Blog posts for tag:Matthew Hancock

The past couple of months have seen the initial education and skills battle lines being drawn for the 2015 General Election: The most surprising announcement was July’s Cabinet reshuffle in which Michael Gove was replaced as Secretary of State for Education by the relatively unknown former Treasury minister and Minister for Women Nicky Morgan (view her political background and voting record here).

Are you up to the new standards? There’s going to be a new set of professional standards for teachers and trainers in Further Education (FE) – 20 ‘inspirational’ standards based on improving teacher practice are being published by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF).These standards will be referred to by Ofsted in their inspections and in informing their judgements, and aren’t intended to be a prescriptive checklist, but rather ‘to be owned by the teaching workforce…based on the model of the reflective practitioner’.

The government has recently published an implementation plan called The Future of Apprenticeships in England which will give employers a stronger power in the design and delivery of Apprenticeships. These plans are a result of the Holt and Richard Review of Apprenticeships, which took place last year. All Apprenticeships that fall under the current framework will be replaced with new qualifications written by employers and other professional bodies. The new qualifications will have a minimum 12 month duration, with no exceptions.

Apprenticeships, Apprenticeships, Apprenticeships... certainly the topic of conversation consuming the world of education at present. A recent survey carried out by Government has shown that employers rated apprentices more highly in comparison to university graduates, rating apprentices 15% more employable than those with other qualifications. These findings have been welcomed by Minister for Skills, Matthew Hancock who claimed taking a higher apprenticeship could boost a young person’s lifetime earning by more than £150,000.

This month, the Government announced plans to introduce a Technical Baccalaureate as a 'mark of achievement' for the 50% of school-leavers who don't go on to university. It will consist of 3 strands, including an approved vocational qualification equivalent to Level 3, a core Maths qualification and an 'extended project’ designed to test skills in communication, research and motivation. The 'Tech Bacc' will become a league table performance measure from 2017. The proposal comes at a time when raising the status of vocational qualification is very much in the spotlight. According to a government survey this month, job candidates who have trained through an apprenticeship scheme are “more employable” than people with other qualifications, including degrees. The employability research conducted with 500 companies demonstrated that employers rate apprentices’ skills and experience way above learners who have followed alternative career paths.

As part of the Government’s recently launched Skills Strategy, struggling colleges in England are set to face a tougher regime. According to Skills Minister Matthew Hancock, there will be "swift and effective action" for colleges which are “failing learners.” Inspectors have found that there are 4% of colleges which fall into this category and have been identified as inadequate.

The Government has published its response to The Richard Review of Apprenticeships, with a consultation that sets out plans for major changes to apprenticeships over the next 3 years. The changes include putting employers in the driving seat, empowering them to place recognised and meaningful industry standards at the heart of every apprenticeship.

Following the Wolf review of vocational education, the Department for Education is now consulting on proposals to establish rigorous standards for Level 3 vocational qualifications taken by 16-19 year olds in schools and colleges from September 2014. The plan is that only ‘high value’ qualifications that meet specific sets of requirements will count in performance tables from this point onward. Quality and rigour are very important to us here at NCFE. Supporting learners to reach their full potential is at the heart of everything we do. Therefore, we’ll be working with the Department throughout the consultation process to find workable solutions that will best support learners to achieve success.