In an effort to encourage more students to move on to higher education, Walsall College has been running ‘Cooking on a budget’ workshops to prepare them for university life.
Learners have been taught how to become self-sufficient in the kitchen by making easy meals such as pasta dishes and Chilli Con Carne, and attendees were presented with a cookbook of affordable recipes at the end of the session.
Chris Sammons
Led by the college’s hospitality and catering lecturer Chris Sammons, the workshops also covered how to shop on a budget, hygiene in the kitchen, and the correct way to store and freeze food.
The workshops were part of the college’s ‘Aspire to HE’ programme, which aims to support the government’s goals to increase the number of young people pursuing higher education routes by 2020.
“Living independently and budgeting for food is a large part of university life,” said Vivien Russell, the college’s progress coach for Aspire to HE. “The workshop was chance to prepare students for some of the challenges and opportunities of living on a smaller budget, whilst being able to prepare healthy and tasty meals.”
The government’s ambition to reach three million apprenticeship starts by 2020 is slipping further out of its grasp as we hit the halfway point, according to exclusive FE Week analysis of the latest statistics.
The number of starts in the 30 months since May 2015 has just hit 1,234,000, the latest monthly starts data shows, leaving us 266,000 (18 per cent) under one-and-a-half million, which is half of the eventual three-million target.
And a leading sector figure has now told the government to scrap the target entirely.
The head of the Association of Colleges, David Hughes, wrote on Twitter that it was the “wrong target” and claimed that a “brave government would abandon it now and replace with a target about job outcomes”.
In another tweet, he suggested that such disappointing results were a “great chance to abandon starts target and focus on access, quality, outcomes and building capacity and capability to deliver that”.
It was always the wrong target & still is. A brave Government would abandon it now & replace with a target about job outcomes
The Department for Education won’t be drawn on whether it is considering either abandoning or changing the target.
A brave government would abandon it
The Learning and Work Institute’s chief executive, Stephen Evans, also believes that the Department for Education is “measuring the wrong thing”, and warned that it risks “both missing the target and missing the point”.
“It’s based on starts not completions, and doesn’t look at quality or access. We need to look more broadly at the learning and skills system for young people as a whole,” he said.
“Our research shows a rise in the proportion of young people spending at least six months not in education, employment or training and an increasing disconnect with the official claimant count.”
The government first introduced its flagship target in 2015, and repeated it in last year’s election manifesto.
In order to hit the target, the country would have had to add an average of at least 50,000 apprenticeship starts per month, a threshold only beaten in three of the last 30 months.
Today’s provisional figures revealed a 26-per-cent drop in apprenticeship starts in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same time period last year.
Today’s figures are a warning for the government, as it becomes increasingly unlikely that it will meet its three million new starters target
“Today’s drop in apprenticeship starts remains alarming and proves again that the apprenticeship levy isn’t yet working for businesses, apprentices and the economy,” said Neil Carberry, the CBI’s managing director of people policy.
“A fresh approach is needed to make skills reforms work. The CBI will continue in its calls to government to evolve the apprenticeship levy into a flexible skills levy, so firms can fund training for their people whatever the form of high-quality course they do. And policymakers must collaborate more closely with businesses and learning providers to design a stable national framework for skills.”
Seamus Nevin, the head of policy at the Institute of Directors echoed these concerns.
“Today’s figures are a warning for the government, as it becomes increasingly unlikely that it will meet its three million new starters target,” he said. “The levy is the right idea, but the system is ripe for reform.”
The apprenticeships minister Anne Milton admitted that last year had been “a period of significant change” and that “it will take time for employers to adjust”.
“But we must not lose sight of why we introduced our reforms in the first place – to put quality at the heart of this programme, and putting control in the hands of employers,” she said.
“It is right that they are taking their time to plan ahead, with two years to spend their levy funds, and maximise the opportunities an apprenticeship can bring for both the learner and employer. Feedback we’ve had shows employers are doing exactly that.”
