Anne Milton | FE Week

The FE Week Podcast: Kickstart, 2022 exams and new ministers

In our first episode, we’re joined by the Rt Hon Anne Milton and Ali Hadawi

Levy-lockout update: Employers lose access to £37 million from first 2 months

Employers lost access to £26 million of their apprenticeship levy funds in June, the skills minister has revealed. The figure, revealed in an answer to a parliamentary question from Catherine McKinnell, the MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North, means that a “staggering” £37 million has been clawed back by government after the first two months […]

WorldSkills 2019: Team UK given send-off at Parliament

Skills minister Anne Milton told 37 of the UK’s best and brightest young skilled people they are about to face the “biggest challenge” of their lives during a special send-off event ahead of WorldSkills 2019 today. Delivering a heartfelt speech in the House of Commons, Milton told the Team UK competitors and their families she […]

There is no point ignoring the looming overspend – employer apprenticeship levy usage needs to be restricted

At the AELP annual conference this week the skills minister, Anne Milton, outlined options being considered to restrict employer usage of their apprenticeship levy. Given the fall in starts since the apprenticeship reforms began in May 2017, you would be forgiven for wondering why the government would be looking at restricting employer demand. Any new […]

Traineeships – remember them? Well, they could be in for a welcome boost

Something of a surprise this week from the Department for Education – a press release about traineeships in which the skills minister, Anne Milton, was “thrilled”. The surprise for me wasn’t the good news – that research found the majority of the first trainees in 2014 progressed into work or further training. The surprise was […]

Revealed: The 17 colleges to share £2.5m in final strategic improvement funding round

The names of final colleges set to share grants through a government fund designed to support struggling colleges have been announced. Skills minister Anne Milton today revealed that 17 colleges will share £2.5million in the third and last round of the strategic college improvement fund that was introduced in October 2017. The winners are: SCIF […]

DfE’s double standards over level 2 business admin apprenticeship

The Department for Education has been accused of double standards after it launched a recruitment drive for level 2 business administration apprentices on frameworks while refusing to approve an equivalent standard. Old-style apprenticeship frameworks will be fully switched off next year and replaced with standards, which the government constantly lauds as being of “higher quality”. […]

English and maths GCSE resit policy helping tens of thousands

The policy requiring students to continue studying English and maths if they fail the subjects at GCSEs at age 16 continues to bear fruit, as revealed in FE Week’s analysis of the government’s latest attainment figures. The controversial “condition of funding” policy, introduced in 2014, means that colleges must help students who narrowly failed to […]

National Apprenticeship Awards 2019 open for applications

Entries to this year’s National Apprenticeship Awards are now open, where employers and individuals who champion apprenticeships will be honoured for the 16th year running. Apprentices and businesses from all sectors and industries, from agriculture to arts and science and maths, are invited to enter the awards by the May 25 deadline. The awards will […]