Search begins for college social action champions

Special awards that recognise college staff and students who go above and beyond for their local communities are open for nominations.

Now in its second year, the Good for Me Good for FE awards honour a range of college-led social action initiatives.

Hair and beauty staff and students at Nottingham College won the social impact award in 2023. The college raised over £1,500 for life-saving equipment to be placed around the city centre that provides rapid support to victims of knife crime.

Using their hair and beauty skills, students ran pamper days to raise funds in memory of Bryon Griffin, a 22-year-old man who was stabbed and killed in 2021.

Winning the Good for Me Good for FE award has led to even more social action activities being run at the college.

Emma-Kate Fletcher, vice principal for people and culture at Nottingham College, said: “This past year we’ve built on that success by partnering with even more charities and doubling our fundraising efforts and social action projects. Last year’s achievements motivated us to push even further and we’re excited to continue making a difference.”

This year there are eight awards up for grabs: individual fundraiser of the year, team/college fundraiser of the year, student volunteer of the year, staff volunteer of the year, project of the year, volunteering college co-ordinator/s of the year, inspirational role model of the year and outstanding long-service award for volunteering.

Colleges have until October 7 to submit their nominations on the Good for Me Good for FE campaign website, which will then be assessed by a panel of judges led by the former secretary of state for education Baroness Nicky Morgan.

Shortlists of three finalists for each award will be announced at the Association of Colleges’ annual conference on November 13. Winners will be revealed at a special House of Lords reception on December 6.

HTQs are central to delivering a coherent tertiary system

A recent report in the Financial Times tells us our skills crisis is damaging growth and holding people back. Sadly, lack of understanding among the public as to which courses are valuable contrasts starkly with the size of the problem.

Recent polling from Public First shows an overwhelming majority (86 per cent) of people aged 22 to 45 are interested in employer-recognised skills education. Yet only a minority (27 per cent) can explain what Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) are. Once HTQs are explained, most (71 per cent) say they would be interested in studying for one.

Furthermore, for most adults, the prospect of accessing skills education remains daunting, often hindered by significant barriers such as time, cost and accessibility. Among respondents aged 25 to 44, 46 per cent thought qualifications too expensive, 38 per cent were unsure about how to access financial support and 48 per cent thought it difficult to fit education around their daily lives.

As Labour sets out to reform the skills system, these problems of understanding and access must be tackled head-on. This will require urgent thinking on the infrastructure needed to meet this challenge.

In its manifesto, Labour announced a new post-16 skills strategy promising to better integrate further and higher education, creating clearer pathways between institutions.

Currently, there is a missing middle between level 3 qualifications like BTECs, A Levels and T Levels, and degrees where people fully commit to three years of study up to level 6. HTQs at levels 4 and 5 are ideal to bridge that gap and to address pressing skills needs.

A recent report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said level 4 and 5 qualifications can lead to earnings that compare well with degrees (in some cases higher). But too often, these valuable higher-skills courses are poorly understood, and policymakers struggle to boost their uptake.

In the meantime, more than half the adult population have no degree. HTQs are the perfect qualification for them since they are career-focused, shorter than a degree and, if delivered flexibly online, don’t require a substantial commitment to campus-based learning.

This could spell a renaissance in adult learning

They’re good for employers too. Today’s job market demands flexible ways for people to gain new skills and qualifications.

Colleges – and the courses they deliver – therefore play a vital role in making access to learning simple, agile and responsive to local and national needs. Now is the time for them to take their rightful place alongside universities as the core pillars for driving skills for growth and economic prosperity. 

Labour is right that greater collaboration between colleges and universities is central to creating a more cohesive and accessible skills system. HTQs can help bridge this gap too.

One (even) lesser-known fact about HTQs is that they can form part of a degree. They therefore provide not only a direct pathway to well-paid, skilled employment, but also a stepping stone to a career-focused degree.

The key is to ensure they are accessible to everyone. What’s more, we must promote their worth loudly, since they are relatively unknown.

We can do this with support from government, but we can also do more ourselves.

That is why several leading colleges have formed an innovative, collaborative network through a new enterprise, College Online. College Online is investing in course development and marketing to enable colleges in the network to significantly widen access to the HTQs they deliver.

