The ability to communicate in the most commonly-used language where you live and the ability to understand quantities and use numbers are vital skills for life.
In other words, English (here in the UK) and maths.
Stephen Evans and I agree, emphatically on this (as we do on many other things).
Equally emphatically – no. And I’m delighted that the government has started to change this, initially, as announced this week, by removing the requirement for apprentices aged 19 or above.
Five key reasons why:
1) Written tests, however ‘functional’ in intent, are a crude method for assessing real-world language and numeracy capabilities. They are, after all, only functional when used and evidenced in the real world, outside of a test centre and away from a test paper (by the way, I am as sceptical about English and maths GCSEs as markers of competence as I am about functional skills exams)
2) Truly functional skills are best included in their respective standard: if you can’t calculate how many bricks you need, how much hair dye to mix or understand the dispensing instructions on a medicine then you won’t be a competent bricklayer, hairdresser or care professional; should Skills England check and strengthen these in all standards? Absolutely.
3) If English and maths qualifications (as opposed to the skills themselves) were so essential, then we should insist on all other qualifications having them as an exit requirement as well. Why is it only apprenticeships? A-levels, T Levels, even PhDs do not need them as standard – is that because we assume people already have English and maths? Or do we (despite our best protestations) still ultimately cling to a belief that academic qualifications are still ‘best’ and that vocationally competent apprentices should nonetheless have to do something academic as well?
4) Perhaps in an ideal world, in which there was lots of spare money and tonnes of teachers available, we would insist on everyone getting not just their apprenticeship but English and maths too. We are not in an ideal world though, and at the moment, where the choice is between having no apprenticeship and no functional skills or having an apprenticeship and no functional skills, I choose the second of these. In this choice, the person has a job, even a career, is motivated and is almost certainly accruing English and maths skills as a by-product of all the other benefits. The other alternative means they have none of these things (but we have maintained our academic standards!)
5) If you have struggled with English and/or maths for 11 years at school, then it is likely that you don’t have the full range of pathways ahead of you. Certainly, there will be plenty of people lining up to tell you how difficult you are going to find it. So how cruel is it that, just at the point when you are finding your vocation in life and where formal English and maths qualifications, for the first time, don’t matter so much – people then deliberately insist on you having to stick with the very source of your classroom misery, formal English and Maths? No wonder it is putting off learners and employers from apprenticeships in their droves.
Finally, English and maths are vital skills that all should have. But they are not the only ones: empathy, problem solving, conceptualising and clarifying instructions, self-awareness, self-evaluation, digital skills and many others are just as important. I would like to see us collectively engage on how we best inculcate these essential skills for life (the strapline of National Apprenticeship Week, after all) as much as I would like to see us hone our approach to language and numeracy skills. The government has been really sensible in this first step, and – as the overwhelming reactions to my posts about this on social media suggest – will have made a massive difference to the life chances of thousands.
Functional skills within apprenticeships are one of the most talked about issues for DfE to consider and after much debate, the government has finally announced that functional skills will no longer be a requirement for apprentices over 19. While we await further details, it’s important that we bear in mind just how important functional skills are, not just for apprenticeships but for community and ‘growth’.
Employers need workers with strong literacy and numeracy skills for tasks like administration, communication, problem-solving and financial management. In an increasingly data driven world we need to understand what data is telling us but also be able to present it effectively and imaginatively. A skilled multi-faceted workforce boosts productivity and innovation, driving economic growth whilst low literacy and numeracy levels contribute to unemployment and lower wages for individuals with fewer chances for advancement.
Good literacy skills help individuals access and understand information, improving learning and societal outcomes, whilst numeracy is essential for managing finances, budgeting, and making informed decisions on credit, mortgages and student loans.
We know there are gaps in literacy and numeracy attainment that contribute to inequality across different groups. Education is the leveller in this, creating opportunities for personal and community advancement and affecting other areas of life such as positive health and actions.
Within our daily lives literacy is needed for reading medical instructions, legal documents, and public information. Numeracy helps us with understanding bills, calculating discounts, and managing time effectively. We know that poor literacy and numeracy can lead to financial struggles, health risks, and difficulty accessing services.
Studies show a strong link between low literacy levels and crime whilst improving literacy and numeracy can help prevent reoffending by offering the chance for education with a hope of leading to employment. The new prisons minister, James Timpson understands this, and Open Awards was pleased to advocate for apprenticeships beginning in prisons alongside education programmes focusing on functional skills to seek to rehabilitate offenders.
