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 ...

is
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
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 ...
– usually in the form of an
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 ...
– 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 ...

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
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) ...
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
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 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.
See also
*
AoC NILTA
*
Bullying in further education
*
Education by country
*
European Qualifications Framework
The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) acts as a translation device to make national qualifications more readable across Europe, promoting workers' and learners' mobility between countries and facilitating their lifelong learning. The EQF ai ...
*
Learning environment
The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to "classroom
A classroom or schoolroom i ...
*
Learning space
Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical setting for a learning environment, a place in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to "classroom," but it may also refer to an i ...
*
ISCED
The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) is a statistical framework for organizing information on education
Education is the process of facilitating , or the acquisition of , s, , morals, s, s, and personal developmen ...
*
Jisc
Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit company that provides network and Information technology, IT services and digital resources in support of higher education institutions and research.
History
The Joint Information Systems Committee ...
*
National Union of Students of the United Kingdom
*
Technical and Further Education
In Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands o ...
(
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

)
*
Workers Educational Association
The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers learn ...
References
External links
UK Association of Colleges websiteUK Further Education & College VacanciesUK National Union of Students websiteUK Ofsted websiteUK 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