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Assessing Skills for Job-Ready Learners

Further education is at a pivotal moment, shaped by the growing skills gap. As industries evolve, employers are struggling to find job-ready candidates, especially in trades and technical fields. The gap between what learners are taught and the skills employers need—both technical and soft skills like communication, problem-solving, and adaptability—is widening across industries.

This disconnect between education and workforce needs is particularly pressing for apprenticeships and vocational programs. Learners need adaptable, job-ready skills that can transfer across different industries and sectors. New approaches are essential to develop and validate these skills, focusing on mastery through hands-on learning, continuous feedback, and authentic assessment.

Bridging Learning and Work in Apprenticeships

The skills gap continues to challenge employers who are looking for candidates that possess both technical expertise and essential soft skills like teamwork, communication, and critical thinking. For vocational education and apprenticeship programs, aligning skill development with real-world job expectations is key.

By focusing on both technical and soft skills, educators can ensure that learners are prepared to meet workforce demands with confidence and competence. These assessments not only validate learners’ abilities but also help them gain practical experience that directly translates to the workplace.

Rethinking Skill Assessments for Job Readiness

Traditional exams often focus on theoretical knowledge, but they don’t capture practical, job-ready skills. Authentic assessments simulate real tasks, allowing learners to demonstrate job readiness. Skills for success are built through hands-on practice, reflection, and feedback. These practical, job-related skill assessments challenge learners to apply their skills in realistic settings, ensuring they’re not only knowledgeable but also competent and confident in their abilities.

Get the Ultimate Guide to AI Assessments in the AI Era

The Power of Authentic Assessments

Traditional assessments fall short in preparing learners for real-world work. Authentic assessments validate practical skills by testing learners in realistic scenarios, ensuring they’re job-ready. These assessments bridge classroom learning and job readiness by focusing on tasks that reflect workplace environments.

Key benefits of authentic assessments include:

Validate Skills in Action: Real-world scenarios test learners’ ability to perform tasks effectively.
Encourage Deeper Learning: Critical thinking and problem-solving are fostered, moving learners beyond simple memorization.
Promote Continuous Feedback: Learners receive actionable insights, refining their skills through practice and reflection.

Authentic assessments play a vital role in closing the skills gap by ensuring learners are fully prepared to meet the demands of modern apprenticeships and skilled work environments.

Explore this Authentic Assessment Toolkit

Preparing Learners for Job Success

In further education, preparing learners for real-world job success means combining technical knowledge with hands-on, practical skill development. Learners need opportunities to practice and refine their skills through real-world tasks, allowing them to gain the confidence and competence required in today’s workforce. This cycle of practice, reflection, and feedback is crucial for building job-ready skills that translate directly to workplace success.

A New Approach to Skill Mastery

Traditional teaching methods alone are no longer enough to meet the demands of modern apprenticeships and vocational programs. GoReact provides a solution by using the power of video to enable authentic assessments that mirror real-world tasks. With GoReact, learners can demonstrate and practice skills, self-reflect, and receive targeted feedback from instructors to continuously improve.

GoReact not only helps learners, it saves instructors time by allowing them to observe and assess skill demonstrations from anywhere and using tools, including the AI Assistant, provide instant and meaningful feedback to drive continuous improvement. Whether training the next generation of welders, electricians, or healthcare professionals, GoReact equips learners with the confidence and hands-on skills they need to thrive from day one on the job.

See how GoReact helps learners gain hands-on practice in any skill across any industry.

Revealed: The new education committee membership

The 11 MPs who will sit on the new education committee have been confirmed.

The parliamentary committee consists of seven Labour MPs, two Conservatives and two Liberal Democrats.

It will be chaired by Labour MP Helen Hayes, the former shadow children’s minister who was elected to the position in September.

The committee plays a key role in holding the Department for Education and its executive agencies and arms-length bodies to account.

Party: Labour

Constituency: Penistone and Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire

Disability rights campaigner and former charity policy and legal officer. Stood against Hayes for committee chair.

First elected in July.