The first course will start in early 2025, with more to follow throughout the year and beyond, with a focus on shortage skills qualifications in levels 4 to 6. The network is national as well as local, enabling the provision of local support even for fully online courses.

This could spell a renaissance in adult learning not seen since the heady days of Tony Blair and David Blunkett’s The Learning Age, empowered by flexible, accessible options like HTQs.

However they are delivered, developing a more resilient economy and improving people’s lives depends on them.

Helen Hayes elected education committee chair

MPs have elected Helen Hayes as chair of the House of Commons education select committee. 

The Dulwich and West Norwood MP saw off competition from Sharon Hodgson and Marie Tidball in a ballot which closed earlier this afternoon. 

Hayes is the first woman to chair the committee and will play a leading role in holding Department for Education ministers and officials to account.  

Hayes said: “Working cross-party, this committee will continue to champion the interests of children, young people and parents in every corner of England and from every background, as well as adults who seek to retrain and learn new skills.”

“Over the course of this Parliament, we will scrutinise the policies of this Government and bodies such as Ofsted and Ofqual, and always be led by the evidence we receive.”

‘Ambitious programme of inquiries’

Hayes won 263 votes in the first round to Hodgson’s 197 and Tidball’s 97. As the recipient of the lowest number of votes, Tidball was eliminated. Hayes received 312 votes to Hodgson’s 214 in the second round.

In her election statement, Hayes pledged an “ambitious programme of inquiries” on issues such as a fit-for-purpose skills system, SEND reform, reviewing the school curriculum and scrutinising the work of the government’s child poverty task force. 

“I am committed to ensuring that the education select committee takes the widest possible evidence for each inquiry, including by making visits to education and care settings across the country,” she said.

“I will be a fair and inclusive chair and a strong voice for the committee and its work in the Chamber and in our wider national discourse.”

Debbie Abrahams, a former shadow secretary of state for work and pensions, was elected chair of the work and pensions committee. 

Abrahams’ priorities for committee inquiries include the devolution of employment support, disability employment, the role of Jobcentre Plus and reviewing Universal Credit.

New committee chairs officially take up their posts once the remaining committee members have been appointed, which is likely to take place next month following the party conference recess. 

Team UK off to strong start on day 1 of WorldSkills Lyon

Riding the high from last night’s opening ceremony, Team UK kicked off with a bang on the first day of the WorldSkills Lyon competition. Anviksha Patel was on the ground to speak to competitors as they came off the workshop floor.

The UK champions overcame some of their nerves of competing in the global competition against hundreds of their peers and settled to tackle what they know best.

Last night’s opening ceremony was a late one, and with a rather early start to beat Team France to the breakfast bar in the hotel they share with them, much of Team UK were not running on a full eight hours of sleep.

Combined with some blind test projects, it’s natural to feel some nerves.

Miguel Harvey, a former apprentice and competitor in car painting, felt some nerves in the first hour of his day until he started and then instantly felt comfortable once the tasks began.

Day one entailed of some minor autobody repair and ended with masking the side door of the car to prepare the surface for painting.

Harvey dislocated his leg last year and wasn’t able to participate in EuroSkills. As he also couldn’t work, he said it was “a low point” for him.

David McKeown, autobody repair competitor, and Miguel Harvey, car painting contender, backstage at the WorldSkills opening ceremony 2024

But after two international pressure tests in Canada and the United Arab Emirates this year, he feels on top of his game and “has to aim high” for the gold medal.

Harvey’s training manager Rich Wheeler from Coleg Gwent has been training him for 18 months and said that since then he has developed the “potential to do well”.

“I saw the personal attributes that I needed to see from him.”

He added: “We’re quite fortunate in the UK that we’ve had some amazing success since I’ve been involved [since 2016].”

Car painting has garnered two silvers and a bronze medal since Wheeler signed on as training manager in 2016. They are both confident that they can keep up, or even exceed, that pattern.

Meanwhile, Luke Haile, our refrigeration and air conditioning competitor didn’t have many nerves.

“If you’d asked me two years ago, I’d have said I would be terrified to go out on stage but nothing fazes me anymore,” he said.

Haile said his first day comprised of 4 and a half hours doing a a refrigeration system install, which will take 12 hours to complete.

“We get a blank table and a load of components in a box and they give you a drawing and say ‘go’,” he said.

