Latest news from FE Week

Movers & Shakers: Edition 558

Afghan learner and artist among London adult learning awards finalists

A former ESOL student from Afghanistan and an artist who rebuilt her life through adult learning are among this year’s finalists in the Mayor of London Adult Learning Awards.

Laila Sardar and Elise Harrison are among those shortlisted for the annual awards which will be held at City Hall on 12 November.

Sardar arrived in London in 2009 speaking little to no English. She enrolled on an English for Speakers of Other Languages course (ESOL) at West Thames College, progressed to beauty therapy and hairdressing qualifications, then returned to study health and social care. She now works with vulnerable people in hospitals and homes.

Sardar has encouraged her sister, who also moved from Afghanistan to the UK, to enrol on an ESOL course at the college.

“Studying at West Thames College changed my life,” Sardar said. “I hope my sister will have the same opportunities that education has given me.”

Harrison joined Westminster Adult Education Service in 2023 while rebuilding her life following alcohol dependency. She has since exhibited and sold her artwork, secured an internship and found a job supporting people affected by substance misuse and mental health difficulties.

“Adult education has changed my life. It has shown me that it is never too late to start again,” she said.

Another finalist, Laila Hussain Shah, went from having little confidence in her English or digital skills to becoming a care worker after studying with Urban Care Community. She was promoted to team leader within four months and now helps train new recruits.

Among the tutors shortlisted is City Lit’s Alex Thomas, who leads a percussion orchestra for adults with learning disabilities. The orchestra, which works with the Royal Academy of Music, performed at last year’s awards ceremony.

Westminster Adult Education Service’s Adam Walker is recognised for developing an immersive learning room where adults with special educational needs can practise everyday situations.

Fellow finalist Ali Kanu, a welfare and safeguarding officer at the same service, helps learners access support from housing, healthcare and community organisations.

New award announced

This year there is a new award for participation and excellence in higher education, while the outreach and engagement category has been widened to recognise organisations working in housing, health and other community services.

The new higher education category includes London South Bank University Group, recognised for routes from college into degree-level study and work, and the University of East London’s information, advice and guidance service, which supports more than 4,500 Londoners a year, including mature and ESOL learners.

Other finalists include housing association Peabody, which has supported more than 270 apprentices since 2023, and Teen Action, which works with education providers to help Charedi women access adult learning.

Since the awards began in 2022, they have attracted more than 1,000 nominations and recognised over 90 winners and finalists.

This year the awards received 205 nominations across 10 categories, recognising learners, tutors, non-teaching staff, employers and education providers.

Films featuring previous winners will be shown at this year’s ceremony.

Last year’s winners included Syrian refugee-turned-business student Hamzeh Mouallem and Ukrainian refugee-turned-ESOL tutor Iryna Hura.

Ascentis is the lead sponsor, with educational charity and technical and vocational awarding organisation NCFE joining for the first time this year. FE Week is the media partner.

Ministers urged to tie more apprenticeship funding to achievement

A larger share of apprenticeship funding should be withheld from training providers until apprentices complete their programmes in a bid to boost achievement rates, the Sutton Trust has suggested.

Currently, 80 per cent of the agreed training cost of an apprenticeship is paid through monthly instalments during delivery, with the remaining 20 per cent paid at the end of the programme.

Social mobility charity Sutton Trust today proposed rebalancing the timing of payments for large training providers so that “greater weight” is given to apprenticeship completion.

A possible alternative would see 70 per cent paid during delivery and 30 per cent at completion, the charity said, arguing that this could give providers a stronger incentive to focus on achievement and training quality.

However, the Sutton Trust acknowledged that changing the payment balance could affect providers’ running costs. It called for a consultation involving training providers, employers, apprentices and other stakeholders to explore the benefits and drawbacks.

Simon Ashworth, deputy CEO and director of policy at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), warned that moving more funding to completion would be a “huge mistake”.

“It encourages recruitment to focus on those who are most likely to complete, not those furthest from their destination, so that would be self-defeating,” he added.

“If anything, providers need funding at the start to reflect the real cost of onboarding and supporting learners, not more money withheld until the end.”

‘Tick-box’ training accusations

Moving more funding to completion was among a series of recommendations in a Sutton Trust report, ‘staying the course’, which explored why young people leave apprenticeships before completing them and how achievement rates could be improved.

