UTC architect George Osborne says 14 start age ‘hasn’t worked’

George Osborne, who as chancellor was one of the driving forces behind university technical colleges, would consider scrapping the starting age of 14 if he were still in charge at the Treasury.

The former MP told the Commons education committee that he had been examining early issues with the project just before he left office in 2016, and had come to the conclusion that they are in need of radical reform.

He was in Parliament today in his capacity as chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, attending a hearing on improving skills and training in the north.

His ‘Educating the north’ report, released in February, discussed the need for more workplace-based learning options for 14-year-olds in the region.

However, he has now admitted that UTCs have perhaps not been the best option.

READ MORE: Northern Powerhouse education report: the eight findings for FE and skills

The idea of the 14-to-19 technical institutions was born at the end of the Gordon Brown’s Labour government with the backing of former Tory education secretary Lord Kenneth Baker, though the subsequent coalition government expanded on it.

“There was a question mark at starting it at 14,” he told MPs. “There is an argument that I was digging into before I left office that moving school at 14 is not always the easiest thing and people are reluctant.”

He said the model “clearly hasn’t worked” in some cases and “if I was back at the Treasury I would be looking at that”.

UTCs are seen by many as unwelcome competition to more established general FE and sixth-form colleges, which consistently return a much higher proportion of higher Ofsted grades.

Eight have so far closed, largely due to recruitment issues, and one fifth of the UTCs inspected by Ofsted so far are rated ‘inadequate’.

A number have already been forced to switch recruitment age to 13 in order to harmonise with ordinary comprehensive schools. They say changing at 14 is too disruptive to GCSE learning.

If I was back at the Treasury I would be looking at that

Mr Osborne is the latest senior figure involved in the inception of the specialist technical education providers to admit that the model, as it stands, is in serious trouble.

Michael Gove, who launched UTCs in his stint as education secretary, acknowledged in February last year that “the evidence has accumulated and the verdict is clear” that UTCs were in trouble.

Three months ago it emerged that Mr Gove had been “forced” to create UTCs by Mr Osborne and David Cameron.

FE Week approached Lord Baker and the Baker Dearing Trust but neither were available for comment at the time we went to press.

Mr Osborne was present at this morning’s hearing with Lord Jim O’Neill and Henri Murison, the vice-chair and director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership respectively.

The trio spoke heavily on the need for further devolution of the adult skills budget, which was one of the main recommendations in their report.

“Skills is going to take years to fix,” said Mr Murison. “In skills what the north needs is to get on with showing what works in devolving funding. I believe the adult education budget is the start because what we really need is influence over the entire spend from 0 to 25 in an area and a place.

Henri Murison

“I believe the local areas should have absolute influence in the skills system to make it for employers. Devolution is the solution.”

Mr Osborne even suggested the government might want to look at reintroducing the controversial individualised learning accounts.

The scheme was scrapped in 2001 after abuse by unscrupulous providers led to a reported £67 million fraud.

Mr Osborne said it has been a long time since the scandal and they could be used again in the future.

“I don’t know whether you could design them to be fraud-proof because in the human world you can’t create that, but you need to police it and punish those who offend,” he said.

“The problem with ILAs was the industrial scale abuse so whether you could revisit that policy and find a way I don’t know. It has been a long time and maybe revisiting that so the money can follow the individual and the individual can be more empowered, employers can ensure FE courses are relevant to them, I would be in the devolution space and I would introduce that.”

London UCU members vote to strike against NCG paymasters

UPDATE: Strike dates have been set for May 22 and 23, the UCU has announced today (May 4)

Staff at a London college involved in a long-distance merger with one of the country’s largest college groups have voted to strike over pay.

Members of the University and College Union at Lewisham Southwark College had already been up in arms over the way they’ve been treated in recent years, but they claim things have got even worse since August’s merger with NCG – whose headquarters is 300 miles away.

They say that over the past five years they have had their annual increments taken away, as well as their London weighting – an allowance designed to help workers with the cost of living in the capital, which is higher than that of the rest of the UK.

On top of this, UCU insists that NCG has said there will be no pay rises this year, even though the Association of College has recommended all staff get a one-per-cent increase.

