Opinion

It’s time to take on the subcontracting profiteers

Subcontractors account for more than 10 per cent of ESFA funding. They need overseeing properly, says Simon Ashworth It…

Expert Contributor
SIMON ASHWORTH
Opinion

The levy: change should be evolutionary – not revolutionary

As an employer of apprentices that has made full use of the levy, I have sometimes found it difficult…

Expert Contributor
SHARON BLYFIELD
Opinion

How we fought to save our local college – and won

When the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea sought to sell off a local college, they reckoned without the…

Fraser Whieldon
Samantha Batra
Opinion

Providers and the government need to better manage subcontracting

This week the ESFA published 10 subcontracting proposals in a consultation document. The FE sector is encouraged to respond…

Fraser Whieldon
Peter Mucklow
Opinion

Let’s celebrate the many apprenticeship successes

Jennifer Coupland took over as chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education last November. She reflects…

Fraser Whieldon
Jennifer Coupland
Opinion

Perverse incentives and tangled pathways

If the new government is serious about its proposals, it must address the many problems with the levy, plus…

Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu
EMMA HARDY


Opinion

Changing perceptions, raising aspirations, making improvements

The new secretary of state for education introduces National Aprenticeship Week with his vision for how the sector will…

Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu
GAVIN WILLIAMSON
Opinion

Who will gain this time from apprenticeship reform?

National Apprenticeships Week is now in its thirteenth year; launched in 2007 by the then Labour government as an…

Fraser Whieldon
Nick Linford
Opinion

At Ofsted we find little evidence apprentices are actually moving up the levels

The inspectorate for the quality of apprenticeships is concerned young people “aiming to step onto the career ladder are…

Billy Camden
PAUL JOYCE
Opinion

To be critical of colleges for running the courses learners want is bizarre

Blaming colleges for simply recruiting students to course subjects they want to study is weird and not the solution…

Expert Contributor
ADRIAN PERRY
Opinion

Hosting WorldSkills 2027 would have far-reaching benefits for the whole UK

Everyone should support efforts to host the WorldSkills international competition, says college leader and former psychologist to Team UK,…

Expert Contributor
JO MAHER
Opinion, Sponsored post

Sponsored: What are learners telling us about how they want to engage with learning – access, flexibility, unlocking talent and realising aspirations

Last week at BETT I had the pleasure of sharing the results of Pearson’s Global Learner Survey 2019 –…

Billy Camden
Cindy Rampersaud