Opinion

Northern Ireland’s colleges are more important than ever amid Brexit uncertainty

Amid Brexit chaos and the continued suspension of the Stormont assembly, what Northern Ireland’s colleges need most from this…

JL Dutaut
MARIE-THÉRÈSE MCGIVERN
Opinion

Immensely proud to be reporting impartial news without fear or favour

In the nine years and 300 editions of FE Week, there is one story that best sums up our…

Billy Camden
Nick Linford
Opinion

Manifestos give little hope SEND reform will deliver

With the General Election nearly upon us, Natspec’s Clare Howard has been assessing the three main parties’ promises as…

Expert Contributor
CLARE HOWARD
Opinion

Perceptions of engineering hold the sector back

To highlight the diversity of engineering careers that shape the world around us, the Royal Academy of Engineering recently…

JL Dutaut
DR RHYS MORGAN
Opinion

Employers must be at the heart of the vocational education system

Over the last few years we’ve seen a lot of experimentation with England’s much maligned vocational education system. If…

JL Dutaut
TRISTRAM HOOLEY
Opinion

Colleges need certainty to deliver promise of social mobility

Welsh college principal, Mark Jones has a few requests to put to the new prime minister, and some leadership…

JL Dutaut
MARK JONES


Opinion

Apprenticeships suffer too many unintended consequences

It seems the three main political parties have fallen out of love with apprenticeships, writes Karen Redhead, and the…

JL Dutaut
KAREN REDHEAD
Opinion

The skills sector needs to remove its apprenticeship blinkers

The skills sector is still stuck on seeing apprenticeships as a NEET policy rather than the industrial strategy policy…

JL Dutaut
MANDY CRAWFORD-LEE
Opinion

Edtech reforms that ignore FE’s ‘dual professionalism’ will make things worse

Edtech can improve teaching, learning and assessment – and save time (but only if it’s done right), says Vikki…

Expert Contributor
VIKKI LIOGIER
Opinion

50,000 more nurses? 3m apprenticeship target a lesson in how key Conservative manifesto ‘guarantees’ do not add up

The Conservative Party manifesto, published yesterday, pledged “50,000 more nurses” as the first of six “guarantees”, signed on page…

Billy Camden
Nick Linford
Opinion

My 5 priorities for FE that should go first in the next education secretary’s in-tray

Some issues have been hanging over the vocational sector for 40 years, says Ewart Keep. If we truly want…

Expert Contributor
PROFESSOR EWART KEEP
Opinion

Politicians are beginning to realise they can’t afford to ignore FE

What would you tell the leaders of the major political parties about needed policy changes in further education? Tony…

Expert Contributor
TONY LEWIN