apprenticeships | FE Week

Ofsted denies going soft on employers despite IfA notes

Ofsted has been forced to deny it would reduce its inspections of apprenticeships employer-providers to “samples”, despite the secret release of new guidance suggesting otherwise. According to briefing notes leaked to FE Week from a recent stakeholder event for the Institute of Apprenticeships, Ofsted is slated to “continue to inspect training providers and sample inspection […]

Government pushes for more over-60s apprentices

Over-60s are being encouraged to do more apprenticeships, in a new government report looking at how to boost employment prospects in later life. The report by the Department for Work and pensions, called Fuller Working Lives: A Partnership Approach, was unveiled this morning. It refers repeatedly to retraining opportunities for people aged over 45, and […]

Large drop in number of standards lacking end-point assessors

The proportion of learners on apprenticeship standards without an approved assessment organisation is dropping rapidly, according to new figures. Statistics published in October showed 42 per cent of all starts (1,790 out of 4,240) until July had no assessment organisation to choose from – a situation that former top skills civil servant Dr Sue Pember […]

Apprenticeship starts rise despite fall in vacancies

Apprenticeship starts published by the DfE this morning show a slight increase, when comparing provisional figures for the first quarter of the academic year (August to October). Latest figures out today show provisional starts at 155,600, compared to 153,100 over the same period a year ago. This comes as the latest vacancy numbers taken from the ‘find and […]

EXCLUSIVE: Institute for Apprenticeships appoints first director

The first permanent employee of the Institute for Apprenticeships has finally been appointed, after ongoing delays and an absence of information about who would run the important new body. Anastasia (Ana) Osbourne, formerly employed in the Enterprise Directorate at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, was introduced as the IfA’s new ‘deputy director of […]

Digital Apprenticeship Service will go live in February

The new Digital Apprenticeship Service is ploughing ahead, and all levy-paying employers will be able to register next month. Having been given a thorough “private beta assessment” by the Government Digital Service, the online service, which lets levy-payers access their accounts and make payments online, has been cleared for use, the Department for Education has […]

National Apprenticeship Awards 2016: Meet the winners

After an amazing evening at the stellar National Apprenticeship Awards 2016 ceremony last week (January 20), FE Week caught up with the country’s top three apprentices. The winners shared their thoughts on what the awards meant to them and what could be on the horizon as they continue to drive forward with their promising careers. Here they are […]

Ofqual to discuss conflict-of-interest concerns with NSAFD organisation

Ofqual will hold talks with an awarding organisation owned by the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink, over alleged conflict of interest “issues raised” through an FE Week investigation. The qualifications watchdog announced its plans to intervene in the wake of our report that the NSAFD was misleading providers by trying to sell them […]

Apprentice targets should cross administrative boundaries

We are failing to meet apprenticeship targets in construction due to some ridiculous barriers that should simply be removed, says Jeremy Rabinovitch. Apprentices are the lifeblood of the economy. These are people who want to work yet don’t want to spend years learning something without being guaranteed a job. Apprenticeships can provide fantastic opportunities both […]