Joe Docherty

The row over staff pay is thrown into sharp focus when taking into account the salary of NCG’s chief executive, Joe Docherty, who enjoyed a £227,000 salary in 2016/17, along with £33,000 in pension contributions and £21,000 from benefits in kind, according to the group’s most recent accounts.

A letter about the ballot, seen by FE Week, reads: “Even in colleges that have agreed to all the AoC’s recommended pay increases since 2009, staff are now 24.7 per cent worse off than they were in 2009 when compared to inflation.

“However, Lewisham Southwark College is in London where costs have risen even more steeply and yet management still refuse to implement any of the AoC’s recommendations.”

It added that NCG was attacking “the welfare of FE staff at the core of the college with pay cuts for a decade, no increments and, unlike most London colleges, no London weighting”.

“This is against a backdrop of NCG acquiring – for no cost – over £100 million of London assets, and our CEO on a pay package of at least £278,000.”

101 disgruntled union members at the college were balloted on Friday and just under 95 per cent voted in favour of strike action. Strike dates are yet to be confirmed.

To prevent it, the UCU is demanding that NCG agrees to pay rises of three per cent plus RPI with a minimum uplift of £900, the reintroduction of London weighting and the reintroduction of annual increments.

“Staff at Lewisham Southwark College have seen their pay held down for years and they have had enough,” said the UCU’s head of FE Andrew Harden.

Staff have seen their pay held down for years and they have had enough

“In the recent ballot they overwhelmingly backed strike action in defence of pay and NCG needs to respond positively to that demand or risks facing disruption.”

A spokesperson for Lewisham Southwark College, said: “NCG is committed to working in collaboration with UCU, and we always try to find a resolution acceptable to all parties as outlined in our partnership agreement wherever that is possible.

“We of course respect the right of trade union members to participate in strike action following a ballot.

“Our first duty is always to our students and the college will work to minimise any impact during strike action.”

Lewisham Southwark College joined forces with NCG, based in Newcastle, on August 1.

This was despite the controversial nature of the plans, due to the distance between both, which provoked the London borough of Lewisham into questioning the sense of their local college joining with a group whose headquarters is 300 miles away from the capital.

As well as Lewisham Southwark, NCG is comprised of Carlisle College, Kidderminster College, Newcastle College, Newcastle Sixth Form College, and West Lancashire College. It also runs two training providers called Rathbone Training and Intraining.

PIC: UCU members outside Lewisham Southwark College 

Skills minister and ESFA boss speaking at AELP conference

The skills minister and the recently appointed leader of the Education and Skills Funding Agency are the standout speakers at this year’s national conference for independent FE providers.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ biggest annual event is taking place over June 25 and 26 in London’s Hammersmith.

FE Week is the media partner and will produce a supplement on site recapping on all the highlights.

Skills and apprenticeships minister Anne Milton will deliver her second keynote speech to AELP delegates on the morning of day one. She also spoke at the national conference in June last year, just 10 days after she had been appointed as minister.

The chief executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency will talk in the afternoon on the theme of “managing sector reforms”.

Eileen Milner was only appointed to the top job in November, so her views half a year on will be eagerly anticipated. Her predecessor Peter Lauener focused in his farewell speech at last year’s national conference, on his experiences with launching the Institute for Apprenticeships.

It couldn’t be a more exciting time to hold a conference

“This is shaping up to be the biggest and best AELP conference yet, with a fantastic line-up of speakers who have the pulse on the sector reforms,” said AELP boss Mark Dawe. 

“Not only does it give our members a great opportunity to debate how the reforms are going, but we can help influence the next stage of the apprenticeship changes after April 2019 and the roll-out of T-levels. It couldn’t be a more exciting time to hold a conference.”

The morning of day two will see Keith Smith talking on the theme of “employers tackling the skills challenge”. The senior skills civil servant recently switched from being the ESFA’s director of funding and programmes to become its director of apprenticeships.

He warned at the 2017 conference that providers using employers as subcontractors in ways that are “contrary to the spirit” of the apprenticeship reforms would face tough consequences.

The shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden will give a keynote speech in the afternoon.

The conference chair will again be the BBC’s education correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti.

An AELP spokesperson said that further announcements on who will be speaking over the two days will be announced in the coming weeks.

