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‘apprenticeships’

24 MPs back £10 wage motion

A bid to put the apprentice minimum wage on a par with that of ‘normal’ workers — and for it to be increased to£10 an-hour — has had the backing of more than 20 MPs. John McDonnell (pictured) sponsored an Early Day Motion (EDM) demanding action to end the “scandal” of the £2.73 apprenticeship minimum […]

News

Outstanding across the board

Two independent learning providers (ILPs), one offering IT and accountancy apprenticeships and the other training the nation’s future tennis stars, have won outstanding praise from Ofsted. Both Aspire, Achieve, Advance (3aaa) and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) were served grade one results in all headline fields. Ofsted said the 780 apprentices at 3aaa, which has […]

News

Engage with colleges, Wilshaw tells employers

Ofsted boss Sir Michael Wilshaw has challenged employers to engage more with colleges in an effort to bridge the skills gap. The education watchdog chief inspector said businesses should consider apprenticeships as the answer to their vacancies problems. Speaking to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s East of England education conference in Cambridge on Tuesday […]

News

Boles in FE loans expansion hint in digital skills hearing

Skills Minister Nick Boles has hinted that the FE loans system was heading for expansion — as the sector awaits results of the government’s FE loans consultation. Mr Boles told the House of Lords Digital Skills Committee on Tuesday (November 18) the government was “moving towards” making adult learner loans, currently offered to those over […]

News

Beacons of the sector

Fourteen FE colleges were winners at the Beacon Awards, They were announced at the Association of Colleges (AoC) conference in Birmingham. Among the winners were Leeds City College, whose employer engagement initiative has to almost 11,000 apprenticeships, and South Devon College, whose health programme saw an 80 per cent increase in learner and staff exercise. […]

News

Reflecting on day one of the Association of Colleges conference

A review of English and maths accreditation is welcome, but should not result in new qualifications, says Charlotte Bosworth. In the Skills Minister Nick Boles’ introduction to his speech he mentioned a moment full of risk, his analogy was to make a party political point about the choice the electorate face in May’s general election, […]

Opinion

Traineeship ‘evolution’ announced as Boles rejects new funding system plan

Plans for a new traineeship funding system, in which providers could be paid based on learner job outcomes for 2015/16, has been rejected by Skills Minister Nick Boles. The government’s eight-week consultation on traineeships considered making progression into apprenticeships, jobs or further learning a funding incentive. Launching the consultation in June, then-Skills Minister Matthew Hancock […]

News

SFA apprentice chief tells lords of employer worries

Skills Funding Agency (SFA) apprenticeships boss Sue Husband (pictured) has emphasised the need for employer involvement in standards but acknowledged concerns about “onerous” extra work for businesses. Ms Husband, the SFA’s director for apprenticeships and delivery, appeared in front of Lords on a digital skills committee last week. In response to a question about employer […]

News

Clegg’s UCas-style 16 to 18 plan ‘already in place’

Government plans to launch a UCas-style vocational database by September next year have been short shrift by the boss of UCas itself. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (pictured left) told visitors to the Skills Show, at Birmingham NEC, that the government would set up a “fully-comprehensive national database” of 16 to 18 skills and employer […]

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