£50m upgrade to colleges

Business Secretary Vince Cable announced the 149 colleges across England that will benefit from funding of £50 million from the Government to invest in new buildings and renovate existing ones. The successful colleges will each receive up to a £225,000 Renewal Grant, with some bidders winning extra Government funds taking their totals up to £1 million.

The funding will be matched by the colleges and is expected to attract significant private investment to renovate buildings and provide students with modern equipment.

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Wolf Review of Vocational Education

The Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, working with BIS Minister John Hayes, has asked Professor Alison Wolf to carry out an independent review of vocational education. The review began in September 2010 with a public call for evidence and will conclude in early 2011 with the submission of a review report which will include practical recommendations on how vocational education can be improved.

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New Apprentice Minimum Wage

Ministers have accepted the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to end the exemption from the minimum wage for apprentices and introduce a new minimum pay rate of £2.50 per hour within the National Minimum Wage (NMW) framework. The new rate comes in from 1 October 2010. This will be the first time apprentice pay will be covered by the NMW framework.

Read the full response here

A Q&A about the changes affecting apprentice pay including transitional arrangements to protect those on the existing £95 per week minimum wage is available here.

Extension of Key Skills for Apprenticeships until 31 March 2011

John Hayes announced that Key Skills in Apprenticeship Frameworks will be extended until March 2011 at the ALP conference on 14 July 2010. This will allow providers and employers the choice of offering either Functional Skills or Key Skills until 31 March 2011. This is a transitional arrangement to allow more time to consider models for delivery and assessment of Functional Skills in Apprenticeships. You can see the full speech here.

UCAS Tariff Requirement for Apprenticeships Postponed

Following UCAS announcement of 1 July that it would begin a comprehensive review of its tariff system, John Hayes agreed to postpone the requirement for Apprenticeship frameworks at Level 3 and above to be rated against the existing tariff by April 2011 as previously planned. The Government remains fully committed to ensuring the introduction of a tariff requirement for Level 3 Apprenticeships as quickly as possible.

Still time to respond to Skills Strategy and Funding Consultations

There's still time to give us your views on how you would like skills policy to be set out and funded in the future. The two separate consultations will run until 14 October 2010 and whether you are an employer, provider or learner, we would be pleased to hear from you.

Find out more about the consultation

Offender learning - Call for Evidence

A review of offender learning has been announced by John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning. It will assess progress against the policy framework set out in the Next Steps document and make recommendations for improvements. The review is taking full account of the earlier strategic review of employment services for offenders, and will inform the Ministry of Justice’s Autumn Green Paper setting out the proposed approach to sentencing and rehabilitation reform. The call for evidence is an important part of the review.

Find out more about the consultation

Closing date 24 September.

Response to report on young people NEET

The Children Schools and Families Select Committee published its report on young people NEET on 8th April 2010. The report focused on the policies of the Government that was in office during the Committee’s investigation, and made eleven recommendations covering a broad range of areas across DfE, DWP and BIS policy. In preparing the response, DfE officials have also consulted with both BIS and DWP. The Committee published this response on 26th July.

The 2011 Queen's Awards for Enterprise

The 2011 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, the UK’s most prestigious corporate business awards. The Awards are made each year by HM The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and recognise businesses that are outstanding in their field. The Awards are free to enter. There are three corporate categories: Innovation, International Trade and Sustainable Development; and one individual category – the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion. Deadline for entries for the 2011 Awards is 2pm, 29 October 2010.

Details can be found at www.businesslink.gov.uk/queensawards.

Contribute to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Green Paper

The Department for Education is seeking the views of all those who have an interest in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to inform their SEND Green Paper in the autumn. The Paper will cover wide ranging issues, including transition from school to adult life. The closing date is 15 October 2010.

Full details can be found at www.education.gov.uk/consultations