Movers and Shakers: Edition 222

Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving

Geoff Russell, Chairman, JTL Training

Start date: December 2017
Previous job: Chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency
Interesting fact: He has just started a BTEC course in photography.

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Debra Stuart, Chair, the Training Room

Start date: September 2017
Previous job: CEO of Premier Global Group
Interesting fact: She worked as a fitness instructor for over 25 years.

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Jason Howe, General manager, South West Durham Training

Start date: August 2017
Previous job: Curriculum manager at Bishop Auckland College
Interesting fact: When working on an exhibition in Spain in 2005, he met the previous king of Spain, Juan Carlos, and sat inside a McLaren F1 car.

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Hannah Avoth, Vice-principal, Totton College

Start date: October 2017
Previous job: Assistant principal at Totton College
Interesting fact: Hannah took part in extreme camping as a teenager – no tents, no maps and the need to gut your own chickens if you wanted to eat.

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Mark Titterington, Chief executive, EngineeringUK

Start date: October 2017
Previous job: Global head of corporate affairs at Syngenta
Interesting fact: Mark spent several summers coaching football to children with attention deficit disorder.

 

If you want to let us know of any new faces at the top of your college, training provider or awarding organisation please let us know by emailing news@feweek.co.uk

Employers more satisfied with private providers again… but colleges catching up

Private training providers have once again proved themselves to be more popular with employers than colleges, according to government research – though the gap is narrowing.

A huge 88.1 per cent of the more than 60,000 employers surveyed said they were satisfied with ITPs, according to the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s latest employer satisfaction survey, based on training in 2016/17, while 84.6 per cent said the same of colleges.

Those scores – based on the median rating for the 202 colleges and 288 private providers with sufficient employer satisfaction feedback to be counted in the FE Choices data – are both higher than last year’s, indicating that overall satisfaction is on the up.

But while private providers’ score has increased by 4.2 percentage points, colleges’ score has gone up by 9.7 percentage points.

The proportion of employers either “likely” or “extremely likely” to recommend their training provider to others is also up – to 86 per cent, an increase of six percentage points on last year’s results.

In fact, scores across all providers and all measures are up compared with last year – by two or three percentage points.

However, the survey highlighted a number of differences across company size and type of training.

Medium and large organisations, those with at least 50 staff members, were “generally more satisfied” than organisations with fewer than 10 employees, who were “generally less positive than average”.

The survey also found that employers using providers to deliver non-apprenticeship training were “consistently more positive” than those delivering apprenticeships.

But it did also note that just three per cent of employers were delivering non-apprenticeship training – whereas 99 per cent of employers were using providers to deliver apprenticeship training.

“Employers delivering apprenticeships to 16- to 18-year-olds only were least positive about the training,” the survey found, although those with “both young and adult apprentices” were “significantly more positive”.

The majority – 67 per cent – of employers said they did not pay towards the cost of their training, while 24 per cent said they did.

Perhaps worryingly, eight per cent said they did not know if they were paying or not.

The survey, carried out between April and July 2017, represented the views of more than 60,000 employers and was based on training in 2016/17.

 

Concern at negative impact of FE loans on disadvantaged

The FE sector is worried by the negative impact FE loans have had on learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.

A government report published today has investigated the impact of the impact of the government’s FE reform agenda.

Its findings were largely based on analysis of responses to a telephone survey of 325 providers, as well as 50 more in-depth interviews, and individual learner records data.

It focused in-part on the introduction in 2013/14 of FE loans, at first just for learners studying courses at levels three or four and aged 24 and older.

Low interest and poor take-up of the loans by particular groups of learners, including those from disadvantaged communities was “a real concern for some providers” and “there is some evidence that the introduction of loans is leading to a decline in participation and provision at level three and above”.

Several providers indicated that they felt that “adults from disadvantaged areas were particularly reluctant to take out a loan”, though “for some providers, the policy has resulted in an increase in learner participation”.

It continued: “However, for most providers this has not been the case, with many reporting a decline in adult participation. Changes in learner numbers were considerable for some providers.”

FE Week revealed hugely disappointing uptake levels last month, and 58 per cent of FE loans funding – amounting to almost £1 billion – was found to have not been spent since 2013.

This figure, revealed by a Freedom of Information request, was branded a “systemic failure” that could unravel the government’s plans to upskill the nation in a post-Brexit world.

