Sue Learner checks out how the management of further education qualifications differs across the UK.
ENGLAND
Further education is undergoing big changes with local authorities set to hold the purse strings from 2010. Further education has been managed by the Learning and Skills Council since 2001 but, from autumn 2010, this body will cease to operate. Instead, a Young People's Learning Agency, made up of local authority representatives, with national as well as regional offices, will administer the budget. A Skills Funding Agency is also being set up to monitor college performance and handle adult education funding.
These changes will give councils responsibility for delivering the new 14 to 19 qualifications, including diplomas, apprenticeships and the Foundation Learning Tier.
SCOTLAND
The Scottish Funding Council allocates funding to the country's 43 further education colleges on behalf of the government. Colleges offer a range of vocational and academic qualifications and the first two years of higher education can be taken at a further education college.
A key element of Scotland's strategy for lifelong learning is the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). This brings together all academic, vocational and occupational qualifications within a single 12-level framework. Each qualification has an SCQF level so it is easier to compare them. More than a quarter of Scotland's higher education is provided in further education colleges.
WALES
Further education in Wales is controlled by the Welsh Assembly Government. There are 23 further education colleges in Wales, offering 80 per cent of all post-16 qualifications. The Welsh Assembly Government allocates its funding according to the number of students attending from a deprived area, how many courses are delivered in Welsh and the number of programmes offered.
The Welsh Assembly Government is proposing to bring in a common funding system for the education of 14- to 19-year-olds, which would promote collaboration between providers. Fforwm, which represents colleges in Wales, wants colleges to have the power to develop and award foundation degrees, as in England.
NORTHERN IRELAND
In August 2007, Northern Ireland's 16 further education colleges merged to create six area-based colleges. The restructuring followed a major review in 2001 by the Assembly Committee for Employment into education and training for industry.
The Northern Ireland Executive decides how much annual funding colleges receive from the province's overall public spending budget. More than a quarter of all school leavers and one-third of 16- to 17-year-old school leavers attend a further education college. The range of courses provided by members of the Association of Northern Ireland Colleges includes essential skills, vocational and academic programmes at levels 2 and 3.