Overseas ambassadors from three colleges have been selected to represent the UK education sector on a recent trip to China.
Nottingham College’s head of international projects Shaf Hussain, Central Bedfordshire College’s international manager Richard Harrison, and Cardiff and Vale College’s international development manager Ian Thomas were all selected as guest speakers at the British Council Agent Training Workshops, which aimed to promote the UK FE sector to Chinese students and their parents.
Run by the British Council, the workshops took place in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, and were attended by education consultants, who are responsible for representing and helping families with their educational planning.
“A strong message went out to agents highlighting that FE is the best place to prepare international students for UK university study,” said Mr Hussain. “The purpose of me attending was to try to positively impact on the international student market and I’m happy to say that I feel that I was able to achieve this.”
The representatives hope their respective colleges will see an increased intake of international students by September 2018 as a result of the trip.
Start date: December 2017 Previous job: Dean and pro vice-chancellor, Leeds Metropolitan University Interesting fact: Cath is a passionate Tranmere Rovers fan.
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Dr Stephan Jungnitz, Interim principal, Thomas Rotherham College
Start date: January 2018 Previous job: Interim principal, Hartlepool Sixth Form College Interesting fact: Outside of education, Stephan works at the Huddersfield food bank, which helps to support individuals and families in crisis.
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Dipa Ganguli, Principal, Sutton College
Start date: January 2018 Previous job: Assistant principal, Westminster Adult Education Service Interesting fact: Dipa loves travelling and learning about new cultures. Her alternative career choice would have been a researcher for Lonely Planet.
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Peter Lauener, Chair, NCG Training
Start date: March 2018 Previous job: Interim chief executive, the Student Loans Company Interesting fact: When studying economics at university, Peter took a course in Marxian economics which was then cancelled because of lack of interest.
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Steven Downham-Clarke, Vice-principal and deputy chief executive, Myerscough College
Start date: April 2018 Previous job: Assistant principal, Kirklees College Interesting fact: Steven has a keen interest in the outdoors and has hens, dogs, a cat and a horse.
Ifyou 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
David Meller, the co-chair of the controversial Presidents Club charity dinner that has been rocked by allegations of sexual harassment by guests, has resigned from the Department for Education’s board.
Anne Milton, the skills and apprenticeships minister with responsibility for the board, announced in Parliament this afternoon that he had stood down from both his non-executive director role at the DfE and the Apprenticeship Delivery Board.
Milton said she understood there were “allegations of inappropriate and lewd behaviour” at the dinner which she found “quite extraordinary”.
“The government expects board members to adhere to the code of conduct for board members of public bodies. This quite clearly states that they should adhere to the seven principles of public life,” she said.
“David Meller is stepping down as non-executive member for the Department for Education and the apprenticeship delivery board, and I know my right honourable friend the secretary of state is absolutely clear that this is the right thing to do.”
She also insisted that “this event was absolutely nothing to do with the Department for Education”.
She added: “Women have the right to feel safe wherever they work, and allegations of this type of behaviour are completely unacceptable.”
Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, told MPs that Meller “should not have any other roles in education”.
Nadhim Zahawi, the newly appointed children’s minister, is also understood to have been in attendance at the dinner, but left early, according to reports.
A story by the Financial Times, published earlier today, revealed allegations of “groping, sexual harassment and propositioning” of women hired as “hostesses” for the Presidents Club charity dinner, which took place at London’s Dorchester Hotel last Thursday.
According to the Department for Education’s website, Meller joined as a non-executive board member in June 2013. He set up the Meller Educational Trust, which runs four schools and a university technical college, and served as chair of the National Apprenticeship Ambassador Network and the Apprenticeship Delivery Board. He was made a CBE in the new year’s honours list.
The government is harming young and disadvantaged people with its failure to ease their travel costs, according to a major new inquiry into the impact of the apprenticeship reforms.
The Skills Commission has “heard growing concerns” that “opportunities for disadvantaged young people are being displaced”, its new report out today warned.