Haile has been training for over two years and has developed a quiet confidence that is really quite impressive.

I was told by many people that he was cool as a cucumber, but I never expected how calm he was about the competition.

The reason could well be that Haile, who was a former apprentice training with Eastleigh College, has huge support network behind him.

I caught up with Haile’s proud girlfriend Chloe, who was there to support. She works as part of an airline cabin crew so she told FE Week that squeezing in time to spend together with Haile’s training schedule and her work has been the “biggest test” to their relationship.

“It’s been a long time in the making and seeing him here doing it today and yesterday was just amazing,” she beamed.

Provided Haile wins a medal, Chloe is planning to whisk him away for a well-deserved holiday to Singapore and Sydney once WorldSkills ends.

Haile told FE Week: “I’ve had to sacrifice quite a lot of my social time, missing out on a lot of events with my friends but looking back at it on where I am now, I haven’t missed out on anything. I’ve got so much more out of being here than being at home.”

Elsewhere, Team UK has received a lot of support online from officials and policymakers.

Though she was not able to fly out to Lyon to see Team UK in action, skills minister Jacqui Smith gave some warm words to the team.

“We wish the best of luck to Team UK as they go to represent us at WorldSkills Lyon 2024. Together with WorldSkills UK, you’ll be flying the flag for young people, educational institutions and employers across the UK showing just how far apprenticeship and technical training can take a young person no matter their background.”

“They’re central to this government’s missions, from driving growth to making Britain a clean energy superpower and breaking down barriers to opportunity.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also added: “You’re a testament not just to young people at educational institutions and employers in London but also to how far apprenticeship and technical training can take a young person.”

Stay on top of the latest by following @feweek on Twitter for live updates. You can tweet your support by using the hashtag #TeamUK.

FE Week is the media partner of WorldSkills UK and Team UK.

Strike ballot to launch for sixth form college teachers after pay snub

Teachers in sixth form colleges will formally ballot for strike action this month over the government’s refusal to extend the school teacher pay rise to them.

Under ministers’ public sector pay plans announced in July, schools and sixth form colleges that have converted to academy status will receive a slice of £1.2 billion to help cover a 5.5 per cent salary boost for teachers.

But the funding will not be extended to the 40 sixth form colleges that have decided to not academise. It means any pay rise from England’s 40 sixth form colleges will have to be fully funded from their own coffers.

The National Education Union (NEU), which represents teachers in sixth form colleges and negotiates their pay as part of the national joint council with the Sixth Form College Association (SFCA), will run the strike ballot for 2,500 members from September 14 to November 7.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said the government’s decision to award funding to some sixth form colleges and not to others “undermines an effective system of collective bargaining”.

“This flies in the face of the Labour’s manifesto commitment to good faith negotiation and bargaining,” he added. 

“It would be an abrogation of responsibility by the new Labour government to allow the pay gap between schools and colleges to widen further, when the opportunity is there to support a crucial sector for economic growth through ending pay inequality between schools and colleges.”

Like general FE colleges that will also not receive any additional cash to help fund teacher pay rises, sixth form colleges were reclassified as public sector bodies in November 2022. This move imposed a series of strict controls around borrowing, governance and several other areas, similar to what schools have to abide by.

But, like the government’s refusal to exempt colleges from paying VAT despite now being classified as public sector bodies, officials have opted to also ignore colleges when it comes to public sector pay awards.

Bill Watkin, chief executive of the SFCA, said: “It is deeply disappointing that our 40 sixth form colleges members could face strike action because the government has taken the illogical decision to fund a pay award for teachers of sixth formers in schools but not teachers of sixth formers in colleges.

“Both schools and colleges are state-funded public sector bodies, and sixth form colleges receive 22 per cent less funding than schools. Despite this, the government has found £1.2 billion to fund a pay award in schools but has been unable to find the £5 million required to fund the same pay award in sixth form colleges.”

Watkin added that the NEU is “right to say” this decision “undermines our effective system of collective bargaining and we urge the government to rethink its decision not to fund a fair pay deal for sixth form college teachers”.

Kebebe added: “NEU teachers in the affected sixth form colleges are ready to fight for a fair pay award for all. The NEU believe that the government should revisit the decision not to fund non-academised sixth form colleges, to avoid a damaging and unnecessary dispute.”

