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‘apprenticeships’

AoC boss welcomes move to force schools to let FE providers advise learners about apprenticeships

Chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC) Martin Doel has welcomed government moves to end “outdated snobbery” against apprenticeships in schools by legally forcing them to let FE providers talk to students about their benefits. Schools are already legally obliged to provide careers guidance and a rule change in 2012 saw local authorities stripped […]

News

Does Skills Minister Nick Boles have any idea about Institute for Apprenticeships’ policing?

— ‘I have no idea — or if I had an idea I’m not going to share it’ Skills Minister tells FE figures — Former SFA director David Hughes tells of worries about employers policing employers Skills Minister Nick Boles told key FE figures that he had “no idea — or if I had an idea I’m […]

News

Movers and Shakers: Edition 161

Sarah Clarke has been appointed principal of Sheffield’s second University Technical College (UTC). The new £10m UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park campus will open in September and will cater for 600 students, aged 14 to 19, specialising in human sciences and computing. Ms Clarke, who starts in post in March, said: “I feel privileged to […]

Movers and Shakers

Proposed foreign worker levy could net sector millions

A proposed new levy on foreign workers could net the FE sector millions a year — but businesses warned it would be “unfair and unnecessary”. Details of the proposed new levy, called the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC), were published in a report by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), a quango sponsored by the Home Office, […]

News

What’s so special about apprenticeships?

Graham Taylor questions whether apprenticeships are really worth all the funding and special attention being lavished on them by the government. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve nothing against apprenticeships but I’ve nothing against the hundreds of other qualifications in the adult skills budget. ‘Other’ says it all, but it encompasses some great qualifications. The budget […]

Opinion

Chief inspector should look closer to home for poor performance

Phil Hatton rebuts claims by Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw that the FE sector was “inadequate at best” and questions the consistency of the education watchdog. The chief inspector does not understand first-hand what it is like to work in a sector that is often a ‘second or third chance’ for those who have […]

Opinion

Making the levy work for charities

Anjelica Finnegan looks at what needs to be considered to make the apprenticeship levy work for charities. In April 2017, all employers with a pay bill of over £3m will be required to pay the new apprenticeship levy. The government believes this will significantly increase the quantity (with an expected 3m apprenticeships by 2020) and […]

Opinion

EDITORIAL: Boles bottles it

Editor’s comment ‘I don’t know, or if I did I wouldn’t tell you’ — it’s quite a statement for Skills Minister Nick Boles to make to FE Week readers. And to be clear, our presence at this exclusive round-table had been cleared with him. So it’s disappointing to hear his refusal to give straight answers […]

Opinion

Leaders rush to defend FE from Sir Michael

Key FE figures have spoken out in defence of the sector following a scathing attack by Ofsted boss Sir Michael Wilshaw. During a speech on Monday (January 19) for thinktank CentreForum, the education watchdog’s chief inspector accused the sector of being “inadequate at best” and criticised the sector for offering “uniformly weak” careers advice. “It […]

News