York College
‘apprenticeships’
The major recent reforms to the UK’s apprenticeship system are still at a very early stage, so the talk by Keith Smith, one of the country’s top skills civil servants, to the Association of Employment Learning Providers’ annual conference was eagerly anticipated to say the least. And while the director of funding and programmes at […]
News
Former skills minister, Robert Halfon, is to stand for election to chair the House of Commons Select Committee for education, FE Week can reveal. Mr Halfon was reelected in May to his constituency of Harlow, but returned to the backbenches in a reshuffle after just under a year as minister for apprenticeships and skills. The role […]
New skills minister Anne Milton left many delegates quietly impressed – when she committed in her first major speech to the sector, at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ annual conference, to listen to feedback and concentrate on fixing problems rather than creating new ones. Here’s what she said in full: “I’m delighted to […]
A week of extreme contrasts for FE saw the second college in two weeks scoop an ‘outstanding’ rating, while an independent learning provider was branded ‘inadequate’ in its first ever Ofsted visit. Grimsby Institute Group* earned its grade-one report after it asked for its scheduled short inspection to be upgraded into a full one. The […]
FE and schools rubbed shoulders at this year’s festivals of education and skills – wouldn’t it be interesting to get them talking more, asks Graham Taylor It was great to see education and skills – schools and FE – combined in one festival this year, at the splendid location of Wellington College. The Festival of […]
Opinion
Demand for health and care apprenticeships is set to soar, yet providers seem unprepared to grasp these business opportunities, says Sally Garbett The 2013 Cavendish Review identified significant weaknesses in induction training for 1.3 million healthcare workers delivering the bulk of hands-on care. This led to the introduction of the Care Certificate, which now forms […]
Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving Melanie Dodd has been appointed skills strategy manager at the Liverpool City Region Apprenticeship Hub. The hub is responsible for identifying and agreeing the region’s apprenticeship strategy, and works to boost the apprenticeships available to residents of the region, working closely with businesses and young people. […]
Movers and Shakers
The government has U-turned on its decision not to publish controversial achievement rate data – after FE Week revealed that ministers were hiding the figures. Two weeks ago, the Department for Education published revised national achievement rates tables for 2015/16 for individual providers – but without comparable figures for previous years, which are needed to […]
The sector may have had to endure an agonising 14-month wait for Ofsted to rate a general FE college ‘outstanding’ – but there’s now been a second published in the space of two weeks. And as with Dudley College before it, Grimsby Institute Group earned its grade-one report after it asked for its scheduled short […]
