#SkillsWorldLive Radio Show

Skills World Live at the Battle of Ideas Festival

This week, presenter Tom Bewick, was asked to question a panel at the Battle of Ideas Festival taking place in London.

Skills World Live Roadshow: Leeds City Region Skills Development and esports

This week, we’re in Leeds as we co-produce the show, sponsored by Pearson, with BTEC Media Production students at Leeds City College’s Quarry Hill Campus.

Skills Minister, Andrea Jenkyns sets out her stall at Brexit rally

Delivering a keynote speech to the Bruges Group on Monday 3 October, Jenkyns told a gathering of party members that she felt the government had another major fight on its hands, at least equivalent to the Brexit process. On the FE and skills brief, minister Jenkyns said: “A skilled modern economy competing on the global stage requires technical skills just as much as it needs graduates. Yet the current system would rather our young people get a degree in Harry Potter studies than an apprenticesh...

The Great Skills Debate at the Labour Party Conference

The Great Skills Debate at the Labour Party Conference. For the first time, Skills World Live Radio Show hit the main party political conference season, starting with Labour in Liverpool. It comes at a time when: The UK is the second slowest in the G7 for productivity grow (output per hour worked) British employers have slashed investment in workplace skills by up to a fifth since 2005 2 million adults have fallen off the community education rolls The number of apprenticeship opportunities for y...

Skills World Live Radio Show: Summer Exam Series: What lessons can we learn?

This week, Dr Jo Saxton, the Chief Regulator at Ofqual, makes her inaugural appearance on the Skills World Live Radio Show. Presenter, Tom Bewick, interviewed the quango chief about four key issues: The roll out of plans to tackle grade inflation as a result of the pandemic? What lessons will be learned from the delay to some VTQ results this summer? One year on from taking on the role, how is her ‘true north’ agenda going and what does it mean in practice for regulation? How will the Skills Act...

Skills World Live Radio Show: Why is qualifications reform so controversial? 4.13

SkillsWorldLive: Stateside

The AAT Syllabus is changing: Are you ready?

Skills World Live Roadshow: Levelling-up through further education and skills in the West Midlands

After a short break, the award winning Skills World Live Radio Show is back with its ‘on the road’ format of the podcast! This week, we’re co-producing the show with Level BTEC Media Production students at Walsall College in the West Midlands. Sponsored by Pearson. Themed, ‘Levelling-up through further education and skills in the West Midlands’, the students ask all the hard hitting questions of our panel. These include: Is levelling up just a slogan? Is free speech compatible with keeping stude...

Skills World Live Radio Show: Exclusive interviews with the skills minister and his Labour shadow

Are apprenticeships in England working? #SkillsWorldLive 4.8

Delivering on the Skills Bill, what next? #SkillsWorldLive Radio: 4.7

Skills World Live Radio Show XMAS special, co-presented with UK Employment Minister, Mims Davies MP and Tom Bewick

Check out our Christmas special of the programme (!) When Tom Bewick shared the presenter mic for the first time with the UK’s employment minister, Mims Davies MP. Before entering Parliament, Mims was previously a local BBC radio DJ. So, the Skills World Live production team were honoured to record an episode with Mims, which was all about how the Department for Work and Pensions has been working to prevent a public health crisis from turning into a employment crisis during the pandemic. On the ...

Are we doing enough to tackle youth unemployment? #SkillsWorldLive Radio 4.5

After the successful FAB conference, where the programme aired two outside broadcasts, the Skills World Live Radio Show returns to its familiar surrounds of the livestream studio. On this week’s show, Tom Bewick goes Head to Head with Lord Shipley, the chair of the House of Lords committee on youth unemployment. He explores the committee’s central recommendation to gear two thirds of all apprenticeships in future towards the under-25s. Following committee stage and second reading of the Skills B...