Made up of an influential group of education leaders, business and MPs, the commission has made a series of recommendations to redress the balance.
Prominently, they want the government to “urgently” introduce subsidised travel for apprentices, bringing “discounts in line with those in full-time education”.
“The commission welcomes the current government’s commitment to discounted travel costs for apprentices. However, as yet there is no indication of how or when this pledge will be implemented,” the report said.
“Not only can transport costs be a barrier to accessing an apprenticeship in the first place, but they can also limit the variety of opportunities a young person can access. This is particularly the case in rural areas where transport options are more limited.”
The Conservatives committed to cutting travel costs for apprentices in their manifesto for June’s general election, in which they pledged to “introduce significantly discounted bus and train travel for apprentices” in an attempt to make the qualifications more attractive to people from disadvantaged backgrounds, but moves to implement cuts have stalled.
Other recommendations include having the Institute for Apprenticeships “monitor closely the extent to which the levy is being used to upskill existing employees”.
The apprenticeship levy was introduced for large employers in April last year.
But much of the resulting funding is being used by the employers to retrain employees already on their books, rather than employ new, younger apprentices.
“Of greatest concern is where rebadged training may simply accredit the existing skills of employees,” the report said.
It also suggested the government should develop “an apprentice kite mark, which employers should sign up to, to encourage higher-quality standards and best practice”.
The commission also wants the “apprenticeship premium” first suggested by the Learning and Work Institute, an additional sum paid to employers and providers to help them support young apprentices.
This premium would give “employers the breathing space to fund additional costs associated with recruiting a young apprentice through the levy”.
The inquiry was co-chaired by Peter Mayhew-Smith, the principal of South Thames College, Lilian Greenwood, the Labour MP for Nottingham South, and Michelle Donelan, who is the Conservative MP for Chippenham.
Mr Mayhew-Smith praised the “bold and imaginative strategy for investment in technical skills for the future” but warned that the enquiry had “exposed grave concerns” about the apprenticeship levy and its “ability to deliver inclusive participation and healthy levels of social mobility”.
“We feel that the new arrangements need to be looked at again to make sure they create positive change for the people and businesses they’re intended to benefit,” he added.
Although it describes apprenticeships as having the potential to be “a major engine of social mobility in the UK”, the report warned that factors such as low apprentice wages, the government’s cuts to household benefits, and the lack of “parity of esteem” between apprenticeships and traditional university degrees were putting off potential applicants.
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ chief policy officer Simon Ashworth said the recommendations were a “timely wake-up call that more needs to be done to support young people, especially 16- to 18-year-olds, into and through an apprenticeship”.
“Ministers would be wise to act quickly on implementing them,” he added.
Total apprenticeship starts fell 41 percent for the six months since May when the levy was introduced, compared to the same period the previous year (see below).
Provisional figures published by the DfE this morning report provisional starts for the first quarter of 2017, covering the months of August, September and October. This shows a 26 percent fall compared to the same quarter the previous year.
When these latest provisional figures are added to final starts from May to July (see below), the performance of the first six months of the reform programme shows the sluggish start continues.
Exactly half way into the five year Manifesto commitment target to achieve 3 million starts, the figures show an 18 percent (266,000 starts) shortfall.
Responding to the latest figures, Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills Anne Milton said: “The last year has been a period of significant change, it will take time for employers to adjust.
“But we must not lose sight of why we introduced our reforms in the first place – to put quality at the heart of this programme, and putting control in the hands of employers.
“It is right that they are taking their time to plan ahead, with two years to spend their levy funds, and maximise the opportunities an apprenticeship can bring for both the learner and employer. Feedback we’ve had shows employers are doing exactly that.”
The Department for Education report accompanying the data said: “There were 114,400 apprenticeship starts reported so far for the first quarter of the 2017/18 academic year, compared to 155,600 reported at this time in 2016/17, a decrease of 26.5 per cent. However, the decrease was not as large as the drop between quarter 4 2015/16 and quarter 4 2016/17 (59.3 per cent), which is likely to be associated with the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in April 2017. There have been 67,200 levy-supported starts so far, of which, 46,100 were reported in the first quarter for 2017/18.”
