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What happened during National Apprenticeship Week 2017?

People across the country got involved in National Apprenticeship Week 2017 this week – from Barnsley to Barnet, and Teesside to Truro.

Scroll down to see a snapshot of the events that took place to mark the occasion, and download the NCFE NAW2017 supplement for extended NAW 2017 coverage, funding timelines and more.

Climb aboard the apprenticeships express

It was all aboard the apprenticeships express at the Barnsley Interchange during NAW.

The town’s busy hub for bus and train services was the site of Barnsley College’s first apprenticeship pop-up shop.

Advisors from the college were on hand to talk to commuters about the range of apprenticeships available and the benefits of being an apprentice, along with details of current vacancies.

Being in such a central location meant the pop-up shop was able to attract the interest of a wide range of people – including prospective apprentices and, perhaps crucially, their parents and grandparents.

Those interested in getting on the ladder of opportunity could leave their details, and the college will work with them to find the right apprenticeship for them.

Mel Jenkinson, head of student recruitment, said: “Events like these are vital if we are going to raise awareness of apprenticeships and the benefits of choosing this career pathway.”

Hawk swoops in to Number 10

Even 10 Downing Street got in on the action this week, with a visit from top apprentices at Hawk Training.

Many apprentices at the private provider already work in positions across all sorts of government departments, including the Treasury and the Cabinet Office, which ran a tour of the prime minister’s official home for 25 lucky learners.

George Shackelford, a 21-year-old business and administration apprentice who works at Downing Street, hosted the tour and walked his colleagues through history, showing them the belongings of past prime ministers such as Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill.

After the tour the Hawk apprentices gave presentations about their work, followed by an informal networking session at the nearby Wales Office.

Crawford Knott, the provider’s managing director, said: “Against a backdrop of unprecedented change within the sector, National Apprenticeship Week 2017 provides an opportunity to celebrate what is most important, the apprentices and their achievements.”

A better world at the Eden Project

The lush gardens of the Eden Project provided a fitting backdrop for an event that sought to grow apprenticeships in Cornwall.

Around 120 young people – including apprentices and other interested parties – gathered to share their experiences and take part in activities across the site.

The aim of the day was to inspire young people in the area to consider an apprenticeship, and provide them with valuable information and skills.

Attendees included apprentices for the NHS, Cornwall Council and from the Eden Project’s own programme, which is run in collaboration with Cornwall College.

Activities during the day, which was organised in partnership with the Cornwall Apprentice Ambassador Network, included a workshop on job interview techniques, as well as den-building and orienteering.

Will Pearce, an apprentice at Pendennis Shipyard, said: “Meeting other apprentices has been useful, it gives me a different perspective on what everyone else is doing,” he said.

Omelette and cocktail challenge

Learners at Barnet and Southgate College have marked NAW with a contest guaranteed to tickle the taste buds – an omelette and cocktail making challenge.

The competition, which was open to anyone with an interest in studying for an apprenticeship at the college, saw around 15 learners and local school pupils go head to head for each challenge.

Entrants were timed to see who could rustle up a plain omelette the quickest, while the first to mix up a virgin mojito was crowned the winner of the cocktail challenge.

Sophie Reid, 21, who is currently studying a level two NVQ in catering but plans to progress to an apprenticeship, proved to be the biggest whizz in the kitchen by winning both challenges.

She whipped up her omelette in an incredible two minutes and 50 seconds and said she loved taking part in the challenges.

“I can’t believe I came top in both!” she added.

She said she wanted to do an apprenticeship “to gain experience in the working world – it’s ideal as you earn while you learn and it’s so difficult to get a job without any relevant training in the field these days”.

Scaling the skills gap across Teesside

Apprentices in Teesside have scaled its famous Transporter Bridge in an effort to learn where they can fit into their area’s proud industrial history.

Ten apprentices and 15 employer representatives joined a crew who visited the top of the longest working transporter bridge in the world – a site which was mostly operated by apprentices when it was first built in the early 20th century.

The event was organised by Northern Skills Group, the commercial training arm of Middlesbrough College, which is responsible for training around 2,000 apprentices every year.

NSG invited employers from across the north-east, including reps from engineering giant Amec Foster Wheeler, chemicals firm Sabic, robotics specialists Labman and manufacturer Caterpillar, all of whom use its training services.

