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Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 724, 9th December 2023: Building Opportunity: FAB 2023 and Beyond
This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal brought to you by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here is a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles, from sector influencers and cool thinkers across FE and Skills this week on FE News.
FAB 2023 Conference Highlights
Last Thursday and Friday, the Federation of Awarding Bodies hosted their yearly conference. On November 30 and December 1, over 400 people gathered in Leicester for the FAB 2023 Conference, where experts in awards and assessments shared their knowledge.
Interim CEO John McNamara shared his insights on the event's success, expressing delight in welcoming a record number of delegates. He congratulated award winners and highlighted the interactive zone where immersive technology showcased potential advancements in accessibility, accuracy, and efficiency of assessments. These emerging trends, crucial for the industry's adaptability, align with FAB's commitment to support the future of awarding and assessment.
We were media partners for the event and were present on-site, streaming each day's Conference Opening Session. If you couldn't attend the FAB conference, you can watch the live streams here and catch up on all announcements and highlights.
Also whilst we attended the FAB 2023 conference we had the opportunity to conduct interviews with several thought leaders, including...
Stay tuned for more insights as next week we will be publishing additional interviews from our time at the FAB 2023 conference!
Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week
This week has seen a recurring theme of EdTech and Artificial Intelligence covered in our thought leadership content. So lets dive in deeper to explore our top three articles of the week!
One of our epic exclusive articles in our top three this week is ‘AI funding must benefit all or Britain will miss the boat again’ by Alex Warner, Principal: Curriculum Innovation and Pedagogy at MK College Group. This article discusses Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s £500 million investment in AI innovation centres and the need for inclusive AI education.
Secondly, we have ‘Why technology is a necessity in education today – for tomorrow’ by James Kitto, Vice President and Head of MX Division, Samsung UK & Ireland. Due to the speed of technological innovation, technology has become a powerful enabler of digital and remote learning. With today’s generation being tomorrow’s problem-solvers, it is vital students of all ages are armed with the skills, knowledge and tech know-how to unleash their full problem-solving potential.
Finally, we have ‘Learning & Development Holds the Key to the Employee Productivity Puzzle’ by Trena Minudri, Chief Learning Officer, Coursera. In today’s fast-paced business landscape, maintaining high employee engagement is essential for every company’s success. t’s against this backdrop that Trena Minudri offers insights on how companies can harness the power of L&D for success.
This week, we have also had some other epic exclusives:
What’s New in the World of FE?
EDSK published their latest report which found that the ‘ladder of opportunity’ is now broken for hundreds of thousands of young people every year. Within this report, EDSK proposed a 10-point plan to deliver these changes, including the following recommendations:
- Young people who have completed a university degree should be banned from accessing publicly funded apprenticeships to ensure that apprenticeships remain focused on young people who have chosen not to follow an academic pathway
- 14- to 16-year-olds should be offered the chance to spend one day a week in the workplace or at college alongside their academic GCSE courses
- Subsidies of up to £5,000 should be available to employers who recruit and support young people into good-quality jobs
- The Government should introduce new and improved versions of ‘Kickstart’ and ‘Traineeships’ to generate new opportunities for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable young people looking for a job or training placement
- An independent review of T-levels should be undertaken as soon as possible to determine what steps are needed to prevent these qualifications from failing in the coming years
The Initial Teacher Training Census results were also released! These found that:
- The Department of Education’s own statistics have shown that the number of new entrants to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) had dropped by 5% in just one year.
- Maths Teacher recruitment has shown a sharp decline with just 63% of the ITT target reached, a fall of 25% from the previous figure of 88%.
- Only Classics, Physical Education and History have reached their targets.
- Almost all subjects recruited fewer teachers this year with physics recruiting just 17% of the teachers needed, up just 1% on last year.
We have also had some epic FE Voices this week!
We hope that you’ve enjoyed this week’s soundbite. Now that you’re all caught up on what’s going on in the FE Sector this week, we hope you have a restful weekend!
Finley Vile, Platform Growth Manager, FE News
Holly Wheaton, Digital Project Manager, FE News
Danielle Watters, Digital Project Manager, FE News
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