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‘apprenticeships’

Skills Funding Letter reveals that co-funding in workplace will be removed from 2016/17

Skills Minister Nick Boles has revealed in the Skills Funding Letter that co-funding in the workplace will be removed from 2016/17. The letter to Skills Funding Agency (SFA) chief executive Peter Lauener, which set out the Agency’s priorities and funding for next financial year, was published yesterday evening. In a move which FE Week understands […]

News

Serious doubts over ‘haphazard’ post-16 area reviews raised in Public Accounts Committee report

Post-16 education and training area reviews have come in for heavy criticism in a new Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report that raises serious concern about the financial health of the sector. The report, entitled ‘Overseeing the financial stability of the FE sector’, was published first thing this morning (Wednesday, December 16). It follows the committee’s […]

News

Second wave of invitations to tender published for delayed ESF contracts

The second wave of invitations to tender for long-awaited European Social Fund (ESF) cash — this time totalling £16.2m — were published today (December 14). The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and ESF announced today that the four local enterprise partnership areas involved were Swindon and Wiltshire, Greater Manchester, West of England, and Cornwall and Isles […]

News

Festive wishes and New Year hopes

What a year it has been for FE and skills. Over the past 12 months we’ve had a General Election and seen the announcement of a 3m apprenticeships starts target by 2020, among plenty of other goings on. But with Christmas being a time to spend with loved ones and to enjoy festivities, some familiar […]

News

Mixed reaction to lifting of traineeship restriction

The removal of rules allowing only providers rated outstanding or good by Ofsted to get lead contracts for traineeships from next academic year has received a mixed response from the sector. Grade three (‘requires improvement’) and non-inspected providers can also deliver the programme, but only as subcontractors. However, the government revealed on Monday (December 7), in […]

News

Apprenticeship frameworks cut-off scrapped

The government has scrapped plans to stop funding apprenticeship frameworks after 2017/18. The cut-off, that would ensure providers were only delivering new Trailblazer standards come 2018/19, was first announced in October 2013, but speculation has been mounting in recent months as to whether ministers were looking to step back from the date. Fuelling such speculation […]

News

Traineeships should be delivered by ‘high quality and proven’ providers

The Ofsted annual report criticised Traineeships for a lack of success with helping young people progress to apprenticeships or employment. But Angela Middleton explains why she still thinks they have a lot to offer, so long as they are delivered by the right providers. Ofsted chief inspector Michael Wilshaw has recently identified a problem with […]

Opinion

The FE and skills panto

Apprenticeships reforms are rapidly metamorphosing into pantomime. When the ugly sisters Hancock and Richard undertook their review, they ruled out ‘evidence’ from awarding organisers and independent learning providers (ILPs) as ‘biased from vested interests’. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) recently published the results of an independent Process Evaluation of Apprenticeship Trailblazers by […]

Uncategorized

Barnfield becoming talk of the sector — for the right reasons

Two visits from FE Commissioner Dr David Collins triggered first by financial problems and secondly by an Ofsted inadequate rating was the scene into which Tim Eyton-Jones stepped in February. Dr Collins has since drawn a line under his involvement and inspectors have also seen improvements. Mr Eyton-Jones spells out what’s been happening at Barnfield. […]

Opinion