A decade ago, digital skills were often seen as specialist knowledge. Today, they sit alongside English and maths as essential workplace literacies. Sustainability is now...
Before our sector rushes to introduce apprenticeship quality measures, it’s time we made better use of the strongest public indicator we already have. An industry...
The UK’s labour market currently faces a growing contradiction. At the same time as businesses report persistent skills shortages, nearly a million young people aged...
As apprenticeships are, by definition, an employment-based programme, you might reasonably expect the pattern of apprenticeship starts to broadly track trends in the labour market. Having worked in the sector for over 20...
AI is beginning to shape young people’s transitions from education to work. Increasingly, career development practitioners are using large language models to support guidance sessions and for resource creation...
The Skills White Paper claims colleges have been treated as "second rate" despite impressive results compared to others. Does our misaligned quality model and music...
There is a persistent and costly misunderstanding at the heart of workforce design in Further Education. We continue to measure people against roles that were...
The quality of initial teacher training (ITT) in further education (FE) is again under review, but this time with a sharper regulatory edge. From 2026,...
At Milton Keynes, we were the first FE College Group in the country to receive the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) inspection, and I’m delighted to...
Geoffrey Hinton and I have something in common. We both studied and worked in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence department at the University of...
Exclusive thought leadership articles written peer to peer by leading experts about the future of education and the future of work. Experts writing op’ed and thought leadership articles on apprenticeships, skills and employability.
A sector-wide challenge Every year many students across FE and HE sit exams in halls across the UK, their future is hanging on an exam…
Every September, Adult Learners’ Week, which runs from September 15 to 21, shines a light on the transformative power of learning. It’s a chance to…
The real test of good CPD is whether people actually complete it, and more importantly, whether they enjoy the process enough to apply what they’ve…
The recent machinery of government changes have shifted responsibility for skills from the Department for Education (DfE) to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP),…
Artificial intelligence is not a distant concept; it’s a fundamental force reshaping the UK’s economy and workforce. From enhancing productivity to creating entirely new job…
When debates about education arise, the main focus more often than not falls on exams, league tables, funding pressures or inspection frameworks. What is not…
It’s clear that the UK faces urgent environmental and social challenges that demand real change in how people live, work and learn. Of course, the…
A government audit has found that over 30,000 homes have had sub-standard insulation installed under two recent publicly-funded retrofit schemes. The schemes, Energy Company Obligation…
New research from Ravensbourne University London reveals a growing disconnect between traditional careers advice the way young people seek guidance. Vice Chancellor, Jon Kingsbury, explores…
Students in FE today are the first “AI-native” generation. For college leaders, that means confidence in guiding the safe and effective use of AI is…
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