Deputy Jones to succeed CEO Booth at Luminate

Bill Jones has been promoted to chief executive of Luminate Education Group, effective from January.

The current deputy CEO of the organisation, which is one of England’s largest college groups, will take the helm when current chief Colin Booth retires at the end of the year.

Jones has been deputy at the group since 2015, as well as being executive principal of Leeds City College.

As deputy, he leads the college group’s initiatives across teaching, stakeholder engagement and institutional performance.

Jones said: “It is an immense privilege to be appointed as the next chief executive of Luminate Education Group. Having worked within the group for over 10 years, I’ve seen first-hand the impact our members, staff and students make across our communities every day.

“I am proud of what we have achieved together under Colin Booth’s leadership — and I’m excited to build on that strong foundation. As we look ahead, my focus will be on deepening our commitment to inclusive, high-quality education across both further and higher education, while exploring new ways to innovate, respond to local and national priorities, and strengthen our partnerships across sectors.”

With a career in education spanning nearly three decades, Jones began as an English teacher at the now-closed East Birmingham College.

He then worked his way up to hold senior positions at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology and Burton & South Derbyshire College. 

Before starting at Leeds City College, he spent six years at Sheffield College leading curriculum planning and quality assurance.

John Toon, chair of Luminate’s board, said: “This appointment follows a rigorous and highly competitive recruitment process, attracting interest from across the education and public sectors. 

“Bill demonstrated a clear vision for the future of Luminate, with a deep understanding of our values and the challenges and opportunities facing education at both a regional and national level. The Board is confident that he will provide outstanding leadership in the years ahead.”

The search for a new group CEO began in April when Booth announced his retirement after a 40-year career, ending with 10 years at Luminate.

Luminate Education Group is one of the largest colleges in England, with more than 30,000 students across its three FE colleges, one sixth from college and two higher education institutions. It generated £128 million in group income in 2023-24.

The group maintained a ‘good’ Ofsted rating following its latest inspection in February.

Our survey says… all employers want more control over training

If you speak to any employer about the skills challenges they face, one message comes through clearly: we have a great opportunity to improve the current system to better serve both employers and learners.

In our latest report, Skills for All: Ten Key Insights from Employers, The St Martin’s Group (SMG) in partnership with Ipsos gathered the views of more than 800 employers from two surveys across England.

The insights are impossible to ignore. Employers want an inclusive skills system that works across all ages, levels and sectors, which reflects the realities they face and supports growth.

It chimes with the recently published Skills England report Sector evidence on the growth and skills offer, which looked at employers’ experiences of the apprenticeship system. Both reports found small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face challenges in delivering apprenticeships and content, and delivery frameworks can be too restrictive. They often don’t help address the skills gaps that employers suffer.

When confronted with a skills gap, most employers (52 per cent Ipsos; 54 per cent SMG) don’t default to recruitment. They upskill existing staff. Skills policy that ignores the existing workforce risks missing the point entirely.

That’s why nearly half of employers (47 per cent Ipsos; 59 per cent SMG) say a national skills policy that trains all ages and all levels would most benefit their business.

Employers are not asking for special treatment; they’re asking for a system that reflects how they operate. And with 55 per cent (SMG) and 49 per cent (Ipsos) of employers struggling to recruit for higher-level roles, the case for lifelong learning and upskilling is undeniable.

Equally important is the call for flexibility. Whether it’s the structure of apprenticeship programmes or access to levy funds, employers want greater control. Most surveyed (53 per cent Ipsos, 70 per cent SMG) chose flexibility over the content and structure of programmes – a strong signal that a one-size-fits-all approach is not fit for purpose.

The growth and skills levy is a step in the right direction. With 62 per cent of Ipsos respondents (70 per cent SMG) supporting its use to fund vocational and higher technical qualifications and management and soft skills training, the appetite is there. But any reform must ensure levy flexibility does not come at the cost of apprenticeship volume or quality.

That balance matters. Apprenticeships remain a vital pathway into skilled employment. 80 per cent (SMG) and 79 per cent (Ipsos) of employers surveyed said they are likely to hire apprentices in the future.

But we must not force every skills solution through the apprenticeship route. Employers want high-quality short courses, pre-employment soft skills programmes and modular training that reflects real-world needs.

That need is especially acute for young people. Only one third (33 per cent) of large employers responding to SMG find it easy to develop young people’s soft skills, compared to 58 per cent of those who feel confident developing technical ones.