Charity set to announce purchase of People 1st

UPDATE: The Workforce Development Trust has confirmed the acquisition of People 1st. However, the Institute for Apprenticeships has said a formal agreement for the trust to take on responsibility for apprenticeship external quality assurance is yet to be made. “We will make a decision on the provision of EQA once discussions between People 1st and the Workforce Development Trust have concluded and the nature of the business going forward is clear,” an IfA spokesperson told FE Week this evening.

 

The Workforce Development Trust has bought up the apprenticeships division of People 1st, after it went bust earlier this week, FE Week can reveal.

The deal, which is set to be announced on Monday, means that People 1st will continue to deliver apprenticeship external quality assurance under its new owners.

The employment and learning consultancy charity’s demise, confirmed on Thursday morning, sent shockwaves across the sector.

It was one of five EQA providers approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships, and covered ten popular standards in the retail, hospitality and travel sectors.

FE Week revealed on Friday evening that the WDT, which includes Skills for Health and Skills for Justice, was in talks with the Institute for Apprenticeships to take over this important activity.

But, according to an announcement from the trust seen by FE Week, the deal goes even further than that.

It says that WDT has acquired “key strategic elements” of People 1st which will allow the employment and learning consultancy charity to “continue as a standalone organisation”.

People 1st, under its new ownership, will continue to focus on “key activities including apprenticeships, EQA, accreditation services and work in the devolved nations and international markets”.

John Rogers, WDT chief executive, said he was “delighted” to welcome People 1st to the trust, according to the announcement.

“We are pleased to be able to ensure that People 1st can continue to provide its highly regarded strategic services.”

And Simon Tarr, chief executive of People 1st, said that becoming part of the WDT Group was the “ideal solution for our clients and our people”.

The Workforce Development Trust is made up of Skills for Health, Skills for Justice, the National Skills Academy for Health and SFJ Awards, an awarding organisation.

Skills for Health was originally the sector skills council for the health sector, while Skills for Justice was the sector skills council for the justice sector. The two merged in 2015, and have been involved in developing apprenticeship standards for their sectors.

People 1st was once the employer-led sector skills council for hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism in the UK, responsible for developing and managing apprenticeships.

In addition to its EQA role, the body acted on behalf of 18 trailblazer employer groups to develop new standards, and was also the issuing authority for a number of frameworks.

 

Apprenticeship qualifications: no uptake under new rules

No employer groups have taken advantage of the Institute for Apprenticeships’ new rules for including qualifications in apprenticeships, FE Week can reveal.

The IfA announced in February, as part of its reform programme to make the approval of standards “faster and better”, that off-the-job technical qualifications could now be included in apprenticeships – news that was welcomed by many across the sector.

But the first window for employer groups to request a revision to an existing standard following the rule change closed on April 11 without a single bid to add a qualification, a spokesperson for the IfA has said.

One employer group asked for a qualification in a standard that’s still in development, although it’s not clear if it was one that wouldn’t have been allowed under the old rules.

The IfA refused to comment on the lack of applications, claiming that it is “very early days”.

However, Mark Dawe, the chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, suggested a lack of promotion by the IfA could be behind the absence of submissions.
“We simply didn’t know this was happening, so if we didn’t know, would other stakeholders know?” he said.

Paul Eeles, chair of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, expects there to be far more interest in the coming months.

“As this change beds in and employers become more aware of what is now likely to be acceptable when they are submitting their apprenticeship standards, we believe that the inclusion of qualifications will become more commonplace,” he said.

Paul Eeles

He pointed out that the change is “not a move to allow all types of qualifications to be included in apprenticeship standards” which means employer groups “still face restrictions on what they can include” in apprenticeships.

FE Week exclusively revealed in early February that the IfA would overturn previously strict rules that limited the types of qualifications that could be included in apprenticeship standards.
The change was confirmed the following week, as part of the institute’s “faster and better” reform programme.

Qualifications could formerly only be mandated in a standard where it was a regulatory requirement required by a professional body, or such a “must-have in the labour market that an apprentice would be disadvantaged in job applications without it”.

The new rules now allow “an off-the-job technical qualification that does not accredit full occupational competence and would either add breadth to the apprenticeship or provide structure for the off-the-job training” to be made mandatory in an apprenticeship.