Within England 18 per cent of adults have “very poor literacy skills” and government data indicates 49 per cent have numeracy skills at or below primary school children. Whilst we’ve seen an increase in attainment of children, we still have a task ahead with adults, an issue that stubbornly continues and under the proposed reforms is unlikely to improve. Functional Skills with their practical approach play an important role in addressing this. More investment is needed to encourage their uptake within employers, communities and individuals.
Indeed, the 2004 Leitch review of skills recommended that 95 per cent of adults achieve functional literacy and numeracy, highlighting the shared responsibility among individuals, employers, and the government in achieving this.
Functional skills are crucial in improving literacy and numeracy because they provide practical, real-world applications of English and Maths, helping develop essential life and workplace skills. They help people read and understand bills, contracts, and medical information, manage finances, calculate budgets, and understand interest rates. Importantly they enable communications in work and social settings.
Functional skills qualifications focus on problem-solving and critical thinking rather than just academic knowledge and serve as an alternative to GCSEs, helping people who struggled with traditional exams gain qualifications. Key industries like healthcare, construction, and retail require strong literacy and numeracy for tasks like report writing, safety procedures, and financial transactions. They provide a second chance for those who didn’t achieve a pass in GCSEs. Importantly, universities and colleges accept them as equivalent to GCSEs for certain courses.
Functional skills qualifications allow individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds or with English as a second language to improve their prospects, promoting inclusivity, especially for those with learning difficulties or alternative learning styles. Improving confidence in people’s literacy and numeracy empowers them to engage more in society, whether in civic duties, parenting, or managing personal affairs.
Let’s celebrate functional skills for their breadth and practical applications – and focus on how they best support apprenticeships, education and employment.
I can understand why many will welcome the government’s changes to reduce the minimum duration of apprenticeships from 12 to 8 months and remove the requirements for adult apprentices to pass functional English and maths qualifications to complete their apprenticeship.
It’s clear that some current apprentices don’t need the full 12 months to do their apprenticeship and that some employers are filtering out apprenticeship applicants who don’t already have functional skills. So these changes will better match people’s needs and open up opportunity more widely, right?
Wrong. England is already an outlier compared to apprenticeships in many other countries. Our apprenticeships are shorter than best practice countries like Germany, where they typically last two, three or four years. And they have less general education like English and maths. The OECD pointed out that general education in apprenticeships in England is limited to functional skills courses typically lasting around 100 hours in total. That compares to 400 hours in Switzerland, around 480 hours in Germany, and 588 hours in Norway.
So apprentices in England are getting at most one quarter of the general education of apprentices in other leading countries, and even this requirement is now going to be removed for apprentices aged 19 and over.
But the government’s kept the English and maths requirements for apprentices aged under 19, so isn’t that fine? No. One in five adults in England has low literacy or numeracy. This is woeful. It holds back people’s career prospects and their ability to access public services. And these skills are only going to become more important over time.
A recent OECD survey found that young people’s English and maths had improved over the last decade, the result in part of policy efforts to change this such as the condition of funding rule in further education. But adults’ scores had gone backwards, the product of reduced focus as government austerity led to a 63 per cent fall in adults completing English and maths qualifications.
With 80 per cent of our 2035 workforce having already left compulsory education, and the bar of skills required for life and work rising, we need a renewed focused on these fundamentals for all. Not to take a step backwards.
The net result of these changes will likely be more people completing apprenticeships than would otherwise have done so. But those apprenticeships will be of lower quality than they could’ve been and prepare them less well for their future careers.
That is not a trade-off we need to make. If something is important but not working, the answer surely is to fix it, not just give up on it.
We need investment to test new ways to help apprentices succeed in English and maths, a focus on building these skills into occupational learning so people can see the relevance, and to reflect the extra time that this all takes in funding and support for employers.
We also need to be clear about what an apprenticeship is and what it isn’t. It is meant to be a job with substantial training and about your future career not just your current job. In trying to make everything an apprenticeship, in part because people recognise the brand, in part because large employers wanted to recoup as much of their levy payments as possible, the last Government lost its way somewhat.
This Government has a chance to change that, with a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy allowing valuable training that’s not an apprenticeship to be funded and focusing apprenticeships on what they’re meant to be about.
These changes take us in the wrong direction. And they won’t ultimately benefit apprentices or employers. Lowering standards only gives the false illusion of raising opportunity.
A tech industry leader and a former Department for Education (DfE) permanent secretary have been selected to lead Skills England.