So we must invest in access-to-work initiatives, career-readiness programmes and interventions that bridge the gap between education and employment.

We need a system that works for SMEs and large employers alike. Our polling shows marked differences between them in their government engagement, the training they value and their likelihood to adopt new programmes such as foundation or shorter apprenticeships. A responsive skills system cannot be centrally prescribed and locally irrelevant.

That’s why more than 62 per cent of employers surveyed by Ipsos and 74 per cent by SMG want skills policy coordinated at both the national and local level. Employers understand their local labour markets and know what works. Government’s role should be to enable and incentivise.

The creation of Skills England, the evolution of the levy and a growing employer appetite for training all create fertile ground for reform. But for reform to be effective it must be rooted in employer reality.

We must back a system that supports inclusive growth – one that helps young people move into work, enables adults to reskill and upskill throughout their careers and gives employers the tools they need to invest in their workforce.

Principal of cash-strapped college to retire

A long-serving principal has announced his retirement – two months after the Hampshire college he leads was placed in government intervention.

Havant and South Downs College (HSDC) boss Mike Gaston will step down from the post to “focus on my family and personal life”, he said in a statement today.

Gaston’s decision comes just shortly after the Department for Education hit HSDC with a financial notice to improve (FNTI) amid “serious cashflow pressures”. The college has warned there will be “substantial” redundancies as a result.

Gaston will stay in the post during a “planned transition period” until January 2026 to lead the college through its financial recovery strategy, the college said.

Gaston has been the principal and CEO of HSDC for over a decade. He led the group through two mergers: The South Downs College and Havant College merged in 2017, and Alton Sixth Form College joined in 2019. Gaston also steered the merged college group through two ‘good’ Ofsted inspections.

He said the decision was “not made lightly” after spending his 37-year career in the FE sector.

“Leading HSDC has been one of the greatest privileges of my career,” said Gaston. 

“Working alongside an exceptional team and inspiring students, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of further education. After 37 years in the sector and more than a decade at this college, I feel the time is right to focus on my family and personal life.”

He added: “When the time comes, I am confident that new leadership will bring fresh energy and vision to HSDC, building on the achievements of the past to create an even brighter future.”

The board said it will begin recruitment for the next principal “in due course”.

Clive Dobbin, chair of the corporation, said: “On behalf of the board, we extend our deepest gratitude to Mike for his dedication and leadership. His commitment to ensuring a smooth transition is invaluable, and we are confident that the strong foundation he has built will allow HSDC to emerge even stronger in the years ahead.”

Gaston warned last month of “substantial redundancies” to its 1000-strong workforce in light of the notice to improve.

Financial statements for the year ending July 2024 show a £550,000 deficit, a negative EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) and a high staff-to-turnover ratio of 72 per cent – 7 percentage points above the FE Commissioner’s benchmark.

He told FE Week at the time: “While the challenges outlined in the FNTI are significant, they compel us to take decisive action, including a process of right-sizing that may, regrettably, involve a substantial number of redundancies. I want to be unequivocal; these decisions are never made lightly.”

We must do more than watch a TV drama to stop abuse on web

The last piece I wrote for FE Week, about the extremely troubling rise in misogyny and the damaging insidiousness of the ‘manosphere,’ was written before the TV drama show Adolescence was released. I have been reflecting on the resounding and widespread visceral reaction to that programme.

As you all surely must know by now, (who can have missed it!) the programme involves a young teenage boy committing an act of terrible violence against an innocent girl, following his radicalisation into incel ideology via the internet; or rather, by those promoting misogyny, violence and hatred on the web.

The programme provoked such an extraordinary reaction it was even discussed in parliament, with PM Sir Keir Starmer suggesting every child attending school should watch the series. If it is Question Time, Prime Minister, I am interested to know exactly what you think that would achieve?

The assumption that every child would relate to, understand and interpret the messaging in that script is a bold one. The 13-year-old perpetrator had a loving family, albeit with a slightly emotionally stunted father who couldn’t express his feelings very well. A pretty stereotypical portrayal maybe? 

Too many of our children and young people do not live in a loving, binary family setting, and concern about online behaviours is not on the radar of parental awareness. 

Maybe, I would respectfully suggest, an alternative response would be to introduce serious restrictions on what is permissible and available on the net and actually protect our children before they become the manipulated fodder of those who are making fortunes out of creating such bleak and devastating misery.

