A major college that has been battling a financial crisis has clawed its way up to a ‘good’ Ofsted rating, four years after it tumbled from the top grade to the bottom.

City of Liverpool College has experienced a rocky few years since its current principal Elaine Bowker took over in 2011, including two interventions from the FE commissioner.

But it now appears to have emerged into the light once more.

In an Ofsted report published this morning, leaders were lauded for identifying the college’s strengths and “areas for improvement” through a “comprehensive self-assessment process that involves all staff”.

Senior leaders set “measurable targets to improve, which they check regularly”, inspectors said, and there is a “culture of high expectations”.

They have “rectified most areas” that needed improving at the previous inspection in 2015, in which it received a grade three.

Governors hold senior leaders and managers to account for the quality of education and training, and they provide a “good level of scrutiny and challenge”.

Students and apprentices meanwhile develop the practical and technical skills “they need for work”.

“Consequently most of them progress into further study, higher education or employment,” inspectors wrote.

Ms Bowker first caused controversy in 2012/13, when she was given a £40,000 pay rise, up from £139,000, in the same year that the college’s Ofsted rating nosedived from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’.

The college had an FE commissioner intervention in December 2013 after the EFA described its 2012/13 financial health as ‘inadequate’.

The intervention finished in November 2014, following an improved Ofsted rating, and a more encouraging financial performance in 2013/14.

But it was referred again before it was allocated over £15 million for 2017/18, and told the ESFA last January that it needed £2 million in exceptional financial support to cover working capital requirements.

This prompted a further notice of concern in February 2017.

A warning of “financial crisis” amid a £15 million deficit was published in March – along with a critical letter from the then-apprenticeships minister Robert Halfon.

The college came in for more ministerial criticism for its poor oversight of the doomed apprenticeship provider First4Skills in March, which was 60-per-cent owned by City of Liverpool College.

Despite these catastrophic troubles the college has stuck by its principal and even took the highly unusual step of extending the notice period in her contract to 12 months, which FE Week revealed in April.

Today’s Ofsted report said that the 8,000-learner college’s leaders “recognise the challenges” that they face to maintain financial stability.

Inspectors noted that they have taken steps to “manage the college’s financial future so that the decisions they take do not affect the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and students’ achievements”.

Colleges will get £600 for every extra student who studies maths at level three under a proposal due to be set out in today’s budget.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the chancellor will announce the £177 million incentive as part of a bundle of new education measures.

The money for maths skills will cover a £600 payment to schools and colleges for every extra student who continues to study the subject beyond GCSE, which the Treasury confirmed this morning.

This applies to all level three maths provision, so it includes core maths qualifications.

“Colleges will welcome any new investment in 16 to 19 education, as sixth formers in England are chronically underfunded compared to other countries and other phases of education,” said James Kewin, the deputy chief executive of the SFCSA.

“Our recent funding impact survey showed that over a third of schools and colleges have dropped STEM courses as a result of funding pressures, including further maths and core maths qualifications.”

Core maths was first introduced for teaching in 2014 and is a “generic title” for a range of different level three maths qualifications, but not a qualification in itself.

Its purpose is to widen participation in the subject from 16 and to support the development of maths skills for progression to higher education and employment.

It is mostly for learners not studying A-levels to study a level three maths course alongside their main study programme.

Core maths is used in the Department for Education’s 16-t0-19 performance tables and can be used as part of the tech bacc – a vocational qualification which involves students taking one or more tech levels, a maths qualification and an extended written project, and will appear in T-levels.

“This new package of measures does not address the fundamental underfunding of sixth form education in England,” added Mr Kewin.

“The government’s priority should be to ensure that schools and colleges receive the funding they need to provide young people with a rounded, high quality, education – irrespective of the subjects they choose to study at A-level.

“The government has clearly listened to some of the concerns expressed through the Support Our Sixth-formers campaign – but there is still a long way to go to ensure all sixth form students in England get a fair deal on funding.”

Support Our Sixth Formers, also backed by the Association of Colleges and FE Week, wants a £200 “SOS uplift” in 16-to-18 per-pupil funding rates.

The maths level three funding announcement comes on top of Philip Hammond’s other budget plans to invest £76 million into retraining adults who want to work in the digital and construction sectors.

The Treasury is to roll the fund out in a new “formal partnership” with the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress, which will oversee a new national retraining scheme.

