The government’s opportunity mission - what Higher Education can learn from Further Education   Speech to Advance HE 7 November 2024

Although some of the specific challenges are different, the situation universities and HEIs face today are remarkably like those FE Colleges experienced over 30 years ago. A College Principal at the time of incorporation in 1992, what I faced then required me, and leaders across the sector, to address systems change, and I found the following framework a helpful guide

Key actions are 

restructuring revisioning rebuilding

actions which must be 

rapid radical and reforming 

to maintain 

reputation

The three actions of restructuring revisioning rebuilding align closely with Advance HE’s three strategic goals and are also related to your key purposes and priorities so I hope will not be too contentious 

• giving support to the work of your members particularly in the areas of governance and leadership development involves restructuring
• enhancing confidence and trust in HE with a particular focus on teaching and learning requires revisioning
• address systemic inequalities and advancing education to meet the evolving needs of students and society suggests rebuilding  

Experience has taught me that the actions of restructuring revisioning rebuilding also need to be rapid, radical, and reforming., I urge you therefore not to delay and to be bold and ambitious – which encouragingly is the call to action of the UUK blueprint.  

The actions I advocate, and the manner of their execution will I believe help to maintain and assert the world renown reputation of the UK universities and HEIs - at a time when the nation, economically, socially, and culturally, needs a strong, vibrant, and globally attractive universities and HE institutions. 

Ten of the current challenges 

Most institutions in the sector area undertaking some form of restructuring as a response to the significant challenges you are facing. These include

• reduced government funding
• rising inflation causing significantly higher operational costs
• capped tuition fees for domestic students which have remained at £9,250 since 2012, meaning that their real value has eroded with inflation.
• over reliance on international student fees, who pay significantly higher fees than domestic students and in many HE institutions make up a major part of income – a dependency that raises further risks regarding visa regulations, immigration policies, political relations, and global economic factors
• increased student support needs to help with basic living costs, mental health issues, and language assistance Student mental health concerns are at an all-time high, partly due to the post-pandemic environment, financial pressures, and academic stress and institutions are called to expand mental health services
• high expectations of graduate outcomes with employers increasingly vocal about skills gaps. HE courses need to align better with job market demands, incorporating more career-oriented, interdisciplinary, and digital skills training. Graduate employability rates are under scrutiny, and students expect universities and HE institutions to provide clearer pathways to gainful employment.
• industrial disputes with academic and administrative staff over pay, pensions, and working conditions, with institutions are under pressure to improve working conditions and maintain sustainable staff contracts. This has led to disruption that impacts the quality of education, student satisfaction, and overall reputation of the sector
• challenges with AI and digital transformation and how to integrate AI tools in teaching and research responsibly – all of which requires substantial investment
• a changing regulatory environment with the Office for Students increased scrutiny of student outcomes and institutional accountability. Institutions face growing pressure to meet performance benchmarks, with fines or sanctions possible for poor results, especially around student drop-out rates, course quality, and employability outcomes.
• increased importance of sustainability and environmental impact with the HE sector increasingly expected to lead by example in sustainability practices and students pushing for greater action on climate change. This includes energy-efficient buildings, sustainable travel policies, and eco-friendly campus operations, all of which require investment that may be difficult to justify under current financial constraints.

We can probably all agree on these challenges. The question is is do we agree with how to tackle them. Is the HE sector agreed on tan effective he way forward? 

You will make your own judgment on this. What I offer is my experience of a similar situation faced in FE, combined with evidence of the way policy intent and funding possibilities seem to me to be currently shaping up. 

Observations and opportunities 

Restructuring means reducing, reforming, revisioning, and rebuilding

In 1992, the UK had over 500 Further Education colleges. This number began to decrease following the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which granted colleges financial and legal independence. The challenges and opportunities this created, as I have said, not unlike the situation faced by HE now, led to mergers and reorganizations over the last 30 years across the sector and the nations - and these continue to this day. 

Currently, there are 230 FE Colleges in England, 26 in Scotland, 13 in Wales, and 6 in Northern Ireland, i.e. 235 fewer Colleges - a reduction of over 50%.

The 7 largest English college groups concentrate their operations locally and regionally, in London, North West, North East, West Yorkshire, and the South East, have a combined turnover of circa £1 billion, a student population of 250,000, and over 16,000 staff. All have strong Ofsted ratings and provide education for young people (14-18yrs), adults, refugees, asylum seekers, apprentices, undergraduates and employers. The 6 FE Colleges in Northern Ireland operate across 29 campuses and in over 400 community outreach locations. ​ This year, Wales has established a reformed tertiary education system under the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research, also known as Medr. This body consolidates oversight and funding for a wide range of post-16 education pathways, including higher education, further education, sixth forms, apprenticeships, adult learning, and work-based education. This integration is aimed at creating a unified and accessible system that emphasizes collaboration and learner-centred outcomes rather than competition among institutions.