Fewer than two-thirds of apprentices currently complete their programmes, with the rate even lower among those in the most deprived areas.

The national apprenticeship achievement rate has, however, risen from 51.4 per cent to 65.4 per cent in three years. In March, work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden said he would “like to see achievement rates reach and exceed 70 per cent in the coming years”.

Drawing on interviews with 317 apprentices aged 18 to 30, including 100 who had dropped out, the Sutton Trust report said weak line management, a disconnect between workplace duties and off-the-job training, workload pressures and disjointed programme delivery were common problems.

The research was based on qualitative interviews and is not nationally representative. Sutton Trust said its findings were intended to illustrate apprentices’ experience rather than provide statistical estimates.

Apprentices told researchers they were often left to manage the relationship between their employer and training provider themselves, including flagging diary clashes and trying to make their training fit their work.

The charity also pointed to financial pressures, including low apprenticeship pay, living costs and travel expenses.

Some apprentices described training as a “box-ticking” exercise – leading researchers to criticise online training mostly delivered by independent training providers. The report said remote provision can offer flexibility, but warned that poor-quality online learning and sporadic tutor contact can leave apprentices isolated.

The Sutton Trust repeated its call for apprentices to have a minimum requirement for face-to-face off-the-job training – a recommendation first made in another report by the charity last year called ‘a world of difference’ – as well as clearer rules on what counts as off-the-job training and stricter enforcement.

‘The real issue is affordability’

Other recommendations from the charity included a call on Skills England to introduce a fully funded, optional line-management training unit for small and medium-sized employers taking on young apprentices.

It also wants apprenticeship brokerage services, which are funded with £240 million in 14 mayoral strategic authorities, to be available to all areas of the country.

Ashworth said apprenticeship completion depends on an apprentice remaining in work as well as the quality of training, adding providers already operate within a highly regulated system of inspection and accountability.

“Overall quality of apprenticeships is in a good place; the real issue is affordability,” he claimed.

“Providers would love to provide more in-person support, but funding bands have struggled to keep up with inflation, and popular programmes for young adults such as level 3 business administrator have not had a funding increase since deployment in 2017. Here lies the real challenge that the report does not grasp.”

A government spokesperson said: “Apprenticeships remain one of the most effective routes into a good career, with achievement rates increasing 14 percent points over a three-year period to 65.4 per cent.

“We have worked to further strengthen the apprenticeship system, including introducing changes to the funding rules to ensure they support high-quality training for all apprentices.

“We have robust measures to ensure training providers deliver a high standard of service and support apprentices effectively.”

What we learned from Powell’s first education committee hearing

Education secretary Lucy Powell made her first appearance before the House of Commons education select committee today.

Here are six things we learned…

16-19 devolution ‘no big bang’

Devolution of 16-to-19 education funding, announced by prime minister Andy Burnham over the summer, will be gradual rather than “one big bang” across the country, Powell said.

She added that post-16 education already lacks a “universal offer” and that ministers are working on how to ensure there are clear lines of accountability across a “very patchwork and fragmented” system of local government.

Powell was answering Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, who asked how the government will ensure devolving 16-to-19 education funding does not create a “postcode lottery” given that areas including her own constituency are “only at the very beginning of a journey” to becoming a mayoral strategic authority.

The education secretary said the aim of the reform is to get “game changing results” by linking up local delivery, with employers and labour markets while ensuring that their performance is “underpinned” by national expectations, outcomes, qualifications and pathways.

She added: “Every young person, no matter where they live, should have a guarantee of a college or post-16 place, and to do what they want to do.

“So, this won’t happen in one big bang, this will be something that we work through.

“Yes, there’ll be some trailblazing areas that are more ready to go that want to join this more up in a holistic way.”

Further details on exactly how mayors will be handed control of 16-to-19 funding is expected to be included in the ‘Rewiring the State’ delivery plan, due to be published “before the end of the year”.

Reform Ofsted’s ‘data-driven’ approach

Changes to the new Ofsted framework could include reforming the “secure fit” requirement that is leading to “an entirely data driven approach” to inspections.

In recent weeks, Ofsted has faced school union votes of no confidence in its boss Martyn Oliver over concerns that the new framework has failed to adequately reduce pressure on staff being inspected.

