Latest news from FE Week

Blue Sky shines as first apprenticeship provider judged ‘exceptional’ for inclusion

Blue Sky Assessing & Consultancy has become the first apprenticeship provider to be rated ‘exceptional’ for inclusion under Ofsted’s report card framework.

The independent training provider, now branded Diverse Futures, was awarded the top grade for the judgment area following a full inspection on 18 August, with inspectors saying its approach had a “sustained and transformational impact” on disadvantaged apprentices and those with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Ofsted said inclusion was “a defining feature” of the organisation, with staff using detailed onboarding, cognitive and skills assessments and ongoing coaching to identify apprentices’ starting points and barriers.

This information is then used to provide personalised support, which is regularly reviewed and adapted as apprentices become more confident and independent.

Inspectors found that apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities achieved at least as well as their peers and frequently achieved higher grades.

The provider also offers targeted coaching, specialist resources and workplace adjustments, with employers reporting that these interventions substantially improve apprentices’ confidence, resilience, communication and ability to take on greater responsibility.

Ofsted praised Blue Sky’s work-readiness programme, which draws on research and expertise in literacy, mental health and employment to tackle barriers to successful employment.

The provider also identifies care-experienced apprentices at onboarding and has staff with appropriate expertise to coordinate support when required.

Inspectors said Blue Sky goes beyond its own provision by sharing its inclusive approaches with employers, schools, charities and other organisations.

The provider received a ‘strong standard’ judgment for leadership and governance, achievement, curriculum and teaching, and participation and development.

Blue Sky had 211 apprentices at the time of inspection, with its largest programmes being level 4 associate project manager, level 2 customer service practitioner and level 3 HR support.

Its overall apprenticeship achievement rate was 86 per cent in 2024-25, compared with 65 per cent nationally.

The provider was acquired by its current owners in January 2025.

Ofsted said the new leadership team had substantially strengthened its strategic, governance and quality arrangements since then.

CEO Keith Conway said: “Diverse Futures is really proud of its staff, employer customers and other partners who have worked so hard to achieve outstandingly successful career starts for its apprentices.

“We are really pleased that Ofsted has judged our inclusive approach towards young people from diverse backgrounds – who often need special or additional needs support – with an unprecedented ‘exceptional’ standard and how this focus is not at the expense of our fantastic achievement rates.”

Ofsted said apprentices made “very good progress” from their starting points and achieved very well, with outcomes consistently strong across almost all programmes.

The report noted that many apprentices achieved distinctions, while those from disadvantaged backgrounds often performed particularly well.

Ofsted’s new inspection framework, which uses the five-point scale of exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention and urgent improvement, defines ‘exceptional’ as practice that is “among the very best nationally” and from which other providers can learn.

Only a handful of FE and skills providers have achieved the top grade so far for inclusion, including adult education provider Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association and employer provider BAE Systems.

Blue Sky was the first independent apprenticeship training provider to achieve the feat.

Another ITP – Crosby Aviation Training Limited – also received an ‘exceptional’ Ofsted grade today, this time for its curriculum and teaching of apprentices.

‘Football scouts for apprenticeships’ scheme to be expanded

Local apprenticeship brokerage services led by mayors are to be expanded across England, with chancellor John Healey announcing an extra £100 million for the scheme.

The services, which aim to connect young people with apprenticeships and persuade more employers to take on apprentices, are currently being piloted in eight mayoral strategic authorities with devolved adult skills funding.

Ministers last year allocated £140 million from the apprenticeship budget to fund the pilot.

But speaking at the Labour Party conference today, Healey said “every mayor will have the chance to do it”, with the expansion funded by £100 million in “savings” from the Department for Work and Pensions.

He described the investment as a “downpayment” on Alan Milburn’s final review into young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), which is due to be published in the coming weeks.

Under the scheme, mayoral areas are testing new approaches to supporting 16 to 24-year-olds, particularly those who are, or are at risk of becoming NEET.