And a bar on including qualifications still in development, introduced last summer, was overturned.

These changes applied to both new standards and those still in development.

News of the qualification U-turn was welcomed by many in the sector, including Mr Eeles and John Hyde, the executive chairman of HIT Training.

However, he told FE Week this week that the “mantra” from the IfA was still that “the apprenticeship itself is the qualification and they hope overtime this will accepted”.

Meanwhile, others have argued that the rule change doesn’t go far enough.

Anthony Elgey, the general manager of MP Futures, who has been involved in developing several apprenticeships in the mineral products industry, said the IfA is “still not listening to what employers are asking for”.

“Swathes of employers in all kinds of trailblazers are saying they would like vocational qualifications mandated in standards, especially those which test on-the-job competence,” he said in an FE Week expert piece in February.

The next IfA submission window closes at midnight on May 23.

Ofsted’s new provider monitoring and subcontracting visits explained

Paul Joyce, one of the inspectorate’s head skills honchos, lays out the thinking behind the two new forms of visit Ofsted will be making in the FE sector

Ofsted recently announced it would be conducting two new types of monitoring visit. The first, as announced by HM chief inspector Amanda Spielman last November, are monitoring visits to a sample of new apprenticeship providers. The second, announced in February, are monitoring visits to directly funded providers to look specifically at subcontracted provision.

The subcontractor monitoring visits were undertaken as part of an increased focus on this kind of provision, though we are also looking at it in more detail during both our full and short inspections. This reflects our corporate strategy, in which we are committed to ensuring that inspections have the right focus in order to really see what education and training learners are getting.

These monitoring visits focus on how the main contractor manages the quality of its subcontracted provision. We have published the first two of these monitoring visit reports; both found that the management of these subcontractors was not good enough.

When main providers lose sight of what is going on in the subcontracted provision, it can lead to problems with quality

Subcontracting is changing significantly, a fact which is, at least in part, linked to funding-rule changes and the apprenticeship levy. We do see some providers expanding their subcontracting, but on inspection we have also seen a number of providers drastically reducing and reorganising their subcontracted provision and sometimes even bringing the services back in-house.

When main providers lose sight of what is going on in the subcontracted provision, it can lead to problems with quality. Through our standard inspection process, we see that many subcontractors do a great job and have a positive and effective relationship with their main provider. We know that this is not always the case, however.

These monitoring visits are designed to look specifically at that relationship and at the management and quality of provision in subcontractors. The main provider is responsible for ensuring their learners get high-quality training which meets their needs. We are determined to expose any underperformance in subcontracted provision within the system.

We have also recently published the first three reports from our new provider monitoring visits, and more will be published in the coming weeks. These visits allow us to see if providers are on the right track. They aim to detect problems early, while taking into account that, as new providers, they are just getting started, so some teething problems will be likely.

These visits are not full inspections, and providers do not get an overall Ofsted grade. They are monitoring visits with progress judgements. Providers will then get a full inspection within the usual three-year period. The provider is judged to have either made sufficient, reasonable or insignificant progress against these themes:

How much progress have leaders made in ensuring that the provider is meeting all the requirements of successful apprenticeship provision?

What progress have leaders and managers made in ensuring that apprentices benefit from high-quality training that leads to positive outcomes for apprentices?

How much progress have leaders and managers made in ensuring that effective safeguarding arrangements are in place?

Our first three reports give a mixed picture.

There is no doubt that the Key6 report was disappointing. But it is important that we don’t over-interpret one result as a judgement on all new providers who are coming on stream as a result of the levy. If anything the Key6 report is a sign our robust approach to detecting underperformance early.

By contrast with Key6 Group, London College of Apprenticeship Training (LCoAT) has shown real strengths in leadership and engagement with employers, while Jigsaw Training was found to be making reasonable progress in all three areas.

It is vital that Ofsted acts to challenge the sector during this period of change. We will be doing what we can to ensure that these changes do what they are supposed to, namely deliver the high quality education and training that apprentices deserve.