Caroline Voaden

Party: Liberal Democrats

Constituency: South Devon

Former journalist, member of the European Parliament and leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament.

First elected in July.

Neglecting over-50s in the training world must change – here’s how we do it

At 50, workers still have 15 years until state pension age. So why do so many of the nine million over-50 workers feel that their days of learning and development are behind them?

Employers, training providers and society all have a part to play in the perception that learning is for the young. Is it any surprise that just 21 per cent of workers aged 50-59 say their employer encourages them to upskill, compared to 56 per cent of workers aged 18-29?

While some training providers focus primarily on younger learners, aiming to attract those who might return for training over the coming decades, this overlooks the immense value older learners bring to the workplace and their industry.

In fact, their experience and institutional knowledge are crucial to futureproofing industries, especially in sectors facing skills shortages.

That’s why training providers must focus on long-term growth and progression, not just for individual employees but for employers and the training sector as a whole. If training programmes don’t help safeguard the industry against skills shortages and workforce attrition, they are falling short.

Changing perceptions around who should be trained is key to this.

Post-pandemic, businesses are evolving rapidly. Many workers who have spent years in office environments now find themselves working remotely, often with little investment in their development.

Without the opportunity to upskill, their careers can feel stagnant. Career development is directly linked to job satisfaction, and for older workers, continued learning is vital for retaining talent. Investing in their growth fosters motivation and workforce diversity.

Tailored and inclusive courses

Offering courses tailored to individual learners and inclusive of all is a surefire way to attract more older generations to your training programmes.

Some workers may not have been in formal education for decades, so it’s important to avoid school-like environments and offer alternatives to traditional essay-based assessments. In addition, providing refresher sessions on study skills, time management and exam preparation can be helpful.

Start with short courses to build confidence and gradually show the impact of training on the learner so they feel empowered to progress their training.

Flexible and responsive provision

Flexibility in both learning styles and technology is essential. If your course is solely delivered via Zoom, but a learner prefers in-person mentorship, you run the risk of learners losing interest before they’ve even enrolled.

Everyone has their own preferred way of engaging with learning, and it’s important to cater to everyone. Some learners may need extra guidance to navigate online learning platforms, so providing tech support from the outset is crucial.

Many older workers also have family or caregiving responsibilities, so it’s key to recognise that training must fit around their lives rather than the other way around. Offering flexibility in course timings and duration ensures that learners can get the rest they need while still finding the course accessible.

In this context, a blended approach—combining in-person and online learning—can enhance both accessibility and flexibility.

Motivated and supported learners

Older workers seek training for a variety of reasons: career changes, staying competitive in the job market or personal fulfilment.

Training providers will likely see success when they take the time to truly understand each learner’s motivation. An introductory meeting focused on this allows the provider to tailor the course and set clear, achievable goals. A taster session will also spark interest in learning and allow the learner to reflect on their goals.

Additionally, training providers should position themselves as trusted advisers, both to the learner and the employer.

Older workers bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and previous education – and a finite amount of time to learn more. Providers should guide these learners to prioritise training that aligns with their interests, meets their career goals, remains relevant to their current roles and can be practically applied or passed on to others.

As a training provider, we are embracing learners of any age. The economy demands that our whole sector does too. Celebrating and leveraging their extensive experience is key to growth and so much more.

Streamlined skills and jobseeker support to cut ‘ballooning’ benefits bill

The government is hoping to cut its “ballooning” benefits bill by targeting disabled and unemployed people with better skills, work and health support.

Mayoral combined authorities and several unidentified English ‘trailblazer’ areas will receive a share of a £240 million “Get Britain Working package”, aimed at the 2.8 million who are out of work due to long-term sickness.

The funding will “streamline” local services and fund the testing of “early interventions” that target specific barriers to work faced by the long-term unemployed.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Due to years of economic neglect, the benefits bill is ballooning.

“We will build a Britain where people who can work, will work, turning the page on the recent rise in economic inactivity and decline and towards a future where people have good jobs and our benefits bill is under control.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer first announced the move this morning ahead of Wednesday’s budget, alongside a new £3 cap on bus fares until 2025, up from £2, which is likely to impact on college students.

