered employees better training and the “kitemark” of a nationally recognised qualification.

“The bit we paid for – and we pay far less for that sort of service than we did for the full training of a young apprentice coming in for the first time – represents an important part of upskilling the existing workforce, which is the single biggest strategic skills weakness the UK has,” Mr Russell said.

Adrian Bailey MP, chairman of the Committee, said: “It would seem that a lot of money is being spent in an area where at best, the benefits, the overall economic benefits are not obvious.”

Geoff Russell said: “That is a legitimate challenge, but I think we’re clear that there is value.

“It is important to recognise that this is a programme led by employers, it’s a market, and we could if we wished say we will not fund retail apprentices.”

Mr Bailey said while he agreed that the apprenticeship programme was led by employers, it was “funded by the taxpayer” and still needed to represent good value for money.

The NAS interim chief executive replied: “A clear influence on the return for the investment made in public money depends on the individual employer and the way in which the apprentice is then either stretched and supported – otherwise the attitude is you’ve done your apprenticeship and it’s business as usual.

“So with an employer like Morrisons, which takes its training development so seriously, you would expect to get a better return than what you would in some other employers, who put people through a retail apprenticeship but don’t extract the full value by giving that apprentice post training the opportunity to develop and grow and get further training.”

Adrian Bailey MP, chairman of the Committee, said he was “astonished” by the £23.8 million awarded to Elmfield Training in 2010/11 to deliver apprenticeships at Morrisons “before it had even been assessed by Ofsted.”

“What sort of judgement or criteria did you make this decision?” Mr Bailey asked the SFA chief executive.

“We award monies to companies that have demonstrated that they can deliver successfully,” Mr Russell said.

“That’s how the system works.”

Mr Bailey later asked Mr Russell why the SFA had awarded Elmfield the extra money without “any assessment or evidence to demonstrate that this was value for money”.

“Well we don’t do a value for money assessment as part of our day to day business awarding money,” Mr Russell said.

Ofsted grades continue to fall for 157 Group colleges

Further education colleges should be judged on all aspects of their work and not just those in an Ofsted inspection, according to a membership body.

The 157 Group, which represents 27 large and successful colleges, believes contribution to the social and economic community served by a college should also be measured, as well as those by the education regulator.

It comes in the wake of analysis by FE Week of the Ofsted inspections of the colleges within the 157 Group over the last two years.

Since the start of 2010, five of the 10 body’s colleges which have been inspected have dropped by one grade or more. The grades for three colleges have stayed the same, while one – Highbury College Portsmouth – has increased.

The final 157 Group member inspected in the last two years, The Manchester College, had never previously been inspected.

Lynne Sedgmore, chief executive, said: “The 157 Group are proud of all of our colleges and the powerful contributions they make to our society and economy.

“While Ofsted can provide an important snapshot assessment of that part of an institution’s work it inspects, we are clear that any inspection results – be it Ofsted, QAA or other – whilst important, are only a partial reflection and cannot fully demonstrate the full range of high-quality activities undertaken by a large urban college.

“Nor can they offer a fully rounded criteria for truly successful, large and diverse colleges.”

She added: “The 157 Group is actively supporting national policy development and working with partners to raise the quality of teaching and learning and inspection processes.

“We are developing improved ways, beyond Ofsted’s current understanding, to measure a college’s broader contribution to the social and economic communities it serves, reflecting the increasing emphasis placed by government on accountability to users.”

The chief executive also backed Lewisham College for their “outstanding provision not inspected by Ofsted” after an inspection, published this month, which graded them as ‘satisfactory’. When last inspected, the college was graded ‘outstanding’.

We are no worse than in the inspection in 2009, but the criteria has changed and the measurement has changed and Ofsted has changed.”

Maxine Room, principal at Lewisham College, blamed the college’s retention of students as a key issue, but insists the college is still successful.

She said: “Of course we were disappointed when we feel we have very good work going on and the achievements of our learners are very good.

“We are a successful college. Our achievement is 80 to 100 per cent so it’s the retention issues particularly. We are working hard on that.

“Sometimes the difference between 80 and 85 is just one of two students in terms of retention, so it’s around the margins.”

She also added: “We are still a successful college working well with our learners. We are no worse than in the inspection in 2009, but the criteria has changed and the measurement has changed and Ofsted has changed.”

The college also said while the assessment “compares extremely favourably within the sector”, they recognise they have “areas where improvement is needed” and the “drive for excellence continues relentlessly” for learners and the community.

The report shows that although the college’s outcomes for learners, quality of provision and leadership and management were all ‘satisfactory’, their grades for safeguarding and equality and diversity were both judged ‘good’.

In a statement, the college added: “We are committed to a culture of entrepreneurialism and our first group of young entrepreneurs has just taken part in stage one of our joint entrepreneur programme with the London Borough of Lewisham.

