Higher Futures news digest
Week ending 15 January 2010
Welcome to the first Higher Futures news digest of 2010.
General news
- Higher education - Statement by David Lammy on the latest HESA data on student enrolments and entrants for 2008/09 (BIS, 14 January 2010)
Commenting on the latest HESA data on student enrolments and entrants for 2008/09, Minister of State for Higher Education David Lammy said.
- Higher education - University applications 'surging' (BBC, 13 January 2010)
Universities are facing a huge surge in applications for places, says the head of one of them - with increases of up to 38% reported.
- Higher education - Increase expected in graduate jobs (FT, 13 January 2010)
Vacancies for graduates are set to rise by 11.8 per cent this year after two years of substantial cuts, according to a survey of the 100 leading graduate employers.
- Higher education - Cash-starved universities will have huge classes, says union (The Guardian, 12 January 2010)
Lecturers claim savage government cuts will close universities and send 14,000 academics to the dole queue.
- Higher education - Top UK universities warn of damage from budget cuts (BBC, 12 January 2010)
Leaders of the UK's most prestigious universities have warned that government plans to cut funding will lead to a higher education "meltdown".
- Skills - Mandelson Launches New Online Basics Courses For Adults (BIS, 11 January 2010)
New IT courses to give thousands of adults the skills and confidence they need to go online will be piloted from today.
- Higher education - Dispatches from the job-hunt front (The Guardian, 9 January 2010)
Last year we published a series of diaries from four graduates looking for work. Three have since found employment, but what did they learn from their experiences?
- Higher education - Jobs blow for graduates as companies refuse to hire (The Guardian, 6 January 2010)
In a survey, nearly 90% of small and medium size businesses said they will not recruit recent graduates during the recession
- Higher education - Decisions about higher education require professional advice (The Guardian, 5 January 2010)
Getting poor careers advice and ending up on the wrong course can cost a student dear.
- Higher education - Thousands could be 'denied university places under cuts' (The Telegraph, 4 January 2010)
Thousands of school leavers could be denied university places under government spending cuts of up to 30 per cent.
- Higher education - Universities could offer a second chance for poor pupils (Daily Mail, 2 January 2010)
Leading universities are devising a second chance test that will allow pupils from deprived backgrounds to gain admission with lower A-level grades.
- Higher education - Yorkshire universities fear for the future as funding cuts bite (Yorkshire Post, 24 December 2009)
Yorkshire universities have voiced fears about the impacts of more funding cuts after a further £135m will be slashed from higher education budgets next year.
- Higher education - Grant announcement for higher education 2010-11 (HEFCE, 22 December 2009)
HEFCE has received the annual grant letter from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for 2010-11.
- Training - Training boosts Yorkshire profits (Yorkshire Forward, 30 December 2009)
Two Yorkshire businesses have reported higher profits after using part of a £50 million skills fund to train their staff.
- Apprenticeships - Record number of people successfully complete apprenticeships in Yorkshire and the Humber (BIS, 22 December 2009)
A record 143,400 people, including more than 19,000 across Yorkshire and the Humber, completed an apprenticeship in the 2008/09 academic year.
- Sectors: Engineering - Manufacturer in university link up (Yorkshire Forward, 30 December 2009)
Employees of household brands manufacturer Kimberley Clark will get the opportunity to study while they work as the company has joined forces with SHU to offer them a distance learning engineering course.
- Sectors: Health and Social Care - New research finds reputation for quality care, flexibility of employment and training are key to recruiting and retaining care workers (Skills for Care, 18 December 2009)
A new study into recruitment and retention issues across adult social care shows that a local reputation for delivering good quality care, flexible employment arrangements and ongoing training are key to attracting and keeping key workers.
Events
- Event - Regional Supporting Learners (IAG) Event - Sharing ways of supporting learners
Wednesday 3 February 2010, BVSC, The Centre for Voluntary Action, Birmingham
- Event - UUK and NIACE conference - Universities and active ageing: engaging older learners
Wednesday 17 February 2010, Woburn House Conference Centre, London
- Event - HE in FE: A New Agenda?
Wednesday 17 March 2010, CBI Conference Centre, London
- Event - 2nd UK National Transition Conference
Friday 7 May 2010, University College London
- Event - The Challenges and Celebrations of Widening Participation in relation to Education, Health and Social Care
Wednesday 24 March 2010, 9am - 4:30pm, Gloucestershire Cricket Club
- Event - FACE 2010, "Which Way Now To Widen Participation: Lifelong Learning, Economy and Society"
30th June to 2nd July 2010, Southampton Solent University
Publications
- Newsletter - Apprenticeships: January 2010
- Consultation - Capital Investment Framework: HEFCE December 2009
- Publication - Widening participation strategic assessments: annual reporting requirements and developing approaches to evaluation: HEFCE, December 2009
- Magazine - The Learning Rep magazine: Winter 2010
- Discussion paper - Measuring Adult Educational Attainment Using the Labour Force Survey: BIS 6 January 2010