Blog posts for author:Esme Winch

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Apprenticeships hit the mainstream

By Esme Winch, Managing Director, Thursday 16 February 2017

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Earlier this month, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) launched its Green Budget at the City of London’s Guildhall. An in depth discussion of apprenticeship reform took place, with the IFS presenting its thoughts on the Apprenticeship Levy as well as several concerns that NCFE shares, such as the risk of increasing the quantity of apprenticeships at the expense of quality. In recent years, apprenticeships have remained somewhat on the fringes of the education establishment, often viewed as an alternative to traditional routes in to work for the less able or privileged. From the discussions that have taken place, such as the one that took place at the City of London’s Guildhall, apprenticeships are now very much part of the national economic dialogue.

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Looking ahead: what's to come for schools and technical education?

By Esme Winch, Managing Director, Thursday 19 January 2017

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However you view it, 2016 was certainly an eventful year with significant repercussions on the national and international policy stage, and we’re now left with the political aftermath of last year. The invocation of Article 50 is due in the first quarter of this year. Although the government is keeping its own counsel on the precise nature of Brexit, restrictions on the movement of workers from the EU into the UK will mean skills gaps will grow in the UK workforce. In this instance, technical education will be more important than ever to support employers in plugging these skills gaps. Schools will play a key role in offering technical education options to young people looking to broaden their employment or study options after completing their studies.

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Will 2017 be a key transition year for technical education?

By Esme Winch, Managing Director, Wednesday 18 January 2017

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However you view it, 2016 was certainly an eventful year with significant repercussions on the national and international policy stage, and we’re now left with the political aftermath of last year. The invocation of Article 50 is due in the first quarter of this year. Although the government is keeping its own counsel on the precise nature of Brexit, restrictions on the movement of workers from the EU into the UK will mean skills gaps will grow in the UK workforce. In this instance, technical education will be more important than ever to support employers in plugging these skills gaps.

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Education for All bill dropped but more changes may be on the horizon

By Esme Winch, Managing Director, Wednesday 16 November 2016

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The Education for All bill has been shelved this month, in a move by Education Secretary Justine Greening. This means that measures planned by her predecessor Nicky Morgan for all poor or low performing schools to convert to academies have now ended and the process for schools to convert is now voluntary. The bill has been replaced by the Technical and Further Education Act 2016. The Act aims to set out extending the role of the Institute for Apprenticeships to cover school and college-based technical education as well as apprenticeships. This bill will then combine all current apprenticeship and further education reforms in one act of parliament.

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Apprenticeship funding and the Autumn Statement

By Esme Winch, Managing Director, Tuesday 15 November 2016

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This month saw the long anticipated feedback from the Department for Education (DfE) on the changes to apprenticeship funding, due to be implemented from May 2017. Following overwhelming feedback from the sector, the DfE has engaged with employers, training providers and interested stakeholders to inform and adapt the provisional funding levels for frameworks and standards initially rolled out in the summer. One of the key issues was around the additional costs associated with training 16-18 year olds on an apprenticeship framework. To resolve this issue, providers will now receive an additional payment from government, equivalent to 20% of the funding band maximum for that framework.

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