apprenticeships | FE Week

Fruity reception expected for Halfon’s apples and pears

Members of the Sub-Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy could be forgiven for getting fruity with Robert Halfon – just over 24 hours after his apples and pears analogy for apprenticeships left MPs fuming. The FE minister is set to face his second set of tough questions on apprenticeship reforms this week, during a […]

Making apprenticeships work for young people will take more than fixing the funding formula

At their best, apprenticeships can offer young people the opportunity to earn and to learn; to blend on-the-job training with off-the-job learning in a way that can help them build a successful and sustainable career. As well as being good for the learner, apprenticeships can be great for employers too; helping them develop skilled, motivated […]

Cost of Digital Apprenticeship Service revealed

The government expects to spend at least £12.5m on delivering its new Digital Apprenticeship Service, FE Week can reveal. The budget will cover both costs to the Skills Funding Agency and suppliers of services such as web development and user research, according to the Department for Education. A DfE spokesperson told FE Week: “The cost of building […]

How will the government implement its Skills Plan?

The government welcomed the Sainsbury Review recommendations, but will they deliver on implementation, asks Catherine Sezen? From a college perspective, there is a lot to be positive about in the Sainsbury Review of Technical Education, and the government’s response to it in the Skills Plan. These documents, published in early July, outline a new structure […]

Jaguar Land Rover red-faced by ‘poor’ Ofsted rating

Jaguar Land Rover, the British car manufacturer regularly lauded by ministers for its apprenticeship scheme, has been hit with a shock grade three rating after an Ofsted inspection. The Indian-owned firm received a ‘requires improvement’ score across the board for its dealership apprenticeship programme, for which it is an employer provider. The report will raise […]

Rise in SFA contracts for small providers

Plans to cut the number of recipients of Skills Funding Agency cash have been shelved in an attempt to increase the provider base for degree and higher-level apprenticeships, and advanced learner loans. A total of 1,023 providers received direct SFA funding this academic year, up from 984 at the start of 2015/16. The SFA first attempted to introduce a […]

Apprenticeship funding ‘u-turn’ – but how far does it really go?

Despite the very public “U-turn” the government made on proposed apprenticeship cuts on Tuesday, funding is still due to be cut from key frameworks by up to 50 per cent, exclusive analysis by FE Week has shown. In August, this newspaper discovered that cuts proposed by the Department for Education would cause framework funding rates […]

Campaign victory over apprenticeship funding

Widespread anger about planned funding cuts exposed by FE Week has brought about a welcome change of heart from the government, which this morning pledged much needed extra financial support of 16 to 18 apprentices in poorer areas. FE Week’s analysis published in August of the planned government funding rates, showed they could be slashed by up […]

Four changes in the apprenticeship announcements you need to know

This morning FE Week was the first to report that the Department for Education had released documents confirming the level of funding for apprenticeships from May 1, 2017. Click here. The three week consultation on the provisional proposals began on the August 12 and had 892 responses, but the government had feedback via other means including […]