Powell said ministers are in “ongoing conversations” with Ofsted about how to “get trust back in the system” following concerns that elements such as the secure fit model are leading to harsher grades for schools in areas with higher levels of deprivation or SEND students.

Under the secure fit model, colleges and schools must meet each standard in an evaluation area to be awarded that grade.

The education secretary said: “What has actually happened is that context can be a penalty, rather than what it should be, which is a professional judgement, understanding what a school is trying to do.

“So I think the idea behind the framework originally was to create more consistency, and I think the balance between creating some consistency in judgments versus it being entirely data driven and not actually having the inspector judgment on it, that balance isn’t right at the moment.

“That’s what we need to get right.”

‘Rocket boosting’ 14-16 in colleges

Ministers want to put “rocket boosters” under partnerships that improve technical education opportunities for 14-to-16 year olds.

This could include colleges giving nearby schools access to their construction facilities, as well as handing mayors, local leaders and businesses a role in shaping local technical education pathways.

Powell said this should come alongside “a wider piece” of introducing new vocational GCSEs, which will be higher quality than current tech awards, and ensuring new and existing “practical” GCSEs such as computing and drama have “a lot more practical assessment”.

The education secretary said: “We will work with schools on delivering these qualifications.

“But a key part of it is also working with the mayoral authorities, where there is a mayoral authority to link up with local employers, to link up with FE colleges who are actually quite keen to to help you know use their facilities.

“I also went to a school near Preston recently, where students there do a day a week in a college on these kind of courses as well.

“Those partnerships have evolved and grown organically, and we want to put some rocket boosters under that.”

A ‘few pointers’ from NAO delaying accounts

The DfE’s annual accounts are at least three months late because the National Audit Office (NAO) gave officials “a few pointers” to work through.

Powell said there are still “some ongoing discussions” between the department and the NAO’s audit team, but that the accounts’ publication date is “fairly imminent”.

Responding to committee chair Helen Hayes’ second request for a reason on the cause of the delay, the education secretary said: “I don’t think there’s any cause for concern. As I say, I think there were just a few pointers there that needed to work through.”

Powell added: “I will absolutely make sure that’s fed back and that that doesn’t happen in the future.”

Quals should be marked by humans

Students’ work should only be marked “by the human eye” because artificial intelligence can “exacerbate prejudice”, Powell said.

As a result, the DfE will be designing new technical qualifications with “practical assessment in practical subjects”.

Ofqual’s boss Ian Bauckham has previously said written coursework will face more scrutiny to prevent AI-fuelled subversion of assessment”.

However, he has also said that while AI makes mistakes and reflects biases, it also has “enormous potential” to improve efficiency, cut costs, and increase accuracy in assessment.

Powell told the committee: “Ofqual are really clear, as am I, that awarding of qualifications and marking really should be done by the human eye, because otherwise you can exacerbate prejudice and exacerbate sort of some issues and in awarding of those.

“So, you know, alongside having more practical assessment and practical subjects, practical assessment in practical subjects.

“We will be raising the game in terms of that teacher assessment piece to make sure that there’s real rigour in the system.”

‘Ongoing dialogue’ on college VAT

The education secretary has “very strongly” made representations to the Treasury about uneven VAT rules that mean FE colleges pay more in tax than schools or academies, she told the committee.

Hayes repeated the committee’s concerns that VAT rules causing colleges to pay millions more in tax than schools and academies is “an inequality” that the government should be working to change.

But Powell said VAT and taxation “are matters for the Treasury”.

She added: “I have ongoing dialogue – very regular dialogue – with the Treasury about a whole range of issues.

“But rest assured I make my representations very strongly.”

Colleges have long voiced concerns about the millions more they pay in VAT compared to schools and academies, which are exempt from the tax.

But appeals by colleges and the committee have repeatedly been rebuffed by the Treasury.

A murder trial changed my career – and how I see education

Before the pandemic, around 60,000 children were being home-schooled. By 2024, that had risen to nearly 112,000.

Many vulnerable teenagers never returned to school; authorities lost contact with families who moved during lockdown or whose children turned 16.

I see these young people every day in my role as head of alternative provision at Shooters Hill Sixth Form College. It came about after a 20-year career teaching and managing a performing arts department in FE.

