Shaping the Future of FE: Our Evidence to the Education Select Committee’s FE and Skills Inquiry

Our written evidence has been published as part of the Education Select Committee’s FE and Skills Inquiry. Here we outline an overview of the evidence with put to the committee.

The FE sector plays a vital role in preparing young people for their next steps in education, training and the workforce and is key to addressing the looming workforce skills gap and high and rising numbers of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Our submission focused on two critical areas: inequality of access to careers education, information, advice, and guidance (CEIAG) and work experience. These are fundamental components of effective post-16 education, yet provision remains uneven and under-resourced, particularly for disadvantaged learners.

Significant inequalities in access to CEIAG exist within the FE sector, and careers provision across settings is inconsistent, largely due to funding, staffing and curriculum capacity challenges. While CEIAG has well-evidenced positive impact, students at FE colleges, which educate higher proportions of students from more disadvantaged backgrounds, are among the least likely to access high-quality provision. Lack of meaningful provision limits young people’s ability to make informed decisions and narrows their future opportunities. Barriers include limited personalised support, and a lack of awareness around technical and vocational routes such as apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships.

Work experience is equally vital in helping young people gain the skills, confidence, and insight needed to transition successfully into the world of work. Yet only around a third of FE students currently complete a placement. While some pathways like T-levels incorporate placements into the programme of study, others rely on institutional capacity, leading to disparities in access. Just 11% of FE settings report full participation in workplace experience.

Our recommendations

We made three recommendations to ensure that all young people, regardless of background, are better prepared for the world of work and successful futures:

1. Provide fair and equal opportunities for all FE students to access high-quality CEIAG.

2. Embed careers education into all FE pathways.

3. Ensure every young person has a minimum of one work experience placement during FE. While working towards this, prioritise ensuring that the most disadvantaged students have access to work experience placements.

High-quality CEIAG and work experience must not be luxuries, but essential parts of every young person’s FE offer. At a time when the FE sector is undergoing reform and faces increasing pressures, this inquiry presents a critical opportunity to make changes needed to create a more equitable system.

Read our full evidence: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/138725/pdf/