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‘apprenticeships’

ESFA to select providers for reapplication to apprenticeships register in random order

Providers on the apprenticeships register will be “randomly selected” to reapply in different phases over the next year, the Education and Skills Funding Agency has said. The agency also confirmed that the register remains closed to new providers unless they offer training for critical workers, with no timeline for opening it up to all. Officials […]

News, Apprenticeships

Skills Bill: DfE accused of ‘power-grab’ over colleges

The much-heralded Skills Bill contains a Department for Education “power-grab” and will “fail to meet the scale of the challenge that years of neglect” of FE have caused, Labour has said. Writing for FE Week, shadow skills minister Toby Perkins warned that many “smaller” colleges will be looking nervously at the government’s expressed right to […]

News

Provider challenges Ofsted for ‘factually incorrect’ report

A care worker apprenticeship provider is challenging a damaging Ofsted report and accused inspectors of lacking the knowledge to judge their provision. Flexible Training Ltd was found to have made ‘insufficient progress’ in all three areas of an early monitoring visit for its provision of adult care apprenticeships to 21 learners. One key criticism by […]

News, Ofsted

The Skills Bill: inadequate to deal with years of neglect and a pandemic

This Skills Bill reveals an approach that remains inadequate to tackle the scale of the skills challenges we face post-Covid, writes Toby Perkins After a decade of funding cuts and neglect of further education, the sector has understandably welcomed the government’s new-found interest. But the much-heralded Skills Bill contains less than meets the eye, and […]

Opinion

£250m of apprenticeship funding went back to Treasury in 2020-21

Apprenticeship funding to the tune of £250 million was handed back to the Treasury in 2020-21, FE Week can reveal. The Department for Education said it had to surrender the money as demand for apprenticeships from employers was “lower than expected” partly due to the impact of Covid-19. Government statistics show that apprenticeship starts were […]

News

New powers in Skills Bill point to radical loss of autonomy for colleges

Government is taking more control but the Skills Bill will only be a success if young people are kept at the heart of it, writes Angela Donkin The new Skills Bill has been published with a legal requirement for employers and colleges to work together to fill local skills gaps. The DfE’s press release does […]

Opinion

Speed read: Skills and Post-16 Education Bill published

The first draft of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill has officially been laid before parliament. It outlines the legislation behind the government’s planned reforms for FE, including local skills improvements plans, strengthened intervention powers for the education secretary, and a flexible lifelong loans system. There are also new regulations for independent training providers, FE […]

News

Forced college mergers – and other Skills Bill revelations

New powers are set to be handed to the education secretary to force college mergers, an impact assessment of the Skills Bill has revealed. The document has been published ahead of the actual Skill and Post-16 Education Bill, which has been laid in the House of Lords today. It lists off 12 measures included in […]

News

Keegan: DfE still worried about ‘middle-class grab’ on apprenticeships

Fears that university-goers will choose to do apprenticeships instead and “squeeze out” those from disadvantaged backgrounds are still rife in Whitehall, the skills minister has said. Gillian Keegan told the House of Commons education select committee this displacement is a particular worry when it comes to degree apprenticeships. Her concern comes three years after her […]

News, Apprenticeships