I had been randomly selected for jury service at The Old Bailey. I tried to get out of it by saying I was a teacher and in the middle of exams, but this request was denied by the Judge. The case lasted four months. Four young men, all under 18, were charged with murder. Three of them were home schooled.

By the end of the trial I had changed. I could no longer go back to teaching acting, I needed to do more – a lot more, as it turned out.

In August 2024, Geoff Osbourne, principal, and Dan Berbeck, assistant principal of Shooters Hill sixth form set about creating the first home school department in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

With a new sense of purpose, I applied for the role as head of alternative provision. The role allowed me to work and support registered elected home educated children aged 14 to 16 who were disengaged from mainstream education or home schooled by choice. Nothing could have prepared me for the mishmash of characters who came for interview.

Cat had dyed blonde hair, lashes and jewels in her fake nails. Despite her worldly look, she was only 14. Somehow, she’d gone through the school system without anyone noticing she could not read or write. During our meeting her mother spoke non-stop; she had been in prison for a petty crime a few years ago, which left Cat in the care of her dad.

Clive, 15, had been on bail since he was 12. The crime was unclear – it was either being next to a knife or near a person with a knife. He lived with his grandad two nights a week, his mum three nights and his dad the rest of the time.

Dean, who looked like he was 30, full beard and a hard stare, arrived with his mum and a social worker. He had initially been removed from school for his own safety, then the entire family had been re-located and were now staying in a safe house.

Not all the cohort had backgrounds like theirs; some pursued Latin, played the violin and had parents who taught or paid for private tutors. All were lacking in friendship groups, avoided eye contact and social interaction.

There were also many whose parents were key workers in the police, NHS and social services, who had not returned to school after lockdown due to anxiety and fear of the new world we now live in.

I was given the opportunity to build a new school for these children, where they could thrive and make new friends as well as take their GCSEs in English, math and biology.

I set about finding teachers who were not the norm. I needed to create a space that did not look or feel like an institution: I also needed a budget for trips, visits, speakers and experts in art, music, sports, storytelling and outdoor activities.

We took care of their social and communication skills and built relationships with each child. We met them at the college gate, and stayed with them all day in lessons and break times. It was exhausting; we were a small team of two in the first year, and no downtime or breaks were factored into our days. Most of the cohort had anxiety/mental health issues and were also neurodiverse.

We quickly expanded as demand for places was high, so I was given resources for more teachers and classrooms.

Participation on an enrichment programme became a prerequisite for staying in the programme. The EHE students were offered a conditional place in the sixth form if they completed the programme; this allowed them time to transition into the mainstream college before the new students arrive, allowing them time to try out a subject before enrolling.

It’s now over two years since we started. We have 100 students enrolled, and progress is better than I expected. We also have over 100 EHE children waiting to start their educational journey with us. We have a dedicated block of classrooms, a student hub filled with games, bean bags and a place to relax, and we are growing our own team of teachers, teaching assistants and mentors.

Our retention rate is 98 per cent and progression into Shooters Hill or another FE provider is 100 per cent. Over the past two years every child has sat their GCSEs. It makes no difference to me the grade, although one EHE learner got the highest grade in the college for maths. The most important thing is they all turned up and gave it their best shot.

This is not an article to harp on about the realities of mainstream education.

This programme goes to show what a goal of working with the needs of the community and local context can do for young people.

These young people are not unable to learn; they do not fit into the mould of mainstream education and are being left behind. Programmes like these are what is needed across the UK.

These young people have been through a global pandemic throughout a key stage of their development, and we will continue to see the ripple effects of this for years to come. Hopefully, more programmes like this will help these young people get back on track. We know that no two people are the same. So why do we expect all young people to learn the same way?

Don’t let the pursuit of rigour undermine vocational reform

For too long, vocational education has risked being talked about as an alternative to the academic route rather than a valuable pathway in its own right.

Things are now shifting; In July, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain must ‘value the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation cap’, and education Secretary Lucy Powell has been equally clear that every young person should be able to see a route to success, whatever their talents or ambitions.

But parity cannot simply be declared. If vocational pathways are to command the same confidence as traditional academic routes, the qualifications underpinning them must have the quality, rigour and relevance to make that ambition a reality.

That also means addressing the complexity that has developed within post-16 vocational education.

Over time we have seen different qualifications, of different sizes and levels, offered by different awarding organisations.