“Our plans for merger with Southwark College are progressing, making this one of the most exciting periods in our history despite being in challenging times.”

For a round-up of college inspections since the introduction of the Common Inspection Framework in September, click here.

Pearce re-elected for a second term

Toni Pearce has been re-elected in a landslide victory to the office of vice president further education for the National Union of Students (NUS).

The result was announced this afternoon following a ballot of Further Education delegates at the NUS National Conference in Sheffield.

Pearce was elected in the first round of voting, securing 127 of 199 votes.  Her opponent Jamil Keating received 69 votes and “re-open nominations” three.

Speaking during the election’s hustings earlier today, Pearce said: “NUS must move forward with our narrative of a fair, high quality tertiary education system for all, based on parity of esteem between academic and vocational, supported by genuinely independent information advice and guidance and properly funded by the state.”

Sandwich artist questions tabled by MP

Questions have been raised over apprenticeships offered by a fast-food chain.

Dudley MP Ian Austin is demanding answers after it emerged that Subway are offering £2.60 per hour for a role as a ‘sandwich artist’ in the Black Country.

Mr Austin said the apprenticeship was advertised by Job Centre Plus and an identical job in Dudley was advertised earlier this month.

He has asked the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) to investigate.

Although the MP has put questions to government over the issue, apprenticeships at Subway were first put in the spotlight by FE Week last month.

Mr Austin said: “I want to see every youngster in full-time education or proper training and I want to see more apprenticeships.

“Schemes must give apprentices the skills and experience they need to advance their careers and they have to have proper training. They call it an apprenticeship but there doesn’t seem to be much training and it says it’s permanent.

“I’ve asked the National Apprenticeship Service to look into the apprenticeships Subway are offering to see if they are genuine apprenticeships or simply a means to pay young staff below the minimum wage.”

In response, a spokesperson for Subway said they offer “a comprehensive training programme for all its team members”.

The spokesperson added: “Each franchisee candidate is required to complete formal training and sandwich artists are trained on customer service excellence, food quality and health and safety procedures.

“Although Subway stores do not operate a nationally accredited apprenticeship scheme, individual stores or franchises may pursue their own scheme in their local area.”

When asked by FE Week whether they would be conducting an investigation into Subway, a NAS spokesperson said they could not comment due to purdah.

However, the spokesperson added: “The NAS is clear that all apprenticeships should offer employment, significant new learning and a nationally recognised qualification, and represent value for money in public spending. The Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England and actions to drive up quality will ensure every Apprenticeship meets rigorous standards.”

Leicester College principal is AoC’s president-elect

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has announced that Maggie Galliers CBE, the principal of Leicester College, is their new president-elect.

She will succeed the current AoC president, Fiona McMillan, on August 1.

Maggie said: “Colleges are the backbone of the education sector and offer programmes of a breadth and depth which is second to none.

“I see the AoC as crucial in helping colleges navigate the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and, to that end, I’m a member of the AoC’s Reputation and Urban Colleges groups.

“It will be an honour to serve as AoC president, a role to which I will bring all my energy, commitment and passion for celebrating and advancing further education.”

Maggie Galliers, who will be AoC’s fifth president, has been at the helm of Leicester College since July 2002.

Before that Maggie was Principal of Henley College Coventry for five years, having previously held a wide variety of management positions in further education and having taught in all education sectors: primary, secondary, further and higher.

She is currently a member of the Ofqual Board, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) Board and the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s (HEFCE) Teaching Quality and Student Experience Committee.

In the past, she has also been a member of the Apprenticeship Task Force, the FEFC Quality Assessment Committee, the Quality Improvement Agency Board, the National Learning and Skills Council (LSC), and the LSC’s Young People’s Learning Committee.

She was appointed a CBE for services to local and national further education in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2009.

The office of President was established in 2007 to further enhance AoC’s work in representing and promoting colleges, following a strategic review of the association.

AoC’s chair, John Bingham, said: “It’s very gratifying, and testament to the value our members place on the presidency, that Maggie Galliers has decided to put herself forward for the position.

“I’m certain that her calibre and the high regard in which she is held by those in the sector, together with her demonstrable, unbounded enthusiasm and commitment to FE, will only benefit our members and the students they serve over the forthcoming year.”

Martin Doel, AoC chief executive, added: “All at AoC look forward to working with Maggie as President. Having worked with her in many fora, and knowing of her outstanding achievements at Leicester College, I am certain that she will bring great wisdom and energy to the role.”

Current AoC President, Fiona McMillan, said: “I’m delighted that Maggie will be my successor. I know that she is as passionate about the sector as I am and that she will be an excellent ambassador for colleges. She has a great deal of experience to bring to the role. I look forward to working with her in the run-up to handing over in July.”