Reduction in the number of FE colleges across the UK has been accompanied by significant structural and curriculum reform and a re-imagining and re-telling of the FE narrative, a re-shaping of the FE eco-system. This has in turn led to a positive change in the reputation of the FE sector based on continuous improvement in the quality of student experience and building stronger links with local and regional employers, community groups, and increasingly local leaders of place such as Mayors in devolved Combined Authorities. All this has been achieved despite significant underfunding in FE since 2010 when compared to primary and secondary schools, cuts in per-student funding amounted to 12% and where the pay gap between a schoolteacher and an FE lecturer teaching the same course but in a different institution amounts to £9000 p.a. 

I am not suggesting that systems change in universities and HEIs over the next decade will follow a similar pattern or that the current 285 HEIs will be halved. I do wonder however whether the restructuring that has already taken place, and is ongoing, will be sufficient, fast enough and as innovative as it could be.

Reforming, revisioning, rebuilding need to be rapid, radical and designed to enhance reputation You probably do not need me to remind you that, as I said in an article published this week - the time has never been better – for skills, adult and further education.

Will this also be the era in which we re-think, re-shape, and re-orientate universities and HEIs? As we navigate the complexities of a fast changing and increasingly insecure world, the emphasis on continuous education and new skills acquisition clearly plays a critical role in growing the economy and in empowering individuals and regional communities. Government, employers, unions, local leaders of place, learning providers and students all have a stake in this. To achieve this transformation, coordinated action needs to be taken, together, by the key people and organisations involved. 

Will universities and HEIs be around the table? How prominently do universities and HEIs feature in emerging policy statements of the new mission driven government.  You may have noticed that in the first ever public speech the Prime Minister made in July before he went through the doors of Downing Street, he spoke about ‘schools and colleges.’ But not universities. This was followed by a policy statement on the growth and skills levy in the PM’s first speech to the Labour party conference in September. Again, no mention of universities and HEIs.

The recent publication of the Green Paper on Industrial Strategy articulating how the new government intends to measure impact and success over time through a clearly articulated the theory of change focussing on sectors, places, markets, people, and institutions features skills 11 times. It references universities twice. In the Chancellor’s budget speech last week, a specific reference to additional funding for further education was made. In the 165-page published Budget statement, we find 11 references to skills, and 4 specifically to further education, tasked and funded to ensure learners develop the skills they need to thrive in the world of work. Universities are mentioned twice in the context of research and innovation. In the commitment to delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), the only part of the Budget which UUK has publicly commented on, there is no reference to universities or HEIs. We are given a revised launch date of January 2027 and a commitment to expanding access to high-quality, flexible education and training for adults throughout their working lives. I don’t want you to get paranoid especially as I know what it is like to feel left out in the cold. I did spend my career in FE! It would be foolish too to misinterpret the collection of new government pronouncements as lack of interest in the sector.  I believe that in Jacqui Smith, the HE sector has a Minister who has a grasp of education, and genuinely values universities and higher education.  

However, I also think that the HE sector has, quickly, to take concerted, constructive, considered, clever, and connected action. I can’t advise on precisely what this should be or who and how it is taken. My aim today has been to offer a framework for such activity and a rationale for action. The government is investing huge hope and ambition in Skills England to deliver its policy intentions, all this points, in a mission driven government, to recognition that success in and funding for skills and lifelong learning is integral to the government’s thinking and critical to achievement of its opportunity mission and its growth, green, housing and health agendas. Although the detailed implementation of, and funding for change, to be coordinated through Skills England, is yet to be determined, I believe the overall policy intent is aimed in the long run at providing greater funding and resources for further and adult education and lifelong skills - much increasingly devolved to local leaders of place, and much focussed on meeting the skills needs of regional employers – and universities and HE institutions have a huge role to play in this.

With the nations and regions of the UK gaining more autonomy, local government leaders are concentrating on tailoring local growth plans and skills development strategies to meet the specific needs of their areas, such as advanced manufacturing in the Midlands or tech in the North. Employers in the regions play a greater role in shaping the skills landscape, offering apprenticeships, vocational training, and in-house development programmes. Collaboration between businesses and educational institutions will continue to increase to ensure that curriculum design aligns with the skills needed in the job market. Learning programmes encouraging entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation will likely be prioritised, with increased support for startup incubators and business skills training. Skills in the creative industries—such as design, content creation, and multimedia production—will be increasingly relevant, especially with the rise of digital media and e-commerce.The government hopes that the next decade in the UK will be dynamic, with citizens and a workforce that is not only academically able and technically proficient, but is culturally adaptable, resilient, and innovative. Universities and HEIs have a key role in this but they will surely have to restructure more radically, re-think and reform more rapidly, re-vision, re-build, and re-brand, even, to maintain their reputation and to take advantage of new opportunities for inclusive growth.