The Student Loans Company revealed that just £652 million in loan-funded provision had actually been delivered since 2013, against a massive £1.56 billion in allocations.

In terms of the overall impact of FE loans, which were expanded in 2016/17 to include 19- to 23-year-olds, and courses at levels five and six, it was found that 55 per cent of FE colleges were more likely to feel it had impacted a great deal on their organisation.

 

“Private providers (42 per cent) and ‘other’ providers (36 per cent) were more likely to say it had not impacted on their organisation at all,” it said.

Several providers further highlighted a particularly good take-up of 24+ loans for access to higher education provision.

“It was felt that there were stronger incentives for learners to take out a loan to fund this type of provision, including the loan being written off should they progress to university and complete their course.”

Providers also suggested that further work will be needed to develop learners’ understanding of the loans system and support increased engagement.

It also reported on the impact of the government’s much-maligned GCSE maths and English resits policy.

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

This 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.

Today’s report highlighted concern on the impact of this policy on apprenticeships.

“The insertion of a GCSE maths and English requirement into apprenticeship is reported as having weakened demand for apprenticeship from some employers who do not see time spent on an ‘academic’ element as a necessary component in development of the skills they need,” it said.

It also reported support for the view that “developing English and maths to an adequate level by a functional skills approach was preferable to driving all learners towards formal GCSE examinations”.

 

WorldSkills 2017: Team UK’s gold standard show their support before the final hurdle

Anxious, tired and excited – that’s how 34 of the UK’s most talented young people in the skills industry will be feeling tonight after day three of WorldSkills Abu Dhabi, according to past champions.

With just one day to go until competitions are over, the pressure is heating up at this year’s global skills event.

FE Week caught up with two former gold medallists to get a sense of what Team UK will be feeling right now.

“By day three competitors have had roughly 18 hours in action. A slight bit of tiredness will be setting in so they’ve got to keep the energy levels up by drinking lots of water and eat plenty of food,” said Ashley Terron (pictured above), who won gold for Team UK in bricklaying in Leipzig 2013.

“Sometimes the mind can be wandering as they start to have a look at the other competitors’ work so they can be swayed by that but they’ve got to stay mentally strong, stick to their game plan, stay within their own team, and listen to their own training manager.

“They’ve got to trust their plans so that they know at the last second they will be finished and they’ve given their best shot and left everything on the stand and have no regrets.”

Rianne Chester

FE Week also caught up with Rianne Chester, who won gold in beauty therapy in Sao Paulo (2015) and won the illustrious Albert Vidal award for scoring the greatest number of points among all competitors from every nation taking part.

“They’d be feeling anxious, tired, but excited at this point,” she said when asked how our competitors would be feeling on day three.

“Each competitor will be feeling different right now. Some will be coming off happy but some will be crying their eyes out because they might have messed up on a section and that could be them basically blowing their chances of getting a medal.”

But when that buzzer goes on day four Rianne says they’ll be met with various sensations.

“When they’re finished what they’ll experience is either that feeling that comes all over your body like you’re all white and going to be sick, and you either cry or you get tired or get buzzing. It is different for everyone but it’ll be one of those.

“They’ll also feel really relieved.”

Every competitor in Team UK would have put at least two years of dogged training in to get to this point.

Ashley says they should stay confident in themselves to get over that final hurdle of the last day.

“This is everything they’ve trained for,” he told FE Week.

“Some people train for this for four or five years so they’ve got to remember they’ve made it to the top of the pyramid. So stick to your plans, you know you can do it, that’s why you’re on the stand and everyone else believes in your so believe in yourself and you’ll get through it.”

It is not just medal glory that Ashley and Rianne have experienced. After leaving Team UK Ashley was made a site manager at the age of 22 at a big construction firm called Redrow, and will be promoted to project manager soon aged just 25.

Meanwhile Rianne set up her own mobile beauty business called Beauty by Rianne.

“Personally, WorldSkills has benefitted me massively in my personal life in my confidence, the way I hold myself as a person and my confidence in my own ability,” said Ashley.

“It has been a huge opportunity for me and to be at this level in my professional career at such as young age and that has been made possible from me doing WorldSkills.”

