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Anne Milton finally unveils much-delayed careers strategy

The long-overdue careers strategy has finally been unveiled by the apprenticeships and skills minister, at the Careers Development Institute’s annual conference this morning.

This includes £4 million to support every school and college to have a careers leader, and a further £5 million funding to develop 20 careers hubs, which will be led by the Careers and Enterprise Company.

It explains that the National Careers Service will provide specialist advice for adults who need it most, including the long-term unemployed and those with additional needs, and will also have an updated “one-stop shop” website.

“Without access to the best possible careers support, some people will miss out on the opportunities available,” Ms Milton said.

“They will continue to be held back if they don’t have the right advice, at the right time to make informed decisions about their future, or may not have access to the broader experiences and role models to help them develop as people.

“It matters to me that we give people from all backgrounds the best possible preparation to move into a job, or training that enables them – whatever their background or wherever they live – to have a fulfilling life.”

According to today’s announcement, the £4 million is to ensure that every school and college has a dedicated careers leader in place by the start of the new academic year, who can give advice on the best training routes and up-to-date information on the jobs market and help young people make decisions about their future.

Schools and colleges will also be “expected to publish details of their careers programme for young people and their parents” by September 2018, it said, when Ofsted will also have to “comment in college inspection reports on the careers guidance provided to young people” from.

Plans from the same launch date were also announced that are set to involve the the CEC launching “a new investment fund of £5 million to support the most disadvantaged pupils”.

The document added: “To target more support on those who need it most, the government will invest £5 million during 2018 in a new round of the CEC’s investment fund. This will help disadvantaged pupils to get the additional support they need to prepare for work, including opportunities for mentoring and guidance.”

The 20 careers hubs will be developed in the areas of the country most in need and will link schools and colleges with local universities and employers to help broaden pupils’ horizons.

A new website, to be launched by the National Careers Service next year, will bring together careers information to support people at the start of their careers or who want to retrain or upskill.

The Careers and Enterprise Company will also have an expanded role to support schools and colleges to meet the eight clear benchmarks for good careers advice, as set out by the Gatsby charitable foundation.

Ms Milton, who introduced the four “pillars” of the strategy at the Careers Education and Guidance Summit in early November, had previously said the strategy would be coming “shortly”.

Today marks the end of a two-year wait for the careers strategy.

It was promised as far back as in December 2015, by the former education and childcare minister Sam Gyimah, who said the Department for Education would “publish a comprehensive careers strategy in the coming weeks”.

Nothing materialised, however.

Robert Halfon, Ms Milton’s predecessor as skills minister, also promised that a strategy was on its way at a meeting in parliament in January, when he claimed it would appear the following week.

The four pillars of the strategy are ensuring a “high-quality careers programme” in every college and school; making sure employers “are an integral part of our approach”; making sure everyone can benefit from “tailored support”; and making the most of the “rich sources of information about jobs and careers that exist”.

The government’s timetable for change, taken from the new careers strategy:

Complaints over apprenticeship payments system breakdown

The government has been swamped with complaints about its malfunctioning apprenticeship payment systems, which are incorrectly demanding cash from levy-funded employers.

Numbers providers have been leaving anguished and irate messages on the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s online FEConnect forum.

One of many to leave a message is Chris Bradley, who showed FE Week an apologetic message he recently received from the ESFA’s business operations service centre.

It recognised that the apprenticeship funding system had been incorrectly expecting cash contributions from levy-funded employers, in a case relating to Nottinghamshire-based provider SREducation, where Mr Bradley is data and contracts manager.

It is the people in control that have no clue. Heads need to roll in my view

“We have identified an issue with the funding calculation which is incorrectly classifying learners as co-funded and reporting an expected employer contribution for learners who should be fully funded,” the message stated.

“We are working on a fix for this. Once this is live it will correct any future payments, but a further change, which will be made at a later date, will be required to correct the payments already made.

“Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.”

Only employers with an annual payroll of at least £3 million contribute to the levy, which was launched in April this year, and their training is funded using this pot.

Meanwhile, smaller firms also have to contribute to training costs for their first time under the new system, through a 10-per-cent co-investment model, which should involve the government paying 90 per cent of costs from leftover levy revenue.

Mr Bradley warned on FEConnect about “confirmation from period-end reports” that levy-payers had been “coming through as 90-per-cent ESFA and 10-per-cent employer contribution due”.

He went on to express sympathy for staff working on the ESFA’s service desk, saying it was “not down to them”.

“It is the people in control that have no clue. Heads need to roll in my view,” he added.

Another user of FE Connect concurred.

