How do we create a HE ethos within an FE environment?

By Rachel Whitton, Curriculum Manager: Professional Studies & Education at Warrington & Vale Royal College and Research Further Scholar

When Skills England launched in September 2024, it promised many things for the further education sector.

The pledges of particular interest to me, as both a FE and HE lecturer, were the ones to support both FE and HE providers to ‘strengthen the qualifications landscape and focus hard on successful outcomes for students’, and to ‘ensure that skills sit at the heart of joined-up decision making across government and bring HE and FE systems closer together’.

Widening participation in HE programmes has been on the FE agenda for many years, originally promoted for a range of students who predominantly fell into groups under-represented in HE education, such as ethnic minorities, low-income backgrounds and vocational students.

Over the last twenty years, FE colleges have played a pivotal role in developing these alternative routes into HE, providing viable options for the non-traditional HE student, like myself, offering accessibility and flexible methods of delivery. Despite a complex and somewhat disconnected education and skills system in England, HE in FE nowadays seems an accepted and accessible way for learners to access university level courses.

The duality of teaching both FE and HE in one institution can create a seamless system of lifelong education for learners, enabling learners to deal with boundaries relating to time, space and place. FE has traditionally offered a nurturing and different learning experience for learners who did not necessarily thrive in secondary education, whilst the universities have sought for academic excellence. By offering HE in an FE setting, we are raising the possibility for higher level study for learners that would never before have been able to go to university.

The emergence of Institutes of Technology, designed to support the skills gap for employers, also offer advanced technical education in FE, and alternative routes for learners to HE rather than the traditional university route. We know that tackling the skills shortage gap will be a clear remit for Skills England, with a paper highlining the skills gaps shortage in the UK and promises to grow the economy through harnessing talent, meeting businesses’ skills needs and breaking down the barriers to opportunity.

Skills England also promises to help build ‘a high skill, high productivity workforce that is matched to employer needs’, whilst ensuring ‘everyone regardless of background can access opportunities to thrive’.

To achieve this, I’d argue that we need HE, FE and employers to collaborate strategically to create an innovative tertiary system that offers FE colleges in England an opportunity for technical education and training to fill the skill gaps, while also supporting adult learners who seek opportunities to progress through into HE via a non-traditional route.

However, funding regimes are not currently supporting the innovation required to increase the number of Level 4 qualified technical learners to meet the skills gaps for employers. In a blog for Universities UK, Dame Ann Limb, Pro Chancellor at the University of Surrey, and Professor David Pheonix, Vice Chancellor of London South Bank University, wrote that if we want to deliver for the future, we cannot develop a system in tertiary education that is focused solely on the past. They highlighted that the current skills system is clearly not working, as there are huge numbers of adult learners who require upskilling, and advocated an approach which takes into account the role of institutions, regulation and process within the tertiary education landscape.

The same message was observed whilst listening to fellow peers at the ‘Bridging the Gap between Politics and Pedagogy’ event hosted by the FE collective in November; it is clear much needed change is required within the current landscape.

Whilst the HE in FE model offers an opportunity to bridge the gap, a key feature of creating a HE ethos within an FE environment must be that of scholarly activity and upskilling staff.

This creates a significant challenge in the FE sector, as lecturers' terms of employment do not necessarily allow for commitment to academic or scholarly activity. For many FE lecturers this can seem so far removed from their day-to-day role that they can struggle to see the importance or relevance. Furthermore, HE Institutions receive funding for research, not usually granted within FE, thus creating tensions in professional identity for those crossing between HE and FE provision. Surely there should be an equitable approach to recognition, status and access in a tertiary education system providing a more equitable offer for teaching staff?

Current challenges presented to executive leadership teams include issues such as role conflicts, workloads and research time, with HE in FE lecturers often reporting feeling like they are running on goodwill alone. The disparity between the two educational sectors, with significant constraints of teaching HE in FE, suggests there is still no consistent policy in the dual sector arena.

I am fortunate that my institution acknowledges the CPD need to support those staff working in both arenas, investing in scholarly activity and creating a mentoring system for those delivering on HE to ensure we provide the right support and opportunities for them to develop themselves and thus raising academia within an FE institution to develop aspirations amongst our learners.

Moving forward, for institutions to successfully bridge the gap, FE colleges need to offer comprehensive professional development opportunities and encourage collaborative partnerships with HE institutions which creates meaningful opportunities for scholarly activity, taking into account opportunities for FE staff to expand their teaching capabilities.

We must support the Skills England agenda but also acknowledge the ever-changing terrain of FE.