The £240 million package will focus on encouraging the unemployed to use existing local skills courses and employability support rather than fund new provision, FE Week understands.

Locations of ‘trailblazers’ will be announced in “due course,” according to the Treasury announcement.

Labour has pledged to raise the country’s unemployment rate from 75 to 80 per cent through several new measures including a board of labour market expert advisors, merging careers advice with job centres and devolved employment support.

Further details of government’s plans – such as localised work, health, and skills plans – are expected in a “groundbreaking” Plan to Get Britain Working white paper this autumn.

Been here before?

Language such as ‘trailblazer’ is not the only echo of Conservative policies in today’s announcement.

The Restart Scheme, one of several Plan for Jobs measures announced in 2020, also offers the long-term unemployed careers advice, coaching, training and wellbeing support.

The Work and Health Programme, launched in 2017, specifically targets long-term unemployed people with a disability, health condition or disadvantage circumstances with up to 15 months support including health and wellbeing support, work coaching, and training.

The £238 million Job Entry Targeted Support scheme, which ran from 2020 to 2023, also targeted people who had been out of work for three months with support including “specialist advice” on building skills.

‘Get Britain Working’ was also an initiative launched in 2011 under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition that included benefit reforms, work programmes and pushing local support services to work together.

Boris Johnson’s government also revived sector-based work academy programmes in 2020, a scheme first attempted under the 2011 Get Britain Working, that offers unemployed people a short-term combination of training and work placement, followed by a guaranteed job interview.

The Plan for Jobs also included free training for people without a level 3 qualification through the Free Courses for Jobs scheme and short, flexible Skills Bootcamps that are free for the unemployed.

Education spending ‘protected’?

On Sunday, Reeves vowed to “protect” education priorities at this week’s budget, including by committing £1.4 billion to funding the existing school rebuilding programme next year.

She said this as she repeated the new Labour government’s line that the party is having to make “tough decisions” in the face of a £22 billion blackhole in public finances inherited from the Conservatives.

But there is a lack of detail from the government about exactly what it means by “protected”. There have been no other announcements regarding FE and skills spending decisions so far.

Global education investors snap up Corndel

One of the country’s largest apprenticeship training providers “partnered” with a French education empire in a private equity deal announced today.

Galileo Global Education has bought private equity firm THI Investments’ share in Corndel, a provider that trains 4-5,000 higher level business and IT apprentices each year.

The company’s co-founder and chief executive officer James Kelly said the purchase follows months of negotiations with Galileo.

He added: “It’s about higher education and workplace education coming increasingly together as things go forward.

“That’s partly why the fit works for us. It’s about organisations that equip people for the world of work and careers.”

‘Network of excellence’

The London-based training provider will join Galileo’s roster of more than 60 institutions in 18 countries, including Regent’s University London, Italian fashion school Instituto Marangoni and Paris School of Business.

Kelly said Corndel will “focus on growth” within Galileo’s network of education providers.

He has told staff Corndel will remain “organisationally independent” while benefitting from being in a “network of educational excellence”.

Higher ambitions

According to the training provider’s accounts for the year up to December 2023, its turnover increased 25 per cent to £37.4 million while its profits increased 66 per cent to £5.6 million.

In 2021-22, Corndel received £25 million in apprenticeship levy funding, the seventh highest sum in the country.

The company, set up in 2016, specialises in training apprentices in management, senior leadership, data analysis and project management at advanced or higher levels.

Kelly has said he hopes Corndel College London, a division of the main company, will become a new higher education organisation that is “free from the constraints and burdens of traditional structures”.

Equity deals

Galileo was bought in 2020 by its current owners – a consortium including the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, Montagu Private Equity and Tethys Invest, the main shareholder of L’Oreal. The French group was reportedly on the market for £2.1 billion.

Corndel’s Stuttgart-based seller THI Investments, owned by the Hagenmeyer family, reportedly manages assets worth £1.7 billion.

