Windsor Learning Partnership
‘apprenticeships’
Rarely out of the education media, apprenticeships are a hot topic both politically and educationally speaking. Finding the right way to plan, prepare, deliver and assess these new standards in a manner that is attractive to learners and employers alike is one of the biggest challenges facing colleges. Do it right, and an apprenticeship offer can put your […]
News
The apprenticeship levy will generate £900 million less funding in its first four years than the government first claimed, according to economic forecasters. A new “economic and fiscal outlook” report from the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates the tax will accumulate £10.7 billion by early 2021. This represents a major downgrade – of £900 million, […]
The government needs to get a grip on the “outrageous and unjustifiable” subcontracting market which has become a “money-maker” for training providers, a panel of FE experts has urged MPs. Robert Halfon (pictured above), the chair of the education select committee, asked witnesses during a parliamentary hearing this morning about the extent the delivery model, […]
Fears of a “middle-class grab” on apprenticeships are “valid”, the skills minister has admitted. Anne Milton told a House of Lords inquiry into the economics of further, higher and technical education that she was “watching and waiting” to see what happened – and would take action if necessary. “Fears of a middle-class grab on apprenticeships […]
There will be an extra £80 million released to help small businesses recruit apprentices, the chancellor has announced in his spring statement to Parliament. But it isn’t strictly new funding, a Treasury official later admitted. “We are committed as a government to delivering three million apprenticeship starts by 2020 with the support of business through […]
Providers training apprentices for the civil service will be subject to a controversial new brokerage charge from the top tier of government which will recoup millions of pounds. Candidates to train government apprentices were told to register with the Crown Commercial Service, and a group of 16 were chosen. These were given access to at […]
The government should drop its “experiment” with negotiated apprenticeship prices, after it emerged that almost every single one is currently being agreed at full cost, the boss of the Association and Learning Providers has said. Mark Dawe wants “fixed pricing” for all apprenticeships, both for the new employer-designed standards and for the older frameworks. Every […]
Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving Malcolm Pate, Farm manager, Moulton College Start date: February 2018 Previous job: Farm manager, Streetly Hall Farm Limited Interesting fact: Malcolm plays the fiddle, and has toured Norway, the US and Canada as a member both of a folk band and the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra. ____________________________________________ […]
Movers and Shakers
Widespread failure has been exposed across Whitehall with hitting the government’s own target for apprentices employed by public bodies. Shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden (pictured above) and other MPs lodged a parliamentary question asking how many and what proportion of staff employed by various departments were apprentices. The intention was to find out how they are progressing […]