Compare that with the relative simplicity and widespread understanding of A Levels and it is perhaps unsurprising that vocational routes can be more difficult for learners, parents and employers to navigate.

That complexity may also have made it harder for vocational qualifications to command the recognition they deserve.

Reform therefore provides an opportunity for greater clarity and consistency.

At its heart should be a simple principle: a qualification should not merely demonstrate what somebody has learned. It should help them take the next step.

That might mean progression to further or higher education, an apprenticeship, further occupational training or moving directly into employment. Our qualification system needs to recognise that rather than attempting to force everybody down the same pathway.

This is where the emerging suite of qualifications, including V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates, has the potential to make an important contribution.

They form part of a wider attempt to create clearer pathways through post-16 education while maintaining the choices learners need.

Increasing the rigour of vocational qualifications is important if we want learners, employers and the wider education system to have confidence in them. But there is an important caveat.

Reform has real consequences for the colleges and other centres that will ultimately deliver these qualifications.

Some proposed changes to qualification design, particularly around external assessment and assessment by examination within V Levels, will create additional pressures for centres.

That message has come through clearly in our conversations with the sector.

There is widespread support for high-quality vocational qualifications and ensuring they command the confidence and recognition they deserve. But colleges are operating in an environment where capacity and resources are already under considerable pressure.

Changes to assessment and delivery have resource implications that need to be understood.

We have seen similar issues through our experience of qualification reform in Wales. Many of the same messages are now being heard from post-16 providers in England.

The real test of reform, however, will be what it means for learners.

A successful post-16 system cannot simply offer a wide range of qualifications. Learners need to understand where those qualifications can take them.

For some young people, A Levels will continue to provide the right route. For others, a technical or vocational pathway will be better suited to their talents, interests and career ambitions. Neither should automatically be regarded as more valuable than the other.

What matters is that qualifications are high quality, recognised and capable of opening doors.

That also means ensuring vocational qualifications have genuine occupational relevance. Employers need confidence that learners progressing into their sectors have developed appropriate knowledge and skills, while learners need confidence that the time and effort they invest will help them progress.

Collaboration between awarding organisations, employers and education providers is therefore essential.

At Eduqas, our approach is based on co-construction, bringing employers into the development process so qualifications reflect the realities of industries and occupations.

We can build on sector relationships, similarly to those developed through our work on T Levels, while colleges and lecturers bring the equally important perspective of understanding learners and what it takes to deliver qualifications effectively.

There is also a much bigger economic issue behind these reforms.

Across the economy, employers continue to talk about skills shortages and difficulties recruiting people with the capabilities they need.

Qualifications cannot solve those challenges on their own. But they are an important part of the answer.

Eduqas is particularly well placed to contribute to that challenge.

We are one of a small number of awarding organisations with experience spanning A Levels, T Levels and Applied Generals. Through WJEC, we also bring recent experience of significant qualification reform in Wales.

That gives us an understanding not simply of individual qualifications, but of the whole learner journey and how different qualifications need to work alongside one another.

We will bring that experience to the development of V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates, while continuing to listen to employers, colleges and lecturers.

If, in the years ahead, young people can look at post-16 education and see clear, respected routes into further study, training and employment, with vocational education regarded as a positive first choice rather than a second option, then this reform will have achieved something significant.

Teaching English is the easiest part of my job

The final ESOL assessments have been marked, class trips to zoos and museums have gone well, all that remains is a few class parties and tidying up our desks. A time to reflect and take stock.

How do I actually feel after another demanding term in an FE ESOL department? Frazzled, burned out and emotionally empty. With over 60 students under my care, 90 per cent of them being refugees and asylum seekers, the emotional load of getting these students to the finishing line is becoming more and more difficult.

Teaching English is a fraction of the workload. Yes, planning and delivering lessons and administrating and marking assessments is a huge task, but the difficulties of managing 60 complex people in a classroom day in day out is far more gruelling.

One student’s serious health condition is worsening by the day. She is almost obsessive in her quest to learn English before her health goes completely. Stressed by her mission to complete as much of her education as quickly as possible, she is frequently overwhelmed by her life. A lot of my time this year has been spent listening to her and trying to help her find support from the complex routes into local authority care and charities in a language that is not her own.

