FE News and FE Careers forge partnership with 157 Group

[FEnews]

FE News and FE Careers have announced a media partnership with the 157 Group, an influential association of 28 colleges that are dedicated to promoting excellence and raising the standard of Further Education and Skills in the UK.

The 157 Group was formed in 2006, in response to the Sir Andrew Foster's review of Further Education, where in paragraph 157 he argued that principals of large successful colleges should play a greater role in policymaking.

FEnews.co.uk is the largest independent online news site in the Further Education and Skills sector, with regular columnists ranging from Skills Minister Kevin Brennan, Shadow Skills Minister David Evennett, to AoC President Pat Bacon and Edexcel’s Isabel Sutcliffe. The 157 Group will now also pen regular columns on FE News, and its member colleges will also have access events promotion and reduced job advertising on FEcareers.co.uk, the largest online job advertising site specialising in the Further Education and Skills sector.

Gavin O’Meara, chief executive of FE News and FE Careers, says the partnership will help boost standards of excellence and raise the profile of the sector.

“We are thrilled to be working more closely and strategically with the 157 Group," says Mr O'Meara.

He continues: "The 157 Group are an incredibly influential, innovative and exciting group of colleges. They genuinely want to make a difference in Further Education and Skills, to continually raise the standards of excellence, raise its profile with the general public and share the amazing work of the sector with the nation. We both have the same aim and we are really excited about being able to help the 157 Group reach the entire FE and Skills sector to share their best practice and views.

“This is an organisation with an amazing amount of experience and leadership and we know that this partnership is going to make a positive impact upon the sector. FE News has a wide audience within FE and Skills, who are passionate about making a real difference in learners' lives. With our range of columnists, from ministers to principals of colleges, heads of providers, awarding bodies, sector skills councils, government departments and now with the 157 Group, this will enable the sector to share ideas and best practice to improve learners' experience and the role of Further Education and Skills in the UK”.

157 Group's executive director, Lynne Sedgmore CBE, adds: "157 is delighted to be working with FE News to develop a lively debate on current topics of interest and concern to staff in the learning and skills sector."

Ms Sedgmore continues: "157 colleges are a strong and influential collective force, intent on making a major impact on the future policy, shape and landscape of the sector and related policy. We are committed to raising the reputation of the sector and contributing to excellence and the raising of quality, alongside the sharing of good practice.

"Our colleges are at the leading edge of innovation, employer engagement, and new business practices and we have a huge passion and desire to offer our services and experience for the benefit of the whole sector."

The first column from the 157 Group will be featured in FE News in March 2010.

Additional Info

· The 157 group represents 28 of the most influential Colleges in the FE sector.

· It was formed in 2006 in response to paragraph 157 of Sir Andrew Foster’s report on the future of further education colleges in which he argued that principals of large successful colleges should play a greater role in policymaking.

· www.FEcareers.co.uk and www.FEnews.co.uk were formed in 2003. FE News is the largest online news site in the Further Education and Skills sector. FE Careers is the largest online job advertising site in the sector. In January 2010, FE News had over 270,000 user sessions and FE Careers had over 459,000 job seeker user sessions. FE News and FE Careers cover news and jobs from the entire Further Education sector (College, Work Based Learning / Vocational Skills, Employability, Awarding Bodies, Sector Skills Councils, Charities, Government Departments and Ministers).

· FE Careers are finalists in four separate award categories at the 2010 Online Recruitment Awards (Finalists in: Best Public Sector Recruitment Site, Niche Job Board Award, Candidate Service Award & Innovative use of Online Marketing)

· FE News and FE Careers launched their social networking site www.FEcommunity.co.uk in 2009