The latest figures have caused concern in the sector.
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ (AELP) chief executive, Mark Dawe, warned ministers should be “really concerned” about the “social mobility agenda” after data revealed a continued drop in starts for both young people and at lower levels and called for cuts to the sector to be reversed.
He added: “The government has got to look again at the incentives for recruiting young people and make sure that there are apprenticeship opportunities available across the country. This means that employers shouldn’t be charged for taking on 16 to 24 year old apprentices and they should be given more flexibility in how they train them.”
EEF’s head of education and skills policy, Verity Davidge, said the figures should be a “wake-up call” to the government that the “apprenticeship levy and wider reforms aren’t working”, and called for a “radical rethink”.
She said: “The fact that the drop isn’t as huge as the previous quarter is by no means a cause for celebration, as the numbers are a snapshot of the time when most apprentices begin. The only ray of hope we can find is the increase in the number of higher apprenticeships.
“Government must listen to business concerns and ensure the levy delivers the demand-led system that was promised to employers.”
The Learning and Work Institute’s chief executive, Stephen Evans, described the fall in apprenticeship starts as “worrying” and said the government risks “both missing the target and missing the point” unless there is a change in government policies including measuring completions, quality and access to courses.
He said: “A smaller fall is probably not the headline the Government were looking for, and their three million target looks some distance away.
“We need to look more broadly at the learning and skills system for young people as a whole. Our research shows a rise in the proportion of young people spending at least six months not in education, employment or training and an increasing disconnect with the official claimant count. The fall in traineeship numbers today shows a decline in routes to apprenticeships for many young people.”
Others took to Twitter to voice their worries.
Awful Apprs stats again.DfE responses resembling Mr Micawber hoping something will turn up.They need to take a serious look at Levy use now.
Need to look at the levy now before providers pull out of the delivery process. Worse when some framework funding dropped for apprenticeships where there is no new standard
Government 3m starts target is slipping away, which in itself is no bad thing. Key question – are starts down because employers are focusing on quality apprenticeships now that it’s their money, or is it because the system isn’t functioning properly? https://t.co/Gmtcumhq6M
Yes, signs that things are turning around. But now great chance to abandon starts target & focus on access, quality, outcomes & building capacity & capability to deliver that
With #Apprenticeships starts falling and questions about how the policy and strategy are being delivered will @educationgovuk@ESFAgov undertake a urgent review and speak to businesses and others to find a way to unpick this before it’s too late.
A charity fundraising dinner run by a Department for Education director and academy trust founder has been rocked by allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour by guests, following an undercover investigation by journalists.
A story by the Financial Times, published earlier today, revealed allegations of “groping, sexual harassment and propositioning” of women hired as “hostesses” for the Presidents Club Charity Dinner, which took place at London’s Dorchester Hotel last Thursday.
David Meller (pictured above), a non-executive director at the Department for Education and founder of the Meller Educational Trust who was made a CBE in the new year’s honours list, is chair of the charitable trust that runs the event.
Nadhim Zahawi, the newly-appointed children’s minister, is also understood to have been in attendance, but left early, according to reports.
According to the FT, which sent two reporters to work undercover as hostesses, the 130 women hired to work at the men-only event were “told to wear skimpy black outfits with matching underwear and high heels”.
Hostesses “reported men repeatedly putting hands up their skirts, and one “said an attendee had exposed his penis to her during the evening”.
Many of the hostesses met by FT journalists were students, “hoping to launch careers as lawyers or marketing executives”, the newspaper reported.
A spokesperson for the Presidents Club told the FT the organisers were “appalled by the allegations of bad behaviour at the event”, adding that “such behaviour is totally unacceptable”.
“The allegations will be investigated fully and promptly and appropriate action taken.”
