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16 April 2026

Tag: Skills Funding Agency

SFA criticised for ‘total farce’ over key provider submission failures

Management by the Skills Finding Agency of a key provider submission of learner data has been labelled a “total farce” and “very disturbing”, after it opted against extending the deadline for a second time following continued software problems. The SFA online data collection system, known as the ‘Hub’, is understood to have initially gone down on December […]

Reports of discrimination at SFA double in a year

Levels of reported discrimination in a key FE government agency have doubled in a year, an annual staff survey has revealed. Ten per cent of respondents from the Skills Funding Agency to this year’s Civil Service People Survey said they had personally experienced discrimination at work in the previous 12 months. This compares with just […]

SFA steps up campaign against topslicing management fees

The crackdown on providers who fail to disclose how much they topslice from subcontracting contracts has stepped up a gear, after the Skills Funding Agency said it wanted to make the information publicly available. Colleges and independent training providers have been required to specify their subcontracting management fees since August 2013 – but FE Week […]

Learndirect top-slices almost £20 million through subcontractors deals

Latest figures have shown that Learndirect top-sliced almost £20 million through its deals with subcontractors last academic year, FE Week can reveal. The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has threated to suspend public money for lead providers that fail to publish all of their management fees – the amount of government cash they withhold for themselves, […]

SFA apprenticeship tender for small employers rejected by quarter of providers

A quarter of apprenticeship providers have declined the opportunity compete for an SFA contract to deliver training to small and medium sized businesses from next May. The new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers, which providers have to be on if they want to deliver apprenticeship starts from May 1 next year, closed for applications at 5pm […]

Brokerage of apprenticeship funding to be banned next year

The use of public funds to pay brokers’ fees will be banned, thanks to an award-winning FE week investigation which forced the Skills Funding Agency to take action. Our exposé of this secretive industry in April (pictured) – the first of its kind – blew the lid on the underhanded way in which brokers matchup […]

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 […]

Dip in higher-level courses holding up loan growth requests

The delay in advance learner loans is not down to a lack of resources, but has come about because the Skills Funding Agency is trying to build funding for higher-level qualifications, according to a senior civil servant. Janet Ryland, the SFA’s head of technical and professional education, said that growth requests had been halted by […]

Council u-turn on outsourcing adult education

Councillors have U-turned on their decision to outsource local authority adult learning services – citing the current area reviews of post-16 education and training as a key reason for the decision. In June funding cuts prompted Croydon Council to agree to find a private provider to run its community and adult learning service from 2017, […]