Marc-Francois Mignot Mahon, chief executive officer of Galileo said: “We are very pleased to welcome Corndel to the Galileo group and are looking forward to supporting Corndel to build on its exceptional reputation for delivering the highest quality professional training programmes to the UK’s leading business.”

Mihir Kotecha, chief executive officer of THI Investments, said: “THI has greatly valued the opportunity to have been part of Corndel’s tremendous growth story over the last four years during which time learner numbers have tripled. We wish both Corndel and Galileo every success for the future.”

Cambridge drops senior leader apprenticeship despite ‘outstanding’ inspection

The University of Cambridge’s apprenticeship training has been rated ‘outstanding’ in its first full inspection, although its programme for senior leaders has now been axed.

Last month’s full inspection was the university’s first since its Institute of Continuing Education launched its apprenticeship programme in 2019 and resulted in ‘outstanding’ grades across the board.

At the time of the inspection, the university had 76 senior leader apprentices and 88 architect apprentices, both level 7 standards.

However, the university now only delivers the architect course after closing enrolments for its senior leader master’s apprenticeship in criminology and police management, which is taken by small groups of high-ranking police officers.

Ofsted praised the university’s “considerable academic rigour” and expert assessment that help its 164 apprentices “thrive”.

Apprentices “swiftly” improve their work thanks to “extensive, incisive feedback” from academics and employers that challenges them to deliver work “of a consistently high standard”, inspectors said.

Architects are “very well prepared for their next steps” while many police senior leaders are promoted either during or after their course.

A university spokesperson confirmed the senior leader apprenticeship, which attracts £14,000 in funding per apprentice and must last a minimum of two years, was no longer viable and declined to comment further.

According to the latest DfE data, the university started its last senior leader apprentice in November 2023.

Cambridge appears to be the second prestigious training provider this year to drop an apprenticeship programme despite gaining Ofsted’s highest grade.

Earlier this year, Dyson announced it would pay at least £250,000 per employee for training rather than bear the “heavy (and costly) administrative burden” of degree apprenticeships.

The Institute of Continuing Education is based in Madingley Hall, a 16th-century country house boasting “tasteful en-suite accommodation” for up to 100 delegates, meeting rooms, a bar, and seven acres of “spectacular” gardens.

‘Outstanding’ for Dyson’s axed degree apprenticeships

Apprentices and other students at the institute study in three in-person ‘blocks’ per year, where they “relish” formal dinners and benefit from “high-profile guest speakers”.

Although it will no longer offer apprenticeships for senior police officers, Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education is still accepting applications for its two-year criminology and police management master’s, also known as its ‘police executive programme’, costing £31,000.

The institute – which increased its enrolments by a quarter to 8,369 in 2022-23 – also dropped an apprentice-postgraduate certificate in research and innovation management for academics in 2022.

It appears to have scaled back its previously reported plans to deliver “a range of new programmes” in apprenticeships.

Writing in the institute’s annual report, director Dr James Gazzard said 2022-23 placed “punishing” levels of demand on staff.

“The sector is increasingly competitive and regulated,” he added.

“Rightly, particularly given increasing tuition fees, learners are increasingly demanding.

“The University’s offer of continuing, professional, and executive education is distributed across more than twenty providers, strategic frameworks are absent, meaning coordination and economies of scale are difficult to achieve, and internal competition a concerning distraction.”

Level 3 qualifications reform poses a risk to digital skills

Through my work with digital employers and FE colleges across the UK, it’s clear that the recent decision to pause and review the cancellation of the Level 3 Digital BTEC (and indeed other subjects) has come as welcome relief for many.

The slight shift in tone from DfE ministers is also positive, with Jacqui Smith indicating that the cull of qualifications won’t be as drastic as the last administration had planned.

However, there is still much uncertainty about how the new Level 3 qualification landscape will look, which is proving a challenge for colleges in terms of curriculum planning and recruitment for 2024/25.

