York College
‘apprenticeships’
“You are helping to improve the national culture around skills and apprenticeships” was the message from Robert Halfon to EuroSkills Team UK at a special send-off event in Westminster today. The apprenticeship and skills minister gave a heartfelt speech to the 22 competitors who are flying out to Sweden tomorrow. Mr Halfon congratulated them on […]
News
Around half of the upcoming apprenticeship levy will be paid by just 400 employers – but the Skills Funding Agency won’t say who those companies are. The revelation came during a breakout session on funding at the Association of Colleges annual conference earlier this month. Keith Smith (pictured), the director of funding and programmes at […]
A student at Salford City college has won the title of ‘all-round inspiration’ at the Greater Manchester Care Leavers’ Awards. Robert Wright took the top accolade, along with £100 worth of vouchers, for his volunteering work. He has volunteered for five years with young people at the YouCan Community Club and also volunteers at the […]
Bulletin
Organisations wanting to deliver apprenticeships from next May are failing to follow instructions from the Skills Funding Agency just hours before a critical deadline. The new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers, which providers have to be on if they want to deliver apprenticeship starts from May 1 next year, closes for applications at 5pm today […]
Training provision has been saved for thousands of learners, including those on a high-profile scheme with Jaguar Land Rover, after the Skills Funding Agency oversaw a last-minute buyout of one of the biggest training providers in the country. Pera Training had looked like it was just days away from going bust despite holding a huge […]
If A-levels are big business, why don’t we allow more consumer choice, asks Graham Taylor. A-levels are still big business and the main choice for 16-to-18s at level three. Over six times more learners take A-levels than advanced apprenticeships. Yet they are being gutted. Historian and author Simon Schama has described the cull as a […]
Opinion
The use of public funds to pay brokers’ fees will be banned, thanks to an award-winning FE week investigation which forced the Skills Funding Agency to take action. Our exposé of this secretive industry in April (pictured) – the first of its kind – blew the lid on the underhanded way in which brokers matchup […]
Fresh concerns have been raised about apprenticeship funding in England, after predictions on what the levy would raise were revised down by £200 million. In the Phillip Hammond’s autumn statement on Wednesday, government forecasts suggested that the levy would raise a projected £2.8 billion in 2019/20. However the Treasury had predicted in last year’s statement […]
The national minimum wage for apprentices will rise from £3.40 per hour to £3.50 – a bigger increase than rates for most other groups – following the autumn statement. Chancellor Philip Hammond presented the self-proclaimed “balanced and prudent” budget plans to the House of Commons today. He said next to nothing about FE, but a […]