Labour’s flagship new skills agency will be chaired by Phil Smith who until last month was chair of semiconductor materials supplier IQE plc and was previously the chair of TechSkills.org, Innovate UK and Cisco, which he also led for over two decades as CEO.
Smith will be joined at the top of Skills England by Sir David Bell, the former Ofsted chief inspector and DfE permanent secretary, as vice chair.
Two job-sharing civil servants will take the reins as joint chief executives of Skills England.
Tessa Griffiths and Sarah Maclean, both currently directors for post-16 skills and strategy at the department, will take on the job and be joined by Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s skills director Gemma Marsh as their deputy CEO.
Labour set up Skills England in shadow form shortly after winning July’s general election. Once fully established, it will work across government to advise ministers on skills and funding policy, and work across government to co-ordinate strategy.
It has already absorbed the functions of the former Unit for Future Skills and published its first report on the country’s skills needs in September.
A bill currently going through parliament will abolish the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) and transfer its functions to the Department for Education.
Ministers have been criticised for establishing Skills England as an executive agency within the DfE, rather than as an independent statutory body.
Speaking in a Lords debate on the bill last week, skills minister Jacqui Smith said: “I assure noble Lords that we have borne in mind the necessity to have strong credibility with employers in choosing who the non-executive chair will be.
“Working with the board, the chair will provide the strong and independent leadership, support and challenge needed for Skills England to deliver its objectives.”
The rest of Skills England’s board have not yet been announced.
In the chair
Phil Smith will replace Richard Pennycook, who has led Skills England as interim chair since July.
Smith has a four-decade career in the technology industry, working at electronics companies such as Phillips Electronics and IBM.
Phil Smith
He is a former CEO and chair of software and network solutions company Cisco UK & Ireland, spending over 20 years with the company. He was later chair of Innovate UK for seven years and held chair roles at the Digital Skills Partnership Board, the Tech Partnership, and semiconductor supplier IQE PLC. He is currently chair of fintech brands Streeva and AppyWay.
Smith is also a keen triathlete, having competed twice in the International Triathlon Union world final, representing Great Britain.
He was awarded a CBE in 2019 for services to technology, business and skills.
Bell returns to DfE
Sir David Bell
David Bell has had an extensive career in education. He started out as a primary school teacher in Glasgow until moving to education roles within English councils in the 1990s. He also was an Ofsted inspector until becoming the chief inspector in 2002 and later permanent secretary in the Department for Education between 2006 and 2012.
He then moved to the University of Reading to become vice-chancellor and is currently vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland.
Bell led an independent review in to the Education and Skills Funding Agency is 2022, which saw the agency stripped of its policy role to focus on funding.
Before the general election, Bell was commissioned by the Labour party to conduct a review into early years education provision. His findings called for a one-year strategy into early years, an increase to early years pupil premium and more regulation.
Chief executive trio
Tessa Griffiths and Sarah Maclean will jointly serve as CEO, while Gemma Marsh will serve as deputy CEO.
MacLean and Griffiths have been job sharing in government roles for almost two decades.
They’ve worked at the DfE for much of this time – including on A-levels, GCSEs and vocational education – but have also worked as directors of strategy and governance at the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Their experience also includes three years as deputy directors in the Cabinet Office, working on “intergovernmental relations and devolution capability”.
In the early 2010s they worked on funding new free schools at the Education Funding Agency.
In a DfE blog posted in 2013, they said job sharing allowed them to take on “stretching, difficult roles” that would have been difficult to do part time.
They added: “Having someone at work on the days you are not there gives you a proper work-life balance and the opportunity to do a high-profile job at the same time.”
The pair were awarded CBEs for their work on services to education and the government’s covid response having worked as directors of UK strategy at Test and Trace from June to November 2020, and as “lead policy and delivery” for the DfE’s covid response measures for the following two years.
Skills England’s deputy CEO will be Gemma Marsh, currently the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s director of education, work and skills.
She has been at the authority, one of the “trailblazers” in English devolution, since 2014.
But she also has experience in central government, after a two-year secondment to Downing Street in 2021, to advise the government on “local delivery” of policy.
The government has confirmed it will axe English and maths functional skills exit requirements for adult apprentices with immediate effect.
Ministers have also revealed that the minimum duration of apprenticeships will be shortened from 12 to eight months from the next academic year.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson announced the major reforms today to mark National Apprenticeship Week, claiming that the changes slash red tape that will lead to a conservative estimate of 10,000 more apprentice completions a year.
