Kicking off 2025 | FE Soundbite 778

January 4, 2025

Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 778: 4th January 2025 | Kicking off 2025

This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here is a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles from sector influencers and cool thinkers across FE and Skills this week on FE News

Gavin’s Reflective Perspective

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year break! Dan was on a roof terrace in Sydney seeing the fireworks and the New Year 11 hours ahead of us in the UK, I was playing board games with in-laws, my Dad and the younger kids... so a bit different! How did that happen?

So, I wish you, your family and colleagues a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! I also hope we have a bit of clarification soon on some pretty fundamental things.. like the Levy, more clarification on Local Skills, Level 7 (not before I have been accepted by Exeter for my Level 7)!.. more clarification on how to address the NEET and Economically Inactive crisis... what we are going to do about raising productivity and use of AI and changing jobs with AI and more collaborative tools (like walking and talking AI packed robots)... you get my drift!

So, over the Christmas period and into the New Year, we have had some cool articles, so we are sending Soundbite early, just in case you were on total shutdown (and good for you if you were)!

I am really looking forward to 2025, in a few days we are launching a new FE Careers job site (13th Jan is the plan)... which is cool, as FE Careers and FE News were launched in Studio 13 in East London 21 years ago, so we picked that date as a good one.

We also had the New Year's Honours list... congrats to all of those who were honoured.. but also all of their teams who supported the figurehead to receive their honour!

Have you made any New Year resolutions? ... broken any yet?

I have a few New Year Resolutions: sometimes saying them out loud means you sort of are held to account to keep them:

I am trying to carve out more personal time (and not answering emails and LinkedIn stuff into the night), I'm trying to be more productive, cutting out the unnecessary stuff that fills the diary and time... I am really looking forward to my Level 7 (I hope I am actually accepted)?! I am now on dry January and maybe longer, who knows (ask me next Friday)!.. and trying to get fitter! How about you, what are your plans for 2025?

I hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week.. and all of 2025!

Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles

Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week

Reframing the “Impossible”: Transforming Challenges in the FE and Skills Sector By Gavin Lumsden, The Teacher Coach,

2025 Strategic Capacity Planning Tips for Education Leaders By Gemma Williams, HR Consultant

Whither 2024! By Rob Nitsch, Chief Executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB)

This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!

Cryptocurrency Careers: How Blockchain Technology is Shaping the Future of Employment By Eleanor Sullivan, who is passionate about technology and finance, diving into cryptocurrency, blockchain, and digital security to spark insightful, tech-driven discussions

What’s New in the World of FE?

Announcements

New Year Honours list 2025 for FE, Skills and Training

Voices

The Importance of the Children’s Register and the Role of Colleges By Simon Lomax, Executive Director Schools and Access, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College

The Power of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM: Paving the Way for Innovation and the Next Generation By Meena Chander at MK STEM Awards