“The Transporter Bridge remains a true symbol of the skills and creativity that have earned this region a fantastic worldwide reputation – and today’s apprentices are the ones who will be taking that reputation forward,” said the director of NSG, Peter Wilson.

Stepping up and over for 5-a-side football cup

Apprentices in Oxfordshire were pitched against each other in a hard-fought five-a-side football tournament to kick off National Apprenticeship Week.

The contest, organised by Oxfordshire Apprenticeships in partnership with Ignite Sport and the University of Oxford, also showcased the range of apprenticeships in the county.

Twelve teams lined up, each representing local businesses including the Oxford plant of car manufacturer MINI, electricians Clarkson Evans, and training providers 3aaa, Activate Learning and SOFEA.

And after a long afternoon of fancy footwork the apprentices from Oxfordshire County Council emerged victorious.

The team’s captain, 29-year-old Luis Audibert, who is studying a level three technical highways apprenticeship, said the event had been “a good chance for all of us to have fun, bond as a team and raise awareness of apprenticeships”.

The event also raised money for SeeSaw, an Oxfordshire charity offering grief support for children and young people.

The charity’s representative Jane Elliott said it was “wonderful” to see so many teams taking part in the competition.

Opening windows of opportunity

It was “pane sailing” for a team of apprentices at Oldham College as they created a “window of opportunity” to celebrate NAW.

Six of the college’s construction students combined their skills in woodwork and painting and decorating to fit a seven-foot window in the job shop – the college’s central hub, where learners can speak to an advisor about apprenticeship vacancies and work opportunities.

The week-long reconstruction and makeover project included a complete revamp of the whole room. Speaking on the second day of the project, painting and decorating apprentice Connor Kemp, 18, said: “We’ve managed to knock through the wall and put in the window frame already and it’s only day two. An assessor has been on site to support us but all the work has been our own. It’s been a real team effort.”

At the end of the week local construction firms joined the apprentices in the rebuilt Job Shop to celebrate their achievements.

Making the cut with Manchester stylists

The hair stylists of the future have been showing off their skills at Michaeljohn Training School as they recreate the looks of iconic women through the ages.

The Manchester-based independent training provider marked both NAW and International Women’s Day on March 8 with a competition for its hairdressing apprentices.

Learners competed against each other to impress the judges with how well they had recreated the look of a significant woman, past or present.

Each apprentice researched the individual style of the woman they’d chosen to feature, then recreated the look on live models using a variety of techniques they’d learned on their course including setting, blow-drying and upstyling.

Nineteen-year-old Abbey Lambert, a level two apprentice, said she enjoyed recreating the look of her chosen icon, the acid-attack victim and TV presenter Katie Piper.

“I love how strong she is and how independent she is after all she has endured,” Abbey said.

“Apprenticeships are great. You are learning while you are working, and getting paid for it.”

Will the Institute for Apprenticeships succeed?

National Apprenticeship Week isn’t just a government thing. Labour’s shadow apprenticeships minister Gordon Marsden also got in on the action, and went on a great British tour of his own, as he explains below.

During National Apprenticeship Week we are rightly able to celebrate the thousands of individual successes from young beginners to older workers – and of the trainers, colleges and employers who inspire them.

This week I was delighted to speak to meet apprentices here in Parliament, across London, at Blackpool, in the engineering and motor industries, and at the new BAE Systems Academy near Preston. I was regaled with stories of success and of the chances available to young people taking an apprenticeship. These success stories build on the vital achievement of the last Labour government in setting up the National Apprenticeship Service, introducing National Apprenticeship Week in 2008, and revitalising our apprenticeship programme.

But with every success comes concern. For apprentices to get the most of their experience and gain the skills employers need, the new Institute for Apprenticeships must have adequate capacity and resources. Are 80 employees and a paltry £8 million annual budget going to be enough to support the government’s desire for three million apprenticeship starts by 2020? Not to mention the extra workload when the Institute takes on responsibility for technical education from 2018/19.

Are 80 employees and an £8 million annual budget going to be enough to support three million apprenticeship starts by 2020?

How are they going to tackle continued concern from employers on what new routes include? At the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reception on Monday, a host of employers expressed anxiety that new routes would not have the solid qualifications they require. We have issued warnings that government’s blinkered approach to reaching its three million target could be to the detriment of quality provision.

