England should move to an integrated tertiary education system instead of making FE and HE “in competition” with each other, a report has suggested.
Following research that reviewed post-16 education across the four UK nations, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has also called for an “urgent need” to review the pay and conditions of FE staff after finding decades-long “constrained resources” from competing with industry pay.
Authors at the EPI and the University of Oxford’s research centre SKOPE have also urged for a review of apprenticeship provision in favour of young people and better regulatory frameworks to ensure “more equitable access”.
It comes ahead of the government’s new post-16 strategy and white paper, which is due to be published imminently.
The think tank’s report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, found policy churn had created an “unstable environment”, confusing pathways for learners, and “dissatisfied” employers in the post-16 education sector.
Luke Sibieta, research fellow at the EPI, said while post-16 is often an “afterthought” for policymakers, the “constant” policy churn is adding to the complexity in all four nations.
“Constant policy churn emphasises the view that the [education & training] system is at best flawed and at worst failing,” the report said.
Previous EPI research pointed out that since devolution in 1999, England’s FE system has undergone six education acts, nine reviews, and eight government strategy papers.
“Policymakers must prioritise creating a stable set of high-quality post-16 institutions, with a stronger focus on tackling persistent inequalities,” Sibieta said.
The report also highlighted the differences between the four nations joining up FE and HE within a “holistic tertiary sector”.
It said the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales have a “much greater role” in coordinating the “distinctive and complementary nature” of both academic and vocational pathways.
Meanwhile in England, and Northern Ireland to a lesser extent, the report found a so-called “market logic” led to FE and HE in competition with each other as a way of responding to both student demand and employer skills demands.
Employer representatives told the think tank their ability to engage effectively was “curtailed” by being treated as customers instead of “stakeholders with active responsibilities”.
EPI analysis however found “pockets of intense competition” in Scotland and Wales and local collaboration between FE and HE providers in England.
“Our analysis suggests these kinds of policy structures across all four nations are often more complex and shaped more by local/regional dynamics than top-level policy suggests,” the report said.
Professor James Robson, director of SKOPE, said: “Across the UK nations, there is a trend towards more joined up policy approaches to education and training that emphasise greater collaboration between HE and FE, the state playing a greater role in coordinating skills supply, and a more place-based approach to the development of an integrated tertiary education system.
“This policy approach needs to be developed further to ensure post-16 education and training is working effectively and efficiently for both the economy and society.”
Critical work to be done on pay
The report also found that constrained resources were a recurring theme among post-16 providers across the UK, particularly in the recruitment and retention of FE staff from industry.
“A major issue emphasised was the challenge of competing with pay and conditions in industry, and as a result, ensuring staff were high quality, adequately skilled, and understand industry need,” the report said, adding the inequality between FE teacher and school teacher pay.
Employers also acknowledged that recruitment and retention issues “undermined efforts” to build meaningful relationships with education providers.
Researchers recommended an “urgent need” to conduct a full review of pay and conditions for FE staff and ensure there is “greater equity at the heart” of the sector’s workforce.
Skills minister Jacqui Smith told MPs last month that teacher pay rises in FE should “keep up” with schools over the next few years.
She said she couldn’t “really see a justification” for the pay difference between college and school teachers, which she admitted is “part of the reason” for high vacancy rates in FE colleges.
‘Urgent’ review of apprenticeship participation
Today’s report also recommended that all four nations should conduct an urgent review of apprenticeship participation, including introducing mechanisms to ensure more young people take apprenticeships.
This was after it highlighted the age of learners starting an apprenticeship has “shifted over time” to mostly over-25-year-olds.
Researchers heard young people were deeply frustrated that the best apprenticeships were being “stolen” by older learners.
The report said: “There was a sense of deep inequalities at the heart of apprenticeships, particularly in England. The challenge in finding and accessing apprenticeships was repeatedly highlighted by the young people in our research who called for better systems to find opportunities and better support structures for the application process.”
The EPI also recommended the government develop regulatory frameworks to ensure more equitable access.
The age trend has contributed to the Department for Education’s upcoming reform to “rebalance” the apprenticeship budget towards lower levels by axing funded level 7 apprenticeships for people aged 22 and older from January 2026.
The report added: “This does not need to be a zero-sum game with adult apprenticeships, particularly if adult apprenticeships show high economic returns.
“However, the number of young people taking apprenticeships is small across all four nations, despite their popularity and high returns.”
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