NEU sixth form college teachers went on strike for the first time in six years in 2022 after a 1 per cent pay award.

Sixth form college teachers then got a 5 per cent pay increase in 2022/23 followed by a 6.5 per cent salary bump in 2023/24.

Pay row hits parliament

Ministers were pressed on the pay issue in education questions in the House of Commons this week but showed no signs of conceding. 

It was the first front-bench appearance of education secretary Bridget Phillipson’s team since the general election.

Responding to questions from Ellie Chowns, the new Green MP for North Herefordshire, and Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, schools minister Catherine McKinnell said the government was facing an “incredibly challenging fiscal position”.

“We will continue to keep the matter under review, because we want to ensure every child has the best opportunities, whether that is in our school system or in our FE sector,” McKinnell said.

Why we must (and how we can) protect apprenticeships

Apprenticeships aren’t the answer to everything. Members of The St Martin’s Group know this, and welcome reforms to the apprenticeship levy that will allow employers to spend it on other relevant training. Nevertheless, we must at the same time protect apprenticeships and bolster increasing demand.

To date, The St Martin’s Group’s (SMG) research has been focused on the benefits of apprenticeships for individuals, organisations and the economy and how, with the right support, we can maximise their return on investment.

However, benefits cannot be realised without opportunities, and there is clear evidence of increasing demand for apprenticeships that is not being met. 

Efforts from government and business have been hugely successful in building the apprenticeship brand; so much so that for every apprenticeship start, there are on average four more young people who are interested in that opportunity.

This interest versus starts gap is even more pronounced for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This is the focus of The SMG’s latest report, ‘Overcoming barriers to opportunity; Stimulating Growth and Unlocking Supply in UK Apprenticeships’, which shows that demand for apprenticeships is on the rise, and businesses will need more support to keep pace.

Demand will continue to outstrip supply

In 2023, of the 1.3 million individuals who registered with UCAS, half a million were interested in an apprenticeship. Of these, around 357,000 are domiciled in the UK. This significantly exceeds the number of apprenticeship starts.

Commissioned by SMG, UCAS explored how the UK’s 18-to-19-year-old population growth and rising interest in reskilling and upskilling current employees will impact this further.

By 2030, modelling by UCAS projects there could be up to an additional 160,000 individuals interested in an apprenticeship. This increase will not only exacerbate existing pressure on supply but, according to the UCAS modelling, it will be felt much more acutely in certain levels, regions and industries than others.

With the barriers employers currently face and the new flexibilities afforded by the proposed growth and skills levy, there is a risk of apprenticeship starts declining as employers opt for alternative training pathways for their workforce.

We must protect apprenticeships to meet the increased demand for those who wish to pursue this pathway, and we must protect them so that individuals, employers and the economy continue to feel their benefits.

We can do this by making it easier for employers to create opportunities.

How to stimulate supply

As part of our research for the report, SMG convened 65 organisations over the course of two months, with the discussion focusing on how we can increase supply and meet demand.

This culminated in a strong message for a new government:

  • keep what works well for employers;
  • maintain an inclusive, all-age, all-level system that is quality-focused and employer-led, but take the opportunity to transform parts that act as barriers;
  • incorporate necessary flexibilities in programme design and funding rules;
  • encourage closer alignment of levy funds with the apprenticeship budget;
  • and stimulate supply from SMEs, who play a significant role in provision.

There are five broad areas for consideration:

First, updating current parts of the system which would have a hugely beneficial impact at little to no cost over the shorter-term. This includes but not limited to removing the maths and English requirement as a prerequisite for completion and removing the 12-month minimum duration rule.

Second, protecting the apprenticeship budget, with closer alignment of funds collected via the Levy.The budget should be sufficient to uplift apprenticeship standards funding to reflect inflationary increases and the real cost of delivery.

Third, prioritising additional funding for apprenticeships to support SME engagement. Re-introducing financial incentives for SMEs and introducing a 20 per cent uplift in apprenticeship funding bands for SME employers will help increase their engagement.

Fourth, reviewing financial measures, including the impact to welfare benefits of taking up an apprenticeship. This is critical for improving access for the most disadvantaged apprentices and will improve social mobility.

And fifth, working in collaboration to optimise reforms and supporting Skills England to drive greater cohesion and simplicity of policy across government departments with mandates for education, jobs, skills and productivity.