FSQs out for adults but stay for 16-18s
As first revealed by FE Week last week, ministers will end the current requirement that apprentices aged 19 or older must pass level 2 functional skills courses to complete their apprenticeship.
The exit rule will be made optional for adults from today and can be applied to existing apprentices currently on-programme as well as new starters.
The DfE told FE Week that employers and providers will have until April 1, 2025 to “agree with their existing adult apprentices whether to continue or discontinue studying towards English and maths and will need to update their training plans accordingly”.
“We will be publishing updated funding rules shortly which set out more details regarding the policy change,” the department added.
There will be no change to the rule for 16 to 18 apprentices, who will still be required to pass level 2 functional skills exams to complete their apprenticeship.
Ministers have been warned by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers that not relaxing this exit requirement for young people risks making apprenticeships for this age group, which have plummeted over the past decade, even more “less attractive” to employers.
A DfE spokesperson said the change to English and maths rules for adult apprentices means “more learners can qualify in high demand sectors such as healthcare, social care and construction, helping to drove growth and meet government targets in key areas such as housebuilding”. They estimate this could mean “as many as 10,000 more apprentices per year will be able to complete their apprenticeship”.
The DfE added that this “does not mean that apprentices won’t be assessed on core English and maths skills relevant to their occupation, but it does mean that apprentices will be able to focus more on their paid work”.
Ben Rowland, chief executive of the AELP, said the functional skills exit requirement is “one of the biggest barriers providers, employers and apprentices face within the apprenticeship system, and has caused significant stress and missed opportunities for learners, meaning less progression and locking out many individuals from being able to access an apprenticeship opportunity”.
He added: “While good literacy and numeracy are important in work and life, it is right to remove this as an arbitrary requirement for adults.”
Jill Whittaker, co-founder and executive chair of hospitality apprenticeships provider HIT Training, told FE Week that removing the exit requirement for adults puts apprenticeships “on a level playing field with other post-16 programmes”.
However, she added that the sector must not “throw the baby out with the bathwater”. Providers must “continue to offer high quality English and maths support to those who want and need it”.
The department today revealed that the current 12-month minimum will be reduced to eight months from August 2025, but this is “subject to the legislative timetable”.
Three “trailblazer apprenticeships” in key shortage occupations will look to “pioneer” the new shorter apprenticeship approach, with apprentices in green energy, healthcare and film/TV production set to be able to take on these new courses, according to the DfE.
The three standards are: level 2 dual fuel smart meter installers, level 2 healthcare support workers, and level 3 production assistants- screen and audio.
The DfE added that one of Skills England’s first orders of business will be to identify which apprenticeships would be best served by the shorter duration approach.
Skills England, which had its leadership team announced today, will “prioritise key shortage occupations as per the industrial strategy, helping to boost growth under our Plan for Change”.
Phillipson said:“Businesses have been calling out for change to the apprenticeship system and these reforms show that we are listening. Our new offer of shorter apprenticeships and less red tape strikes the right balance between speed and quality, helping achieve our number one mission to grow the economy.”
Federation of Small Businesses executive director, Craig Beaumont,said the flexibilities announced today “should help SME employers fill skills gaps faster”.
John Lewis Partnership’s executive director of people, Jo Rackham, added:“Gaining GCSE maths and English qualifications can be a significant barrier to starting or completing one and we believe it will help more disadvantaged people, including those who leave the care system or those with learning disabilities, make a career for themselves.”
A London-based public relations training firm has received top grades in its first full Ofsted inspection.
In a glowing report by the watchdog published this morning, Public Relations Communications Association (PRCA) was awarded an ‘outstanding’ in all areas for its strong employer engagement and “exceptional” leadership.
The training arm of the PR professional membership body has been contracted to deliver level four public relations and communications assistant apprenticeships since September 2022.
At the time of its January 8 to 10 inspection, it had 31 adult apprentices enrolled, working at marketing companies and PR consultancies and agencies across England.
The “exceptional” leaders at the ITP provide “outstanding” education, training and support to apprentices, inspectors said.
According to the report, leaders have “enhanced” how they monitor apprenticeship provision since its monitoring visit in September 2023 and collaborate with board members and staff for a “secure oversight and implementation”.
The independent training provider has created three “useful” phases for apprentices to learn the fundamentals of public relations; from learning the PR tools and working with clients before learning how to pitch stories. Finally, they manage their own campaigns and understand crisis and regulation management.