The aim is to increase apprenticeship starts and completions by helping young people find opportunities and encouraging employers that have not previously recruited apprentices to take them on.

Healey described the approach as “football scouts for apprenticeships”.

He said: “Today, I want to announce a down payment on Alan Milburn’s work, a local apprenticeship service, expanded to more places, led by mayors and targeted at these young people.

“Delivering thousands more apprenticeships, with local teams, a bit like football scouts for apprenticeships, who will go to local firms that have never taken on a trainee and say, ‘we’ll help you do it’.”

Healey added: “They’ll go to the youngsters who’ve been out of work and say, ‘we’ve got a place for you’.

“Led by mayors, because it’s the mayor that knows their areas best. They know which firms are hiring, they know which colleges are delivering, and they know which estates have been left behind. That’s what devolution means.

“We had planned to start in a few areas. Now every mayor will have the chance to do it, backed by an extra £100 million, fully funded by savings from the DWP.”

The Treasury later confirmed that the funding will be available to all 14 existing mayoral strategic authorities with directly elected mayors from spring 2027.

The funding will be spread over two years, but it is unclear whether the additional £100 million will come from the apprenticeship budget, as the original £140 million pot did.

A Treasury spokesperson said next month’s budget will set out details showing how the apprenticeship brokerage expansion is “fully funded by savings found by the DWP”.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith addressed the expansion at a fringe event following Healey’s speech.

She said the government wanted to see “a much stronger role at a regional and local level” in helping businesses develop apprenticeships and linking individuals with available opportunities.

“That’s where we want to see that much bigger role, and that’s where the money is being devolved,” she said.

“I think it’s a really exciting opportunity actually to develop that service.”

The 14 areas with regional mayors in England:

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
East Midlands
Greater Lincolnshire
Greater Manchester
Hull and East Yorkshire
Liverpool City Region
North East
South Yorkshire
Tees Valley
West Midlands
West of England
West Yorkshire
York and North Yorkshire
London

Healey to ‘rebirth’ Union Learning Fund five years after axe

The government will “rebirth” funding for union learning advisers five years after it was cut by the Conservatives, chancellor John Healey has announced.

Healey confirmed today that unions will soon be handed cash for the Union Learning Fund (ULF), in his speech at Labour’s national conference.

It is understood that around £15 million a year has been set aside for the programme.

He said the scheme will be help workers in England “harness artificial intelligence”.

Speaking at the conference, Healey said: “Today, I’m also announcing the rebirth of the Union Learning Fund, set up by Labour, abolished by the Tories, now re-established by this Labour government.”

“I’m proud of the fact that last time, 180,000 workers every year got new training through that fund, and we’ll do that again.

“Better skills, better prospects for British workers because of the decisions taken by this Labour government and conference.”

The ULF was launched by New Labour in 1998 to encourage training uptake in partnership between employers and unions, but it was cut by former Conservative education secretary Gavin Williamson in 2021.

Funded via the then-Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the ULF paid unions including the Trade Unions Congress to work with employers, employees and learning providers to encourage greater take up of education.

It mainly did this by funding union learning representatives (ULR) to give workers advice, guidance and support to help study and upskill via training that is already publicly available.

Spending on the fund peaked at £21.5 million per year between 2009 and 2012, with ULR advisors credited with getting over 233,000 learners back into learning in 2009-10.

At the time it was cut, the Conservative government said the £12 million per year spent on ULF would be re-directed to the National Skills Fund and Lifetime Skills Guarantee, which included skills publicly funded skills bootcamps and the ‘free courses for jobs’ programme of courses up to level 3 for adults who do not yet have an equivalent qualification.

Healey himself spoke positively about ULF’s impact as an “established part of the lifelong learning agenda” in 2002, while he was a junior education minister.

In recent years, former education secretary David Blunkett, who launched the scheme, called for a return of ULRs as a key recommendation of his Council of Skills Advisors in 2021.

However, ministers in Keir Starmer’s government repeatedly declined to restore the fund.