As reported by The Guardian, over 850 men are arrested every month for child abuse offences online, including police, doctors and teachers. The ‘spiralling global crisis’ saw the UK’s Internet Watch Foundation remove over 300,000 web pages last year, each containing hundreds and thousands of illegal images. The explosion of free-to-view pornography is creating a short and rapid pathway to serious criminal offending.

The Online Safety Act does not go far enough

The Online Safety Act does not go far enough to protect children. It does not ban harmful pornography, choking, strangulation, images of sexual violence or nuanced content which promotes child abuse or incest at the behest of the algorithms which control content. We are moving at a glacial pace when lives are at stake. It is not good enough.

The National Crime Agency is collaborating in a joint taskforce with counter terrorism to tackle the increasing threat of young men and boys being radicalised by misogynistic online content to the point of seeking out vulnerable girls and young women with intent to cause them harm. Serious stuff.

Yet this misogyny is not classed as extremism. It might appear, to the naked eye, that we have the power and authority to control this situation. But we are choosing not to do so. One rational conclusion is that the online industry is worth billions; and there’s the rub. If we allowed this content to be put up then surely we can also take it down?

I am grateful that Adolescence initiated so much discussion and awareness. But it does beg the question; do we need to make a TV programme before such topics are taken seriously? Have we not been shouting for years now about the danger our children are in from the unpoliced internet?

Do we not already know that chat rooms are showing our kids how to kill themselves and hurt others? Do we not already know that sexual violence is becoming a dangerous ‘norm’ and that incel ideology is just one click away? And yet we are doing so little about it. And what we are doing has taken us years.

I understand how impossible it is to put the genie back in the bottle, but we can at least do our absolute best to put strict and rigid laws in place to protect our young people; including a total ban on certain content and legal definitions of misogyny and inceldom which are appropriate for the terror and harm they inflict.

It is our moral duty of care to do so, and do so quickly.

We must multiply the number of over-16s progressing with maths

Over the past quarter of a century, maths education in England has made huge strides. Today, four in five young people leave compulsory education with at least a standard pass in GCSE maths – up from around 50 per cent in the 1990s.

Maths is now the most popular subject at A-level. Globally, England sits among the top-performing countries outside East Asia. 

This is something to celebrate, and FE has played a crucial role. Colleges have enabled tens of thousands of students each year to achieve that vital GCSE maths pass.  

But for all the progress made, one problem stubbornly remains: most young people still stop learning maths at 16. 

In a world increasingly shaped by data, technology and AI, numeracy is a fundamental skill. Whether you’re managing a budget, weighing up risk or making sense of statistics, the ability to reason mathematically is more important than ever. 

That’s why the Maths Horizons Project is calling for a 16-19 maths entitlement: a commitment to ensuring every young person continues learning maths beyond age 16, whatever path they’re on. 

The aim of a 16-19 entitlement is not to push everyone into A-level maths. It’s about providing the right pathway for every learner – whether that’s core maths, a reformed resit offer or meaningfully embedded content in technical routes. It’s about ensuring every student builds fluency, confidence and the ability to apply maths in the real world. 

We know from our international counterparts such as Singapore and the Netherlands that it is achievable for over 90 per cent of young people to reach the equivalent of a GCSE standard pass by 19. In England, it’s around 80 per cent.

Too many students resit without adequate time to revisit the topics holding them back. Some are re-entered just months after their first attempt, with minimal additional teaching time. This is demoralising for learners and teachers alike.

“It risks skill loss just as employers are wanting more“

For those who do pass at 16, most will never study maths again, risking skill loss just as employers are expecting more. 

There is significant public support for a post-16 maths requirement. Public First’s polling for the Maths Horizons project found 72 per cent of respondents were in favour. Employers in sectors from engineering to retail report growing demand for numeracy, data literacy and quantitative reasoning.

Politically, this idea has come in and out of fashion. But it shouldn’t be partisan. While the last Conservative prime minister championed a version of this policy, the case for action is rooted not in ideology but principles of equity and national renewal. A 16-19 entitlement  aligns with Labour’s aims to deliver rising standards, prepare young people for the future and break down barriers to opportunity. 

Above all, this entitlement must be properly funded and flexible. That means continued investment in FE teaching capacity – including pay and workload reform – and clarity that this is a system-wide challenge, not something for colleges to shoulder alone. 