Was the Chancellor’s budget for FE a giant con? #SkillsWorldLive Radio 4.2

In this week’s show, Skills World Live presenter Tom Bewick, looks at the impact of the recent Budget and Spending Review for FE and skills. The Department for Education says the three year settlement for FE will result in a 26 per cent real terms increase on levels invested in 2019. However, analysis by the Learning and Work Institute has found that by 2025, spending will still be on average, £750 million less on FE than it was in 2010. There is a special segment looking at the ongoing controve...

How do we solve the skills crisis? #SkillsWorldLive Radio 4.1

Welcome back to a brand new season of the Skills World Live Radio Show! Thank you for sticking with the number one podcast in FE. In this episode, presenter, Tom Bewick, explores why we have a skills crisis in the UK and what can be done about it. After all, you can’t read a newspaper or switch on a news channel at the moment without one story or another about supply chain shortages, caused by not enough HGV drivers, abattoir workers and even bricklayers. The skills crisis comes at a time when v...

#SkillsWorldLive Radio Show on the road at Oldham College 3.17

To end Season 3 of the radio show, I was delighted when Alun Francis, the principal and chief executive of Oldham College invited us to record the last episode of the series at the campus business centre which has recently been constructed. It was a real pleasure to have such close involvement with the college staff teams and wider student community. The end result is a version of the show on tour, in front of a live audience. My panel included: ~ Cllr Shaid Mushtaq, Cabinet Member for Education...

Will the Spending Review deliver for FE? #SkillsWorldLIVE 3.16

The #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show is back! In this 50-minute special the show’s presenter, Tom Bewick, asks the important question “Will the Spending Review deliver for FE?”. After the news, Tom speaks to Rt Anne Milton the Former skills minister, Julian Gravatt from Association of Colleges and Luke Sebiata from the IFS for their views. After an extended length interview Tom speaks to Emily Carver, Head of Media at the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Level 3 quals review outcome: what next? #SkillsWorldLive 3.14

During this week’s show, Presenter, Tom Bewick focusses on the Post-16 review of qualifications at Level 3 and the recent Skills for Success report from The Open University and Be the Business. Tom kicks of the show with a 1-2-1 interview with Chief Executive of VTCT and Federation of Awarding Bodies co-chair, Alan Woods. Following on from the 1-2-1, Tom interviews guests: Stewart Segal, Executive Director at Youth Employment UK Catherine Winter, Managing Director, Financial Capability and Commu...

Is the Baker Clause on careers advice fit for purpose? #SkillsWorldLive 3.13

In our 13th episode of the third season, Tom Bewick dives into the Baker Clause and the current state of careers advice. In the first 1-2-1 interview of the show, Tom interviews Ruth Gilbert, Honorary Fellow, UCL Institute of Education and Group Education Director at Qdos/Manor. In the first chat segment of the show Tom speaks to William Baldwin, Principal at Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College and former pupil, Gemma Creamer, who is a care leaver, aspiring barrister, recruitment spec...

What does the future of assessment and qualifications look like? #SkillsWorldLive 3.12

In today’s episode of the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show, Tom Bewick explores the future of qualifications and assessment with special guests. After the news Tom interviews Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee, about learning loss, catch-up support in further education and the attainment gap of the white working class. Following on from this interview Tom speaks to Professor Louise Hayward, Chair of the New Era Assessment Commission. The Commission brings together academics, pa...

Will there be enough jobs in the green economy? #SkillsWorldLive 3.11

In this week’s episode of the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show, Presenter Tom Bewick discusses all things green economy with a range of special guests. Kicking off the show, Tom interviews Gordon Marsden, Former Labour MP for Blackpool South & Shadow Minister for Higher, Further Education and Skills, before leading our first chat segment between Andy Durman, Managing Director of Emsi UK and Candace Miller, Managing Director of SFJ Awards. In our second chat segment of the show Tom speaks to Rache...

