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‘apprenticeships’

Quality of apprenticeship policy suffers from ‘insufficient progress’

Two years ago FE Week exposed thousands of apprentices on standards without any approved end-point-assessment organisations. At the time, a former director of the DfE described the situation as “diabolical”. The chief executive of the ESFA, responsible for recruiting the end-point assessment organisations, was given a ticking off by the education select committee and then […]

Opinion

Broker offered 3aaa staff £200 for apprentice referrals – but admits it was a ‘bad idea’

A broker has admitted it was a “bad idea” to offer cash to former staff of Aspire Achieve Advance in exchange for referrals of apprentices affected by the collapse. The now-defunct apprenticeship giant, better known as 3aaa, ceased trading on October 11 when the government pulled its skills contracts following a second investigation into success-rate […]

News

UCU raise concerns over appointment of principal who jumped ship before financial failings uncovered

The University and College Union is demanding answers from City College Plymouth about its appointment of Garry Phillips as principal, after his leadership of his former college was slammed by the FE commissioner. The union has written to the chair of governors at Plymouth asking who approved Mr Phillips’ appointment, whether the selection process was […]

News

IfA undecided on Dame Asha board replacement

The Institute for Apprenticeships still doesn’t know when – or if – it will fill the place left vacant on its board following the departure of Dame Asha Khemka. Her resignation on October 19, three weeks after she stepped down from crisis-hit West Nottinghamshire College, left the IfA with just one serving college principal on […]

News

Ofsted watch: A trio of ‘inadequate’ providers

It’s been a bad week for the FE and skills sector, with a trio of reports returning ‘inadequate’ grades and a major private university found to be making ‘insufficient progress’ in its apprenticeships. Elsewhere, two providers have seen their ratings go up from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’, while seven monitoring visit reports have been published. […]

News

Cornwall’s post-16 education is scrutinised in secret review

Mystery surrounds a “confidential” review of further education in Cornwall as pressure grows on the region’s two colleges to work more closely together. Glimpses into the workings of the secretive review have come as Cornwall College Group announced the resignation of its principal amid an ongoing struggle to secure emergency government funding. The review, which […]

News

Providers warned their funding could be pulled following 3aaa staff and apprentice poaching

Multiple training providers have attempted to poach staff and apprentices from the now-defunct Aspire Achieve Advance using underhand tactics – and have been warned their own funding could be withdrawn because of it. Apprenticeship giant 3aaa was put into compulsory liquidation last week after it ceased trading on October 11 when the government pulled its […]

News

FE commissioner called for ‘urgent review’ to hold West Notts College leadership to account

The FE commissioner has criticised “serious corporate failure”, lack of oversight and a “financial crisis” at West Nottinghamshire College in a damning report. The intervention report, published today but written in back in August, warned the college’s board and then-principal Dame Asha Khemka had “overseen a serious business failure which will impact on the whole […]

News

Functional skills is more relevant to the workplace than scraping a GCSE

It is vital that functional skills count towards the 20 per cent of time required to be learning off the job within an apprenticeship programme, according to Mark Dawe There was no budging the secretary of state at the Conservative party conference on the issue of GCSE resits for English and maths, and you have […]

Opinion