Another ESOL student, who went through extremely traumatising events before arriving in Scotland, continues to experience mental health difficulties and is frequently hospitalised, citing his sleeplessness and terrifying dreams as the main reason he does not attend classes every day. Despite this, he works tirelessly at home on his English and has become one of the fastest learners in the class.

A third student experienced multiple bereavements while separated far away from her family. She has been broken ever since but through sheer determination has managed to complete her course with the support of teachers, classmates and a fantastic college wellbeing team.

I have not even begun to mention the atrocities that our Sudanese students have witnessed. Often, they have families back home facing murder, rape and hunger every day. Contact is patchy or not available. Sometimes, when a student is worried about whether a parent is safe or whether a visa application will be approved, learning about the present perfect continuous can seem like an almost absurd inconvenience.

However much they try to forget their past, students bring their memories and trauma into the classroom. Add on to that adapting to a new culture, temporary accommodation problems, the labyrinthian visa application process and isolation from lack of English language and you have a perfect storm.

Our wellbeing department helps, as do outside agencies who do their best to support and carry the most vulnerable. But the truth is the system is struggling to cope and many fall through the cracks.

Teachers are not trained counsellors, psychiatrists or social workers. We do not have training in how to manage sustained exposure to trauma or maintain healthy boundaries. Yet we are the ones on the front line, who see vulnerable students every day and notice when they don’t attend or are out of sorts. Individually they are a heavy weight to bear, as a cohort it is a burden that many teachers carry into their personal lives.

The term ‘compassion fatigue’ is often cited around nurses and doctors but increasingly teachers are finding the phrase fits for them too. There are days when I cannot stop thinking about a particular student. It could be a snippet of a conversation about a relative in danger or a student expressing suicidal feelings. These thoughts do not disappear after the classroom door closes.

The problem is that caring is not an option in ESOL classrooms. Most of the time our compassion is what helps a student achieve and integrate into society. It takes time to build relationships and trust with these students, who have often been let down in many institutions before ours. So if we suddenly withdraw our care, it can have devastating consequences. And yet if we become too emotionally involved, we risk exhaustion.

Alongside this, teachers are under pressure from college management to meet targets and ensure that students progress through the system in a timely fashion. This creates complications as most of our students are dealing with significant life problems. Their progress in not linear and often takes longer than timescales allow.

Teachers find themselves caught between what is right for the individual student and the expectations of the educational institution. With spaces limited and demand hugely outstripping supply, long waiting lists create extra pressure on teachers to move students through the system and make room for those still waiting for a place. This adds another layer to teachers’ emotional burden.

Finding the balance is crucial. We have to support and listen and advise but also realise that we cannot solve every problem for people going through what may be one of the hardest periods of their lives. It is imperative that we create a safe space for people to learn and grow. That is not measurable on a spreadsheet and it often goes unnoticed.

So, as I pack my files away and think about how exhausted I am, I understand that it is not only because of the lessons, planning and marking but the emotional load of carrying people whose lives are so much more complicated than my own. Every qualification earned is a testament to the students’ resilience and determination. But it comes at a cost. Acknowledging the emotional burden carried by ESOL lecturers is not a sign of weakness. It is simply an honest reflection of what the job has become.

Why we’re bringing employers into education earlier

For centuries, university has been the more traditional and default destination for young people, with vocational education seen as the ‘alternative’. We need to broaden the conversation around what success after school can look like, with vocational and technical education such as degree apprenticeships offering valuable alternatives to a university degree. This is particularly important as more young people than ever are showing an interest in these types of qualifications.

By working closely with schools, sixth forms, colleges and universities, we can help young people understand the full range of routes available to them – from apprenticeships and higher technical qualifications such as HNCs, HNDs and HTQs, through to degree-level study.

So, why is there such a significant mismatch between what employers need and what young people are learning in school? And, why are young people hesitant to venture into construction careers when there is such a desperate need in our local economy?

Largely, the issue comes down to a widespread misunderstanding of the opportunities available in practical industries. Construction offers some of the clearest and quickest routes into well paid, meaningful careers, with fields such as digital and AI, green construction and heritage skills becoming increasingly important within nationally significant infrastructure projects.

Once qualified, construction professionals are also much more likely to start their own businesses and employ others as a result. But many people are simply unaware of the breadth of opportunities available in practical careers.