It also means ensuring qualifications work for students. At Get Further, we’re recommending a new GCSE step qualification for students who leave school with the very lowest prior attainment in maths – a one-year course focused on the fundamentals to support progression to a full GCSE by the end of their compulsory education.  

We must avoid creating alternative qualifications that lack the status or recognition of a GCSE. By signalling to employers who didn’t meet the required standard by age 16, this would risk cutting some young people off from opportunities – disproportionately affecting those with SEND and from disadvantaged backgrounds. Instead, we should make existing routes more meaningful and achievable. 

We’ve come a long way. But we won’t go further unless we build on the foundations we’ve laid. A 16-19 maths entitlement is the logical next step. We can become the country others look to on maths education and ensure every young person leaves the system with the skills they need to thrive. 

FE inquiry: College designations, postcode lotteries and student poverty

Post-16 SEND policy should sit with the skills minister, and the independent status of specialist colleges should be reformed, MPs were told today.

Natspec chief executive Clare Howard told members of the House of Commons education committee that specialist colleges routinely found themselves in a “policy vacuum”, particularly around capital funding, due to their independent status. 

The committee heard from eight witnesses this morning in the penultimate oral evidence session of its inquiry into the future of further education and skills. 

The wide-ranging evidence session also covered student attainment gaps, adult education devolution, mental health support and Skills England independence. 

Here are the highlights…

Redesignate specialist colleges

Howard was asked specifically about how further education special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) policy and funding could stop “falling through the cracks of ministerial responsibility”.

All of SEND and high needs policy currently sits with the minister for schools, Catherine McKinnell, whereas skills minister Jacqui Smith is responsible for education and training for non-SEND learners aged over 16. 

Specialist colleges share a similar status to independent training providers, despite being often the only viable option for students with complex needs. They legally tend to be constituted as charities or private companies. Howard said it was “illogical and inequitable” that they didn’t have a dedicated minister while learners were placed in “buildings falling apart”.

She said: “We’re very keen that the designation of specialist colleges is looked at. There is no alternative to mainstream FE other than specialist colleges so, in effect, they are the equivalent of maintained special colleges”.

MPs highlighted that specialist colleges are excluded from accessing funding through the Department for Education’s various  FE capital budgets. 

“I do think we need to bring specialist colleges into the FE sector and make them part of FE estates planning and the FE capital grant,” she said.

“We’ve got buildings falling apart and learners that are really missing out. [Specialist] colleges are looking at fundraising and private loans, and it’s very difficult for them.”

Better for everybody

Classifying specialist colleges as statutory further education bodies, with an integrated SEND and mainstream budget under one minister, could also help reverse the diminishing availability of local authority-funded transport for learners to get to college or work.

Local authorities’ statutory responsibilities for providing transport for education stop at age 16. As council finances have come under increasing pressure over the last decade, families have been asked to pay for transport services themselves, or services have been cut altogether.  

Howard said: “Colleges would like to do more in terms of their own transport, but they’ve not got the capital funding to do it.

“Member of our student voice parliament are hugely frustrated that their disabled bus passed can’t be used before 9.30 in the morning; they can’t get to work, can’t go to college, can’t get to a work placement”.

Skills England tension

The government’s new skills body, Skills England, launched a series of reports yesterday analysing the skills needs in the government’s ten priority sectors. 

Employer and adult education representatives were asked how Skills England should improve apprenticeships so they better meet the needs of local economies. 

Skills Federation chief executive Fiona Aldridge, who is also a member of the Skills England board, said the key to growing apprenticeships was to grow jobs.

“If you want to increase apprenticeships, we have to think about the labour market and what would encourage employers to offer those employment opportunities,” Aldridge said.

“But I would also say that apprenticeships, while they are brilliant, are not the right solution for everyone in every circumstance. It might not need to be an apprenticeship. We need to think about other things, short courses, modules, other types of provision that could be funded too.”

Susan Pember, policy director at Holex, pointed to Skills England’s position as an in-house government agency while simultaneously being tasked with advocating for the needs of employers. 

She said: “We’ve got Skills England. It’s supposed to be impartial. There is a bit of a tension and conflict because they’re also the owner and the deliverer of apprenticeships [policy]. So there will be a time where do they recommend government put spending into short courses that are not apprenticeships, or do they understand that they’re not meeting the apprenticeship target, and therefore they want to put more into apprenticeships.