“As a result, apprentices gradually build an in-depth knowledge of the PR industry and conduct activities professionally,” the report said.
This gradual learning comes from a “well-structured” training plan, developed by training coaches and employers with extensive experience and knowledge.
The report said coaches and employers work “extremely well” to thoroughly prepare apprentices for taking on new responsibilities at work.
Ofsted also praised the approach where apprentices shadow colleagues before holding client meetings by themselves so that they can feel confident.
Inspectors noted the “highly effective” techniques to teach the curriculum, which includes discussions, case studies and high-quality presentations.
One example asks apprentices to conduct mock phone calls to journalists which prepares them for doing this at work.
Apprentices are also given immediate developmental feedback in sessions and are guided through the content and structure of their assignments.
Ofsted inspectors commended apprentices for their “positive” attitudes to training and their “exceptional” personal development, confidence and resilience.
PRCA CEO Sarah Waddington said: “This outstanding rating is testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, our trainers, and our apprentices. I’m grateful to them all.
“Our apprenticeship programme is designed to provide industry-leading training that equips professionals with the skills and confidence to excel in PR, public affairs and communications. It provides an accessible pathway to the sector and aids social mobility, supporting one of the PRCA’s strategic goals of being inclusive by default.
“We are immensely proud of this achievement and remain committed to delivering excellence in apprenticeship education.”
Wigan & Leigh college principal Anna Dawe demonstrates how collaboration is power if regions are to fully harness the opportunities offered by devolution
Much of Anna Dawe’s further education career has been “coloured” by the idea that colleges compete against each other in a “highly competitive market”.
Years ago, she recalls colleges paying for adverts on the back of buses and around towns that boasted their achievement rate topped those of rivals.
But not these days.
She has just come off a call “chewing the cud” with eight fellow Greater Manchester principals. Dawe, chair of the group, describes their relationship as “supportive” and credits devolution for their “distinctly increased levels of collaboration”.
That wasn’t the case when she joined Wigan & Leigh College a decade ago. At the time, Greater Manchester was going through an area-review process, with the combined authority at loggerheads with colleges over merger proposals.
Arthur Wasse’s picture depicting Wigan’s female miners – the college, initially built for miners’ education, owns the painting
Wigan & Leigh was once a mining college. Dawe proudly shows me a painting displayed in the reception of the college’s main building of local pit brow lasses.
The college’s motto, “So out of darkness comes light”, reflects the image, and also Dawe’s own career path, during which she has helped lead successive colleges out of their darkest times.
Life in HE
She has done so with a willingness to buck national trends to meet community needs – doubling 16-to-18 apprenticeships provision at a time when others were pulling back, and currently fully embracing T Levels.
Dawe’s collaborative ethos extends to schools and HE partners too. Her college runs a 14-to-16 programme to get elective home educated teenagers re-familiarised with mainstream education, and she sits on the University of Manchester’s governing board.
I didn’t appreciate the skills required of a governor
Seeing things from the “other side of the fence” as a board member is hugely revealing, she says.
“Until I’d walked in the shoes of a governor, I didn’t have a full appreciation of the skills required. And you don’t know HE as well as you think until you’re there. It wakes you up that you’ve still so much learning to bring back to your own leadership.”
Wigan & Leigh’s history timeline that covers an entire wall with artefacts
Dawe chose to carve her career as a young law lecturer in FE rather than HE.
After studying law at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, half an hour up the road from her hometown of Blackpool, she took a law master’s at Sheffield University “to put off making the decision about becoming a solicitor”.
Aged 22, she started teaching law at her university and GCSE law at Sheffield College. She preferred the FE classes.
“I’d come out of those classes with a real buzz,” she recalls. “You could see those learners grow in confidence and stature over the year.”
After beginning a PHD but growing “tired of academic work”, she opted to teach full-time at Calderdale College in Halifax, West Yorks.
Dawe was living in Merseyside with her two young children when she accepted a head of department role at Tameside College. Aged 32, in 2003, she became an assistant principal. She moved to Riverside College five years later to be closer to home.
Riverside had formed from a merger of Halton College and Widnes and Runcorn Sixth Form College two years earlier, so it had never been inspected. Seven months after she arrived, Ofsted rated it grade four.
“It was devastating to see the impact it had on colleagues,” Dawe says.
Anna Dawe speaking at an event
Darkest days
But the verdict was a catalyst for change. Mike Sheehan was brought in from grade one-Runshaw College in Leyland, Lancs, and what Dawe learned from him shaped her as a leader.
