Blog Archives: November 2012

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The Richard Review of Apprenticeships

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Thursday 29 November 2012

The Government has welcomed the recommendations within Doug Richard’s newly published independent report on the future of apprenticeships. The report calls to improve the quality of apprenticeships, making them more focused on the needs of employers and also on outcomes – what an apprentice will be able to do having completed their training. Key recommendations have included:



Can the Work Programme succeed?

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Wednesday 28 November 2012

Official figures this week show that the Work Programme has missed its main target for getting people sustained jobs - only 3.53% of people on the programme have found a job for 6 months or more (the coalition's target was 5.5%). The programme provides tailored support for claimants who need more help to undertake active and effective job-seeking. Joining the work programme is mandatory for people aged over 25 when they have been out of work for a year and for under-25s after 9 months.



NCFE at the AoC

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Monday 19 November 2012

NCFE is exhibiting at the Association of Colleges Annual Conference and Exhibition this week at the ICC in Birmingham. There will be over 1700 Further Education professionals at the event which will feature leading speakers from the industry and fantastic networking opportunities. If you’re going to be there, please come and visit us – we’re on Stand F16! We’ll also be hosting a break-out session on REED NCFE: Turning your College into the go-to place for employment. The session will demonstrate how the REED NCFE initiative can increase your learners’ chances of job success and enhance your college’s employability reputation. The session is on Wednesday 21 November from 9.15am-10.15am.



A few brave men…

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Thursday 15 November 2012

Several of our brave (or stupid!) male colleagues here at NCFE are taking part in a series of extreme physical challenges this weekend in aid of Help the Heroes. The ‘Tough Mudder’ event consists of 12 miles of mud, ice baths, electrical shocks, climbing walls, monkey bars, hay bales and more! They've tried to get some training in over the last few weeks in preparation but we’re not sure if this will adequately prepare them for the ice, shocks and numerous muscle strains they're about to willingly bring upon themselves!You can see some footage here to get a flavour of what they've let themselves in for…


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BIS report on Apprenticeships highlights need for change

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Tuesday 13 November 2012

By David Grailey, Chief Executive An 11 month review into Apprenticeships has concluded that urgent reforms are required to the government’s Apprenticeship programme in order to boost economic growth.



Unemployment rates drop... but there's still room for improvement

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Friday 09 November 2012

By David Grailey It’s encouraging to see that the latest reports from the Office for National Statistics have revealed a fall in unemployment, suggesting that Britain’s economy may be on the slow road to recovery. This positive development has surprised economists who’ve been impressed with the resilience of the labour market at such a challenging time. 



Vocational qualifications for schools

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Thursday 08 November 2012

By David Grailey Back in December 2011, I told you about our plans to redevelop a selection of vocational qualifications so that they’re in line with the new Department for Education (DfE) criteria. To recap on this, the qualifications we’re redeveloping are:



Apprenticeships: Reform needed for success?

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Wednesday 07 November 2012

An 11 month review of apprenticeships carried out by The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee has concluded that urgent reform is needed to the Government's apprenticeships programme. The report suggests that quality standards need to be improved and schemes need to be better monitored in order to provide the skills needed to boost economic growth. It calls for schemes to be more ambitious and apprenticeships to be seen as equal to university. Following the publication of the report, the Chairman of the BIS Committee, Adrian Bailey, has stated that apprenticeships are capable of creating a more skilled workforce, increasing employment and ultimately solving “some of this country's most pressing issues”.



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