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‘apprenticeships’

Think-tank calls for youth guarantees and levies

Youth guarantees and youth levies figure among new proposals from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) aimed at ensuring more than a million young people do not fall into the Neet (not in education, employment or training) trap. The think-tank, in the last of its three reports this month, recommends a ‘youth allowance’ to […]

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Hancock to divert cash to employers

Apprenticeships are to be funded through employers, Skills Minister Matthew Hancock announced at the Association of Colleges (AoC) conference on Tuesday. Mr Hancock said the move was part of a wider strategy to reform the FE system “to support high expectations”. “That includes… putting the funding for apprenticeships through employers so they can demand the […]

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On location at the Skills Show ­­– FE Week team out and about

From Birmingham in 2013 to Brazil in 2015 Around 700 talented young people competed to be crowned the best in the UK at this year’s Skills Show. The event, in its second year, plays host to a series of sector competitions to find the UK’s best young craftsmen and women with the aim of getting […]

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Defending colleges and their ‘realistic’ workplace offer

Traineeships are the latest example of the myth that colleges cannot provide a true-to-life working environment for learners, says Lynne Sedgmore. There is a strange policy gap that English politicians of all parties fall into when thinking about vocational education. They present choices for young people in terms of either going to university or taking […]

Opinion

Making vocational education the ‘envy of the world’

After a year in office, Skills Minister Matthew Hancock provides an update on his four priorities for vocational education.   It’s one year since I spoke last at the Association of Colleges (AoC) annual conference. I’d been a minister for about a month at that point, and I laid out my priorities for vocational education. […]

Opinion

Do colleges train too many hairdressers?

Plenty of apprenticeship starts and a high public spend on training would suggest a wealth of hairdressers, but an employer survey has indicated a lack of trained staff. Michael Davis investigates the apparent “disconnect”. Our company intranet recently saw a lively discussion about the acceptable price of a man’s haircut. A rift sharper than a […]

Opinion

The taxing issue of future funding in a world of cuts

With government spending on adult skills set to fall over the coming years, Mark Corney tries to find a way through the narrowing funding options. The very existence of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) sharpens up the competition for resources between adult skills and higher education. The highly-respected Institute for Fiscal Studies […]

Opinion

Keeping apprentice assessment and commercial interests apart

How do you judge whether apprentices are truly prepared to qualify, and who decides? Iain Macdonald puts the case for an independent body. Much has been said about apprenticeships over the last year and the debate came to a head last month with publication of the government’s Future of Apprenticeships in England: Implementation Plan. What […]

Opinion

Apprenticeship award winners

Top apprentices were celebrated during the 10th annual National Apprenticeship Awards at the Skills Show last Thursday. Apprentices from across the country received awards recognising their achievements at intermed iate, advanced and higher levels, and for championing apprenticeships. The ceremony, held at the LG Arena in Birmingham, was hosted by Tim Campbell, winner of the […]

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