The chancellor will make his budget statement in parliament shortly before 1pm today.

Plans to invest £76 million into retraining adults who want to work in the digital and construction sectors have been explained ahead of the budget.

The Treasury will roll the fund out in a new “formal partnership” with the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress, which will oversee a new national retraining scheme.

A spokesperson for the Treasury explained this will be divided between digital skills and construction.

“As a first step, £36 million will be invested in digital skills courses using AI, so that people can benefit from this emerging technology as they train for digital tech jobs in one of the fastest growing sectors across Britain,” she said.

A further £40 million will be invested in construction training programmes across the country, she explained, to train people for jobs such as groundworkers, bricklayers, roofers and plasterers.

“In order to build the homes the nation needs, it is vital there are enough construction workers with the right skills to meet this challenge,” she added.

“The government is establishing a formal partnership with the CBI and TUC to oversee the national retraining scheme, to help adults across the country to retrain and get the skills they need to succeed in the new economy.”

This partnership will be expanded a later date to oversee retraining for other priority sectors, the spokesperson said.

The announcement was made by the Treasury ahead of the budget, to be unveiled by chancellor Philip Hammond on Wednesday (November 22).

“The CBI looks forward to working alongside the government and the TUC to build an approach that works for the long-term,” said Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI director-general.

“It is the training decisions that take place every day in businesses across the country that will make a difference – so a genuine partnership is needed to get the system delivering effectively for businesses and employees.”

She added that this new commitment to retraining will be welcomed by businesses across the country, but it must “go hand in hand with government readiness to reform the skills system to meet the challenges that the partnership identifies, including the apprenticeship levy”.

The TUC’s general secretary Frances O’Grady said that “every worker deserves the opportunity to improve their skills and get qualified for better-paid work”.

“We welcome the proposal that government, trade unions and business get around the table to tackle Britain’s great skills challenge, and we look forward to learning more details,” she said.

“The TUC wants all workers to get the support and security they need through the changes to come. Everyone, in every corner of the country, needs the chance to learn, win promotion, and boost their pay packets.”

The Conservatives committed to a national retraining scheme in their general election manifesto back in May.

But they did not go into details about funding at the time, other than to link it to cash being available through the apprenticeship levy launched for large employers in April.

The manifesto said that to “help workers to stay in secure jobs as the economy changes”, the government would introduce a national retraining scheme, under which “the costs of training will be met by the government, with companies able to gain access to the apprenticeship levy to support wage costs during the training period”.

Nearly 200 of the UK’s most talented young tradespeople were rewarded with gold, silver and bronze medals at The Skills Show’s closing ceremony tonight – at which a Scottish college emerged as the biggest winner for the third year in a row.

Those that finished in the top three positions in 55 different skill areas, as well as 26 competitors with learning difficulties who participated in inclusive skills competitions, took home the top prizes after working tirelessly over the last three days.

It was City of Glasgow College, who finished second at last year’s show and first in 2015, which came out on top, with eight of their students claiming medals. They finished top of the official medal table with a total of 22 points (see full table below).

In second was northern Ireland’s Southern Regional College with a total of 17 points, followed by Scotland’s New College Lanarkshire, who came first last year, in third with 15 points.

The winners were presented with their awards at a special ceremony hosted by TV presenter Will Best.

“This has been a wonderful showcase for UK skills,” Dr Neil Bentley, chief executive of WorldSkills UK, said after the event.

“The competition was fierce and the standards very high – all the finalists have done brilliantly well just to get this far. All their hard work and dedication has been rewarded and we at WorldSkills UK salute you.”

Record numbers of spectators, totalling more than 80,000, thronged the thrilling three-day interactive careers event.

Almost 500 young apprentices, exponents of 55 disciplines – as diverse as aircraft maintenance, 3D game design, cabinet making, plumbing, beauty therapy and cyber security – took part in the National Finals.

Skills minister Anne Milton, who attended the event with several other Cabinet colleagues this week, said: “You have something amazing – WorldSkills UK is without doubt one of the most important organisations within my portfolio.

“Skills have never been higher on the government agenda.”

Many of the winners now have the opportunity to go forward and be considered for Team UK selection and represent their country in forthcoming international finals in Budapest and Kazan in Russia.

At the recent WorldSkills Finals in Abu Dhabi, known as the ‘skills Olympics’, Team UK finished 10th out of 77 countries.