We are still waiting for the government to announce how it intends to tackle a careers IAG system, where apprenticeships are often seen as the poorer cousin of higher education. That is why I was delighted to see Lord Baker’s amendment to the TFE Bill, which will ensure schools have to give access to advice about apprenticeships, as well as fully supporting my colleague Nic Dakin’s 10-minute rule bill, which will allow businesses and FE providers to go into schools and let students know about opportunities available via apprenticeships.

It was great to speak at my colleague Kelvin Hopkins’ debate on financial support for apprentices. Too often we speak about apprenticeships but not enough about the individual apprentice. In the debate I raised issues around the financial benefits apprentices are excluded from and the negative effect this has on the social mobility and life chances of those from disadvantaged groups and areas.

It is crucial the government utilises traineeships as the key point of entry to get far more young people competitive at the starting gate for high quality apprenticeships. We’ve had warm words from the minister on their progress,s but he must get agreements with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury to make them financially attractive to would-be applicants, as well as employers, providers and colleges.

This week of course we’ve had confirmation of the chancellor’s changes in technical skills funding – welcome, if inflated, for their potential in expanding quality apprenticeships in their announcements. But the £500 million promised will only amount to £60 million in 2018-19, and won’t get anywhere near its full value until 2021/22 – after the next election – according to the Treasury’s own detailed figures.

Meanwhile a succession of reports, from the BIS select committee, the EEF and the IfS – indicate there is still widespread scepticism about whether government is doing enough to satisfy the crucial link between apprenticeships and industrial strategy, overcoming Whitehall silos and energising skills and training policy with a proper devolution process. It’s a big challenge for the IfA to address, coming in as lean as it is, with still no permanent chief executive, come April.

Gordon Marsden is shadow skills minister

Movers and Shakers: Edition 202

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

Lucy Maggs has been appointed assistant principal at Callywith College in Cornwall.

The new college is due to open in September in association with Truro and Penwith College, where she currently works as a programme team leader for student services.

She will share the assistant principal position with Jon Grey, who was also recently appointed.

Her main responsibilities will include leading on student support, and she says she is “looking forward to being a part of all the individual student success stories”.

During her time at Truro and Penwith, Ms Maggs taught health and social care across A-level, extended diploma and foundation degree courses, held the role of programme team leader, and most recently managed student services.

Speaking of the college, she said: “Callywith will give the opportunity to raise life chances for young people in north and east Cornwall. Such outstanding local provision on their doorstep enables local young people to achieve qualifications that will widen their opportunities for the remainder of their lives.”

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Andy Berry has been appointed the new principal of Bridgwater and Taunton College in Somerset.

The college was recently rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and has received a total of 13 National Beacon Awards from the Association of Colleges for its innovative practices.

He will take over the role following the retirement of current principal, Mike Robbins, at the end of the academic year.

Mr Berry is currently vice principal at the college, a role he has held for five years.

The future principal says he’s most looking forward to working more closely with “the fantastic staff team”, adding: “These are exciting times for the towns of Bridgwater and Taunton, and for Somerset generally.

“I fully expect the college to continue playing a significant role in supporting economic development through the provision of high quality academic, technical and skills programmes for our students and employers.”

Derek Randall, chair of governors who led the recruitment panel, said “We anticipate that his appointment will also ensure continuity in our progress towards achieving our ambition of becoming a world class education and training organisation”.

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Julie Richards has been appointed chief executive of the Chesterfield College Group.

Ms Richards, who was formerly deputy principal of Chesterfield College, began the new role at the beginning of March.

She will develop the way further and higher education is delivered, as well as working closely with the wider community.

Ms Richards has worked in the further education sector for almost 30 years, working in colleges and private providers across England, spending the last 20 years in senior management roles.

She first joined Chesterfield as executive director of business enterprise eight years ago, to lead on the development of apprenticeship provision and services to employers for the college group.

She has a strong connection with the college, after studying there at the age of 16, and returning in 1990 to undertake her teacher training qualification.

Speaking of her appointment, Ms Richards said: “Helping students progress and reach their potential, and supporting employers to grow and develop the skills they need for both now and in the future, will always be our prime objective.”