These recommendations should be part of reforms that tweak the system, rather than overhaul it. Working together, businesses and government can remove barriers to uptake, plug current skills gaps, and stimulate economic growth.

Most importantly, they can ensure that apprenticeships are protected, so that all learners who are interested in apprenticeships can undertake a high-quality programme which will provide them with the skills needed to succeed in the economy of the future.

ESFA to close in March 2025

The government’s education funding agency will be closed down next year, the education secretary has announced.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency will be “integrated into the core Department for Education” by the end of March 2025.

The move will happen over two stages and give education providers a “single point of contact for financial management and support”, government said.

The ESFA is currently an executive agency of the Department.

Schools financial support and oversight functions will transfer from October 1 and be brought together with the regions group, nine areas overseen by regional directors.

“This will provide a single seamless voice to schools and ensure that financial improvement is central to school improvement,” education secretary Bridget Phillipson said today.

Funding and assurance functions will be centralised on March 31 when the ESFA will close.

“Moving the agency functions back into the department will bring benefits to the individuals and organisations we support as well as to the taxpayer,” Phillipson added. “It will enable a single, joined-up approach to funding and regulation to improve accountability.

“We will be working closely with our staff, unions, stakeholders across the education sector to finalise and deliver our plans for closing the agency.”

Move will result in ‘some efficiencies’

Set up in 2017, the ESFA is responsible for delivering and assuring £75 billion of funding for 25,000 education settings – making it one of the biggest funding operations in government.

As of July, 736 staff worked at ESFA. 

DfE expects 95 per cent of ESFA staff to be retained. All staff will be able to stay within the wider department, if they choose.

Despite “not being the driving factor”, the move will result in “some efficiencies”, they added.

However the department would only say: “We can’t give an exact figure at this point, but it’s a small cost saving.”

The agency had already had a huge restructure after a review by Sir David Bell in 2022. The body was stripped of wide-ranging policy functions and lost half its staff.

ESFA is the second education-related quango to get the axe under the new Labour government. The Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education is expected to close by April with some functions transferred to Skills England, which is currently being set up.

A source close to the ESFA told FE Week that the agency’s closure was not a “surprise” but warned how “professional” funding and audit functions can “become problematic” and “less independent” if staff get “too close to the department’s policy making machine”.

They said: “ESFA as an arm’s-length body also created independence from the accounting officer and ministers. When difficult and unpopular funding decisions were made it was always helpful for a minister or permanent secretary to say, ‘well, my arms body is responsible for that, it’s not my business’. That was always why big departments liked having their funding functions external to them as a department. That arm’s-length protection will now be lost.”

‘A fully joined up regulatory environment’

ESFA chief executive David Withey said moving the agency’s functions into the DfE will “help ensure a fully joined up regulatory environment, and a more cohesive approach to the service we offer to colleges, schools and independent training providers”.

ESFA CEO David Withey

He added: “I am proud of the achievements of the ESFA – delivering timely and accurate funding, positive support to providers in financial stress and strong assurance to taxpayers on how their funding is used. That has been driven by the quality of our people, and I am really confident that our strong performance will continue as part of the department.”

The announcement has been welcomed by Ben Rowland, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, who said bringing operational funding and compliance closer to policy and strategy “should be a positive move”.

He added: “This change is also an opportunity to remove regulatory duplication, an increasing concern for AELP’s members. That said, this is not a fundamental change, and audit and compliance should continue as normal.”

Specialist college body Natspec said combining SEND policy and high-needs funding officials “can only be a good thing”.

Natspec chief executive Clare Howard said the ESFA closure “creates an opportunity for a more cohesive discussion about reform of the high needs funding system, improvements to the market entry system for specialist colleges, and appropriate levels of audit for specialist providers.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “The work of the ESFA is often under-estimated and taken for granted; on the whole payments to colleges go very smoothly and this is testament to the hard work the ESFA staff do day in, day out. I’m sure that will continue after this structural change.”

He added: “I am broadly supportive of this decision by the Department for Education, and I hope that these changes bring efficiencies and can allow for a simpler funding system for colleges. As public sector institutions, colleges are forced to spend too much of their time dealing with multiple funding lines, rules and regulations which get in the way of effective learning and skills. Strong work has already begun to simplify this system, and that must continue through these changes.”