Full medals table

Rank	Points	Organisation	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1	22	City of Glasgow College	2	3	2
2	17	Southern Regional College	2	1	2
3	15	New College Lanarkshire	1	2	1
4	13	Leeds College of Building	2	1	1
5	12	The College of West Anglia	2	1	0
6	11	The John Warner School	2	1	0
6	11	Riverpark Training	2	1	0
6	11	UTC Sheffield	2	0	1
7	10	The Goldsmiths’ Centre	1	1	1
8	9	North East Surrey College of Technology	0	2	1
8	9	NPTC Group	0	2	1
9	8	Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology	2	0	0
9	8	Brockenhurst College	2	0	0
9	8	Highbury College, Portsmouth	2	0	0
9	8	KMF Group Limited	1	1	0
9	8	Burnley College	1	1	0
9	8	Middlesex University	0	2	1
9	8	Coleg Gwent	0	1	2
10	7	EEF Technology Training Centre	1	1	0
10	7	Guildford College of Further and Higher Education	1	1	0
10	7	QinetiQ	1	0	1
10	7	South West College	1	0	1
10	7	Northern Regional College	1	0	1
10	7	BAE Systems	0	1	1
11	6	West Cheshire College	1	0	1
11	6	Coleg Sir Gar	1	0	1
11	6	Coleg Cambria	0	2	0
11	6	Myerscough College	0	1	1
12	5	Training 2000 Limited	1	0	0
12	5	Sussex Downs College	0	1	1
12	5	South Eastern Regional College	0	1	1
12	5	North West Regional College	0	1	1
12	5	Leicester College	0	1	0
12	5	Cardiff and Vale College	0	0	2
13	4	Building Crafts College	1	0	0
13	4	Nottingham Trent University	1	0	0
13	4	University of Kent	1	0	0
13	4	Academy of Floral Art	1	0	0
13	4	West Midlands Nail & Beauty Academy	1	0	0
13	4	ISA Training	1	0	0
13	4	Reds Hair Company	1	0	0
13	4	New College, Durham	1	0	0
13	4	Loughborough College	1	0	0
13	4	Stafford College	1	0	0
13	4	West College Scotland	1	0	0
13	4	West Suffolk College	1	0	0
13	4	Wiltshire College	1	0	0
13	4	Lakes College, West Cumbria	1	0	0
13	4	Eastleigh College	1	0	0
13	4	Exeter College	1	0	0
13	4	City of Liverpool College	1	0	0
13	4	Airbus UK	1	0	0
13	4	Callow & Grifffiths Ltd	1	0	0
13	4	CarnaudMetalBox	1	0	0
13	4	Scania (GB) Ltd	1	0	0
13	4	Simpson G Butchers Ltd	1	0	0
13	4	Barking and Dagenham College	1	0	0
13	4	Bradford College	1	0	0
13	4	York College	0	1	0
13	4	Moulton College	0	1	0
13	4	Kendal College	0	0	2
13	4	Pembrokeshire College	0	0	1
14	3	Yorkshire Coast College	0	1	0
14	3	Moray College UHI	0	1	0
14	3	Truro and Penwith College	0	1	0
14	3	Macclesfield College	0	1	0
14	3	Mid-Kent College	0	1	0
14	3	Newcastle College	0	1	0
14	3	Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group	0	1	0
14	3	Olive Training	0	1	0
14	3	South Wales & South West Roof Training Group	0	1	0
14	3	Inverclyde Academy	0	1	0
14	3	5E Ltd	0	1	0
14	3	Derby College	0	1	0
14	3	Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College	0	1	0
14	3	Gateshead College	0	1	0
14	3	Bath College	0	1	0
14	3	Trinity Precision Engineering Ltd	0	1	0
14	3	Taylors Farm Shop	0	1	0
14	3	DMG Mori Seiki UK Ltd.	0	1	0
14	3	Reds Hair Company	0	1	0
14	3	Royal Navy – HMS Seahawk	0	1	0
14	3	Ryder Ltd	0	1	0
14	3	Acorn Learning & Development	0	1	0
14	3	JCB Transmissions	0	1	0
14	3	Coleg Ceredigion	0	1	0
14	3	College of North West London	0	0	1
14	3	Cornwall College	0	0	1
14	3	Gower College Swansea	0	0	1
14	3	Hull College	0	0	1
15	2	Stephenson College – Volvo	0	0	1
15	2	Royal Navy	0	0	1
15	2	Lowestoft College	0	0	1
15	2	Weston College	0	0	1
15	2	Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education	0	0	1
15	2	Lincoln College	0	0	1
15	2	Fife College	0	0	1
15	2	Edinburgh College	0	0	1
15	2	Craven College	0	0	1
15	2	Darlington College of Technology	0	0	1
15	2	Central College Nottingham	0	0	1
15	2	Chesterfield College	0	0	1
15	2	City College Plymouth	0	0	1
15	2	Cambridge Regional College	0	0	1
15	2	Canterbury College	0	0	1
15	2	GJ Maintenance Engineering Ltd	0	0	1
15	2	Industrial Automation & Control Ltd	0	0	1
15	2	Doosan Babcock	0	0	1
15	2	Sheffield Teaching Hospitals	0	0	1
15	2	Magellan Aerospace (UK) Ltd.	0	0	1
15	2	West Malling Flowers	0	0	1
15	2	Themis	0	0	1
15	2	Toyota Manufacturing Ltd	0	0	1
15	2	Bedford College	0	0	1
15	2	Bridgwater and Taunton College	0	0	1
16	1	Bridgwater College	0	0	0
16	1	Technical Retail Services Ltd	0	0	0
16	1	The Canopy Company	0	0	0
16	1	Autodesk	0	0	0
16	1	Fleurtatious	0	0	0
16	1	East Kent College	0	0	0
16	1	Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor	0	0	0
16	1	Coleg Menai	0	0	0
16	1	Birmingham City University	0	0	0
16	1	South Devon College	0	0	0
16	1	Alton College	0	0	0