Paul Joyce is Deputy Director of further education and skills at Ofsted

How WorldSkills is just like the Olympics

With over 100,000 people at WorldSkills 2017, you realise the size of the task facing our top apprentices as they prepare for the next “skills Olympics”, explains Peter Bakare

I always tell people that training for WorldSkills, is no different than training for the Olympics. I see the same hunger and determination in the apprentices I am working with ahead of EuroSkills 2018 and WorldSkills 2019 that I saw in my teammates when I competed as a Team GB Olympian in 2012.

The truth is in representing their country, a WorldSkills UK champion and a Team GB Olympian have very similar journeys. Both start at grassroots level, progressing nationally, then internationally. Having excelled in the national finals of the WorldSkills UK competitions, our apprentices have achieved something that 99.99 per cent of the population will never do: they can proudly say they are “the best of the best”.

However the hard work doesn’t stop there.

As you would expect, technical skills development makes up a large part of the training programme. Volunteer training managers are appointed to devise this training, and there is certainly no room for mistakes. Being just one millimetre out on a measurement can result in points dropped and that is the difference between winning and losing a medal.

This, though, is only half the story.

Our apprentices need the mindset of medal-winning champions to succeed on the world stage. It is my job, and that of the volunteer WorldSkills UK performance coaches, to help them get this right.

Launching this coaching programme at the WorldSkills UK training camp at Loughborough University this month, we took sports psychology to stretch and develop our apprentices. Throughout their 18-month development programme, we will cover key areas including nutrition, health and wellbeing, performing under pressure, effective communication skills, organisation and maintaining a positive mental attitude.

  A WorldSkills UK champion and a Team GB Olympian have very similar journeys

We even teach our apprentices how to control their “inner chimp”. Based on the findings of leading sports psychiatrist Professor Steve Peters, this refers to the part of the brain fuelled on impulsive emotion and gut instinct. In training, led by my fellow coach Greg Houghton, we show our apprentices and learners that by using logic over impulse, they can achieve optimum performance not only in competition but in their workplaces as well. Seeing the apprentices embrace this learning is why training for WorldSkills is so much more than just preparing for a competition.

We know that many of members of Team UK end up promoted at work. They have told us that following their training with WorldSkills UK, they head back into work at least five years ahead of their peers, both in technical knowledge but also maturity. It is this accelerated learning which shows why our apprentices are the role models that our prime minister is looking for to showcase the young talent in this county.

When I was training for the 2012 Olympics I was focused solely on delivering my best performance. The apprentices who attended the WorldSkills UK Training Camp are no different. However, we know that once their skills competition journey ends, their determination to be the best doesn’t and it is UK PLC which is benefiting.

A chef who has worked at no fewer than three Michelin-starred restaurants, a paint technician part of the team behind Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One success, and a fashion designer who was headhunted to work at Yves Saint Laurent and now runs his own fashion label have two things in common: their success all happened under the age of 30 – and they all won medals at WorldSkills.

It is stories like this which inspired me to become a performance coach. A few years ago, someone gave an East-End boy a chance. That boy was me and through competing I achieved my goals. I now want to help other young people succeed in work and life through competing. Together we can create the role models to inspire the next generation.

Register your interest to take part in the WorldSkills UK Selection Process for WorldSkills Shanghai 2021 here.

Peter Bakare is a Team GB Olympian and WorldSkills UK performance coach

IfA in talks with charity to take on EQA role after People 1st goes bust

The Institute for Apprenticeships is understood to be close to reaching a deal with an organisation to take over the now-defunct People 1st’s external quality assurance role.

The Workforce Development Trust, which includes Skills for Health and Skills for Justice, is reported to be close to taking on the role following the collapse of the employment and learning consultancy charity this week.

People 1st’s demise, confirmed on Thursday morning, sent shockwaves across the sector.

It was one of five EQA providers approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships, and covered ten popular standards in the retail, hospitality and travel sectors.

FE Week understands that IfA staff are supporting an application from the Workforce Development Trust to take over these EQA responsibilities.

That application needs to be ratified by the IfA’s quality assurance committee, and an official announcement is understood to be expected on Monday.

The Workforce Development Trust is made up of Skills for Health, Skills for Justice, the National Skills Academy for Health and SFJ Awards, an awarding body.

