funding | FE Week

Post-16 funding inequality has consequences

Nick Linford considers the extent to which poor college performance can be blamed on government interference and a lack of investment. If Ofsted inspection reports are to be believed, we should be very concerned that the college sector has been going downhill for three years in a row. This week we’ve crunched the figures and […]

Exclusive: Election delay for results of first adult education budget procurement

The announcement of results of the first ever procurement process for the adult education budget has been delayed until after the general election, FE Week can reveal. An email seen by FE Week was sent to providers earlier today via FASST, the online services hub for organisations working with the Education and Skills Funding Agency, […]

Levy launch ‘horror’ story predicted following apprenticeship funding allocations

Apprenticeship providers are facing up to a “horror story” of bankruptcy and failure after receiving funding allocations that amount to a fraction of their current delivery, sector leaders are warning. The amount of cash colleges and providers will receive in order to deliver apprenticeships to small employers between May and December was revealed by the […]

Funding reform will see 16-18 apprenticeships ‘drop by two thirds’

The government must make a “clear and unambiguous” commitment to 16-to-18 apprenticeships, after a major provider warned that funding changes will cause its starts for that age group to plummet by two thirds. The claim was made by Jon Graham, chief executive of JTL, which specialises in training for the building services engineering sector, in […]

Funding axe for provider following FE Week investigation

A training provider whose parent company hit FE Week’s front page after it went bust, leaving learners unable to complete courses and a complicated multimillion-pound trail of debt, has had its contract with the Skills Funding Agency cancelled. The public funding axe has now fallen on Options 2 Workplace, and an SFA spokesperson has confirmed its name will also be removed […]

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 […]

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 […]

Let’s take full advantage of what devolution can offer

The government’s devolution and localism agenda creates opportunities for the sector to refine its mission and purpose, says Ayub Khan. Devolution in FE and skills is much talked of by politicians at national and local levels and a great deal is expected of it, though it remains very much a developing area of policy. While […]

In support of a maintenance loan revolution for FE

Maintenance loans are everywhere in higher education, so why aren’t they available for those in technical education, asks Mark Corney. The three great challenges for education policy as I seem them are increasing productivity, extending social mobility, and enhancing the skills base of the resident population as recruitment of EU workers is restricted due to […]