Over one hundred colleges and training providers have been awarded funding under the government’s new Turing Scheme – but FE will only receive two-thirds of the promised cash owing to lack of demand. The Department for Education has today revealed the winning bidders to the scheme, which includes 110 further and vocational education providers. Ninety-three are from England, two are from Wales, six from Scotland, and nine from Northern Ireland. FE Week has also been told £22 million of the overall £110 million pot has been allocated to pay for FE and VET students to undertake work and study placements abroad. Higher education institutions received just above £67 million from the scheme, and schools just under £7.5m. This is despite one of the Turing Scheme’s delivery partners, Ecorys, telling FE Week in March the FE sector was in line for £35 million, meaning that 62 per cent of the estimate has been offered. The Department for Education said all FE and VET providers received the full amount they bid for, adding that there was less demand from colleges and training providers than anticipated while there was greater-than-expected demand from universities. Furthermore, just under 6,000 FE students will take part in the Turing Scheme this year, the DfE said today, which is 60 per cent of the 10,000 Ecorys had estimated. The Turing Scheme has replaced the Erasmus+ programme the UK pulled out of last year. Around 55 per cent of participants from the FE and vocational sector will be from disadvantaged backgrounds. This trumps the estimated 48 per cent for the scheme overall, which includes participants from schools and universities. Multiple successful colleges had not taken part in Erasmus Education secretary Gavin Williamson said today the “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to work and learn abroad had been “disproportionately enjoyed by those from the most privileged backgrounds” until now. Gavin Williamson The DfE claims a total of 40,000 individual placements will be supported through the scheme this year, which they say exceeds their own estimates. A number of colleges which successfully bid for funding under the Turing Scheme did not take part in Erasmus, the DfE has said. Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes called it “encouraging to see colleges taking up all that Turing can offer – including colleges that are newer to international partnerships”. Turing Scheme funding broken down Placements on the Turing Scheme, named after the famous codebreaker Alan Turing, can last between two weeks and 12 months. Colleges, schools and universities have been bidding for the funding since applications opened in March. The bidding documents showed that, as well as taking up placements abroad, learners can also use the funding to partake of international skills competitions, which can last between one and ten days. FE and VET applicants will receive up to £1,360 for travel costs and up to £109 per day for living costs. Disadvantaged students will be funded at actual cost for additional travel expenses, including for visas, passports and health insurance. Learners with SEND will receive funding for up to 100 per cent of actual costs for support directly related to their additional needs. Providers are also set to get £315 per participant to fund organisational support for their first 100 participants, and £180 per participant over that number. The colleges and training providers awarded funding: Organisation name Organisation country Region American Institute for Foreign Study (U.K.) Limited England London AP Cymru Limited Wales Wales Asfar England London Ashfield Boys High School Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Atlantic Whale and Dolphin Foundation England East Midlands Basingstoke College of Technology England South East Bath College England South West Belfast Met College Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Bishop Auckland College England North East Bishop Burton College England Yorkshire Blue Stamp Travel England East Midlands Borders College Scotland Scotland Bradford College England Yorkshire Bridgwater and Taunton College England South West Brighton Third Sector Training Ltd. England South East Burton and South Derbyshire College England East Midlands Camborne Science and International Academy England South West Capacity London Ltd England London Capital City College Group England London Cheshire College – South & West England North West Cheshire Training Exchange England North West City College Plymouth England South West ColegauCymru / CollegesWales Ltd Wales Wales Croydon College England South East David Campbell Event Management Limited England North West Discovery College YMCA England South West Divad Training Ltd England London DN Colleges Group England East Midlands DSC Regen England London Dungannon United Youth C.I.C Northern Ireland Northern Ireland East Coast College England East of England East Coast College England East of England East Sussex College Group England South East Eat That Frog C.I.C. England South West Eco Chateau Training CIC England South East Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival. Scotland Scotland Erasmus Academy UK Ltd. England London European Strategic Partnerships Ltd. England London EuroTrain Platform England South East Everything Possible CIC England Yorkshire Exeter College England South West FCV International Football Academy England East Midlands Football Management Company (NI) Ltd Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Gecko Programmes Ltd England West Midlands Gecko Programmes Ltd England West Midlands Genius Solutions Limited trading as Languages Training & Development (LT&D) England South East Glasgow Clyde College Scotland Scotland Glasgow Girls FC Scotland Scotland Global Vision Initiative (formerly Vision 2020 Leadership Initiative) England North West Gotoco England South East Grampus Heritage and Training Ltd England North West Greater Brighton Metropolitan College England South East Haringey Sixth Form College England London HSDC England South East Ikkaido Ltd England South East Invest in Sport Limited Northern Ireland Northern Ireland IVOLO LTD England West Midlands John Leggott College England East Midlands KBM Media Solutions LTD England London Lincoln College England East Midlands Lionheart in the Community (LITC) England London London Mobility Company 2000 Ltd. England London London South East Colleges England South East Luminate Education Group England Yorkshire NCG (Colleges) England North East New City College England London New Collaborative Learning Trust England Yorkshire New College Lanarkshire Scotland Scotland New College Swindon England South West New College Swindon England South West North Liverpool Academy England North West North West Regional College Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northfleet Technology College England South East Nottingham College England East Midlands Nova Payroll Management Services Ltd. t/a Pin Point Training England North East Oldham College England North West Park View Academy England North East Petroc England South West PGL Training (Plumbing) Limited England South West RiSE International England London RNN Group England Yorkshire Royal Academy of Culinary Arts England London Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) England London SLCP Thunder CIC England London South Devon College England South West South Eastern Regional College Northern Ireland Northern Ireland South West College Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Southern Regional College Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Stanmore College England South East Strode College England South West Student Athlete Network England East of England T.E.E.P. (Training Education and European Project) England London Tameside College England North West The Bournemouth and Poole College England South West The Canterbury Academy England South East The Isle of Wight College England South East The Language Alliance Limited England Yorkshire The Sheffield College England Yorkshire The TEC Partnership England East Midlands The Trinity Catholic School England East Midlands The White Horse Federation England South West Twin Training International England London UK Work Placement Ltd England North West UK-Certified Knowledge Association England London University College Birmingham England West Midlands Volunteer International C.I.C. England London Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting Ltd. England South East Wigan and Leigh College England North West Wirral Metropolitan College England North West Zone Out Partnership Scotland Scotland
Bill Blythe 5 August 2021 I hope DfE don’t take an implication from this that FE isn’t interested and the money should go to HE – we had 2020 Erasmus funding which we rolled over into 2021/2022 hence not needing to bid for as much of the Turing pot. Had we not had that funding, then our ask would have been much higher. It is also clear that the way in which they’ve split level 2 (schools route) and level 3 (FE and VET) with such different rules will naturally mean there is lower take up as it disadvantages FE colleges. There does appear to be a complete lack of understanding about the nature and volume of Level 2 provision in colleges.