Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' and Telegraph' use Britain as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Some prefer to use Britain as shorth ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel, the Irish Sea ...

Ireland

education Education is the process of facilitating , or the acquisition of , s, , morals, s, s, and personal development. Educational methods include , , , and directed . Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators; however, lea ...

in addition to that received at

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both lower secondary education (ages 11 to 14) and upper secondary education (ages 14 to 18) ...

, that is distinct from the

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion ...

(HE) offered in

universities A university () is an of (or ) and which awards s in several . Universities typically offer both and programs in different schools or faculties of learning. The word ''university'' is derived from the ''universitas magistrorum et scholari ...

and other academic institutions. It may be at any level in compulsory secondary education, from entry to higher level qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications (including those previously known as NVQ/SVQs) through awarding organisations including

City and Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies Coat of arms of the Worshipful Company of Grocers, founded in 1345, 2nd ...

Edexcel Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board in the United Kingdom. Its ...

( BTEC) and OCR. FE colleges may also offer HE qualifications such as HNC,

HNDHND may refer to: Transport * Haneda Airport, serving Tokyo, Japan * Hanborough railway station, in England * Henderson Executive Airport, in Nevada, United States * Hinterland Aviation, an Australian airline Other uses

* Croatian Journalis ...

, foundation degree or PGCE. The colleges are also a large service provider for

apprenticeship An apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade Trade involves the transfer of goods from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system A system is a gr ...

s where most of the training takes place at the apprentices' workplace, supplemented with day release into college. FE in the United Kingdom is usually a means to attain an intermediate, advanced or follow-up qualification necessary to progress into HE, or to begin a specific career path outside of university education. Further Education is offered to students aged over 16 at colleges of Further Education, through work-based learning, or adult and community learning institutions. In the United States and Canada, the term

continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' and Telegraph' use Brit ...

has a similar meaning.

By country

United Kingdom

England

Further education colleges were laid out in the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 (7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the President of the Board of Education The Secretary of St ...

. In the 1960s,

A-level#REDIRECT A-Level The A Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the ...

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 The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within England and Wales, with consequential effects on associated matters in Scotland which had previously been go ...

, which removed further education colleges from local government control. Types of college include: * General further education colleges *

Sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels#REDIRECT A-Level The A Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferre ...

s *

Tertiary collegeIn England and Wales, a tertiary college is a type of further education (FE) college that offers both academic and vocational courses to both youngsters and adults, combining the main functions of an FE college and a sixth form college. Unlike a si ...

s *

Land-based collegeIn the UK, land based colleges or land-based colleges are college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a University system, constituent part of one. A college may be a academic degree, degree-awarding Tertiary educ ...

s (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 The Department for Education (DFE) is the UK government department responsible for child protection Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the ...

(DfE). Until July 2016, colleges were also covered by the

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills , type = Department , logo = Department for Business, Innovation and Skills logo.svg , logo_width = 200px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Лондан. 2014. Жнівень 26.JPG , seal = , sea ...

(BIS); on the abolition of BIS and formation of the

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is a department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department ...

(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 The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is an executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the Uni ...

and the

Skills Funding Agency The Skills Funding Agency was one of two successor organisations that emerged from the closure in 2010 of the Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public bodyIn the United Kingdom, non-de ...

in 2017, funding for colleges is provided through the

Education and Skills Funding Agency The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is an executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the Uni ...

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 In accounting Accounting or Accountancy is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entity, economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been call ...

regime for further education colleges known as "Education Administration". This is a form of corporate

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization An organization, or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; ...

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 The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department Non-ministerial government departments (NMGDs) are a type of department of the Government of the United Kingdom that deal with matte ...

, which monitors the quality of provision in publicly funded institutions in England. Membership organisations for providers include the

Association of Colleges The Association of Colleges (AoC) is a not-for-profit membership organisation set up by colleges to act as their collective voice, representing further education colleges in the United Kingdom, UK, with an associated registered Charitable organi ...

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. Sixteen colleges with sites in poor condition have been selected, and detailed proposals are expected by October 2021 for projects which can be completed by December 2024.Department for Education
Further Education Capital Transformation Fund: Guidance for applicants for stage 2
published July 2021, accessed 17 August 2021

Northern Ireland

Further education in Northern Ireland is provided through seven multi-campus colleges. Northern Ireland's

Department for Employment and Learning The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), ( ga, An Roinn Fostaíochta agus Foghlama; Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment for Employ an Learnin''), was a devolved Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; Ulster Scots ...

has the responsibility for providing FE in the province. *

Belfast Metropolitan College Belfast Metropolitan College, also known as ''Belfast Met'', is a further education, further and higher education institution in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The college offers both vocational education and Academia, academic qualifications. With ...

North West Regional College North West Regional College is a further education and higher education college in the north-west region of Northern Ireland. The college has five main campuses in counties County Londonderry, Londonderry and County Tyrone, Tyrone: Strand Road ...

Northern Regional College Northern Regional College (or NRC) is a third level educational institution in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The college has six campuses around the north-east of Northern Ireland (County Antrim and eastern County Londonderry): Ballymena (T ...

South Eastern Regional College South Eastern Regional College (SERC) is a further and higher education college in the south-east of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ') is #Descriptions, variously described ...

South West College The South West College operates in Northern Ireland on four campuses in Cookstown, Dungannon, Enniskillen and Omagh and, of the six new area based colleges, it is the smallest in size, but it covers the largest geographical area of counties Cou ...

Southern Regional College Southern Regional College (SRC) is a further and higher education college in the southern area of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. The Southern Regional College was formed on 1 August 2007 when three further education colleges merged to b ...

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

– usually in the form of an

* Croatian Journalis ...

– are taken in an FE college, followed by attendance at university.

Wales

Further education in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It ...

Wales

is provided through: *

Sixth form colleges Image:ShrewsburySixthFormCollege.JPG, Shrewsbury Sixth Form College in Shropshire A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as GCE Advanced Level, ...

* FE colleges * Sixth forms within

s Further education in Wales comes under the remit of the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, indigenous to the British Isles, spoken in Wales ** Patagonian Welsh, a dialect of Wel ...

. 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 Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland ('), is a country A country is a distinct territorial body or political entity A polity is an identifiable political entity—any group of people who have a collective id ...

is similar to that offered in the UK. Typical areas include

s 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 Quality and Qualifications Ireland (''Irish: Dearbhú Cáilíochta agus Cáilíochtaí Éireann'') (QQI) is the national agency responsible for qualifications Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential ...

(QQI), which was established in November 2012, is the regulator for FE qualifications.

References

External links

UK Association of Colleges website

UK Further Education & College Vacancies

UK National Union of Students website

UK Ofsted website

UK Skills Funding Agency website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Further Education Continuing education Education in the Republic of Ireland Educational stages Further education colleges in the United Kingdom Higher education in the United Kingdom Vocational education in the United Kingdom