These were her “darkest days” and Dawe put “everything I could” into Riverside. But curiously, after the college had progressed on its turnaround journey (it was rated grade two in 2010, and again in 2015), she admits “boredom” set in.
“You spend years wanting a peaceful life, wanting the college to get where it should, and then you go, ‘is that it?’,” she says.
Relishing the prospect of a “new roller-coaster ride”, Dawe followed Sheehan to Wigan & Leigh College which had “fallen on hard times” in terms of finances and quality.
Ofsted inspectors arrived during her first week and bumped it from grade two to three. Dawe was “quite pleased” with the judgement which “could have been worse”.
She credits Sheehan for the “heavy lifting” needed for significant change. But after he decided to move on, it was not an obvious choice for her to step into his shoes.
Dawe “loved that closeness to the students” she gained from being involved in curriculum development as an assistant and then vice principal, and worried she would become bored as principal.
But she did not relish the prospect of a stranger stepping in and potentially derailing their improvement plans.
So the decision was made, and after working a stint as interim leader she applied for the post and “never looked back”.
Wigan & Leigh was given a grade two in 2016 which was a “good springboard for staff to know we were on the right trajectory”. More importantly for Dawe, the improvement was recognised by the local community.
The college had been “losing learners it should have had”, but as it “found its place again and began to do what it should be doing, they came back to their local college”.
Wigan & Leigh has since doubled its student numbers (to 4,100) and turnover from £25 million to £50 million.
Wigan & Leigh College on a sunny day in January
Apprenticeship growth
The college appeals to Dawe because it is “general FE in its richest sense”, providing 16 to 18, adult education, apprenticeships and higher education. She says she was determined to ensure that despite its financial challenges, the college should “sustain that breadth of work”.
That meant continuing to provide apprenticeships when they were judged ‘requires improvement’ while the rest of the college was graded ‘good’.
While common sense was telling her to close the apprenticeships division, which “would have been easier to maintain a healthy Ofsted grade”, she also knew “this borough thrives on apprenticeships”.
Dawe tells me apprenticeships were “almost seen as a side part of the college and not central” to it, but says: “It doesn’t matter whether 16 to 18 is the bulk of your funding. Every single learner is as important as the others.”
Wigan & Leigh initially shrank its 2,000 strong apprenticeships offer to focus on quality, then rebuilt it to 2,500 apprentices, increasing income from the schemes from £4.6 million in 2016 to £8.7 million this year. Its age 16 to 18 cohort has grown 47 per cent since 2021 during a period of decline nationally.
Wigan also bucks the trend for NEET (not in education, employment or training) numbers; the NEET ratio was 7 per cent in November for Wigan, compared to 10 per cent regionally and around 13 per cent nationally.
Dawe believes NEET trajectories would have been worse had BTECs not been given a defunding reprieve.
A loss of Wigan & Leigh’s BTEC in health and social care would have “halved the numbers overnight” of prospective health and social care workers “at a time when the NHS workforce plan requires them”, she says.
Anna Dawe with one of her patient mannequins
T Level trouble
Dawe ushers me into a health T Level workshop, where a row of mannequin ‘patients’ lie in hospital beds with seemingly anguished expressions. She grimaces, “convinced” that “one day, one of them will get up and walk to my office, like something from Doctor Who”.
The principal is a fan of T Levels, which have been “highly successful” at Wigan & Leigh; over 200 students are taking them. But she believes they are over-assessed compared to A-levels, “in some cases, asking for far too much”.
If a young person fails one A-level, they typically still “walk out” with two others, whereas with T Levels, “if you fail any part over two years, you fail the whole qualification”, she says.
In 2023-24 only 0.2 per cent of T Level entrants got the highest grade (distinction*). If that percentage of young people got A*s in A-levels, Dawe believes “there’d be a national outcry”.
She “fed this back” through government channels but was told “there has to be rigour” in T Levels. She retorts that as an educationalist, she is “all for rigour”, but “there’s a point at which you have to be pragmatic”.
Dawe sees T Levels as “the technical level three pathway” but over-assessment is “making it harder for young people who sometimes don’t have maths and English, and that was their pathway”.
She adds: “It’s taken the pathway from the very kids that level three technical education was meant for, and reshaped it into another pathway for someone who can do A-levels.”
Dawe would like to see “tweaks and changes” made to the qualification rather than a full-scale overhaul, and despairs that when a new curriculum is introduced in FE, it is not properly impact assessed.
