Another excellent College Alliance meeting - always so much to take away from conversations with our neighbours - to build stronger, adaptive systems. @aoc-info.bsky.social @lewis-cooper.bsky.social @hughesdavid.bsky.social

📣 The FE commissioner's report into Weston College is 'a must-read for all college leaders on how not to do' governance, says @hughesdavid.bsky.social of @aoc-info.bsky.social

📣 Schools prove pupil premium funding works; so why stop it at 16? @hughesdavid.bsky.social @aliceeardley.bsky.social @aoc-info.bsky.social @brilliantclub.bsky.social @thefea.bsky.social @ascl-uk.bsky.social @theaccessproject.org.uk @suttontrust.bsky.social

"It will open up thousands of opportunities for young people and adults to get the skills they need and which employers are crying out for." - @hughesdavid.bsky.social welcomes the Chancellor's £625 million college infrastructure investment. Read our full response here: aoc.co.uk/news-campaig...

Great to see this package of measures helping colleges to scale up their construction training, in partnership with employers. Looking forward to working with DfE on making it happen. Pleased that colleges being recognised for how vital they are on this

Join us from 4pm-5pm on Thursday 20 March for our Colleges' National Green Week live Q&A to hear from South Thames College and London South East Colleges on how they have built sustainable learning environments. #CNGW2025 Register here: t.co/pg1D4ww44q

Register now for our Colleges' National Green Week live Q&A on Thursday 20 March! Watch our on-demand webinar to see how South Thames College and London South East Colleges have built sustainable learning environments and then join us for this interactive session! #CNGW2025 aoc.co.uk/corporate-se...

Congratulations to the newly appointed leadership team at #SkillsEngland. Looking forward to working with them to help establish a better, coherent, inclusive post-16 education and skills system

Cuts in funding for adult education appear to be in the pipeline. With that in mind, it is worth reading yesterday's House of Lords speech by the Skills Minister, Jacqui Smith, who summarises the social and economic value of adult education: hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2025-0...

Excellent discussion today about skills needs & enormous potential for fair growth in #LiverpoolCityRegion with @darrenpjones.bsky.social & @metromayorsteve.bsky.social at the nearly finished impressive new Everton stadium, a beacon for regenerating the docks over next decade

"Colleges have the facilities to educate and train people for a changing economy but need to work with government to ensure these are suitable, sustainable and sufficient to support national skills priorities" - @hughesdavid.bsky.social. Read our full response here: www.aoc.co.uk/news-campaig...

"Teaching about past atrocities can help encourage students to challenge hatred, racism and discrimination in the here and now," says Eddie Playfair, Senior Policy Manager at AoC, in our new blog on #InternationalHolocaustRemembranceDay. Read more: www.aoc.co.uk/news-campaig...

yes, it shows how difficult the mainstream media find it to understand the college world @sebschmoller.bsky.social

Good to see @theguardian.com recognise need to invest more in colleges to address pay gaps with school teachers. General further education college lecturers just as badly affected. Low pay means colleges cannot recruit lecturers in skills vital for growth www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"We were heartened by the discussion of the role of colleges in the PAC’s evidence session for this inquiry, and it would have been good to see greater recognition of that role in today’s report." - David Holloway responds to new Public Accounts Committee report. www.aoc.co.uk/news-campaig...

“If the government wants to achieve its missions and ambitions for economic growth and fairness, additional, sustainable investment across all post-16 education must be provided in the spring spending review.” says @hughesdavid.bsky.social. Read in full: www.aoc.co.uk/news-campaig...

Another year & another report, picked up by @pmdfoster.bsky.social highlighting the shocking underinvestment in post-16 education & skills after 14 years of austerity. The government's missions are at risk of under-delivery without more investment in colleges on.ft.com/4aaOQBi

Good to see David moving over into college leadership

Great to have you on the @aoc-info.bsky.social #FEHallofFame Stuart Deeley

Great to have you signed up @bridgendcollege.bsky.social

A very warm welcome @joshbabarinde.bsky.social to our #FEHallofFame

Good to see John Widdowson as part of this, ensuring there is an informed FE college voice. Before they propose a university in Wakefield, perhaps better investment in the college for young people and adults might be a start

“For too long pay in further education has lagged behind both schools and industry, with detrimental effects on the sector and wider economy” - @hughesdavid.bsky.social calls on the STRB to support a pay increase for FE staff and outlines three ambitions on college pay. t.co/hco167NDqc

Pleased to give evident today to the School Teacher Review Body on the unacceptably low level of college pay causing enormous recruitment, retention & morale problems which in turn create risk for delivery of many of the government's manifesto commitments view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx...