As the Construction Technical Excellence College (CTEC) for the East of England, West Suffolk College was one of just 10 colleges selected to take part in a £100 million national government-backed programme to transform the quality and perception of construction education.

An employer-first curriculum

A distinguishing feature of our curriculum at West Suffolk College is that learning isn’t aimed towards employment once students finish with us. It is co-designed, co-created and co-delivered by employers throughout our students’ journeys in our education group’s schools, from primary age onwards.

Rather than leaving employment to simply just the traditional careers fair, we work with employers to offer work experience opportunities and shape all learning from our skills content to our equipment, delivery methods and assessment approaches. Once our students leave, our employer partners offer a range of progression pathways where they can build on what they have already learned. The result is a talent pipeline that meets local employer needs, with students building relationships with businesses long before they complete their studies.

Exploring a world of opportunities

The construction industry extends far beyond the ‘classic’ roles. Digital construction, robotics, infrastructure skills and modern construction methods are exciting and rapidly expanding sectors at the cutting edge of the UK’s economy, while sustainability or project management roles might excite young people wanting to drive the bigger picture.

Heritage crafts like thatching, flint knapping and stained-glass restoration might sound outdated, but they are in high demand. They play a critical role in conservation efforts and are key to the net zero restoration of a number of different types of buildings. To recognise this, and to ensure that we produce qualified experts to all the industries that sit under the umbrella of construction, we have made them a key pillar of our educational provision.

Building the future

For too long, we have measured success through a narrow academic lens while overlooking the practical skills that build our roads, homes and nationally significant infrastructure projects, restore our heritage, drive innovation and power economic growth.

There are signs, however, that this is beginning to change. The government’s recent announcement of new V Levels, including a potential Building and Construction pathway from 2029, is recognition that young people should have the opportunity to develop practical and technical skills alongside a strong academic core. That is a welcome step, but we also need to continue to strengthen links between education and employers, giving young people the chance to understand where these skills can take them.

We should ask ourselves a simple question: are we preparing young people for the world as it is, or for the world as we imagine it ought to be? If we are serious about tackling skills shortages, reducing youth unemployment and building a more resilient economy, then practical, employer-led education must become the central part of our national education strategy.

Philip Le Feuvre named new NCFE chief executive

Awarding organisation NCFE has appointed Philip Le Feuvre as its new chief executive, alongside two other senior leadership changes following the death of David Gallagher.

Le Feuvre, currently chief operating officer at the awarding organisation, will take over from Gallagher, who died in July. Gallagher had led the education charity since 2019.

Kris Todd, chief financial officer, has been appointed to a new deputy chief executive role, retaining his existing finance responsibilities.

Janine Oliver, currently director of product and standards, will become chief commercial officer in another newly created role.

All three will take up their new positions on 9 November. The appointments were confirmed by NCFE’s board of trustees following a competitive internal recruitment process.

Le Feuvre joined NCFE as chief strategy officer in 2020 before becoming chief operating officer.

A former primary school teacher, he previously worked in PwC’s strategy team in London and Sydney, advising clients across education and employment.

He said it was a “privilege” to lead NCFE into its next chapter.

“NCFE has an extraordinary heritage and a powerful charitable purpose. Our ambition is to build on those foundations, embracing change, innovation and new partnerships to extend our reach and impact,” he said.

“Above all, I want to make sure we stay focused on the people we exist to serve, helping more learners develop the skills, confidence and opportunities they need to succeed.”

Todd joined NCFE in 2015, having previously worked at the college group NCG.

He said his priorities would include “growth and diversification”, embedding innovation and technology in NCFE’s work, and exploring ways to extend its reach in the UK and internationally.

Oliver, who became director of product and standards in 2023, has more than 20 years’ experience in education, skills and workforce development, including a previous role at Skills for Health.

Her newly created position will focus on product development, customer relationships and sustainable commercial growth.

Deborah Jenkins, chair of NCFE’s board of trustees, said the appointments marked a “transition into a new era”.

“This has been a challenging year for NCFE, irrevocably coloured by the tragic loss of David, but it has brought out the remarkable strength and resilience of our workforce, not least the executive team, who have led the organisation with great skill and compassion without losing any focus on quality,” she said.

“We will never forget David, but I am confident that he would have been as delighted as I am to entrust the organisation he loved so much to the leadership of Philip and Kris and the new configuration of our talents.”