Having worked in education for over 25 years and in FE for a decade, I am unequivocal in my view that BTECs must be preserved. They have long been an essential pathway for young people to develop practical skills, particularly in the digital space.

For many students, especially boys aged 16-19, the two-year BTEC programme provides flexibility and time needed to mature, not just academically but personally.

I see remarkable growth in students’ abilities and attitudes between their first and second years. The opportunity to learn at their own pace, adapt to new technologies, and develop critical business skills is invaluable.

This continuity and growth is what worries me about the push to phase out BTECs in favour of newer qualifications like T Levels. While T Levels are an excellent addition to the educational landscape, the reality is that they aren’t suitable for every 16-year-old.

The requirement for students to have already passed their Level 2 English and Maths before they can begin a T Level creates a barrier for those who may need more time or support to achieve these qualifications.

Some colleges are creating transition courses to prepare students for T Level courses, but even these don’t guarantee that they will all be able to handle the more academically rigorous and exam-driven structure of T Levels.

Another significant hurdle is the mandatory 45-day industry placement required to complete a T Level. Finding relevant placements is difficult, and the strict rules—such as limiting students to a maximum of two employers—make it even harder.

Without incentives, recruitment problems will continue

Add to this the difficulty of scheduling placements around college timetables, and the whole process becomes burdensome for students and institutions alike.

Many of the colleges I work with are also struggling with a lack of qualified teachers to deliver the Digital T Level.

The curriculum is more complex and demands more teaching hours than BTEC, yet colleges struggle to recruit digital experts, who can earn significantly more in the private sector. Without incentives such as additional payments for teaching in high-demand subjects, this problem will continue.

Some solutions may lie in increased collaboration with businesses, but building these partnerships takes time and resources, both of which are in short supply.

In my own work with colleges, we collaborate with companies by arranging visits, running skills projects and setting up placements for students, but a co-ordinated policy solution is needed. For example, the government could consider offering tax incentives for companies that allow staff to contribute to college teaching or mentorship programs.

Apprenticeships offer another valuable route for young people, and skills-based hiring is becoming more prevalent across many industries. Companies like Wavemaker, Hays, and Lloyds Bank are establishing their own academies to train young people post-Level 3, offering opportunities to ‘earn while you learn’. Degree apprenticeships are also gaining traction and becoming very much in demand.

But to ensure that every student can access such opportunities and reach their career goals, the Level 3 qualification landscape must provide choice and flexibility.

Level 3 BTEC courses are a lifeline for many students who, for various reasons including personal challenges and disrupted education need an accessible, flexible option. Without it, many students may leave full-time education with only a Level 2 qualification, potentially cutting off further progression into higher education or skilled employment.

This isn’t about complicating the system with too many qualifications; it’s about ensuring that there is a pathway available for everyone, no matter what their ability, interest, career goals or preferred way of learning.

If we want to close the skills gap, particularly in the digital industries, we must ensure that Level 3 qualifications remain responsive to the needs of all learners, as well as the needs of employers.

BTECs are central to this ambition. They will help ensure that every young person can pursue a digital career and take advantage of the endless opportunities available in this exciting sector.

Budget: Our expectations must be realistic and long-term

The first budget by a female chancellor, and the first for the new government would be big news at any time. But with the long lead-in time, speculation really has been running rife.

Some commentators have been criticising the government for not having detailed plans in place for after they took power supporting an early budget. I’m more in the camp of being careful what you wish for, because there are so many complex areas of policy, and of course funding, that need attention.

To expect an incoming government to be ready with solutions for them all is probably unrealistic, but certainly undesirable.

I’ve seen too many policy ideas presented like classic a Blue Peter craft project: “here’s one we prepared earlier”. Rarely do those policies work well unless there is engagement with the people implementing them, and even better with the people who are meant to benefit.

What looks neat, clear-cut and simple in Whitehall often makes a lot less sense on the ground.

But to engage, listen, learn and co-create takes time. And after a long period in which college leaders have felt they weren’t being listened to, there is an expectation of change. That engagement is happening, and at pace, but it will still take some time to reach conclusions – and so it should.