“It’s a very difficult organisation.”

Devolution postcode lottery

Pember also criticised inconsistent adult education provision between devolved and non-devolved areas, particularly for ESOL and basic skills, citing cases where authorities had capped ESOL spending or removed community learning programmes altogether.

While supporting local control in principle, she warned that devolution has resulted in a “postcode lottery”.

“Wherever you look now, it’s a disparate mix. Now there could be a good reason for that, and that’s what localism is all about. But it doesn’t feel there’s a good rationale in all areas, and we are the ones working with people furthest away from the workplace, furthest away from the community. We can see funding for those being deprioritised and going to people who’ve always already been well funded by the state system. 

“We would like to see some framework so it doesn’t go to the extreme.”

Student vs the system 

Several panellists argued for improved student maintenance support in FE to reduce attainment gaps and mental health concerns. 

Qasim Hussain, vice president (further education) of the National Union of Students, told the committee he is seeing “more and more students juggling work with caring responsibilities and struggling to keep up with their courses”.

“The cost of living crisis is having a huge impact on students’ education, especially those who are coming from lower income backgrounds. We’re seeing mental health decrease, there’s cases where learners are struggling to get to college, to get to their place of work, to keep up with meals,” he said.

“We’re starting to see learners feeling disengaged with college and feeling like it’s a system where its them verses college.”

Nuffield Foundation’s Emily Tanner said a targeted student premium, similar to the pupil premium, would “enable extra support and intervention” to help improve experiences for disadvantaged students. 

There was some disagreement about whether reintroducing the Education Maintenance Allowance, which funded disadvantaged students directly, would be preferable to a student premium where the extra funding went to colleges.

Tanner seemed to land on the premium as a better option because it could be used on “wider issues around funding, around teacher pay as that has an enormous influence of disadvantaged students”.

Hussain however said the financial pressures on students were so broad, encompassing travel and living costs as well as study costs, there are always some that miss out on exiting bursary policies. 

He said it was “more important to direct money to students rather than institutions … giving students the power and autonomy would go a long way”.

SeaRegs Training makes waves with first Ofsted ‘outstanding’

A marine training provider has been awarded top marks by Ofsted after inspectors witnessed apprentices filling the skills gaps left by an “ageing workforce”.

Plymouth-based SeaRegs Training was handed an ‘outstanding’ rating today following its first ever full Ofsted inspection.

The watchdog heaped praise on the provider’s success in its highly ambitious curriculums and “carefully considered” pathways to accelerate apprentices’ knowledge and progress.

As a result, “almost all” apprentices complete their studies and obtain a “comprehensive” suite of qualifications to develop careers in the marine industry with their employers.

Ofsted said: “Highly skilled mariners are in great demand in both the public and private sectors. Searegs’ leaders work skilfully with employers to teach apprentices the skills they need to fill the skills gaps left by an ageing workforce.”

At the time of the April 30 to May 2 inspection, SeaRegs had 33 apprentices on the level 3 small commercial vessel (crewmember) apprenticeship and 20 apprentices studying the level 3 boatmaster apprenticeship.

Eight apprentices were aged under 19 during the inspection. Simon Jinks, director of SeaRegs Training, told FE Week that the provider attracts apprentices of all ages from 16 to 56 by sponsoring local football teams and talking to local sailing clubs.

Jinks, who runs the ITP with wife Vicky, said although it was their first Ofsted inspection, they were used to being inspected every six or seven weeks by a number of accredited regulators.

“We were delighted,” he said, reacting to the Ofsted outcome. 

“Realistically, I can’t thank the staff [enough]. As a training centre, we are as good as the teachers that are teaching for us and the staff who are backing it up with making sure that the paperwork and the processes are there.”

Ofsted was impressed by the “highly valuable” curriculum taught by instructors, who give apprentices additional learning options such as extra yachtmaster skills so they can further their knowledge.

“This prepares apprentices well for future job opportunities that interest them,” inspectors said.

The report commended teachers for their “well-honed” expertise which they apply to their own practice, which makes apprentices learn the context and potential dangers of working on maritime vessels.

The report also found that leaders worked “expertly well” with employers to plan and shape the curriculum so apprentices learn about the wide range of employers and vessels in the maritime industry. 

