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13 April 2026

Tag: Institutes of Technology

Royal charter status for IoTs needs more detailed thought

Royal charter status is not the quick win it at first appears, writes Mark Taylor The levelling up white paper sets out the government’s plans for successful institutes of technology (IoTs) to apply for royal charter status. In May last year I commented in this newspaper on the then newly published skills bill. My conclusion […]

Bidders remain in the dark as DfE delays Institutes of Technology tender results

The Institutes of Technology tender has fallen behind schedule, with the final 16 providers left waiting to be told if they have been successful. The Department for Education released the final stage two of the £170 million competition in October last year, and said it expected to announce the outcome in March 2019. But FE […]

Revealed: The winners and losers in the £170m Institutes of Technology competition

The Department for Education has today unveiled the colleges and universities in line for a share of £170m in capital funding and a licence to be named an Institute of Technology. One day after FE Week reported delays in its competition process, due for announcement last month, the department revealed the names of the first […]

2019: The year ahead in FE and skills

2019 is set to be a big year for the FE and skills sector. While it’s still not clear what impact the biggest event of the year – Brexit – will have (on anything!), we’ve taken a look ahead at some of the other key developments expected over the coming 12 months – including the […]

The FE commissioner is wrong: We should keep PROCAT open

The first college incorporated in years has been told to merge to survive. This is the wrong decision, according to its erstwhile principal Neil Bates. The government continues with its much-needed reforms of technical education and skills at pace. In recent weeks, we have had the announcement of the 16 successful stage one bidders for […]

Institutes of Technology hit by mystery delays

The Institutes of Technology have already fallen behind schedule, and providers who applied to open one still don’t know if they have been successful. According to the original competition invitation, applicants should have been notified by early May whether their bids for a share of £170 million had made it to stage two. But no […]

Institutes of Technology freighted with unrealistic ambitions

We’ve had a bit of clarity on the new IoTs, but Mick Fletcher doesn’t want to pop any corks just yet The DfE’s latest on the Institutes of Technology doesn’t deserve three cheers – but it maybe warrants one and a half. The half is for the additional investment in FE: any extra cash is […]

Investigates: Are T-level plans in trouble?

– Greening begs big business for help with “substantive” work placements, while DfE refuses to commit to original plan for 2019 launch    The education secretary has explained to FE Week how she’ll tackle the mammoth task of convincing huge numbers of employers to run three-month work placements for T-level learners. Justine Greening called on businesses […]