Send your message of good luck to the team on their final day tomorrow by using the #TeamUK and our ‘Go Team UK’ social media image (click here to download). Also include the official event hashtag #WS_AbuDhabi.

Emotions high as Team UK competitors complete their work

Emotions were high as the first round of Team UK competitors completed their work for WorldSkills UK today. 

Jordan Charters, from Edinburgh College and employer George Charters, was captured by FE Week completing his work for what was the first competition to finish today.

He spoke to FE Week afterwards, saying that to succeed at the highest level of international competition “perfection is really the only option”.

“The relief is incomparable, “he added afterwards. “I’m feeling a bit emotional as well which is all good. It’s quite special. I’ll probably never feel like this again.”

 

And Bridie Thorne had a huge crowd cheering her on as she came to the end of her hairdressing competition.

 

Angus Bruce-Gardner, from provider Waters & Acland and employer Silverlining, was also interviewed after his competition in cabinet making.

 

“I don’t think I’ve done as well as I could have done, things have gone wrong, but overall I’ve got the piece finished [a cabinet] and it’s all done in time.”

He was thrilled with all the support he had received, including from family who travelled out there.

“My mum, dad and sister have been out all week, supporting me through this hole journey,” he said.

Betsy Crosbie, competitor in mechanical engineering CAD, from New College Lanarkshire, said it had been a “really good competition” as the four gruelling days came to an end.

“I’m really happy with all the work I’ve produced,” she told FE Week.

 

 

Daniel Martins, from EAS Mechanical and Briggs and Forester, also shared his thoughts after competing in plumbing and heating.

He said: “It was a really tough few days. I’m absolutely shattered now but happy with my work.”

 

Harrison May, from British Gypsum and H&R property Enhancement, told FE Week it was “absolutely amazing” to have finished the plastering competition.

 

Andrew Gault said he would “go away with my head held high” at the end of the auto body repair competition.

“I’m happy with what I’ve done – I don’t think I could’ve done any better,” he added.

Excitement is building as all the categories reach completion, and you can follow their progress on Twitter through @FEWeek.

You can view all our WorldSkills videos here.

 

Somerset Skills & Learning to make major redundancies after AEB debacle

A large community learning provider in Somerset that was hit hard by the adult education budget fiasco is likely to close six centres and make over 50 redundancies in the coming months.

Somerset Skills & Learning, which currently teaches around 10,000 students and employs around 200 staff, was left £1 million short of the funding it needs to stay afloat last month after the ESFA made massive cuts.

The provider, which is ranked ‘good’ by Ofsted, was at first faced with a 97-per-cent cut in September –  a figure which would have meant imminent closure.

However, following a campaign to lobby MPs and ministers, the ESFA U-turned on funding to private providers, and SS&L was given 75 per cent of its required funding on a “transitional” basis.

But Susie Simon-Norris, SS&L’s chief executive, told FE Week that a “radical” restructure was still in the pipeline.

“We have had to make some very tough decisions over the last few weeks in an effort to keep SS&L a going concern,” she said.

“A radical restructure has been proposed and this would sadly mean losing almost a third of our staff and closing six centres to reduce our overheads. We have no choice – the funding cuts have left us in a very difficult position.”

SS&L was forced to put its courses on hold in August after it first received a measly £111,000 allocation despite a “successful” AEB tender – 97 per cent less than the £3.4 million it received in 2016/17.

But on October 2 the provider was told its allocation for 2017/18 had been raised to just over £2.4 million.

It was one of many private providers to receive letters from the ESFA, confirming that extra cash had been found to bring private providers’ AEB funding up to the value of 75 per cent of the amount they had last year.

“We also need to drastically reduce our delivery of community learning courses, a terrible blow for Somerset,” said Ms Simon-Norris. “We still don’t think the government realises that by reducing our funding as they have done, Somerset’s community misses out on vital and unique community education, so we are determined to keep lobbying to have this reinstated. We are the only county in the south-west to have had our community learning budget stripped; this is unfair to Somerset and something we intend to fight for.”

The organisation will continue to deliver apprenticeships, traineeships, maths, English, digital skills and business-related courses across Somerset, but will partner with community-based organisations to deliver learning in the community.

“Although we are proposing to reduce the numbers of centres to reduce overhead costs, we will continue to deliver locally across Somerset by utilising other venues,” she added.