The Institute for Apprenticeships has announced the full membership lists for its 15 industry route panels, who will play a key role in deciding the readiness of apprenticeship standards in development.

The 80 new members revealed today, who come from a range of industrial and private-sector backgrounds, will join the 15 expert chairs of the panels who were announced in April,bringing the total membership to 95.

Big name employers who are represented include Microsoft, the V&A, Lloyds of London, Jaguar Land Rover, Royal Navy, Toni & Guy, the Lawn Tennis Association, and National Crime Agency.

The panels will play “a pivotal role” in recommending whether an apprenticeship standard is ready to be finalised, or if it needs further work from the Trailblazer group of employers tasked with developing them.

The Institute’s chair, Antony Jenkins, said he was “delighted” to have brought together “such an array of experts and sector leaders to support employers in developing high quality apprenticeships.

“Our route panels sit at the heart of our work, driving up quality and making sure apprenticeships are fit for purpose for employers and learners alike.

“The decisions each member takes will help shape the workforce within their industry now and in the years to come,” he added.

Members are appointed to each panel on a two-year term, with further appointments possible in response to the demands of emerging apprenticeship standards.

An IfA spokesperson explained the largest is in engineering and manufacturing, with 10 members in addition to the chair. Some of the smaller groups currently consist of two members plus the chair.

“The size and collective expertise of each panel broadly correlates to the number and requirements of relevant standards expected to be developed during the two-year term,” he said.

“The institute will stay responsive to the demands of emerging standards, potentially recruiting further panellists if the need arises.”

Also announced in April, was the 11 member panel of apprentices, made up of current or recent apprentices from a wide range of occupations and experiences from up and down the country. Holly Broadhurst and Adam Sharp, two of the winners at the National Apprenticeship Awards 2016, were among those chosen to sit on the panel.

The panel is supposed to decide what issues to focus on and ensure the apprentice voice is heard within the decision making structure of the institute.

The IfA’s full route panel membership list

Agriculture, Environment and Animal Care

Group chair: Richard Self, project manager at Edge Careers and agricultural manager at Co-operatives UK

Vice chair: Professor Quintin McKellar CBE, vice chancellor and Professor of Vetinary Science at University of Hertfordshire

Member: Peter Danks, director at Agricultural Environmentalist and Reading Agricultural Consultants

Business and Administration

Group chair: Andrew Ground, chief executive and co-founder of Tutorfair

Vice chair: Kristin Watson, director at Ernst & Young

Members:

• Professor Phillip Powell, pro vice-master in enterprise and innovation, executive dean and Professor of Management at Birkbeck, University of London
• Andrea Lansbury, HR Director at Benefits Cosmetics, LVMH Group
• Dr Jane Rand, pro-dean for quality at York St John University
• Barbara Gibbon, media consultant
• SallyAnn Brooks, HR director at 10x Banking
• Christine McLean, head of profession project control at Amec Foster Wheeler

