DfE to take on responsibility for colleges

The Department for Education is reportedly taking on responsibility for colleges and skills. Commenting on this news, Martin Doel, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: “We look forward to working with Justine Greening as the new Education Secretary as her Department takes on the responsibility for skills. Ms Greening has a good knowledge of the further education and skills sector and is a former college student herself. “The move to incorporate skills into the Department for Education must not be allowed to preface any loss of focus on technical education as embodied in the recently released Post-16 Skills Plan. “Links with industry that were firmly established in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills need to be preserved and built upon in the transfer of Departments. The distinctive contribution of colleges as autonomous institutions needs also to be recognised and promoted - they are not the same as big schools.”