Is it time to give all adults a universal skills account? #SkillsWorldLive 3.10

After a two-week break, the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show is back for its tenth episode of the third series: Is it time to give all adults a universal skills account? Presenter, Tom Bewick, kicks off the show with a 1-2-1 interview with City & Guilds Chief Executive, Kirstie Donnelly, before interviewing Dr Fiona Aldridge, Director for Policy & Research at Learning & Work Institute and Professor Martin Jones, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Staffordshire University. In the final chat segment...

Is the relationship between FE providers and government the right one? #SkillsWorldLive 3.9

In the ninth episode of Series 3 of the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show, we investigate the relationship between FE providers and the government. Presenter, Tom Bewick, begins the show with a special 1-2-1 interview with Lord Blunkett, 22 years on from his seminal Green Paper, the Learning Age. In this episode Tom also leads three chat segments with a range of guests, first being Ian Pretty, Chief Executive at Collab Group. In the second segment Tom interviews the following guests: Sam Parrett, CEO ...

Why is it important to have diversity in apprenticeships? #SkillsWorldLive 3.8

Presenter, Tom Bewick, kicks off episode 8 of the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show in a 1-2-1 interview with journalist, commentator, and author, David Goodhart. Following on from the 1-2-1 Tom speaks to Jo Maher, Principal & CEO at Loughborough College and Safaraz Ali, co-founder & Head of Pathway Group. In the final chat segment of the show Tom speaks to the show’s sponsor, OneFile’s Susanna Lawson and Neil Bentley-Gockmann, CEO of WorldSkills UK.

FE White Paper: Revolution, or damp squib? #SkillsWorldLive 3.7

Presenter, Tom Bewick, kicks off episode 7 of the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show in conversation with David Gallagher, Chief Executive of NCFE. In the first chat segment of the show Tom speaks to Simon Ashworth, Chief Policy Officer at AELP and Luke Sibieta, Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Later, in the show Tom speaks to Robin Landman OBE and Stella Mbubaegbu MBE from the Black FE Leadership Group.

Should we adopt a Baccalaureate in England? #SkillsWorldLive 3.6

The theme of today’s episode is based on @EDSKthinktank’s recent report: Re-assessing the future (Part 2). Presenter, Tom Bewick, kicks off this week’s episode with a three-way debate between Jill Duffy, Chief Executive of OCR and Tom Richmond, Founder and Director of EDSK. Following on from the debate, Tom leads a discussion between special guest’s Dr Amelia Peterson from LSE, Dr Peter Fidczuk, Development and Recognition Manager at The International Baccalaureate (IB) and Catherine Sezen, Seni...

Disaster looms: Are we facing a shortage of digital skills post-Covid? #SkillsWorldLive 3.5

In the fifth episode of the third series of the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show, Tom Bewick begins the show with an exclusive interview with interim Chief Regulator of Ofqual, Simon Lebus. In the second and third chat segments of the show, Tom delves into the recent research from WorldSkills UK, Learning & Work Institute & Enginuity: Disconnected: Exploring the digital skills gap. Tom speaks to special guests: Emma Roberts, Head of Research & Public Affairs at WorldSkills UK Stephen Evan...

Will this summer’s exam results be a week of glory? #SkillsWorldLive 3.4

After a two-week break for the Easter holidays, the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show returns for episode 4 as Tom Bewick discusses this summer’s exam results. Kicking off the show with his first guests; John Cope and Mark Lehain, Tom discusses last year’s exams fiasco and what this year might hold. In the second chat segment of the show Tom speaks to a regular guest on the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show; Cindy Rampersaud, Senior vice-president for BTECs and Apprenticeships at Pearson and we welcome a fi...

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom: Will we go back to the office commute? #SkillsWorldLive 3.3

In the third episode of Series 3 of the #SkillsWorldLive Radio Show, @TomBewick discusses all things @Zoom with special guests. The show features a 1-2-1 interview with the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Kate Green MP, followed by a discussion between Tom, Susanna Lawson (OneFile) and Mike Blakeley (Exeter College). In the second half of the show Tom will be speaking to Sharon Blyfield from Coca-Cola European Partners and Paul McGrail, Assistant Principal - Apprenticeships & Skills...