“We tend to kind of just throw the baby out with the bathwater and bring something new in – it’s very difficult to keep a curriculum updated when the [structure] is permanently changing,” she says.
Anna Dawe in her office
Collaboration applauded
Dawe tells me the combined authority has worked with the college to secure T Level work placements from employers, which is an onerous task due to their duration.
For the first time in her FE career she is hearing a politician (mayor Andy Burnham) “stand up” and say that “technical education is as important [as academic]”.
And Dawe is proud that Wigan & Leigh got a mention in the recent devolution white paper, for its work with the combined authority and Kraft Heinz in applying “flexed AEB funding” to “address a productivity-limiting skills gap”.
The white paper says Greater Manchester identified AEB eligibility for 17,000 more residents enrolling on over 28,000 learning aims that “wouldn’t have been accessible under national eligibility”. Dawe credits devolution for enabling Wigan & Leigh to do “much more bespoke employer work”.
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing with the combined authority. Initially, discussions “presented quite a lot of challenges” because the college was used to seeing the AEB as its own – a case of “I’ll use it how I want, thank you”.
Devolution means the college can be “more creative” with AEB funding. Dawe and her fellow Greater Manchester principals “sit and talk” about how they are spending it, which never happened previously.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham
Burnham’s single pot
But there are plenty more changes in the pipeline.
Dawe says Wigan & Leigh will “absolutely” benefit from Burnham’s Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, or MBacc, offering school pupils a suite of technical subjects to better prepare them for FE and the workforce.
And Burnham will soon get his hands on a single consolidated budget, giving him the power to channel AEB funding into potentially vote-winning transport projects if he chooses.
Although Dawe does not see this as a threat, she does “worry” that much of the dialogue from Greater Manchester around skills is centred around 16 to 18 initiatives rather than adult education, which “just can’t take any more cuts”.
“It’s a great shame, because the value in FE is all its component parts,” she adds. “We focus on what seems to be the flavour of the day, and that’s never changed.”
FE is often viewed as the less glamorous sibling of Higher Education (HE). But recent shifts in the education landscape suggest FE may be gaining traction as an attractive sector for leaders seeking purpose, clarity, and impact.
Higher Education is navigating one of its toughest periods. Its leaders face immense pressure as institutions grapple with funding challenges and workforce instability. That is combined with the sector’s growing international focus. While rewarding for some, this trend leaves others yearning for a more localised or UK impact. As a result, we’ve seen an increasing number of professionals reevaluating their career paths.
Stability and Security
The recent reclassification of colleges into the public sector has diluted some of the financial volatility that previously plagued FE, although it is still victim to funding changes. While not immune to economic pressures, institutions now benefit from a little more stability and reduced commercial risk. This shift is particularly appealing to leaders in HE who may be weary of constant restructuring and redundancies.
Proximity to HE and the Skills Agenda
The boundaries between HE and FE have never been closer. Regulatory bodies and inspectorates such as the Office for Students and Ofsted are increasingly overlapping in their oversight, particularly as universities expand into apprenticeship provision. This convergence has highlighted the strategic importance of skills development, a core purpose of FE. Boards within colleges are also recognising the value of HE representation, creating opportunities for HE leaders to influence at the board level, as well as considering those with an HE background for senior roles. Greater recognition from HE about the importance of FE representation on their boards would be welcomed.
High Performance and Career Growth
FE institutions are achieving their best-ever Ofsted ratings, reflecting a period of high performance across the sector. Mergers and the growth of college groups have further expanded career pathways and new roles.
These are colleges worth £100 million rather than the low tens. These larger, more complex organisations demand strategic leadership, particularly in areas like corporate services. HR can be transactional in some colleges but needs to be strategic and ensure meaningful workforce planning. For leaders, this represents a chance to shape influential institutions with a regional focus and a strong community purpose.
Larger colleges and groups can also of course offer larger salaries, so attract individuals who wouldn’t have considered FE before.
FE leaders can see the immediate impact of their work
Making a Local Impact
For many leaders, the appeal lies in a localised mission. Unlike universities, which often prioritise global rankings, international students, and international research, colleges focus on transforming their communities, playing the oft-used term ‘anchor institution’ role. FE leaders can see the immediate impact of their work, whether through improving educational outcomes, enhancing society, forging partnerships with local businesses, or addressing skills shortages. This sense of purpose resonates with professionals seeking roles where they can make a tangible difference.
