York College
‘apprenticeships’
Growing up in England’s industrial heartland of the Midlands, Jaine Bolton’s childhood dream was a simple one — to become an engineer. But, having left school aged 16 with hopes of winning an apprenticeship, her world came crashing down as one potential employer told her bluntly: “We don’t recruit women.” The rejection, and growing up […]
Profiles
The new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Skills (left) came in for his first sector grilling today when FE Week was invited to his office at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Among the issues raised in a tough Q&A session were the FE minister’s change in job title from Minister of […]
News
Funding figures expose boom in colleges’ apprenticeship deals. The amount that colleges spend on apprenticeship subcontractors has more than trebled in a year to £66.7m, FE Week can reveal. Figures from the Skills Funding Agency also show a boom in the number of deals. In the 2010/11 academic year they averaged 2.4 for each college, […]
Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are failing to take advantage of the “fantastic” education resources offered by colleges, the Association of Colleges (AoC) has claimed. An association report has revealed “patchy” engagement between the two, with a lack of college representation on the 39 partnership boards and a lack of understanding of the role FE plays […]
The apprentice minimum wage remains “shockingly low” despite an increase that kicks in on Monday, the National Union of Students said. The figure is going up 5p to £2.65 an-hour for apprentices under 19, and for those aged 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship. That’s £1.03 less than the rate for […]
More than 500 jobs have been saved by a college and a training provider after another training provider behind around 10,000 apprenticeships across the country went into administration. Liverpool Community College teamed up with Derbyshire-based provider 3AAA to buy the “majority” of business from First4Skills. The Ellesmere Port firm had been allocated £19.8m by the Skills […]
Some of the UK’s most talented young apprentices, employees and students have once again been put through their paces for a place in Squad UK for WorldSkills Leipzig 2013. Last week’s second round, held in the Midlands, follow the initial contests in June and focused on 12 skill areas, including Mechatronics, CNC Milling and turning, […]
Uncategorized
The Skills Funding Agency and the National Apprenticeship Service have no idea how many providers are running introductory apprenticeships for groups of students who are all out of work, FE Week can reveal. The De Vere Academy of Hospitality is the only known provider with permission to run access to apprenticeship courses in which 100 […]
New further education minister Matthew Hancock has told for the first time of his “exciting agenda” for change when he spoke exclusively to FE Week. The joint Parliamentary Under Secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills also took time out from his first ministerial visit to insist colleges would be given more freedom to meet the […]