One example is the adaptation of the curriculum for both motor and sail-powered vessels so that apprentices can specialise in either discipline, which Ofsted said “widens the opportunities” when apprentices complete their studies. 

Jinks said: “We’ve put in a lot of time with employer and trade associations who have been responsibility for putting the apprenticeships together.

“We try and future-proof the apprentices because it’s a very certificate-led industry. When they do come out into industry, often we’ve found they’re the most qualified people in their organisation.”

Inspectors also spotted this and noted in their report that that apprentices achieve “a comprehensive suite” of industry-recognised qualifications throughout their apprenticeship. 

This suite includes safety and survival qualifications needed before any mariner can work. 

The report added: “Almost all apprentices complete their studies and all who remain on the programme pass their final assessments. Most remain with their employers and continue to develop their careers in the industry by undertaking further training.”

Jinks said his next plan for SeaRegs was to focus on recruitment and training staff.

“Let’s not go running and jumping to try and rule the world. Just consolidate and make sure that what we’re doing, we’re doing well,” he added.

No podium without pipeline: Formula 1 offers unlikely blueprint to tackle skills divide

Failure to address deep inequalities in the labour market isn’t just an image problem; it holds entire sectors back from meeting their skills needs, stifling innovation and growth. Perhaps none have been forced to come to terms with this more in recent years than one of the most high-profile sports of all, Formula 1.

The UK has a rich motorsport heritage, with seven of the ten F1 teams based in the tranquil Oxfordshire and West Midlands countryside, known as Motorsport Valley. But the latest research exploring the sector’s skills needs, collated in Edge’s new Skills Shortages Bulletin with a special F1 supplement, indicates the scale of the challenges, both on and off the grid.

In 2021, the Hamilton Commission identified barriers to achieving greater diversity at just about every stage, from young people’s understanding and perceptions of motorsport careers to post-16 education pathways and recruitment practices. More Than Equal – a not-for-profit founded by David Coulthard with the aim of delivering the first female F1 World Champion – modelled what it would take to achieve a 50/50 gender split on the F1 grid. It found that female participation would need to soar to 84% of the entire global racing population.

But it isn’t just about the drivers.

As Owen Carless, Head of Mechanical Simulation at Red Bull Ford Powertrains, told us: “You see a team of highly trained mechanics, a couple of drivers and some people on the pit wall. That’s the external image, but there’s a lot more to the team than that. There’s maybe a hundred people track-side. There’s ten times that working back in the factory”.

Yet, 61 per cent of mechanical engineering vacancies, 58 per cent of design and development engineering and 54 per cent of electrical engineering vacancies are due to skills shortages. Carless explained, the sector will “always want people who are sharp mathematically”, but also, “Engineering is quite a creative subject. Inherent in what we do is creating new solutions, thinking around problems, coming up with new ways forward.”

In that very spirit, Edge has identified the proactive partnerships already working to transform perceptions, open up access and strengthen the pipeline of skills into motorsport. And it’s starting in schools.

One standout initiative is STEMx, a brand-new collaboration launched in January 2025 between Milton Keynes College and Oracle Red Bull Racing. CEO and Principal of the college, Sally Alexander, spotted an aspiration gap; some students arrived at the College with preconceived notions about STEM careers and struggled to see themselves working in the bold, shiny motorsport HQs on their doorsteps. But, as she told us, “If we want to effect change with young people, we are much more powerful in partnership with employers.”

STEMx offers children aged 9-14 a unique programme including pit stop challenges, livery design, coding, and media training, all carefully crafted around curriculum topics like the science of speed, maths and racing strategy, and environmental ethics. By integrating F1-inspired challenges into the curriculum it makes STEM subjects both tangible and exciting for young learners. 99% of pupils said they enjoyed and benefitted from the experience.

Similarly, Sir Lewis Hamilton’s described experiencing “an education system that worked against him”, spurring him to establish Mission 44 to address the barriers to opportunity in motorsport amongst disadvantaged groups. In partnership with Causeway Education, the foundation is helping students to understand the qualification pathways to pursue roles beyond the track and, after hearing from young people about what they want to see, working with employers to provide greater salary transparency.

At the older age range, our Skills Shortages Bulletin also explores how Formula Student – a competition established in 1998 by the Institute for Mechanical Engineering which sees over 100 university teams from around the world design, build, and race single-seater cars at the iconic Silverstone racetrack – is developing students’ engineering, teamwork, business and project management skills and expanding their networks. Illustrative of its success, many of the organisers themselves are former competitors, including chief judge, Dan Jones, a team leader at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains.