A third of colleges reported a death by suicide in past year, survey finds

Colleges are calling for more mental health support for students through the government’s upcoming “children’s wellbeing bill” after a third reported at least one death by suicide in the past 12 months.

New research also found that three-quarters (75 per cent) of colleges each recorded more than five attempted suicides over the same period, while 30 per cent experienced between 10 and 14 attempted suicides, and 13 per cent reported over 30 attempts.

The alarming figures were revealed in the Association of Colleges’ 2024 mental health survey, released on World Suicide Prevention Day today.

It said: “One student death is too many, so to have evidence of at least 30 per cent of colleges in the truly devastating position of experiencing a student death by suicide, and the ripple effect throughout the college community, only strengthens the need to address this conversation with urgency.”

Leaders are now pleading for more support from new legislation that was promised in the King’s Speech amid fears the laws will only target school-aged children.

‘It’s a matter of life and death’

Jen Hope, AoC mental health lead and area director for the Midlands, said: “We are yet to see what the new children’s wellbeing bill involves for college students, but we urge the government to take these findings seriously and ensure that the appropriate level of support is provided to colleges, who are doing all they can with extremely limited resources. 

“All too often the focus on mental health support from government is on schools, but our survey shows that college students deserve and need more support as well.”

Peter Mayhew-Smith, chief executive of South Thames Colleges Group and chair of the AoC mental health reference group, added: “This report makes it impossible for policy makers to look away from the issue, and clearly demonstrates that we need a much better strategic response. The forthcoming legislation must deliver a new system; it’s a matter of life and death.”

This year’s AoC’s annual mental health survey included responses from 71 colleges, which represents a third of all colleges in England.

The results showed that 90 per cent of colleges said there was either a significant or a slight increase in the disclosure of mental health issues among 16 to 18-year-olds, and 86 per cent said the same for students aged 19 and above.

Almost half (49 per cent) of colleges reported an average of up to 10 mental health-related A&E referrals within the previous year, but more than a quarter (28 per cent) reported more than 10 referrals.

Around 82 per cent of colleges cited home circumstances as the joint-highest influence on student mental health with social media, and 75 per cent cited the cost-of-living crisis and the energy crisis.

Mayhew-Smith said: “This data maps out the deep and wide chasm in student wellbeing, and shows that both the scale and severity of the mental health casework being dealt with by colleges across the country have risen. The data on suicide and suicide ideation, in particular, should cause the government and policymakers to sit up and think seriously about the resources colleges desperately need to support our young people.

“We have experienced many ‘global perma-crises’ as a society, and the findings show the shockwaves these events have sent through our young people, and the direct impact they have had on their lives.”

Significant investment in staff development

The data showed that counselling provision has changed with an increase in the use of external provision, from 36 per cent in 2023 to 58 per cent of colleges paying for the use of external counselling services in 2024. 

The percentage of college-employed counsellors is slightly lower, dropping from 68 per cent to 63 per cent of colleges this year.

More colleges are also now engaged with their local mental health support team, with only 24 per cent currently not engaged, compared with 47 per cent last year.

And there has been a significant investment in staff development over the last 12 months, with 96 per cent of colleges training staff in mental health first aid, 70 per cent of colleges training staff in suicide first aid, and 79 per cent of colleges training staff in trauma-informed approaches.

But Weston College vice principal Ben Knocks is concerned that colleges across the country “simply do not have the budgets available to them to put in place the right levels of support”.

He said: “The pressure on colleges regarding student mental health is increasing year on year. The staff in our support services and within curriculum do an outstanding job ensuring our learners are safe and feel supported whilst they study with us.

“However, we simply do not have the resources we require or the referral points from outside agencies that guarantees that learners get the support they need and in a timely manner.”

DfE: We will fix our broken mental health services

The King’s Speech in July confirmed that Labour would introduce a children’s wellbeing bill that puts “children and their wellbeing at the centre of the education and children’s social care systems, and make changes so they are safe, healthy, happy and treated fairly”.

There are expected to be a raft of reforms targeted at schools and councils, but the King’s Speech documents included no mention of post-16 education.

Responding to AoC’s findings and demands, a government spokesperson said: “Every suicide is a tragedy, and World Suicide Prevention Day is an important reminder of why we need to take action.

