OECD: Seven Questions about Apprenticeships Answers from International Experience

The OECD reports “After a period of relative neglect in many countries, apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning are experiencing a revival. Their effectiveness in easing school-to-work transitions and serving the economy is increasingly recognised. However, engaging individuals, employers, social partners and education and training systems in such learning remains a significant challenge. In…
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OECD FORUM 2018 – RESKILLING: HOW DIFFICULT IS IT?

OECD Forum 2018: Reskilling: How difficult is it? The Forum Network, hosted by the OECD “Become who you are. Reskill and find your next job!” Such is the promise of a reskilling company. With increasing automation, “60 million to 375 million individuals around the world may need to transition to new occupational categories by 2030.…
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WHAT’S WRONG WITH AI? TRY ASKING A HUMAN BEING

  I read a great article in The Observer (14.10.18) written by Kenan Malik (Twiitter: @kenanmalik) who explains “Amazon has apparently abandoned an AI system aimed at automating its recruitment process. The system gave job candidates scores ranging from one to five stars, a bit like the Amazon website.” Guess what happened? “The trouble was,…
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CAREERS GUIDANCE AND ACCESS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROVIDERS

Today the DfE published updated versions of the statutory guidance for schools on careers guidance and access for education and training providers and guidance for further education colleges and sixth form colleges on careers guidance. The updates include: More information on new requirements/expectations that were introduced in September 2018: for schools and colleges to publish information about their…
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Education Committee Chair writes to Chancellor on further education funding

  Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Committee, has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to highlight the stark disparity between funding for pre- and post-16 education and urge the Government to ‘look very carefully’ at the core level of funding for FE ahead of the Budget and Spending Review. In the letter  181015 –…
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Women in management: underrepresented and overstretched?

Despite years of gender equality legislation, men outnumber women in management positions by two to one. While structural barriers continue to impede women’s career advancement, women themselves may be deterred from becoming managers if they perceive that it would have a negative impact on their working and personal lives. What is the experience of women in…
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AI IS A DOOR TO PRODCTIVITY GAINS, BUT DATA LITERACY HOLDS THE KEY

Andy Cotgreave, Technical Evangelist and Senior Director, Tableau https://www.fenews.co.uk/featured-article/20724-ai-is-a-door-to-productivity-gains-but-data-literacy-holds-the-keys The report below by Andy Cotgrave for FE News warns of a potential skills shortage and also highlights the growing call for data literacy. Productivity is a very British problem. According to the latest figures from the OECD, us Brits are among the hardest workers in Europe,…
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COLLEGES TO MARCH ON PARLIAMENT IN FUNDING PROTEST

  https://feweek.co.uk/2018/10/12/colleges-to-march-on-parliament-in-funding-protest/ Up to 3,000 people are expected to march on parliament on Wednesday 15th October  to demand more funding for colleges. The march for FE, organised by the University and College Union in partnership with the National Union of Students and the Association of Colleges, is the main event taking place during Colleges Week,…
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ROUTES TO HIGH-LEVEL SKILLS

Incentivising even closer working between universities, colleges, and employers would bring significant benefits to our economy says University UK. This report calls for the National Careers Service in schools and colleges to do more but this vital careers support service for young people disappeared when contracts ended in September 2018. https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Pages/Routes-to-high-level-skills.aspx According to a new…
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HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE SELF ASSESSMENT REPORT (SAR) IN FURTHER EDUCATION

The Annual FE Autumn SAR Tasks For those in Further Education, the Autumn Term means settling down into the new academic year, but for Quality Managers, it also means sitting down to writing the Self-Assessment Report (SAR) for 2017/18. Recently our Senior Associate Karen Adriaanse, a former Ofsted HMI, spent an afternoon with providers from…
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