The initiatives outlined are tailored to the needs of F1 and the automotive industry. But beyond STEM, many of the shortages they face – including teamwork, collaboration, project management, and problem-solving – mirror those in sectors ranging from healthcare to the creative industries. The underlying principles of long-term workforce planning offer valuable lessons for any industry grappling with recruitment and talent gaps.

These insights are just as relevant to policymakers. Skills England, for example, could take a page from motorsport’s playbook: start early, diversify talent pipelines, and create equitable opportunities for all young people – if they succeed, they’ll truly prove their worth!

Phillipson: Scrapping level 7 apprenticeships won’t harm skills supply

Removing public funding for level 7 apprenticeships is “unlikely” to lead to a “significant fall” in the supply of skills in the future, the education secretary has said.

Bridget Phillipson has also revealed that government officials did not find a “strong enough economic rationale” to exempt sector-specific level 7 apprenticeships standards from defunding.

Her comments were made in a written ministerial statement to parliament today following last week’s confirmation of the controversial policy.

As first reported by FE Week, the government will only continue to fund level 7 apprenticeships for those aged 16 to 21 in the future. 

This policy will kick in from January 2026 across all sectors.

Experts have warned that the decision will have a dire impact on public service workforces including the NHS and councils.

Phillipson said today that the Department for Education’s new executive agency, Skills England, spoke with over 700 stakeholders to evaluate the impact of defunding level 7 apprenticeships.

They found that “many” learners who completed these apprenticeships saw higher wages one year after study, compared with the average UK salary. It was “also clear that these apprenticeships are important for meeting the skills needs of the economy”.

However, Phillipson said alternative routes are “well supplied” and Skills England’s evidence “suggested there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding”.

“Therefore, we will be encouraging employers to invest in upskilling their staff to this level, to enable levy funding to be re-balanced towards training at lower levels,” the education secretary added.

Government faced calls for some specific level 7 apprenticeship standards to be exempt from the funding cull, such as the advanced clinical practitioner used in the NHS and chartered town planner used by councils.

But Phillipson said Skills England “did not find a strong enough economic rationale to exempt a small group of level 7 apprenticeship standards from defunding”.

She continued: “While level 7 apprenticeships can be a valuable route for some disadvantaged learners, a significant proportion are from non-deprived backgrounds and are significantly less likely to be deprived than apprentices at lower levels. 

“Level 7 generally has a higher proportion of older learners than other apprenticeships, particularly the senior leader apprenticeship (where 99 per cent are over 25) and standards with an embedded postgraduate qualification.”

The education secretary noted that there are “several exceptions” which benefit young people at the start of their careers, like solicitors and accountancy or taxation professionals. 

She said this is “why we have decided that younger learners, from all backgrounds, will continue to be funded under our reforms”, and added: “Level 7 apprenticeships are a valuable entry point for young people into good careers, such as law, accountancy and town planning; we have seen thousands take advantage of these opportunities and this will continue under our new approach.”

New data published last week showed that just 11 per cent of the 23,860 starts on level 7 apprenticeships in 2023-24 were by those aged under 22.

Phillipson claimed today that the defunding decision was “informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders”. Officials also “considered wider data and representations and weighed this up against the government’s clear priorities”.

Shadow skills minister Neil O’Brien told FE Week: “Huge numbers of employers and educators have warned the government about the disastrous effect this cut will have on the public services and on access to the professions for the less well off. But they have done it anyway.”

A leaked letter from Phillipson to Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, obtained by FE Week last month, suggested the age cap was introduced as a concession to win the support of her ministerial colleagues. 

Applications for Technical Excellence Colleges opening soon

As announced at the chancellor’s spring statement in March, £100 million of new investment for ten technical excellence colleges (TECs) will soon be available. This will involve giving existing further education colleges “additional funding to create specialist facilities, equipment, and curriculum for construction courses to directly meet industry needs”.

Around £80 million will be for capital and the remaining £20 million will be for revenue spending, with funds made available from 2025-26.

Phillipson said today that colleges will be able to apply to become “Construction TECs” and the application process will “open this term for ten, to launch in September 2025”.

No further information has been provided at this point.