United Kingdom England Provision for further education colleges was laid out in sections 41 to 47 of the
Education Act 1944; their role was to offer "full-time and part-time education" and "leisure-time occupation" for persons over compulsory school age. In the 1960s,
A-level students predominantly studied at school rather than colleges (often referred to as "techs" at that time). More types of colleges were introduced over the next decades, and by 1990 colleges took in almost half of A-level students. Colleges in England are corporate bodies under the
Further and Higher Education Act 1992, which removed further education colleges from local government control. Types of college include: • General further education colleges •
Sixth form colleges •
Tertiary colleges •
Land-based colleges (e.g. agricultural specialisms) • Specialist designated colleges (e.g. working men's clubs) • Art, design and performing art colleges Policies relating to colleges are primarily the responsibility of the
Department for Education (DfE). Until July 2016, colleges were also covered by the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS); on the abolition of BIS and formation of the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), responsibility for FE colleges moved to DfE. The regulatory body for sixth form colleges was already DfE prior to the 2016 changes. Following the merger of the
Education Funding Agency and the
Skills Funding Agency in 2017, funding for colleges is provided through the
Education and Skills Funding Agency for all further education students. In 2018/19, colleges' income totalled £6.5 billion, of which £5.1 billion (78%) was public funding. Most college funding follows the learner. Colleges must attract students, competing with each other and with other types of education and training provider. Colleges can borrow commercially, own assets, employ staff and enter into contracts, and they may make financial surpluses or deficits. The Technical and Further Education Act 2017 laid out a framework for an
insolvency regime for further education colleges known as "Education Administration". This is a form of corporate
administration adapted to the needs of further education, to be used "where a further education body is unable to pay its debts or is likely to become unable to pay its debts" and intended "to avoid or minimise disruption to the studies of the existing students of the further education body as a whole". Education administrators were appointed to run Hadlow College and West Kent College in 2019. All colleges and FE providers are subject to inspection by
Ofsted, which monitors the quality of provision in publicly funded institutions in England. Membership organisations for providers include the
Association of Colleges and the
Sixth Form Colleges' Association. In 2020, the government allocated £200 million for repairs and upgrades of FE college buildings, subject to a degree of matched funding by the colleges, and the Department for Education is allocating this to colleges via the Further Education Capital Transformation Fund (FECTF).
Northern Ireland Further education in Northern Ireland is provided through seven multi-campus colleges. Northern Ireland's
Department for Employment and Learning has the responsibility for providing FE in the province. •
Belfast Metropolitan College •
North West Regional College •
Northern Regional College •
South Eastern Regional College •
South West College •
Southern Regional College Most secondary schools also provide a sixth form scheme whereby a student can choose to attend for two additional years to complete their AS and A-levels.
Scotland Scotland's further education colleges provide education for those young people who follow a vocational route after the end of compulsory education at age 16. They offer a wide range of vocational qualifications to young people and older adults, including vocational, competency-based qualifications (previously known as
SVQs),
Higher National Certificates and
Higher National Diplomas. Frequently, the first two years of
higher education – usually in the form of an
HND – are taken in an FE college, followed by attendance at university.
Wales Further education in
Wales is provided through: •
Sixth form colleges • FE colleges •
Sixth forms within
secondary schools Further education in Wales comes under the remit of the
Welsh Government. Funding came from
Education and Learning Wales from 2000 until 2006, when that organisation was merged with the Assembly.
Republic of Ireland Further education in the
Republic of Ireland is similar to that offered in the UK. Typical areas include
apprenticeships and other vocational qualifications in many disciplines, such as childcare, farming, retail, and tourism. The many types of further education awards are known as
Post Leaving Certificates. Further education has expanded immensely in recent years, helped by the institutions and their relationships with their communities.
Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), which was established in November 2012, is the regulator for FE qualifications. == See also ==