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

Formula 1 challenge pits apprentices against school pupils

A global competition that challenges young people to make their own Formula 1 cars has launched a category for engineering apprentices to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week. Samantha King reports

Regarded as one of the largest ever global STEM initiatives, Formula 1 in Schools operates in over 40 countries, challenging young people aged 11 to 19 to work in teams and engineer their own small-scale cars.

Now for the first time, the challenge will open up to apprentices, with a brand new professional apprentice class for competitors in the UK.

Our last four world champion teams have been managed by girls

Andrew Denford, founder and chairman of F1 in Schools, said: “Through F1 in schools we try to attract more students into engineering careers. Apprenticeships are desperately needed by the supply chain, not only in Formula 1, but in automotive businesses throughout the UK.”

There are currently three classes in the competition: an entry class for beginners, a development class, and a professional class for more experienced students, alongside which the new apprenticeship category will sit.

The professional and apprentice class is likely to see 14- to 19-year-olds from schools and colleges pitted against each other, and Mr Denford suggested a strong female presence could work in favour of teams, despite the potential differences in experience.

“Our last four world champion teams have been managed by girls. If school and apprentice entrants can get some females on their teams it will really be a level playing field. I’m not sure who would win between them.

“It’s a brand new thing we’re launching so we’re not quite sure what will happen.”

To enter, students must form teams of three to six, before developing business plans and using state-of-the-art technology to produce model cars powered by CO2 canisters, which form an integral part of the competition process.

Competitors are judged on the speed of their cars, scrutineering, marketing and how much sponsorship they secure, as well as teamwork ability – and are required to give presentations on the processes they go through.

With regional, national and global heats, rewards for successful teams include tickets to the British Grand Prix, tours of the McClaren factory and scholarships and bursaries to some of the UKs top engineering universities.

Denford explained “If you win the UK national competition [held at the Silverstone circuit], the team gets tickets for the British Grand Prix, a visit to the formula one team, and two half bursaries for UCL engineering.

“They’ve also got a chance to enter the Randstad Williams engineering academy who come and hand pick the best 10 from the
world finals.”

David Hill, director of apprenticeships at the Department for Education, said “Formula 1 in Schools is a brilliant example of how apprenticeships can work across many sectors.

“Apprenticeships are not just a unique way to progress in work and life but a fantastic way for employers to improve the skills base of their businesses, and I am delighted that F1 in Schools has embraced National Apprenticeship Week and apprenticeships in such an exciting way.”

The new apprentice category will receive its official, national launch at the 2017 UK finals of F1 in Schools, held at the Silverstone Circuit on 29 and 30 March, ready for the 2017/18 season.

Main photo: The fast lane: 2016 national finalists at Silverstone

Are governors responsible for sub-contractors?

Dr Sue, director of policy and external relations at Holex, answers your questions, backed by her experience as principal of Canterbury College and in senior civil service posts in education and skills.

Question One: Where have all the adults gone?

David Lammy’s passionate speech on the return of night schools prompted me to ask whether we open our buildings to the community. We were told there was no local call for evening classes and it was mainly self-financing gym use and some ESOL classes. I felt this was not enough but didn’t know whether to press further.

Answer: You should ask for this to be an item on your next governors’ strategy day. All the evidence suggests adult education will be a growth area in the future and you need to know your local demographics: for example, how many adults locally need ESOL or basic skills support – an area that government is fully funding.

There is a growing need for people to retrain and/or change career mid-life

Industry, business and the labour market are changing rapidly and there is a growing need for people to retrain and/or change career mid-life. The opportunity to learn in the evening and at weekends will be an important part of the future adult skills landscape. Government has confirmed they will they provide loans for level 4 and above, as well as maintenance loans. That’s a real sign that they see this to be an important issue.

If you just think about how driverless vehicles could affect the haulage industry, you soon understand the magnitude of the potential retraining scheme for lorry drivers.

Also, don’t underestimate the future market for full-cost education for those who want to learn new skills. Soon the largest slice of the population will be the over 60’s and research shows that people’s wellbeing and life expectancy are enhanced if they continue to learn, integrate and socialise.

Question Two: Governor visits to sub-contractors

When I walk around our college I see a lot of young people but very few adults or students with learning difficulties or disabilities. When I asked about it, the senior team explained they thought it was best to contract out adult work and LLDD to specialist partners. It started me thinking about governors’ responsibilities and whether I should do drop-in visits to sub-contractors and partners as I do in the college.