Does the UK have enough workers to ‘get Britain building’? In short: it'll be a stretch. FT analysis by Delphine Strauss & Anna Gross that is silent on previous governments' destructive failure to get the FE system firing on all cylinders. Striking excerpt below. www.ft.com/content/ca44...

“It shows that the government has engaged and listened to college lecturers as well as employers." - @hughesdavid.bsky.social responds to today's announcement in the House of Commons on the outcome of the Level 3 rapid review. Read our full response here: t.co/M62PuU4eVL

“Almost 9m adults still have low literacy and numeracy... We need a renewed focus on English, maths and digital skills for adults.” ✍️ L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social responds to the Survey of Adult Skills (#PIAAC) published today. learningandwork.org.uk/news-and-pol...

Thanks for the headline summary @stephenevans.bsky.social

3. There's some correlation between literacy & numeracy scores. But England is a bit worse (given literacy scores) on numeracy than you might expect. Good argument for a focus on that (maths to 18 anyone...).

2. Good news first. Our young people had lower scores than older people last time. No longer the case. Genuine, +ve improvement. Result of school & FE policy & delivery. Including last Govt's condition of funding rule, which tripled % getting English & maths between age 16 and 19.

1. New OECD adult basic skills shows some improvement in numeracy in England in last decade, little change in literacy. Within this, big & welcome improvements for young people (who were outliers last time), but some backsliding for older adults (perhaps a consequence of austerity in adult ed).

Honoured to attend @AoC_info Winter reception & to meet our supportive local MPs @LSEColleges today, discussing all things FE, Skills & SEND with @danfrancis02 @helenhayes_ and our amazing local & sector advocate @DLawrenceOBE @UKHouseofLords 👇

The wide range of people willing to share a quote in support of this shows the complex web of relationships colleges have. Doing their jobs as systems leaders, anchor institutions and vital local partners

Our report published today, ‘Mission accepted: the role of colleges across the government’s five missions’, shows how colleges across the country are already delivering the government's missions and have the expertise to do so much more. Read the report: www.aoc.co.uk/news-campaig...

“Successful delivery of the missions will rely heavily on colleges as anchor institutions, but government needs to create the environment in which that collaboration is incentivised and funded" - @hughesdavid.bsky.social on our mission accepted report. Read more: www.aoc.co.uk/news-campaig...

The wide range of people willing to share a quote in support of this shows the complex web of relationships colleges have. Doing their jobs as systems leaders, anchor institutions and vital local partners

Pleased to share our report & videos showcasing how colleges are delivering on the government's missions www.aoc.co.uk/news-campaig...

yes, for sure - the unfairness in pay in English FE colleges is shocking and wrong, and hinders colleges' abilities to deliver quality education to meet needs and demands

yes, good addition, thanks

Day 2 of #TCAinternational begins with a presentation about the new Jobs & Skills Australia. These are their legislative functions - some similar to those we see here, some slightly different. V interesting

Australia seeking to reset the imbalance between the growth in higher education and the lack of growth in technical qualifications. Same the world over it seems #TCAInternational

Really good first day of the College Alliance's international conference, at Belfast Met College - a great range of international inputs from Sweden, South Africa, Singapore and the OECD, along case studies from across the four UK nations and Ireland #TCAinternational

Hearing about the broader place making role that Belfast Met has played particularly in the Titanic Quarter alongside its role in the regional economy. We really must not forget this vital aspect of FE. #TCAinternational

Great list. I'd love to see that emerging over next few years. We now need a vision for whole tertiary sector

Some thoughts from #TCAInternational on what FE needs to thrive: 1. A trust-based funding environment 2. accountability based on outcomes 2. The opportunity to shape their offer to meet local/sector needs 3. Structures that facilitate meaningful partnerships with employers 4. Collaboration!

Fascinating to here from @pmdfoster.bsky.social about a growing (if still slightly confused) political and policy consensus around the importance of skills, the potential for FE to position itself as key to this but the need to avoid this becoming an oppositional HE/FE battle #TCAInternational

So many thanks to @hughesdavid.bsky.social and @lewis-cooper.bsky.social for inviting me to #TCAInternational. Such a brilliant event and so many fascinating conversations, my mind is completely buzzing!

Labour made a big deal about Skills England…to boost homegrown skills and underpin the industrial strategy. So how come the emerging reality lacks so much ambition? It’s perplexing folks. Chewed over in @financialtimes.com State of Britain newsletter. on.ft.com/4ifNKHQ

Delighted to be South Thames college in Wandsworth for opening of their cutting edge green training facilities - heat source, solar. Massive training needed, great to see colleges stepping up to deliver

Lovely evening at #SkillsAwards2024, celebrating #apprentices #Tlevel students, employers. Great to have Steph McGovern & Jacqui Smith giving out awards