Care Services

Group chair: Sir Roger Singleton, advisor and consultant

Vice chair: Lesley-Ann Alexander CBE, chief executive at RNIB

Members:

• Clair Davies, Principal at Appletree Treatment Centre
• Amy McEvoy, care manager at Home Instead Senior Care

Catering and Hospitality

Group chair: Alison Gilbert, HR director at CH & Co Group

Vice chair: John Williams MBE, executive chef at The Ritz Hotel

Member

• Lee Allsup, executive head chef at University of Huddersfield

Construction

Group chair: Tanja Smith, chartered architectural technologist and technical director at Gradon Architecture

Vice chair: Martin Dix, chartered engineer and partner at Peter Brett Associates LLP

Members

• Kevin McLoughlin MBE, managing director at K&M Decorating
• Julian Weightman, managing director at Border Craft Group
• Gavin Richardson, managing director at OPUS Building Services
• Dominic Benoist, construction and safety director at Symm
• Ruth Devine, owner and director at SJD Electrical

Creative & Design

Group chair: Iain Smith OBE, executive producer at Applecross Productions

Vice chair: Vic Wade, global head of training at Double Negative

Members

• Kath Geraghty, apprenticeships manager at National Theatre
• Courtnay McCleod, director at Bauer Academy
• Sophie Hicks, managing director and architect at Sophie Hicks Architects
• Roger Brown, legal editor at Commercial Driver Magazine
• Sue Ridley, director of conservation and collections management at V&A

Digital

Group chair: Mark Sherwin, managing director and global digital customer services lead at Accenture

Vice chair: Adrian Cunliffe, chief technical officer at Hive

Members:

• Vimal Kohli, former chief technical officer at Lloyds of London
• Erika Clegg, co-founder and executive creative director at Spring
• Tom Morgan, founder and strategy consultant at Sparck
• Rob Mettler, director of digital business at PA Consulting
• Richard Hurley, author, teacher, director and educator
• Guy Mucklow, president, and co-founder at PCA Predict
• Dominic Gill, apprenticeships lead at Microsoft
• Giselle Stewart, head of game development at Ubisoft
• Neil Mellor, director of public sector security at BT

Education and Childcare

Group chair: Sir Nick Weller, chief executive and executive principal at Dixons Academies Trust

Vice chair: Professor Jean-Noel Ezingeard, deputy vice chancellor at Manchester Metropolitan University

Members:

• Dr Alan Lee, chief executive at BEST Schools Trust
• Dr Lyn Trodd, dean of the school of education at University of Hertfordshire
• Jo Morgan, chief executive at Shaw Education Trust
• Rachel Sandby-Thomas, registrar at University of Warwick
• Emma Harwood, nursery manager at Dandelion Education Nursery
• Andrew Halls, head teacher at Kings College School

Engineering and Manufacturing

Group chair: Dr Graham Honeyman, chairman at Sheffield Forgemasters

Vice chair: Jessica Leigh Jones, engineer at Global Manufacturing Solutions and Sony

Members:

• Ian Eva, apprenticeship manager at Jaguar Land Rover
• Captain Michael Rose, defence engineering champion at Royal Navy
• Martin Hottass, apprenticeships lead at Siemens
• Dr Brian Counter, consultant chartered civil and railway engineer
• John Warden, director at Nuclear and SThree
• Paul Roe, technical director at Vapour Trail Systems
• Bob Barnes, managing director at Motortrade Consultants
• Alan Gundle, former senior director at Mondelez International
• Steve Tremlin, global head of prototyping at Dyson

 Hair and Beauty

Group chair: Suki Kalirai, director at GKC Infocus and Qi Spa (Spa WMC)

Vice chair: Rachel Halling, college principal at Champney’s Beauty College

Members:

• Tina Rook, head of education at Saks Hair & Beauty
• Cathy Weston, national director of apprenticeships at Toni & Guy
• Julie Speed, director at International Beauty and Holistic Academy and Cedars Health & Beauty Centre
• Karine Jackson, owner and technical director at Karine Jackson Hair

 Health and Science

Group chair: Kirk Lower, national lead for apprenticeships, talent for care, widening participation and volunteering at Health Education England

Members:

• Tara Dillon, chief executive at CIMPSA
• Shelley Heard, independent consultant
• Colin Baines, head of technical services at UMIST
• Dr Brian Lobb, senior partner at Blackburn Road Medical Centre
• Paul O’Connor, director at Healthcare Leadership Solutions
• Anita Essar, head of wider healthcare teams education at University of Southampton
• Angie Heilmann MBE, regional advisor in dental workforce development at Health Education East of England

 Legal Finance and Accounting

Group chair: Mike Thompson, Head of Apprenticeships, Barclays

Members:

• Geri Baird, director at Cheshire Costs Management
• Anna Purchas, partner and interim head of people at KPMG
• Jodie Hosmer, principal associate and legal services team manager at Mills and Reeve

Protective Services

Group chair: Professor John Murphy, professor of advanced policing studies at Liverpool John Moores University

Vice chair: Phil Garrigan, deputy chief fire marshall, Merseyside Fire and Rescue

Members:

• Danny Wilks OBE, head of recruitment at Yorkshire and Humberside Police
• Brigadier David Neal, marshall provost in Royal Military Police
• Chris Armitt, assistant chief constable at Civil Nuclear Constabulary
• Nikki Holland, director of investigations at National Crime Agency

Sales, Marketing and Procurement

Group chair: Godfrey Moger, managing director and station director at Free Radio, Bauer Media

Members:

• Lt Col (Retd) John Stroud-Turp, conventional weapons policy lead at UK’s Arms Control Directorate
• Simon Johnson, head of region at Lawn Tennis Association
• Dr Rami Ranger, chairman at Sun Mark

Transport and Logistics

Group chair: Michelle Nolan-McSweeney, head of training strategy at Network Rail

Vice chair: Paul Richardson, director of innovation at DHL

Members:

• Captain Neil Atkinson, head of college at Fleetwood Nautical College
• Mark Swan, executive director at Frimstone

After extended delays and ultimately an aborted first attempted at a tender for funding apprenticeships with small employers (non-levy), the second attempt by the Education and Skills Funding Agency has been ‘postponed’.

This evening the ESFA told providers more time was needed to evaluate a ‘high volume’ of applications and was unable to say when the results of the £650m tender round would be known.

The full message sent tonight via the tendering website reads: “The Agency has been pleased to receive a high volume of tenders following a very positive response to the Invitation to Tender for this procurement, and is currently finalising the evaluation process.

“In accordance with paragraph 8.2 of the Invitation to Tender (Attachment 1), the Agency is making a change to the procurement timetable as set out in paragraph 8.1 (Attachment 1). The intention to issue award notifications to successful and unsuccessful Potential Providers is postponed, and will not now be issued on 21 November 2017.

“Potential Providers will be contacted again shortly with further information on the new date for the issue of award notifications.”

The postponement will be frustrating but may not come as a surprise, as tender process was controversial for it’s timing, complexity and volume of information required that led to providers submitting nearly 1,000 official clarification requests.

On hearing of the postponement, Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers told FE Week: “It’s disappointing, but no longer a surprise,  yet another deadline has been missed and our members have not even been given the courtesy of an actual future date.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said that as this remains a live procurement they are not able to comment further.  

Nearly 150 young people have been named in WorldSkills UK’s official Squad, and are one step closer to competing against the globes best skilled young people.

The names of those who will begin training with the aim of representing Team UK at WorldSkills Kazan in 2019 were announced tonight at the closing ceremony for The Skills Show in Birmingham.

The 145 young people, including winners from this year’s Skills Show finals, who have so far been named for Squad UK (see list below) represent more than 80 different FE providers across the UK, including FE colleges, independent learning providers and employers.

Southern Regional College in Northern Ireland and Coleg Cambria in Wales have the highest number of any provider, with six learners in the squad.

Southern Regional College has learners in skills including joinery, plastering and drywall systems, restaurant service, and wall and floor tiling.

Coleg Cambria’s students compete in aeronautical engineering: mechanical, automotive technology, beauty therapy, construction metal work, hairdressing, and painting and decorating.

UTC Sheffield and Nescot have the next highest number of learners on the squad, with four each.

The Squad will now undertake an intensive two year training and selection process with the hope of earning a place in the prestigious Team UK for Kazan 2019.

FE Week, the official media partner for WorldSkills UK and Team UK will be following their journey throughout. 

Find out who has made it into Squad UK by downloading the full list here.