“The saddest and most difficult part however, is having to let loyal, long-standing and hard-working staff members go. Through no fault of the organisation’s, many people will be losing their jobs just before Christmas and I put this firmly at the door of the funding body which has failed to understand the impact of the cuts to our community and the service our staff provide. It is devastating.”

Staff are currently in redundancy consultations and centres are likely to close in the coming months.

Support Our Sixth-formers: DfE urged to redirect 16-19 underspend

The 16-to-19 education budget was underspent by £106 million last year, and campaigners now want the DfE to direct the money back to colleges.

The skills minister revealed the dramatic underspend yesterday after a question in Parliament from Green MP Caroline Lucas, but insisted it was due to low student numbers.

Representatives from school and college associations have warned it would be “indefensible” if the overspend were not now returned to the system ahead of the upcoming autumn budget.

“Budgets for 16- to 19-year-old education are set on the basis of the established funding formula which uses student number estimates,” said Anne Milton in her reply.

“As in 2014-15 and 2015-16, student numbers and associated costs were lower than these estimates in 2016-17, which resulted in a lower spend of £106 million.

“This represents 1.8 per cent of the budget that was available for reallocation. Because this was a result of lower student numbers, it did not affect funding per student.”

A similar question from Nic Dakin MP in July revealed there had also been underspends in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 financial years, of £135 million and £132 million respectively.

The coalition of school and college associations behind the Support Our Sixth-Formers campaign are now urging the government to redirect the underspend back to schools and colleges ahead of the forthcoming budget.

“We know now that £373 million of funding intended for sixth-form students has not been made available to educate these young people over the last three years,” said James Kewin, the deputy boss of the Sixth Form Colleges Association.

“Our students are already chronically unfunded compared with other countries and other phases of education, so for schools and colleges not to receive all the money that has been set aside for sixth form education is indefensible.”

The general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders general secretary, Geoff Barton, echoed the call.

“This is the third year in a row that the government has underspent the money allocated for sixth form funding, at the same time as our schools and colleges are experiencing the greatest ever cuts to their sixth form budgets,” he said.

“In order to prevent an even further widening of the gap between state and independent 16-19 outcomes, this money should be returned to our sixth forms.

“The upcoming budget presents a perfect opportunity to remedy this inequality before it does irreparable damage to the life chances of our young people.”

The DfE has been asked for comment.

Last week it emerged that the chairs and principals of 140 colleges had written an open letter to Theresa May to beg for more funding for 16- to 19-year-olds.

They wrote: “Our students are now in danger of studying an impoverished curriculum, which has already reduced in breadth and choice, and cannot prepare our young people to take their place in employment and compete in a global economy.”

WorldSkills 2017: High praise from first skills minister to visit in eight years

The skills and apprenticeships minister has pledged to bottle the “essence” of WorldSkills Abu Dhabi and “sprinkle it around the UK” in her bid to breakdown the “barriers” our country faces in bridging the skills gap.

Anne Milton today became the first UK minister to attend the global competition in eight years, and said all her dreams would “come true” if she were able to spread what she has seen to young people back in the UK.

The minister started the day by taking a tour of the Adnec arena, where WorldSkills 2017 is held, and visited the stands where each of our 34 competitors are battling the most skilled young people from 58 other countries.

From left: WorldSkills Uk chair Carole Stott, Anne Milton, and WorldSkills UK chief executive Dr Neil Bentley at the hairdressing stand of WorldSkills Abu Dhabi

Accompanied by the ESFA’s chief executive Peter Lauener, WorldSkills UK chief executive Dr Neil Bentley, the organisation’s chair Carole Stott, and its director for skills Ben Blackledge, Ms Milton spoke with training managers and the friends and family of the competitors to get a feel of what the event is all about.

Speaking at a media event after the tour, the minister said: “I have heard a lot about WorldSkills but like many things, you can be told about it but it is not until you get here and see it in action. I had no real perception of the enormity of it and so to see the heavy machinery in here is extraordinary. The size and scale has blown me away.

“Having 34 competitors here from the UK makes me feel humbled. They’re the stars and I am dipping in the end of what has been an enormous programme of work.

“It is moving to meet the parents out here and see their pride in their children. It is also the diversity of skills that are being tested – landscape gardening, hairdressing, jewellery making and the rest, and if I were going to take something away from this it would be to bottle what I have picked up here in a little pot and spread it around the UK.”