“I don’t feel I am being unreasonable here, but I would like to be able to reconcile funding summary reports, remittance advice, monthly co-funding reconciliation reports so that it all agrees. Am I the only one pulling my hair out?” they said.

An ESFA “known Issues” document dated November 28 lists nine apprenticeship funding-related problems with its software.

It notes: “This issue has been raised with our technical team as a defect and they are working on a fix.”

Neither the DfE nor the ESFA were available to comment on the complaints or issues with the payment system.

Who will run the FE centres of excellence for maths?

The autumn budget brought with it a commitment from the government to invest £40 million in new further education centres of excellence for maths. FE Week looks at where these new maths hubs might be built.

Plans to spend money to address the government’s forced GCSE resits policy were widely welcomed last week, including the idea for new maths centres of excellence.

The Treasury’s budget statement pledged “£40 million to establish ‘further education centres of excellence’ across the country to train maths teachers and spread best practice”.

The Department for Education said they will support the post-16 sector to “design, deliver and disseminate best practice”, and help with the development and evaluation of “new, high-quality” teaching methods. It will also support the sector to “use diagnostic tools to help teachers understand the capabilities of their students” to allow for more targeted teaching.

The DfE has not yet announced where the centres will be situated, or even how many there will be.

We’re keen to know more and would not rule out applying to be one in the future

However, FE Week has had a think about where it might want to build them. Based on analysis of national achievement rate data for 2015/16, we have identified the top 10 best performing-colleges for maths in the country.

They are ordered by percentage pass rate for A* to C at colleges with a cohort of 200 or more.

The data revealed that the top eight colleges had an A*-to-C pass-rate in maths that was more than double the national average rate of 17.6 per cent.

But what do these top-performing colleges make of the centres of excellence, and would they be interested in joining?

Dudley College was the clear leader: all its 240 GCSE maths students managed an A-to-G pass and 52.3 per cent achieved A* to C.

Its principal Neil Thomas described centres as a “potentially exciting” idea.

“We’re keen to know more and would not rule out applying to be one in the future,” he added.

Since 2013, all 16- to 19-year-olds without at least a C in GCSE maths or English have had to enrol in courses in these subjects alongside their main programme of study.

The requirement was tightened in 2015 to require all of those with a grade D – now a 3 – in those subjects to sit a GCSE course, rather than an equivalent stepping-stone course such as functional skills.

But this places huge extra pressure on FE providers, which have had to massively increase their GCSE maths and English provision, and recruit extra teachers to cope. And after successive annual GCSE results showed huge numbers of learners aged 17 and older failed to improve their grades in resits, many in the sector have now demanded government action to improve the situation.

A spokesperson for Seevic College in Essex, which came third with an A*-to-C pass-rate of 40.9 per cent and total pass rate of 99.2 per cent, agreed that the centres could be a “really exciting initiative” which it hopes to be “fully involved with”.

Fourth-place New College Swindon had 38.9 per cent of students achieve A* to C in maths and English, and a 93.5 per cent pass-rate overall.

A spokesperson said that it too wanted to be considered as a centre of excellence, and described the plans seen as “a much-needed way to spread best practice around the sector”.

Richmond-upon-Thames College’s chief executive and principal, Robin Ghurbhurun, said his college would “certainly consider” becoming a centre of excellence.

“We welcome any commitment to increased funding and support for improving English and maths outcomes for students, although this must be holistic and beyond GCSE resits with an equally committed focus on delivering functional skills where it is best suited to the curriculum model and needs of the students,” he said.

RUTC was ranked fifth on FE Week’s table, with an A*-to-C pass-rate of 37.9 per cent and total rate of 97.5 per cent.

The director of maths at sixth-place Derby College, Bronagh Quigley, said the college welcomed “any government initiative that looks to support improvements” but more details would be needed before her employer could comment further.

Derby had 36.6 per cent of its students achieve A* to C, and 91.2-per-cent rate overall.

The other colleges on the list were unable to comment ahead of publication.

Map shows locations of the top 10 colleges by 16-18 A*-C math grades, where they have a cohort of 200 or more (see above table)

Dudley College shares secrets of its success

Dudley College has shared the secrets to its impressive resits success.

The college achieved a 100-per-cent A-to-G pass-rate for all ages in both the English and maths GCSEs.

Its principal Neil Thomas said it had “placed a great emphasis over many years” on improving student outcomes in the subjects.

In 2015/16, 52 per cent of learners achieved A*-C in maths and English. And according to Mr Thomas, results in 2016/17 showed further improvement, with 71 per cent achieving grade 4 or above in English and 55 per cent receiving C or above in maths.

