Further Education and the FE White Paper February 2021
Further Education has never been more central to the economic recovery of the UK. In the recent FE White Paper the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, said this: ' Unlike many of our OECD peers, this country has not always shown further education the esteem it deserves with too many people – and too many employers – wrongly believing that studying for a degree at university is the only worthwhile marker of success. Although our universities are world-class, it is not the only choice; in many cases a college course or apprenticeship can offer better outcomes’. I have never seen such a statement of encouragement for technical and vocational education from a Secretary of State. The White paper accompanying this introduction has some very positive proposals including all-age funding for adults who want to take a level 3 qualification and then go on to level four or level 5. In time it would be very helpful to extend this funding to level 2 (GCSE...