At his Labour Party leadership coronation speech at the Trades Union Congress headquarters in July, prime minister Andy Burnham singled Blunkett out as one of his mentors.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak called the restoration of the fund “common sense” and a “real boost for workers, businesses, and the economy”.

He added: “The decision to scrap the hugely successful workplace skills fund by the previous Tory government was ideological and a disastrous own goal. The chancellor’s announcement today rights that wrong.

“There is a reason that many employers, providers and unions are united in support for this scheme. Every pound spent pays for itself over time – boosting productivity, opportunity and economic growth.

“We will be working closely with our affiliate unions, government and employers to develop this scheme and ensure it is an even bigger union learning success story than the last.”

Labour conference 2026: FE Week live blog

Jobs guarantee scheme to be expanded to disabled young people

Young people with disabilities and health conditions will be offered places on the government’s jobs guarantee scheme from April.

Under an expansion of the programme, 18 to 24-year-olds receiving health benefits will be able to take up a government-funded job on a voluntary basis three months after their work capability assessment.

The subsidised work scheme is currently available only to young unemployed people who have claimed universal credit for more than 18 months.

Employers taking on eligible young people will have 100 per cent of their salary costs covered by the government, at the national minimum wage, for up to 25 hours a week for six months.

Participants will also receive mentoring and tailored support with their mental health, finances and housing to prepare them for work. This support will be delivered by partner organisations paid up to £2,650 per participant, while employers will receive an additional £250 to cover onboarding costs.

The scheme began in May in six pilot areas, ahead of a national rollout in November.

Retail giant Boots was the first employer to take on NEET young people through the programme.

Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden said: “I’ve seen how the jobs guarantee is already changing lives and now we are putting long-term sick and disabled people at the front of the queue from April next year.

“For many young people, this will be the first chance they’ve had of a real paid job, and the dignity and self-respect that comes with that.”

The Labour Party, which announced the expansion at the start of its national conference in Liverpool, did not give an exact estimate for how many young people on health benefits are expected to take up the offer.

But it said widening eligibility to young disabled people means “thousands” will have the chance to join the scheme, which aims to help up to 90,000 young people into work by the end of the Parliament.

The expansion comes as the proportion of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) reporting a disability has risen sharply.

Former Cabinet minister Alan Milburn’s interim NEET report found that 45 per cent of NEET young people in the UK report having a disability, more than double the 21.1 per cent recorded in 2013-14.

Gold rush: Team UK’s Shanghai medal haul

UK skills champions have secured their best WorldSkills haul in over a decade earning 19 medals, including two gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

Three quarters of Team UK, the nation’s brightest young apprentices and professionals, picked up medals at the WorldSkills closing ceremony at the Shanghai World Expo Cultural Centre this evening.

In addition to the six podium medals, a further 13 medals for excellence were awarded to UK competitors who have achieved world-class standards in their skill.

This evening, family, friends, trainers, and officials cheered for Team UK’s performance as they discovered who amongst the 1,400 young people came out on top as the world’s best in 64 trades.

The UK’s 28 young professionals have spent the last four days fighting off fierce competition against their peers, following months and years of intense training.

The stellar achievement marks the UK’s best performance in a decade.

Team UK scored a total 30 medal points, which assigns four points for every gold medal, three points for silver, two for bronze, and one for medals for excellence. It marks the best score since WorldSkills Abu Dhabi in 2017, when the team scored 32 medal points.

Ruth Douglas wins gold for chemical laboratory technology

Overall, the UK ranked 12^th out of the 68 countries participating in Shanghai, according to total medal points. The team also ranked 8^th in terms of average points scored.

The team has improved on their performance from the last WorldSkills event in France two years ago when Team UK scooped three silver, one bronze and 12 medals for excellence.

“This is a terrific set of results which everyone in the UK should be proud of,” said Ben Blackledge, CEO of WorldSkills UK.

He added: “Each and every one of the team has put in a phenomenal effort – not just this week, but the three years that they have been in the process, competing, learning and evolving their skills throughout the process.”

