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1 May 2026

Tag: apprenticeships

Sharon Blyfield, head of early careers at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Sharon Blyfield, head of early careers at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, finished her BTEC at college and rose to the top at one of the world’s biggest brands. She talks to Jess Staufenberg about the ‘employer-led system’ and the scandal of apprentice pay Employers occupy a curious space in FE. They are the raison d’être for […]

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, chair, Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, who became chair of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education in August, is overseeing 280 staff and huge responsibilities. What makes her tick? Jess Staufenberg finds out  Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith is telling me a story. She remembers being chief executive of Mitie, a facilities management outsourcing company, and talking to a […]

Apprenticeship reform starts with the school calendar

The apprenticeship cycle needs to move in line with university applications, writes Jo Foster To kick-start apprenticeships in this country we need to be bold. Today, there is a stigma around apprenticeships where they are seen as “less than” a university degree. The perceived wisdom is that a student who wants to progress in life […]

Apprenticeships in green skills sectors require joined-up thinking

Apprenticeships can only meet our green skills needs if we follow the lead of employers, and link up across government departments, writes Jennifer Coupland Apprenticeships and technical education are vital to train people for two million green jobs targeted by government by 2030. This is a great opportunity for business to take advantage of the […]

Apprenticeships should be a core part of the levelling-up agenda

The government needs to take action over the decline in apprenticeship starts if the country is to ‘level up’, writes David Phillips The government has outlined ambitious and laudable plans for their levelling-up agenda, with the release of their recent white paper. This promises to address geographic inequality across the country by investing in education […]

Students are keen on apprenticeships, but still need earlier guidance

Among current undergraduate applicants, almost half expressed an interest in apprenticeships, writes Clare Marchant As part of FE Week’s focus on apprenticeships, we’ve delved into our latest UCAS survey data to get an up-to-date picture of how the undergraduate students and apprentices of the future feel about their next steps ̶ setting them up for […]

Can we reduce learner dropout without increasing trainer workload?

Training managers end up struggling with caseloads due to the volume of reporting required, writes Brad Tombling The training provider sector is critical to delivering the full skills complement needed to run tomorrow’s private and public sector businesses.    The future of the training industry is optimistic. But there are some operational and policy-induced hurdles […]

The government must act quickly if targets for electrical vehicles are to be met

We are on countdown to 2030, when no more new petrol and diesel cars will be allowed – but apprenticeships are lagging, writes Sue Pittock At the conclusion of the Commons passage of the skills bill, the government said the new “future skills” unit within the Department for Education will give schools data to show […]