“Given that the majority of our learners are resitting these examinations after failing to achieve at school, we are very proud of these results,” he said.

“This has been realised after a sustained period of improvement in which we reviewed all aspects of the delivery and made a series of changes, both large and small, that have made all the difference.”

Improvements made include restructuring timetables to emphasise English and maths, creating a team of teaching specialists, and continually reinforcing the importance of the subjects to learners.

Mr Thomas became principal on December 1, as former principal Lowell Williams was promoted to chief executive of the college and the Dudley Academies Trust.

Dudley College of Technology was rated ‘outstanding’ in its most recent Ofsted report, published in June this year, and particular praise was paid to the college leaders and their “ambitious vision” for the provider and the “significant” improvements in learner outcomes.

The number of pupils at schools in Dudley and Sandwell that achieve five GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths, is below the national rate. Dudley is ranked among the 35 worst local authorities in the country for secondary school attainment.

However, the report commended the culture and learning programmes at the college.

“Learners and apprentices develop skills in English and mathematics exceptionally well, and achievement rates in these subjects are continuing to improve,” it said.

Also noted was the investment in “high-quality buildings and equipment” including £9 million spent on a ‘centre for advanced manufacturing and engineering technology’ which opened in 2013, and £12 million on a ‘centre for advanced building technologies’ – known as Dudley Advance II – which opened this year.

The report was the first grade one for a general FE college in 14 months.

International students meet cows for the first time at college farm

Twenty-one international students have met cows for the first time at Askham Bryan College as they learned about the UK farming industry.

The group was made up of students aged 13 to 18, who all study a cookery course at ESF Island School in Hong Kong. The visit to the college was part of a culinary and cultural tour of Yorkshire, so they could learn more about farming and food production.

Chantelle Astley, the college’s recently appointed farm manager, led the tour, which gave the students a look at ABC’s dairy and beef units, and its 280 hectares of farmland.

“Many had never seen cows or sheep before and were full of questions about everything to do with farming,” she said. “They particularly loved feeding the calves and were surprised at the size and scale of the farm and indeed the size of the cows! It was great to be able to explain what’s involved in agriculture and to share their enthusiasm.”

The college currently has a 240-strong milking herd of Holstein and Holstein-cross cows, as well as 300 ewes.

Unleashing Leadership study offers free leadership training for 400 FE organisations

A new research study on leadership in FE is offering the first 400 organisations who take part free leadership training.

The Unleashing Leadership project, sponsored by the Further Education Trust for Leadership, will explore how leadership currently functions in the FE sector, and the conscious biases and preferences that shape how it is thought about, developed and practiced.

Participants will be asked to select 30 to 80 individuals they think will most benefit from leadership development, who will then fill out an online questionnaire and take part in a qualitative research interview and focus group.

“In our research we are starting at the beginning. This means doing a baseline study of where leadership currently is situated in the FE sector,” said the project’s lead, Simon Western. “This study has been planned to deliver research for the FE sector while giving back to the individuals and colleges who partake in it. We hope it will stimulate learning and change at individual, college and at sector level.”

To find out more and how to get involved, click here.

Breaking: Non-levy tendering funding decisions to be revealed next week

The government has announced that it finally expect to issue notices of decisions to providers next week, on the long-delayed non-levy tendering process for funding apprenticeships with small employers.

The message on the Bravo tendering site has gone out to those waiting for results.

It says: “Further to the agency’s Bravo message on November 17, the [Education and Skills Funding] Agency can now confirm it anticipates issuing notices of decisions to award to potential providers during the week commencing Monday, December 4.

“The notice will inform potential providers of whether they have been awarded a contract in the apprenticeship non levy procurement or not. Potential providers should check their Bravo account for their notice from December 5.”

FE Week reported on November 17 that the process surrounding the second attempt at tending this had been ‘postponed’ again.

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.

That message sent via the tendering website read: “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.

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

The postponement did not come as a surprise, as the tender process was fraught with problems that led to providers submitting nearly 1,000 official clarification requests.

Construction underway on £11 million Stansted Airport College

Construction is now underway on a new £11 million technical college based at Stansted Airport, which will create around 500 new further education places in Essex, reports Samantha King.

Aptly named Stansted Airport College due to its location, it will open in September 2018 and is being funded by Stansted Airport, Harlow College, Essex and Uttlesford councils and the South East LEP.

“We know that small, standalone institutions aren’t always financially viable. It is in effect a campus of Harlow College but its brand is Stansted Airport College,” explained Karen Spencer, principal and CEO of Harlow College, which has put around half a million pounds into the project.