Skills minister Jacqui Smith, who flew to China to cheer on the team said: “I couldn’t be prouder of Team UK. They have all worked so hard and been brilliant, just to get here.”

Gold standard performance

The UK achieved six podium positions. Two gold medals were awarded to chemical laboratory technician Ruth Douglas and refrigeration and air conditioning competitor Sam Jones.

Douglas, who works at Almac and is trained at Southern Regional College in Northern Ireland, said the opening ceremony “boosted” her confidence for the rest of the week.

Refrigeration and air conditioning competitor Samuel Jones wins gold

Douglas and Jones told FE Week earlier this week that they had every assurance in themselves to problem-solve difficult tasks they were thrown during the competition.

Jones said after his first day he had a “positive” mindset for the rest of the contest after tackling an air-to-water heat pump installation task, something he had not encountered frequently in his training.

The ceremony also saw Jones awarded the ‘Best in Nation’ prize for refrigeration and air conditioning. This award commends the one competitor from each country who achieves the most points in their national team.

A silver medal was won by aircraft maintenance competitor Elyot Harmston, 23, from Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. Harmston led Team UK into the arena as its flagbearer at the opening ceremony.

Silver medallist in aircraft maintenance Elyot Harmston

Bronze medals went to car painting competitor Oisin McKerr, beauty therapist Neve Dunn and additive manufacturing participant Oliver Coombs.

This year is the first UK entry into the beauty therapy competition since 2019, when Rebecca West brought home a gold medal.

Beauty therapy competitor Neve Dunn wins bronze

Goodbye Shanghai and hello Aichi

The closing ceremony kicked off immediately with the medal ceremony, awarding gold, silver and bronze medals to winners from participating countries.

Car painter Oisin McKerr admires his bronze medal

Zhu Zhongming, mayor of Shanghai and deputy secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, said this year’s competition was an “unprecedented” event after President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the 1,400 competitors at the opening ceremony.

“Over the past six days, young skilled talents from 68 countries and regions gathered in Shanghai to put their skills against the best and showcase their mastery on the stage of the WorldSkills competition,” he said.

“They vividly demonstrated the spirit of craftmanship and the pursuit of excellence, inspiring young people everywhere to realise their dreams and build a brilliant life through the power of skills. WorldSkills Shanghai is a grand celebration of youth, friendship and solidarity,” he added.

During the event, China made the official handover of the WorldSkills flag from to Japan, who will host the next global event in Aichi in 2028.

A world-class effort

A further 13 skills saw Team UK competitors achieve the standard required for a medal for excellence.

Oliver Coombs celebrates bronze for additive manufacturing

The medal is awarded to every competitor who achieves 700 points in their skill, the global benchmark recognised for performing to a world-class standard.

They included the mechatronics team from Toyota UK Liz Hopkinson and Emily Bettridge, CNC milling’s Tomas Ankers and plumbing and heating competitor Andrew McCann.

McCann told FE Week in the moments after the klaxon signalled the end of the competition, that he was hopeful that he would do “relatively well” during the medal’s ceremony.

See the full list of medal for excellence winners below:

Mechatronics: Liz Hopkinson and Emily Bettridge
CNC Milling: Tomas Ankers
Plumbing & Heating: Andrew McCann
Autobody Repair: Joe Wilton
Web Technologies: Finn Gallagher
Electrical Installation: Jonathan Gough
Bricklaying: Joseph Shingler
Painting & Decorating: Shelby Fitzakerly
Hairdressing: Katie Sime
IT Network Systems Administration: Charlie Priestley
Industry 4.0: Caolan McCartan and Patrick Sheerin
3D Digital Game Art: Logan Cook
Renewable Energy: Madeleine Warburton

WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 closing ceremony: live stream and results

WorldSkills 2026: Final competition day roundup – A euphoric end

Team UK’s tireless efforts proving themselves against the best skilled young people in the world has come to a thrilling end.

