York College
‘Jobs’
If anybody knows what the future might look like for FE and skills with an apprenticeship levy on the horizon it would be the CITB, which has been operating such a system for half a century, as Steve Radley explains. Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget yesterday launched a flurry of policy initiatives. Of course, the headline-grabber […]
Opinion
A new apprenticeship levy for large employers stole the Budget show yesterday as far as FE is concerned, but Julian Gravatt gives a wider view — while also looking at that levy issue. There is a vast amount of official information about the summer budget. Here are the key points — Chancellor George Osborne presented the […]
Trade Union Congress general secretary Frances O’Grady told delegates at the Unionlearn conference that fighting the “false economy of FE cuts” was “our first priority”. In her speech to today’s conference at Congress House, in central London, Ms O’Grady (pictured above) warned that the next five years will “test our mettle”. “Our first priority must be […]
News
A failed College of Food interview at the tender age of 16 had a defining effect on Paul Eeles, chief executive of Emfec (called, once-upon-a-time, the East Midlands FE Council). Having left school “with just a clutch of CSEs”, he was at the specialist college — now a part of University College Birmingham — hoping […]
Profiles
Troubled mergers led to financial meltdown at K College last year before Graham Razey emerged as one of two principals to make the brave decision to take on parts of the college. He outlines efforts to ensure his merger was successful. To collaborate or not to collaborate? I guess that is the question on the […]
Late last month, sector leaders handed a 42,5000-signature petition to Number 10 Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister to halt the implementation of further drastic cuts to FE. The week before, hundreds of teachers, students and supporters packed the House of Commons to lobby MPs. Both of these events came in advance of a […]
New Business Secretary Sajid Javid has refused to rule out college closures as a result of adult skills budget cuts. Mr Javid chose to criticise Labour’s economic record instead of guaranteeing the future of FE college when he was grilled by Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna during business questions in the House of Commons this […]
Responding to Lady Alison Wolf’s report — Heading for the precipice: can further and higher education funding policies be sustained? — Anne Constantine says skills policy is on a roller-coaster ride and calls for the government to resource FE colleges properly to deliver higher level technical skills. Alison Wolf is a highly respected academic and […]
Sector leaders have this morning handed in a petition to Number 10 Downing Street that was signed by more than 42,500 opposed to “unfair” and “harmful” FE cuts. Sally Hunt, University and College Union (UCU) general secretary, and Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), were among a group of senior figures […]