Anne Milton speaking with parents and supporters of Team UK competitors at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi

WorldSkills Abu Dhabi has come at a critical time for the UK given prime minister Theresa May’s new skills agenda. But for WorldSkills UK, the organisation that runs skills competitions for our country, funding has been squeezed by half in the last four years.

“One of the reasons I am here is because I don’t think it has ever been higher on a government’s priority,” she said. “Of course we face quite tight financial times, but this is critical not only for economic prosperity. It is about the country and all of that talent amongst young people that we are not able to use.”

FE Week also asked if she believes investing in skills competitions is a good use of apprenticeship levy funds for employers and providers.

“I think this is quite an interesting time,” she replied. “We set up the apprenticeships levy and introduced the Institute for Apprenticeships so this is a brand new system and we want to make sure the money is well spent. We also need to keep open-minded about what it is spent on, what will lever in the best value for learners and get the best skills.”

Anne Milton discussing the fine work that goes into preparing a competitor for WorldSkills with Team UK jewellery expert Steven Jinks

She added that she will always remain “open-minded” about what to spend levy cash on, because “we are growing a new way of doing things”.

“I think this reform has been very different from anything we have ever done before,” she continued. “What we have done is keep an open mind as we go along, it is a new system and we will adapt and shift to make sure that the levy money and any government money is getting maximum value.”

Lastly, Ms Milton said the UK is “absolutely not” good enough at spreading the benefits of skills competitions.

“If I could put in a bottle essence of this competition and sprinkle it around the UK then all my dreams would be answered,” she said.

 

Apprenticeships are “fragile” training, research shows

Relying on employer involvement makes apprenticeships a “fragile” form of training, according to new research.

A new study by Oxford University’s department for education and the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) has reviewed apprenticeship participation on a global scale, and suggest they “play an important role in supporting young people to make the transition from school to working life”, as well as “supporting adults in advancing their skills or acquiring new professions”.

However, the research also found that relying on the active participation of employers means the apprenticeship model is “more vulnerable to political and corporate pressures” than classroom-based forms of learning, because its success depends on businesses and government overcoming differences in how each “views, finances and engages with” apprenticeships.

Titled ‘People and policy: A comparative study of apprenticeship across eight national contexts’, the paper said learning delivered by state-sponsored colleges acting without direct employer support was a “more secure” option.

For apprenticeships to work and produce successful, qualified apprentices, employer engagement was deemed to be “crucial”, found the researchers, Maia Chankseliani, Ewart Keep and Stephanie Wilde.

“Therefore, having strong incentives for employers to participate in programme provision is vital,” they said.

The government’s apprenticeship levy, introduced in April, means large employers now have to foot the bill for their apprentice training in England. All employers, including schools, with a payroll of over £3 million have to pay 0.5 per cent of it into a central pot each year, while grave funding problems have also been experienced by non-levy payers. The money can then only be reclaimed for spending on apprenticeship training.

Reforms to apprenticeship funding in England have faced considerable challenges.

The Confederation for British Industry this week called for an “urgent” reform of the levy system this week for example, after an unprecedented 61-per-cent fall in apprenticeship starts since May.

The latest statistics – the first official figures since the levy was introduced in late April – revealed that apprenticeship starts in the three months from May fell by 69,400 compared with the same period last year.

The Oxford WISE research found that in England and other countries such as Australia, policy changes have led to apprenticeships being perceived as “a form of ‘magic dust’, which can be sprinkled on almost any vocational education and training problem, and offered to any young person who wants one”.

Evidence from England shows that apprenticeships struggle if they are branded as both a prestigious route to gaining certain kinds of skill and as a “social inclusion mechanism”, the study found.

Researchers also warned against attempts to relabel other forms of activity as apprenticeships, but praised efforts in England and Germany to work towards delivering graduate-level apprenticeships as a response to the “threat” posed by growth of higher education.

Rapid technological change may lead to employers having to contemplate creating “more of their own skills in house”, the study said, suggesting the idea of higher-level apprenticeships has “arrived at just the right time”.

The research is based on assessments of apprenticeship frameworks in eight countries: Australia, Denmark, Egypt, England, Finland, Germany, India and South Africa.

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, will be held in Doha in November.