MPs launch new inquiry into further education

The Education Committee has launched a new inquiry examining how the post-16 education system could provide better vocational and skills-based learning and qualifications.
 
The inquiry will see MPs investigate how the entire further education system could better equip young people with skills and qualifications for a range of sectors experiencing labour shortages, from hospitality and agriculture to health and care.
 
The cross-party Committee will explore pressures currently facing sixth forms and colleges, including the pay gap between school and college teachers, maths and English GCSE resits, and students’ mental health.  
It will also examine the role of apprenticeships, the future work of Skills England, and how the Government could reform post-16 qualifications including T Levels and BTECs.
 
The inquiry follows the review of post-16 qualifications, which concluded that the Department for Education (DfE) will continue to fund 157 qualifications – which the previous Government had planned to withdraw funding from – until at least 2026. The Government’s ongoing Curriculum and Assessment Review will make recommendations on what reforms could happen after 2027, but the Committee will ask industry and further education (FE) sector experts for their views on the future of post-16 qualifications.
 
College teachers’ pay has declined in real terms by 18% since 2010, and salaries are on average £7,000 a year lower than school teachers’ as of 2024/25, according to the IFS think tank. The Chancellor’s 2024 Autumn Statement saw £300 million of new funding for colleges, without specification of how this should be spent, prompting union leaders to call on colleges to use the funding for staff pay.
 
In July 2024, the Government announced that Skills England will replace the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, subject to a Skills England Bill which is currently being scrutinised by Parliament. Ministers also want Skills England to look at skills gaps in sectors across the economy and work with the Industrial Strategy Council and the Migration Advisory Committee to address these. The DfE is also in the process of hiring Skill’s England’s first permanent Chief Executive.
 
Education Committee Chair Helen Hayes MP said:“In recent years I have seen a political consensus develop that technical education deserves parity of esteem with A levels and routes into university. But on the ground we are a long way off from this being a reality, and the further education sector has instead experienced real terms funding cuts and continued uncertainty about the qualifications they can offer.
 
“In this inquiry, we will listen to both the education sector and figures from industry and public services to investigate how DfE could design a new way of doing FE that helps young people into the careers they desire, serves vital sectors that struggle to recruit, and catalyses growth across the country.
 
“We will also look at how FE settings can support students with mental health and SEND to deliver better outcomes, particularly for the young people who are the most at risk of falling out of education, training and employment.”