net zero | FE Week

Funding Is Flowing, Demand Is Rising — It’s Time for FE to Deliver on Green Skills

As the UK races toward net zero, the government says it wants to back 2 million green jobs by 2030. It has pledged billions in investment, launched new skills funds, and promised to train a “clean power army” of welders, engineers and technicians. But are we really on track?

Focus feature: Decarbonising college estates

Decarbonising a college estate is a huge, multi-million-pound project. Jess Staufenberg talks to three leaders about risking it all for huge cuts to bills and carbon footprint Even before the current crisis in spiralling energy bills, colleges were sounding warning shots about the costs facing them this year. Cast your mind back to 2021, when […]

Sustainability is now the ‘fourth functional skill’

Students at AELP’s first-ever green skills summit say sustainability should be learnt alongside English, maths and digital, writes Nichola Hay Last week AELP held its first-ever green skills summit. The event, sponsored by the Skills Network, was a success. But it also showed there’s still much work FE can do to help reach net zero […]

Net zero in FE: ‘Why aren’t we doing this yet?’

With the world’s eyes on the UK at COP26, Jess Staufenberg looks at who’s coming up with a proper net zero plan for the FE sector With impeccable timing ahead of this and next week’s global climate summit in Glasgow, a report came out that cut through the hype. Every corner of society is failing […]

The FE Week Podcast: Special educational needs provision, sustainability and the spending review

This week Shane is joined by David Russell, chief executive at the Education and Training Foundation, and Fiona Aldridge, head of skills insight at West Midlands combined authority – to discuss the biggest stories. Have the government’s special educational needs reforms failed – and if so, what should be done? Who is providing solid, top-down […]

The FE Week Podcast: Reaching net zero, careers guidance and research in FE

This week Shane is joined by college principal Ian Pryce and the chief operating officer of an independent training provider, Nicki Hay, to discuss the biggest stories. How should providers respond to climate change in the run up to COP26? Is anything actually going to be done about careers guidance, even with a Skills Bill […]