“We will fix our broken mental health services. As part of our mission to reduce the lives lost to suicide, the 8,500 new mental health workers we will recruit will be specially trained to support people at risk.

“Our plans to put mental health support in every school and walk-in hubs in every community will help prevent mental health issues from becoming more serious.”

Macron declares WorldSkills 2024 officially open

The President of France has officially opened this year’s WorldSkills competition at a lavish opening ceremony earlier this evening.

Emmanuel Macron appeared at the LDLC Arena outside Lyon today to give his well wishes to the 1,500 competitors from across the globe and declared the event officially open.

From tomorrow, Team UK will compete alongside 1,400 peers from 68 others in 27 skills across four long days.

Chris Humphries, WorldSkills president and former director of City & Guilds and founding CEO of UK Commission for Employment & Skills (UKCES), stressed the need for competitors to pay their skills forward.

“It is clear that the voices and actions of our youth are needed now more than ever to tackle the challenges facing the world, from the climate crisis to unequal access to education, from gender inequities to rapid advancements in technology,” he said.

Team UK arriving on stage at the WorldSkills Lyon opening ceremony

The audience was also treated to performances from an AI-enabled singer and dancers.

Max Roche, president of WorldSkills Lyon 2024, said organisers had been hard at work since it won the bid in 2021.

He told competitors: “you can be proud to be an inspiration to the thousands of visitors who’ll be watching you over the next 4 days.”

Roche also thanked President Macron for supporting one of the largest events that France has hosted this year.

“2024 has been a historic year for France, with events like the Olympic games, Paralympic games and the reopening of Notre Dame. Without skills, those historic events would not be possible.”

Competitors and experts were then asked to acknowledge the WorldSkills oath, which promises to compete and officiate “fairly” by respecting the code of ethics and conduct, the competition rules, and the WorldSkills values.

The competitor’s oath is as follows: “In the name of all competitors, I promise to compete fairly, respecting and abiding by the code of ethics and conduct, the competition rules, and the WorldSkills values – all in the true spirit of WorldSkills.”

One country, one school

Before the opening ceremony, Team UK visited Lycée professionnel hôtelier les Bruyères, a gastronomy school on the outskirts of Lyon.

Team UK and Team Palestine on an excursion to Lycée professionnel hôtelier les Bruyères before the WorldSkills Lyon competition starts

The region of Lyon is home to some of France’s historically renowned chefs, such as Paul Bocuse, who was deemed the “father of gastronomy” and the “first ambassador of Lyon” whilst he was alive. Born in north Lyon in 1926, he was reportedly the inspiration behind the character of Auguste Gusteau in Pixar’s 2007 film Ratatouille. He died in 2018.

The visit was part of WorldSkills’ one school one country programme, established in 2007 by WorldSkills Shizuoka which promotes cultural exchange between international competitors and students in the host city.

WorldSkills Lyon selected more than 5,000 students from 52 schools across Lyon and the surrounding areas as part of its commitment to promote vocational and training needs of the Metropolis of Lyon.

Team UK visit Lycée professionnel hôtelier les Bruyères

Lycée professionnel hôtelier les Bruyères specialises in food, hotel and restaurant service professions.

Team UK were joined by the Palestinian delegation on the excursion. The competitors played games with the culinary and restaurant students before sampling the school restaurant’s food. The team had signed a flag beforehand and presented it to students at lunch.

Skills Palestine Team 2024 have one competitor in electrical installation, Mahdy Abusarhan. Earlier this summer, they had a 10-day training session with the Malaysian team.

Abusarhan was supposed to train in Belgium but according to his expert and team leader, it wasn’t possible due to security reasons.

Palestinian expert Khalil Adi added that Abusarhan was confident but slightly nervous ahead of the opening ceremony.

Most competitors told FE Week they were ready to start the competition tomorrow. Some have long days of multiple tasks ahead of them, such as the cyber security duo Max Clarke and Arron Luker, who have been advised to take packed lunches with them as they wouldn’t be allowed to exit their workshops at the venue.

The competition properly starts tomorrow so stay on top of the latest by following @feweek on Twitter for live updates. You can tweet your support by using the hashtag #TeamUK.

FE Week is the media partner of WorldSkills UK and Team UK.