Answer: As the college owns the contract with SFA, the governor body is responsible for quality and the student experience, including safety and Prevent. Even though these areas might be covered in the contracts with sub-contractors/partners, the governors are ultimately responsible.

Out of courtesy you should discuss this with the principal

Therefore, you and your fellow governors need to be assured that all the normal policies, safeguards and quality assurance mechanisms are in place and working for any sub-contracted provision. You should also see performance reports for each subcontractor/partner and there should be regular appraisal of whether the partnership adds to the student experience.

If there is a visit or pop-in scheme in main college, there should be the same arrangement for sub-contractors. Out of courtesy you should discuss this with the principal, who may want to let the partner know. Once that is done you should go ahead and make the necessary visit arrangements, following the agreed practice, and if you are not comfortable with what you find, you must speak up and let the chair and principal know.

College named as top in UK for use of social media in education

A Hampshire college has been awarded the title of top college in the UK for its social media at the 2017 Edurank Awards.

Sparsholt College took the award for ‘social media performance of the year’ as well as ‘best Instagram performance’ at the ceremony, which recognises and celebrates the use of social media in education.

The college currently operates across five social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, with more than 11,000 followers on their Facebook page alone.

In order to maintain engagement, social media staff have implemented their own hashtags on Instagram, encouraging students to share pictures taken around the campus, as well as sharing interviews with students and videos.

Meg Bullock, the college’s digital marketing officer, said: “It’s the images captured by students that give a real insight into college life. I initiated the hashtag #studentview on Instagram and this has proved to be one of our most powerful tools.

“We are disciplined about keeping our content levels up and sharing information that’s relevant and interesting for parents and businesses, as well as current, future and past students.”

Apprenticeship frameworks could be discontinued without SFA approval

The UK’s food and drink frameworks could be switched off against the government’s wishes, FE Week has learned.

The Skills Funding Agency is currently deciding on which frameworks it will discontinue from April 2018, but because the new food and drink standards are not yet ready, it hasn’t put them up for consideration.

However, the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink, which still has powers as an issuing authority left over from a previous incarnation, is running its own consultation on whether or not to cancel the frameworks it administers – raising the real possibility that learners might not have access to certain pathways for a year or more.

The NSAFD used to be a sector skills council, and is understood to have the power to switch frameworks off without input from the Department for Education, a reality the DfE has now confirmed.

The news has sparked major concern across the food and drink industry.

In a letter to apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon, seen by FE Week (below), Bill Jermey (pictured), chair of the Food and Drink Training and Education Council (FTC), wrote: “We naturally assumed the government’s own SFA/IfA had the final say on framework withdrawals, but we are astonished to discover the NSAFD still retains the ‘issuing authority’ powers of the defunct SSC to terminate frameworks at their will.”

He was particularly worried, he said, that “by closing the framework they stand to gain financially”.

Sector skills councils were granted powers both to issue and withdraw apprenticeship frameworks, as issuing authorities, under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.

An email from the SFA has now indicated the limits of the government’s power over such issuing authorities.

“The NSAFD (if they are the listed issuing authority) do have the power to withdraw the food and drink framework outside of the framework withdrawal process,” it said, adding that the NSAFD had “very recently engaged” with the SFA and had “agreed to share the results of the consultation”.

This, however, represents “only a small assurance” because the SFA is only empowered to “make recommendations on their proposals”.

NSAFD’s chief executive Justine Fosh refused to say whether or not her organisation intended to exercise its power as an issuing authority to switch off the frameworks.

The NSAFD’s own consultation document reveals that it is “seeking input to inform recommendations to the DfE”, saying that “in a changing landscape it is down to each issuing authority to inform the approach” for framework switch off.

We do not think this is ready to withdraw yet as this would leave gaps in the market

The document outlines the NSAFD’s decision-making criteria, which it said had been agreed by the Federation of Sector Skills and Standards, and then lists its recommendations for each of the existing food and drink frameworks.

However another email from the SFA has cast doubt on those recommendations.

“Our mapping of standards to the food and drink framework pathways show some low-volume pathways, gaps and some mapping where the standard does not quite cover the chosen pathway,” it said.

“As you can see we do not think this is ready to withdraw yet as this would leave gaps in the market.”

