York College
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The Institute for Apprenticeship and Technical Education’s new funding band proposals are a step forward, but still need to address the thorny issue of ineligible costs, writes Simon Ashworth Consulting on funding rates for apprenticeships is a perennial but necessary hand grenade that will always prompt a lively debate. But let’s credit the Institute for […]
Opinion
We’re keen to work with like minded organisations to help learners boost their skills, confidence and go the distance – read more Employer engagement A brilliant 16-19 employability programme should start with the end in mind: which jobs are learners intending to get when they complete? Involve employers in curriculum design Employers welcome the chance […]
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A former Skills Funding Agency manager has accused the government of “stalling” the training industry at a time of national crisis. Martin Taft, who is now the managing director of Midlands-based Springboard Training, said the suspension of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) in April has prevented new providers from offering support during the […]
News
Ofsted will soon be handed powers to inspect all universities that offer apprenticeships – including the likes of Cambridge, FE Week can reveal. In a controversial move, the education watchdog is set to take on responsibility for overseeing all apprenticeships, including those at the degree levels of 6 and 7, for the first time. Only […]
On 17 January 2020, FE Week was first to report that the government was working on new legislation in the form of an FE Bill, which “could mean colleges lose ultimate power over deciding which courses are run”. Four days later, on the 21 January, Amanda Spielman, Ofsted’s chief inspector, gave a speech in which […]
Colleges should be forced to surrender their powers to decide what courses they run to new, local FE directors, a report published today from a former adviser to education ministers has said. Think tank EDSK’s director Tom Richmond has today launched ‘Further consideration: Creating a new role, purpose and direction for the FE sector’, which […]
For the first time Ofsted is exploring a move to directly inspect all FE subcontractors, something until now it has ruled out. Subcontracting in FE is big business, with 2,221 subcontracting arrangements at 856 subcontractors accounting for “around 14 per cent of the spending on apprenticeships and adult education” in 2018/19, according to Ofsted. The […]
Staff have been told that they must fill junior executive vacancies with apprentices, as part of a three-month trial in the Department for Education and Education and Skills Funding Agency. Skills minister Gillian Keegan said the change in recruitment policy was to show that “we practise what we preach” when it comes to boosting the […]
The first new university technical college to open its doors for two years has been deluged with students, while its licensing body says that admissions across the network have shot up after years of underrecruitment. Doncaster UTC has vastly exceeded its recruitment target of 160 students, with nearly double that number starting lessons this week. […]