The new college, which has been in the pipeline for the last three years, will offer qualifications that support the airport industry and the services that wrap around it, from aeronautical engineering and logistics, to retail, business, hospitality and customer services.

“A lot of young people assume an airport is just cabin crew and pilots, and there’s significantly more to it as an organisation,” Ms Spencer added.

A number of employers have already shown interest in the college, including Ryanair, Novotel, Hampton by Hilton and Stansted Airport – which has around 100 job vacancies at any given time – all keeping an eye out for talented graduates.

“We have employers who have committed to supporting things like work placements, visits and professional talks to students. They’re also committing to provide guaranteed interviews for jobs or apprenticeships,” Ms Spencer said.

“It’s sort of a sponsorship of the centre that says ‘actually, we’re prepared to take young people who studied at this airport college into roles in our organisations’.”

The college’s construction phase was officially launched by the minister for climate change and industry, Claire Perry, who coincided her visit with the launch of the government’s industrial strategy.

“The new college here at Stansted is a prime example of our industrial strategy in action,” Ms Perry explained. “Public and private sector working together to improve the skills of young people and delivering a pipeline of talent that will boost the local economy.”

Governance myths dispelled at Women’s Leadership Network workshops

Colleges in the south-east and the midlands have been hosting workshops aimed at women from FE and business, in a bid to increase female representation on boards.

The four workshops – run by the Women’s Leadership Network and funded by the Education and Training Foundation – attracted around 70 delegates to sessions at West London College and Fircroft College in Birmingham.

Pauline Odulinski, WLN’s managing director, told delegates that “equality and diversity are stalling because people are tired of the conversation”, and the focus on policies and targets is making matters “dry”.

Sessions encompassed the roles of governors and non-executive directors, tips for efficient board meetings, what skills are required and how to take the steps to join a board.

Part of the workshop focused on the lack of women in audit and finance committees, and how board members don’t necessarily need a background in finance or accounting to actively contribute.

“Delegates left the workshops with a clear understanding of how their current skills and experience could bring value to a board,” said Ms Odulinski.

“Several delegates asked to be matched straight away with colleges seeking board members, and 97 per cent said they are now interested in joining the board of an organisation.”

Government delays on subcontracting charges

The government has been accused of double standards on subcontracting charges, after it missed its own deadline for issuing templates for providers to submit their figures.

Colleges and independent training providers had since 2013 been obliged to publish the amount of government cash they withheld before paying subcontractors to run training by the end of November each year.

But the government recently decided it would publish all the figures instead.

A government spokesperson told FE Week last December, following the change, that “providers will be given three months after the end of the financial year” to submit the data, i.e. in April.

But a long-promised form that providers will use to outline their charges has still not been issued, and no official guidance is available on when the information must be returned.

The Department for Education told FE Week on November 7 that it would issue the template and provide a deadline for returning the data “later this month”, but it refused to comment when we followed up this week.

The hold-up has provoked speculation that the government could be stalling, as high subcontracting charges have proved to be controversial in the past.

Subcontracting will be investigated by the Commons education select committee, led by former skills minister Robert Halfon, who has spoken out on the publication delay.

“More information should be available in the public domain about the fees providers charge their subcontractors, and this should be published in a timely fashion,” he said.

“Transparency is needed to ensure providers aren’t engaging in excessive top-slicing in their fees. We will tackle the issues around the poor training provided by subcontractors as part of our current inquiry into the quality of apprenticeships and skills training.”

It’s only going to damage confidence in the subcontracting system

Shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden complained that it was wrong of the government to delay, when providers had been hauled over the coals in previous years if they hadn’t published their figures by the November deadline.

“Whether it’s lack of competence, capacity or transparency, it is double standards and it’s only going to damage confidence in the subcontracting system,” he said.

Learndirect is a controversial example of particularly high subcontracting fees. In 2015/16 it retained £19.8 million from its 64 subcontractors, 36 per cent of its total SFA funding for that year.

It came uncomfortably close to the 40-per-cent threshold that the former SFA boss Peter Lauener, told FE Week at the time that he would consider unjustifiable.

Updated 2016/17 guidelines on subcontracting charges ordered providers to tell the ESFA the “actual level of funding paid and retained for each of your subcontractors” in order that it could publish the information itself.

It is understood that agency changed the rules after it grew impatient with lack of compliance.

A DfE spokesperson denied the rules had been changed as result of any cover-up or efforts to play down subcontracting charges.

“In order to increase the transparency of each provider’s actual fees and charges, this information will now be published in a single location,” she said.