In post-16 and skills policy we have plenty going on: a review of curriculum and assessment, the establishment of Skills England, reforms to the apprenticeship levy, the new youth guarantee, devolution, the industrial strategy, a skills strategy, local growth plans and probably others too.

On all of these, it feels to me as if we are being engaged and our views and proposals being carefully considered.

As for the budget itself, we’ve all been hearing the chancellor’s warning of the parlous state of the finances they have inherited, something forewarned before the election by Paul Johnson from the Institute of Fiscal Studies and many others.

The only thing for certain is that expectations are low

The only thing for certain is that expectations are low of any new or significant investment. That could be the tactic, or it could be the reality; I’m expecting a few voter-friendly rabbits to emerge from the chancellor’s red box, but not too many, and not with big price tags.

Our asks for the budget were modest and realistic: help with pay to at least match the school teacher pay award of 5.5 per cent (costing about £250m), VAT reimbursement like schools (returning about £210m to college coffers) and full funding for the rising numbers of 16- to 18-year-olds.

Even achieving one of those feels like it might be a win, but in reality all three are hard to argue against. The trouble is that there are very strong arguments like ours across so many public services and nowhere near enough tax to pay for them all.We all know that there are lots of tough choices to be made.

Next week, the chancellor sets out government spending for 2025-26 only. By March, she will have plans for the next few years, and for that our asks will be much more ambitious.

In March, we need the chancellor to show that she views our sector as offering a strong and vital return on investment, not a cost. We need to have shown her and other cabinet ministers that their missions of economic growth, net zero, safer streets, wider opportunities and the NHS cannot be delivered without investing in people.

Colleges and further education are vital drivers across all of those missions. The sector helps young people and adults develop themselves as citizens and skilled workers, supports employers to innovate and improve productivity and helps develop stronger, more tolerant and cohesive communities.

That’s the vision I want the chancellor to believe in. Because if she does, then the investment will have to follow – if not this month, then in March and beyond.

Pay deal ends two-year dispute at north east college group

A Teesside college group has settled a staff pay dispute after two years of “holding firm” by Universities and College Union (UCU) members.

The agreement between the Education Training Collective (ETC) and its staff covers three academic years between 2022 and 2024.

UCU said its members at ETC have carried out 13 days of strike action in the last 17 months.

But they have now voted to accept a pay offer that amounts to at least a 13.5 per cent increase for staff across the last three years, FE Week understands.

Some lecturers, course leaders and support staff will also see increases of about three per cent after the removal of the lowest pay scale and an increased top pay scale.

Staff parking charges will also be removed from all college campuses and additional wellbeing days will be introduced.

The group has more than 11,000 students at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy and Redcar and Cleveland College.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady congratulated ETC members for “holding firm” for the pay deal.

She added: “This award should now serve as a warning to other college bosses, pay our members fairly or face sustained strike action until we win.”

An ETC spokesperson said the college group is “delighted” with the agreement.

They added: “Etc. is committed to remunerating colleagues as fairly as possible without risking the financial health of the group.”

Learning of additional strikes in March this year, bosses said the group’s financial position meant it was “unable” to agree further pay increases.

From August this year, staff will receive a three per cent pay rise, half a percentage point higher than the Association of College’s recommendation last month.

But many of the pay increases announced by UCU today have been previously rejected, according to previous statements.

This includes a 3 per cent pay rise from August 2022, one per cent from May 2023, and a 6.5 per cent across-the-board pay rise implemented from November 2023.

According to its most recent available accounts, for 2022-23, the college had a ‘good’ financial health rating, with the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s main allocations amounting to about £23 million in 2023-24.

In 2022-23 the college finished the year with a surplus of £621,000, reserves of £23 million and long-term bank debt of £2.4 million.

This comes as the National Education Union (NEU) ballots teachers in 40 non-academised sixth form colleges for strike action over the decision to fund a 5.5 per cent pay award for schools and academised sixth form colleges. Balloting closes on November 7.