NSAFD owns the only awarding body – Occupational Awards Ltd – that offers mandatory qualifications in the level two and three food and drink process operator standards.

The awarding body is also registered as an end-point assessor for both of these standards.

So far 82 frameworks have been, or are due to be, switched off, and the government is currently consulting on the withdrawal of a further 62 full or part frameworks.

All frameworks are expected to be phased out by 2020.

England’s rugby league team announce new training base at Rochdale college

The England rugby league team has announced its move to a new training base at Hopwood Hall College, where students were invited to watch one of the team’s first training sessions.

Currently ranked third in the international stakes, players from the team will be using the facilities at the Manchester college as their new training ground.

They will use the same facilities as the students on the BTEC and diploma rugby courses, including access to the on-site gym, fitness suites and extra rugby pitches at the college’s Middleton campus.

The move comes as the team gears up for the start of the rugby league World Cup in October, where they will take on reigning champions Australia in their first game.

Lee Registe, a student taking a BTEC level three in sport and rugby league at the college, said: “It was unbelievable being able to see the England Rugby players up close and personal like that. It was really inspiring seeing them, an unforgettable morning.”

Kyle Amor, who plays as St Helens’ prop forward, said: “Part of our role as players is to inspire the next generation of fans. We’re here first and foremost to train, but encouraging a new fan base or setting an example to the rugby students is really important to all the players.”

Main photo: Scrumming it: England players train at the college

Government considers legislation change to protect learners with loans when providers go bust

The government is considering a change in legislation to protect learners left in loans debt after their providers go bust, in a move that would mark an early victory for FE Week’s #SaveOurAdultEducation campaign.

We have been demanding justice for hundreds of learners who have recently been left with thousands of pounds of student loans but no qualification after several training organisations were suddenly wound up with no warning.

After the launch of our campaign at the end of February, the shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden, asked a parliamenatary question (PQ) to education secretary Justine Greening if she would meet with the Skills Funding Agency and the Student Loans Company to discuss the feasibility of writing off student loan debts in such situations.

FE Week now understands that the government is mulling over secondary legislation to protect learner loans when providers go out of business in the future.

We will consider what might be done to avoid these learners being unfairly disadvantaged

“We are committed to finding a solution for each learner and making the process as smooth as possible,” Mr Halfon said in response to the PQ.

“Where there may ultimately be no viable alternative providers available for some learners to complete their study, we will consider what might be done to avoid these learners being unfairly disadvantaged.”

FE Week asked the government to clarify his words, but while the Department for Education did not deny the issue was under consideration, its spokesperson would only refer us back to the minister’s comments.

Asim Shaheen, a former learner left with more than £8,000 in debt after his provider, John Frank Training, went bust in murky circumstances in November, said it was “shocking” that the government didn’t already have a backup plan in place.

He wants a contingency plan introduced “as quickly as possible”, rather than having the SFA “sitting back and waiting for this ricochet to continue”.

“The people who put the loans scheme in place should have thought of different eventualities happening in the first place,” he said.

“Normal people on the street have to think about every eventuality, so for people at such a high level in government, where we’re talking about millions and billions of pounds, surely they should have thought well hang on, these providers we are accrediting, what happens if one of them goes bust?

“They need to put something in place now because the longer they leave it the worse our cases are going to get. It can’t continue like this.”

FE Week first revealed the demise of John Frank Training in January, which left hundreds of learners, who had taken out FE loans to train with the London-based provider, with hefty debts but no course.

The longer they leave it the worse our cases are going to get. It can’t continue like this

It went into liquidation on November 30, leaving no assets, despite recording a profit of £1.3 million in the first half of 2016.

A month later FE Week revealed that another 100 learners were left in the same situation after Hampshire-based Edudo Ltd went bust.

The provider, allocated £500,500 in advanced learner loans by the SFA as of September, went into voluntary liquidation in January, after the company’s “assets and business” were sold to Learning Republic Group Ltd last November.

And this week Focus Training & Development Ltd was found to have left 39 learners on the hook for their loans cash, again with no qualifications to show for it, after it went bust following an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted report in November.

FE Week’s #SaveOurAdultEducation campaign launched in the Houses of Parliament last month and is demanding three things from the government.

The first is to write off unwarranted loan debts, the second is for the government to consult on a proper adult education strategy, and the third is for the introduction of FE maintenance grant loans for adult learners.