York College
‘apprenticeships’
An extra £20m funding will be available for over 19 traineeships, but there is no new cash for 16 to 18-year-olds despite a “pressing” need. The funding, announced by Skills Minister Matthew Hancock on Thursday, is for the government’s flagship scheme which offers learners work experience alongside English, maths and employability training. The cash has […]
News
High street fast food business Subway was among hundreds of employers on the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) website advertising jobs that paid less than the national minimum wage, FE Week has discovered. The legally-required amount that employers must pay apprentices went up 3p to £2.68 on October 1. But many jobs — with start dates […]
Download your free copy of the FE Week 16-page special report on the PAYE proposal in the government’s apprenticeship funding consultation, sponsored by Pearson. Click here to download (10mb) ——————————————————————————————– Introduction Time has been called on a consultation into the most radical reform proposals for apprenticeship funding in generations. The government have confirmed around 350 responses […]
Supplements
Teresa Frith compares different visions for the future of apprenticeships. The Husbands Review of apprenticeships is, at first glance, wife of the Richard Review. It also takes what, by all measures, is a successful government-supported initiative and seeks to introduce radical change. It would be a brave person who claimed there is nothing wrong with […]
Opinion
Steve Besley offers a Policy Watch perspective on Labour’s proposals on apprenticeships. We’ve had world class qualifications for the academic system, now we have a call for “a universal gold standard for apprenticeships”. This would be based on a level three threshold with minimum durations, dedicated time for off the job training and greater employer […]
Rob Wye warns Labour’s plans for more employer-involvement in apprenticeship schemes could actually put many businesses off taking on trainees. The Husbands Review of Vocational Education and Training aims to “address historic weaknesses in skills development and training to improve the country’s competitiveness”. It identifies issues that have hindered the quality and quantity of apprenticeships […]
Skills Minister Matthew Hancock (pictured, right) has refused to rule out the possibility that employers may have to pay towards the cost of training for 16 to 18-year-old apprentices. In a webinar from the Department for Education, and in partnership with FE Week, the minister spoke to an online audience of around 500 about the […]
Labour leader Ed Miliband has been told to “go back to the drawing board” with his plans to create 125,000 apprentices. The proposals — in which companies would be forced to train a “local” apprentice for every foreign worker they take on — were branded “illegal” by Skills Minister Matthew Hancock, who further questioned Labour’s […]
Nearly 16,000 people applied for the 24+ Advanced Learning Loan in August, up 46 per cent on the number of applications made in the previous month (10,772). Data Service figures further revealed just under half of the 34,700 loans applications since the programme launched in April were submitted in last month alone (15,725). Boston College […]