Addressing Barriers: Pay and Recruitment
There are still challenges around pay, with senior roles often offering lower salaries compared to HE that make it difficult to attract permanent candidates.
However, colleges are willing to invest in interim leaders, engaging them on a day-rate basis. This can be financially more beneficial to the interim candidate while reducing add-on costs such as pension contributions to the FE college, allowing them to bridge gaps in expertise. This approach not only attracts high-calibre professionals but also highlights the flexibility and openness of FE institutions to alternative workforce models.
Political and Sectoral Shifts
The political landscape is also influencing perceptions of FE. This Labour government has signalled intent to address the UK’s skills shortage. This drive could bring renewed focus and investment to the sector. Initiatives such as Skills England underscore a commitment to tackling challenges, further enhancing FE’s reputation as a vital component of the education ecosystem. Whether Skills England proves a success or not, only time will tell – but the intent is there.
For those seeking purpose-driven careers, FE provides the chance to lead institutions that are not only high-performing but also deeply rooted in their communities. FE is becoming a more attractive place for leaders ready to make a difference.
The government’s recent decision to reject the education committee’s recommendation for more financial education qualifications, in favour of functional skills, feels like a missed opportunity. Ultimately, young people keen to shape their futures stand to lose most.
Functional skills and GCSE maths are important, but don’t fully prepare young people for the complex financial decisions they will face. A recent report from Santander found that just 13 per cent of young people aged 18 to 21 found that the financial information they learned at school was applicable to their own finances.
From my perspective as a principal with a 17-year background in banking and finance, I believe we must equip young people with financial literacy as a core life skill.
We need a more systemic approach because the current system falls short. While functional skills and GCSE maths may teach compound interest or ratio and proportion, they rarely address the real-world decisions involved in weighing-up different loan options or choosing appropriate financial products.
At South Devon College, we fill some of these gaps within our personal development curriculum, working with the Money and Pensions Service to run workshops on saving, pensions, and avoiding dangerous lenders.
Financial literacy should not be an optional extra
This is progress, but FE colleges could do far more with properly funded support.
Financial literacy should be embedded into curriculum, not treated as an optional extra. That way, every young person receives consistent, high-quality education in an area that will affect their adult life.
After all, at some point, everyone will borrow money – whether it’s for a mortgage, car loan or credit card, and they need to understand pensions, insurance, and savings. If these topics aren’t covered in school or college, how can we expect young people to make informed choices or understand how to manage debt?
They need practical financial education, not just theory. It’s like teaching someone all about a car engine and then expecting them to be able to drive.
Without applied understanding, many learn through trial and error and, in the absence of reliable information, increasingly turn to questionable online sources for advice.
Research last year by Intuit Credit Karma suggests that so-called “finfluencers” on TikTok are now the main source of financial information for nearly 36 per cent of Gen Z.
The risks extend beyond poor budgeting: loan sharks, online fraudsters, and other ‘dodgy’ practices exploit financial ignorance, trapping young people in cycles of debt.
In an almost cashless society, digital literacy merges with financial literacy, both are needed to protect money and personal data.
Too many young people are starting their careers unprepared for important financial choices.
I understand the argument that adding financial literacy would overburden teachers. However, I don’t believe we need a standalone qualification. Instead, it can be integrated into maths, citizenship, or personal development, ideally all.
For that to happen effectively, targeted investment is essential. Lecturers need proper training and resources so they can confidently embed financial concepts into the classroom.
FE colleges can deliver the specialised, practical training required for real-life situations, but resources are already stretched. Without long-term funding, it’s hard to maintain such comprehensive programmes.
A national campaign
Many external stakeholders have a vested interest in boosting financial literacy. A well-funded campaign would help learners spot fraud, plan for retirement, and deal with everyday money matters.
Banks, financial advisers, and well-known experts like, Martin Lewis (MoneySavingExpert) could nationally collaborate with schools and colleges, providing practical tools for learners.
This campaign could cover core topics like budgeting, credit scores, debt, and the pitfalls of easy credit.
But it must consider vulnerable students too: young people without access to a basic banking service face higher risk of exploitation, so they need guidance on credit scores, consumer rights, and safe financial products.
With strong financial and digital awareness, young people can protect themselves from fraud, debt, and predatory practices. By embedding practical financial education into the curriculum, we can ensure they are ready to make informed choices.
Financial literacy is as crucial as literacy, numeracy, and digital skills, and all four overlap significantly. Together, they equip individuals for modern life.