Competitions in 25 skills disciplines concluded earlier today to euphoric cheers and applause as friends, families and Team UK officials rushed around the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai to cheer on competitors during the final 10-second countdown.

After four days of competition, months – and sometimes years – of preparation and honing their craft, the UK’s 28 competitors have now done all they can.

Among those in the crowds were sector leaders including Hannah Sheehan, director of the skills journey directorate at the Department for Education, Marion Plant, the chief executive of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College and chair of WorldSkills UK, and Nicki Hay, chair of AELP.

Over the finish line

Among the Team UK supporters cheering on plumber Andrew McCann was former competitor Ruben Duggan, who won silver in WorldSkills Lyon 2024.

McCann, who trained at South West College in Northern Ireland, said the support from those around him has made all the difference.

“[Ruben] has been a great help and [training manager] Ronnie’s been fantastic and especially having my mum and dad as well. It’s been really good,” McCann said.

“It’s nice to look up and see familiar faces, I really appreciate the support,” he added.

McCann was humble when asked about his chances of winning a medal at tomorrow’s closing ceremony.

“I think I’ll do relatively well,” he said.

The team will have to wait for their scores to be finalised before finding out whether their efforts have been enough to secure gold, silver and bronze medals.

‘It went as well as it could go’

For cabinet making competitor Stan Mackintosh, his final 10 minutes were less about last-minute frantic panic and more so checking over his work.

“I ran out of stuff to do,” he admitted.

“I was sort of pretending a little bit to keep busy. The way they’ve done it this year is they’ve marked most of it already so the things you usually do at the end – checking surfaces – there’s no point doing because it’s already been marked,” Mackintosh explained.

“I just spent 10 minutes looking over everything and making sure it’s all as tight as it can be.”

Overall Mackintosh said he’d done some of his best ever work this week.

“It went as well as it could go.”

Painting and decorating competitor Shelby Fitzackerly felt similarly.

“It was hard but you have got to stay calm and I think I did and I think it went well,” she told FE Week after the klaxon.

“I’ve loved every minute. I can’t believe it’s over, I’m really sad,” she added.

Fitzackerly, along with her family and boyfriend, are staying in China after the competition to relax after two hard years of training.

Putting the UK back on the map… brick by brick

Bricklayer Joe Shingler was one of the team members that found the final moments particularly intense.

“I’m overwhelmed to be honest. It was down to the wire so I’m hot and sweaty,” he told FE Week.

He added: “I managed to do everything I wanted to do. Hopefully it scores up alright.

“There’s some tough competition for sure but we all get on and there’s been a good atmosphere. Just sharing a passion for our skill.”

Shingler’s participation in Shanghai marks the UK’s first entry in bricklaying this 2017, which has not gone amiss to him.

“I’ve got a passion for bricklaying, I have done since I was 15/16. To try and put the UK back on the map in terms of the world stage is fantastic.”

Tune into tomorrow’s closing ceremony at 12pm BST to see the medal results announced and how Team UK fared.

FE Week on Location: Final day – Tears, triumphs and technical excellence

Episode 4:

A bumper final episode as the team captures the thrilling but emotional conclusion of the competition, we hear from a small business on how they benefit from supporting their employee through WorldSkills, plus guest appearances from AQA’s Natasha Armstrong and WorldSkills Düsseldorf president Michael Hafner.

Episode 3:

The FE Week team speak to competitors, teachers and experts on the competition floor and Shane Chowen speaks to WorldSkills UK CEO Ben Blackledge and AQA’s chief vocational and strategy officer, Anna Trethewey.

Episode 2:

What is an official technical delegate? What does it take to raise a skills champion? Team UK update us on their progress, and Shane Chowen speaks to the UK’s technical delegate Parisa Shirazi and bumps into a competitor’s parents.

Episode 1:

What does a skills minister do at WorldSkills? Jacqui Smith tells Shane Chowen what lessons she has learned about technical education systems on her visit to China, and Anviksha Patel catches up with Sam, our refrigeration and air conditioning competitor, and chemical lab technician competitor, Ruth.