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There are different views about what constitutes a tertiary education approach, but there is growing belief that bringing apprenticeships, further education (FE) and higher education (HE) closer together at a regional level would be beneficial for the economic fortunes and social wellbeing of people in the UK. This blog post maps out why it is important to make this change to improve access, funding and the effectiveness of adult education for the two-thirds of people who do not go to university and the one-third that do.Ìý

Between 2010 and 2024 the number of HE students studying for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the UK increased by 17.4 per cent from 2.5 million per annum to 2.9 million, and the number of academic staff increased by 9.4 per cent from 181,000 to 198,000. Over the same period the income of these organisations nearly doubled from £27.6 billion to £52.6 billion. The UK now spends the second highest amount on HE per learner among developed nations (OECD, 2024).

The picture was bleaker for adult learners studying for qualifications at levels 1 to 3 (that is, GCSEs, ‘A’ levels and vocational qualifications) in FE colleges or for apprenticeships. Between 2010 and 2023 the number of people on these courses nearly halved from 2.3 million per annum to 1.2 million and public funding fell from £6 billion to £4.5 billion. Employers also reduced their expenditure on training and now spend half the EU average.

‘In recent years many of the economic benefits it was hoped would be achieved through increased investment in higher education have not been achieved.’

In short, over the past 15 years there has been a big shift in funding in England and the wider United Kingdom away from adult education courses for a broad swathe of the population towards HE for a smaller section of society. Sadly, in recent years many of the economic benefits it was hoped would be achieved through increased investment in HE have not been achieved. , , and while graduate salaries are higher than non-graduate wages, . HE has remained a worthwhile end in itself, but and the has increased. Meanwhile, .

What is needed now is a recognition that new initiatives tend to work best when they evolve regionally (Fiorentino et al., 2024). This is particularly important when we face an alphabet of future challenges from Artificial intelligence to the Balkanisation of geopolitics, Climate change, Demographic shifts and Economic stagnation. The answer to these challenges will be different in different places as the UK government’s draft industrial strategy recognises. What works in North East England is different from what works in the South West, North West or South East regions of the country.

To prepare for this future what is needed is greater devolution of funding, responsibility and capability to the regions of England. Only a few regions are adequately prepared for this change. London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands are in the vanguard, but Bristol, Liverpool, the north east of England, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire are not far behind. The remaining 35 regions can follow learning from these experiences and the success achieved by devolving the adult education budget (AEB) and there is now scope to devolve the Growth and Skills Levy to these regions on the model adopted in the devolved nations.Ìý

The next step is to devolve the FE college budgets and the additional HE funding provided for expensive subjects, such as medicine, science and technology courses. Through these changes the eight sectors in the UK government’s draft industrial strategy can be still be co-ordinated nationally, but the solutions will be regional. It might then be possible to increase productivity, economic growth and social mobility, while also encouraging learning as an end in itself. We don’t need a revolution; we should devolve and evolve activity in a measured way to support local solutions.Ìý

References

Fiorentino, S., Glasmeier, A., Lobao, L., Martin, R., & Tyler, P. (2024) ‘Left behind places’: What can be done about them?, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 17(2), 259–274.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD]. (2024). Education at a glance 2024. Ìý