According to the Department for Education’s website, Meller joined as a non-executive board member in June 2013. He set up the Meller Educational Trust, which runs four schools and a University Technical College. He is also chair of the National Apprenticeship Ambassador Network and the Apprenticeship Delivery Board.
Outside education, Meller chairs his family business The Meller Group, one of the largest luxury home and beauty suppliers in the UK.
Traineeships are in decline and could die without more support from the government, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers has warned.
Alongside the shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden, the body hosted a special Westminster debate on the future of the scheme in Parliament this afternoon.
Panel members, including AELP’s chair Martin Dunford and chief executive Mark Dawe, recalled that traineeships were widely supported by the government and the FE sector when they were launched in 2013, but said starts fell from 24,100 in 2015/16 to 20,300 in 2016/17.
The most dramatic fall was among 19- to 24-year-olds, dropping by almost a third over the same period from 9,400 to 6,400.
The most up-to-date figures will be out on Thursday, and expectations among attendees at today’s debate were low that there would be any sign of a reverse in the trend.
Mr Dawe lamented that the “cold hand of government” was destroying what had been a “promising training programme”, and claimed “there is huge latent demand for traineeships that is not being utilised”.
“There is a problem with the Education and Skills Funding Agency not having the processes in place to ensure the traineeships gets the funding it needs, and that progress properly monitored, along with a lack of promotion,” he said.
“The government is so consumed by T-levels and apprenticeships now, the danger is that traineeships don’t get a look-in.”
Mr Marsden harked back to New Labour’s 1997 general election commitment to focus on “education, education, education”, but said the emphasis for traineeships should now be on promoting “progression, progression, progression”.
He was referring to confusion over how the scheme is perceived, and lack of clarity over how the government reports which learners progress to jobs or other training such as apprenticeships.
Traineeships were launched in 2013, as part of the government’s drive to help the low-skilled unemployed below the age of 25 onto apprenticeships.
But their remit was set more broadly, so that they could also help learners onto a job or find other full-time education.
They are supposed to provide “essential work preparation training, English, maths and work experience needed to secure an apprenticeship or employment”, according to government guidance
Martin Dunford speaking and other panel members (from left) Gordon Marsden, Mark Dawe and Debbie Gardiner
The Department for Education said in March last year that there were 10,500 traineeship progressions in 2015/16. Of these, “7,000 were to a job, apprenticeship, further full-time education or other training for those aged under 19, and 3,400 were to a job or apprenticeship for 19-24s.”
FE Week lodged a Freedom of Information request to find out how many progressed to an apprenticeship, and found that just 600 of 3,400 overall progressions for 19- to 24-year-olds were to apprenticeships.
But Mr Dunford insisted today that “it was a good thing that traineeships were kept flexible” as “it’s a good programme”, and wants more government promotion for the scheme.
By aiming to take on young people interested in a wider range of outcomes than just apprenticeships, traineeships could cast the net wider, and ultimately produce “more progressions to apprenticeships”.
Debbie Gardiner MBE, the chief executive of Qube Learning, agreed during today’s debate that there was a problem with perception.
“We understand that traineeships are about getting young people into work and training,” she said, by using a “short” window of opportunity to help them.
But too often employers are concerned that the lack of pay for learners they take on with traineeships can damage company brands.
Mr Marsden, however, closed on an optimistic note.
“We all forget how difficult it is to get the message across with relatively new initiatives like this. The key thing it needs is sheer bloody mindedness with regards to pushing ahead and promoting it,” he said.
Mr Dawe agreed: “Let’s keep on fighting.”
Update, January 25: The latest data for August, September and October 2017, published today, showed a further decline in starts.
There were 6,800 traineeship starts in those three months, a decrease of 6.5 per cent from the 7,300 over the same period the previous year. Of these, 5,500 were under 19 and 1,300 were aged 19 to 24, compared with 5,300 and 2,000 respectively in quarter one of 2016/17.
