Against the backdrop of a changing economy, Brexit, and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is clear that we need our Further Education (FE) sector to be at the forefront of social and economic skills development. To do this, we want to see the sector become more defined, careers and skills focused, and collaborative, with Colleges acting as anchor institutions and trusted services, working in partnership with training providers, schools and employers across their local areas.
Our FE sector has a unique identity and we must no longer define it as an ‘alternative’ or ‘the opposite’ to academic learning. FE provides an educational pathway, which integrates academic learning and practical skills to prepare people for satisfying work. It supports entry into an occupation, progression within that occupation and the foundations for lifelong learning. There is also the potential to bring together the FE and Higher Education (HE) into a tertiary sector – one that provides a seamless pathway through the post-16 landscape.
However, the churn in political leadership within education is notorious and we have seen a shortness of policy memory in the sector. More than anything, we urge policy makers to build on lessons of the past and to apply these lessons to current policy-making.
Finally, we want our FE sector to celebrate its identity and grow its unique profile. So we need to see:
- A clear definition with collaboration at the heart – which outlines the principles of Further Education and its unique contribution to integrating academic learning with practical application to develop work-ready skills. Collaboration, rather than market- drive competition should be at the heart of the sector to raise the profile of FE. Edge continues to work alongside organisations such as the College of the Future to facilitate the sharing of best practice.
- Post-16 learning to be seen as a seamless pathway through apprenticeship, further and higher education rather than a juxtaposition of competitors. To do this, we can explore the potential of establishing a tertiary sector bringing together FE and HE. We must also improve information outlining the courses on offer, when courses are available, how much they cost and the destination of learners. Options should also be made available for recognition of prior learning and credit transfer.
- Review Further Education funding, including pay - to ensure that there is sufficient support available for the high quality training provision needed in this country.
- Better support for our FE workforce – An uplift in FE funding is needed so local leaders can decide how best to spend the money on attracting, compensating and developing our FE teaching staff with improved recruitment and retention strategies (for example via regular feedback and offering clear progression routes). International examples emphasise the importance of this workforce development. Professional development must be strengthened to incorporate interchange between lecturers and employers – at Edge we have trialled successful ‘teacher externships’ and this model could be rolled out to incorporate FE lecturers.
- Embed a culture of lifelong learning – The UK is facing a skills shortage crisis so we must ensure that those wishing to take up new skills, switch between employment or within their sector are able to do so. Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee is welcome but we must do more to raise awareness of the free level 3 offer. Bursaries should also be made available alongside the Lifelong Loan Entitlement to ensure that learners are not hindered by financial barriers. In addition, a lifelong learning ‘passport’ should be introduced to build, incrementally, a learner profile that could be added to at any time and in a variety of ways, throughout working life.
- Give local decision makers power to tailor training - Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and the new Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) must be empowered and accountable to tailor skills to local areas. This information should be used to inform national policy initiatives via the new Unit for Future Skills.
Find out more in Our Plan for Further Education.