Further Education is an option for people at any point in their life. For some, it’s a natural progression from school; for others it’s an option later in life should they choose to pursue a different career path, upskill, or simply learn something new. Vocational education can come in the form of a 2-year Apprenticeship, a college course, or a part-time course that can be studied in the learners’ spare time and allow them to fit it around their other commitments. Yet in comparison to Higher Education and schools, it’s not as widely researched and as a result, it could be seen as an easy target for funding cuts.
We have iterated numerous times how important the Further Education sector is to both personal and professional development, and the nature in which qualifications are rated according to importance, with specialised subjects more likely to lose funding in the education sector. Earlier this year the government announced they were to cut funding for 5000 adult vocational courses and highlighted particularly niche and ‘low value’ courses such as self-tanning and balloon artistry, which appeared to support the notion that many of these courses were invaluable and a waste of taxpayers’ money, when in fact many other valuable courses that weren’t mentioned also faced the axe.
Vocational education includes courses in the Health and Social Care sector, an undeniably crucial area where we need highly skilled individuals. There’s a long-held ideology that University is the most natural and valuable route in education, it’s easy to forget the merits that vocational education holds. For example, we at NCFE carried out a survey comparing University and Apprenticeships, and the findings showed an apprenticeship can be considerably more valuable than a degree, as it provides the opportunity to earn while you learn.
This year has seen yet more cuts to the Further Education sector, with a 17.5% funding cut to education for 18 year olds. This issue is finally being addressed as the Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) was introduced this year in order to tackle the lack of research and funding for this sector. The FETL describes itself as “a new and unique charity, an independent Think Tank established to develop leadership in Further Education.” It’s suggested that staff at Further Education institutions such as colleges don’t have the time or opportunity to challenge the funding cuts and the FETL aims to change that. They came about because “for too long Further Education has been under-researched, under-conceptualised, under-theorised and under-understood”.
The vocational sector and the Further Education route are perfect for learners who aren’t academically inclined. At NCFE we realise that one size does not fit all and that there are realistic and viable alternatives to University.
What do you think? Should funding for the FE sector be treated in the same way as Higher Education and pre-16 learning?