Skills for Health was originally the sector skills council for the health sector, while Skills for Justice was the sector skills council for the justice sector. The two merged in 2015, and have been involved in developing apprenticeship standards for their sectors.

FE Week has contacted the trust to confirm these reports, but has yet to receive a response.

However, a spokesperson for the IfA denied that it was in discussions with any other organisation.

“We are working with People 1st to put measures in place to ensure that there is continuous provision of EQA for all apprenticeship standards where employers have selected People 1st as their chosen provider,” she said.

People 1st was once the employer-led sector skills council for hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism in the UK, responsible for developing and managing apprenticeship standards.

Comments made to FE Week in February 2017 indicated high hopes that plans to manage external quality-assurance for apprenticeship end-point assessment in the retail, hospitality and travel industries would help the body survive financially.

“The retail, hospitality and travel industries have elected to use an employer process for external quality-assurance of apprenticeship end-point assessment,” a spokesperson said at the time.

“The cost of external-quality assurance is currently being finalised, but we have advised organisations that are on, or aspiring to be on, the register of apprenticeship assessment organisations, that we do not envisage the price exceeding £40 per apprentice at end-point assessment.”

How FE can help prepare the UK’s next generation of doctors

Medicine has long been the near-exclusive preserve of higher education, but the QAA’s Julie Mizon has big plans to change that

In a speech to the Conservative Party conference in 2016, the health secretary Jeremy Hunt set a target for training up to 1,500 more new doctors each year from 2018 – 25 per cent more than previous years. It would be, he said, “the biggest annual increase in medical student training in the history of the NHS”, and would make the UK ‘self-sufficient’, no longer reliant on recruiting doctors from overseas to staff the NHS. No small feat.

Was this target met? Not quite, but there are 500 extra places available for students who’ve made their UCAS applications for entry this autumn. A further 1,000 places are anticipated next September. In spite of headlines about pay and conditions for doctors working in the NHS today, medicine remains an attractive career path.

The government wants to allocate these extra places to medical schools that have a commitment to taking candidates from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The British Medical Association is also working hard to widen participation.

A perception clings to medicine, that it is for more advantaged students

It’s a worthy aim, but a perception clings to medicine, that it is for more advantaged students. With able 18-year-olds with a clutch of top A-levels queuing to get into medical schools, what role does the access to HE diploma have to play?

Access to HE changes lives by preparing adults with few or no qualifications for higher education. Students with access to HE diplomas are more likely to come from backgrounds or postcodes where higher education participation is lower. Most of them seek to study at their local FE college.

It’s also attractive to students on lower incomes who might be wary of taking on more debt just even to think of applying for university. Access to HE is the only level three qualification where, on successful completion of a higher education qualification, the balance of any advance learner loan taken out to pay tuition fees is written off by the Student Loans Company.

For some years now, the most popular access to HE subjects have been nursing and other health professions. Typically, the qualification is taken by those who did not achieve highly at school and decide later in life that they want to work in a graduate-entry profession.

Access to nursing is characteristic of this pattern, and adult enrolments skyrocketed after a degree became the only route of entry available to aspiring nurses.

Medicine is a different story. In 2016-17, 53 per cent of access enrolments were in a healthcare subject, but of these only two per cent of total enrolments were preparing students for a medical degree.

We want to change that. In 2013, QAA introduced a new specification for the diploma that it has regulated for over two decades, securing its place in the UCAS tariff system – an important step in increasing its credibility for entry to more competitive courses.

We are now liaising closely with the Medical Schools Council to develop a descriptor for a new access to HE diploma. We’re proposing that, subject to acceptance by UK medical schools, this diploma in medicine will have common elements nationwide, to facilitate both student progression and greater standardisation of outcomes.

This will help more students like Helen Price, who left school at 15 with no qualifications to care for her grandmother. After her grandmother’s death, and by then a mother of two, Helen took diploma at her local college and was accepted onto a medical degree by Keele University. Fast forward a decade, and she’s now a fully qualified doctor in a busy emergency department.

More access learners should be able to follow in Helen’s footsteps. They should in future have the confidence to apply for medicine knowing that, in spite of fierce competition for places, their skills and abilities will not only be considered on a par with A-levels, but be valued and actively sought after by admissions staff.

Julie Mizon is Access Manager at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education