The Skills System is Broken: Why FE and HE Still Don’t Join Up

For years, governments have openly discussed creating a joined-up skills system. Yet learners and employers still find themselves navigating two very different worlds. Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE). FE is seen as the sector where it specialises in skills and trades, while HE is seen as the pathway to professional and academic careers. This divide has created confusion.

To be honest about it the skills system is broken. Until FE and HE start working together instead of being divided, the UK will struggle to meet its economic and social needs.

Why it matters

The economy is rapidly changing. The World Economic Forum predicts that 44 per cent of workers skills will be disrupted within five years. Employers currently require worker to be adaptable, digitally fluent, and green competencies alongside core academic knowledge.

Yet the education system is still pushing learners into rigid routes such as A-levels leading to university, or vocational pathways into FE. In reality these pathways are not aligned with the labour market of today. Too many learners are stuck not knowing which path to take while employers are complaining of persistent skills shortages.

FE vs HE: competition rather than collaboration

FE colleges and universities often operate as competitors, not partners. Both want to attract learners, funding, and employer contracts. This competitive model discourages collaboration, even though both sectors share the same mission of developing talent.

Examples are easy to find. Universities sometimes launch degree apprenticeships in areas already served by FE colleges, bypassing local partnerships. Colleges, meanwhile, may struggle to build higher-level provision because funding rules favour established, HE providers. The result is duplication in some areas and gaps in others. Neither learners nor employer’s win.

A broken learner journey

From a learner’s perspective, the divide between FE and HE creates real barriers. Progression routes are often unclear, funding systems are complex, and qualifications do not always map easily onto one another.

Take the example of a student completing a Level 3 technical qualification in FE. Their pathway into HE can be patchy, depending on which university they apply to and whether the qualification is recognised. Similarly, many graduates leave university without the practical skills employers need, yet do not know how to access FE provision as part of lifelong learning.

The skills system is not just broken at the level of institutions. It is broken for the people who use it.

Employers caught in the middle

Employers often complain that neither sector delivers exactly what they need. FE is seen as too localised, sometimes disconnected from emerging industries. HE is seen as too theoretical, sometimes slow to adapt to rapid change.

In reality, employers need both. They need the technical training and applied focus of FE, combined with the research insights and advanced knowledge of HE. The problem is that employers are rarely given a seamless way to engage with both sectors together.

What joined-up practice could look like

There are promising examples of collaboration that point to a better future.

• Degree apprenticeships delivered in partnership. Some colleges and universities have formed partnerships to co-deliver programmes, blending academic learning with technical expertise this helps learners pick grow academically while picking up technical skills.
  
• Regional skills compacts. Local partnerships between FE, HE, employers and combined authorities can result in ensuring that real economic needs are being met. The Greater Manchester model is one example where regional planning helps reduce duplication.
  
• Bridging programmes. Short courses designed jointly by FE and HE can help learners step between the two systems more easily, especially in areas such as digital and green skills.

These examples show that when FE and HE act as partners, learners gain smoother progression routes, employers get clearer pipelines of talent, and communities benefit from joined-up skills planning.

The role of policy

Policy is one of the biggest obstacles to integration. Funding rules often set FE and HE against each other rather than encouraging collaboration. Colleges and universities operate under different accountability frameworks, with Ofsted inspecting one and the OfS regulating the other.

If the skills system is to be fixed, then the government must ensure incentives for collaboration rather than competition. That means they will need to fund partnerships which align quality assurance, and reward academic institutions that design such pathways.

Lifelong learning and the LLE

The introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) has the potential to change the game. In theory, learners will be able to access funding more flexibly throughout their lives, choosing from modules at both FE and HE levels.

But the success of the LLE depends on how well FE and HE coordinate their offer. If learners face a confusing patchwork of unconnected courses, the system will not deliver. For the LLE to work, FE and HE must co-design pathways that make sense for learners, not just for institutions.

My perspective

As someone who has worked in both FE and HE, I have seen how powerful collaboration can be when it works. I have also seen how damaging the divide can be when institutions pull in different directions.

Learners do not care whether a course is labelled FE or HE. They care whether it helps them progress towards their goals. Employers do not care about sector boundaries either. They care about whether the system delivers the skilled people they need.

The labels matter to institutions and policymakers. But to those who we are serving, they are irrelevant.

A call to action

The UK cannot afford to have a system which is broken. If FE and HE remain to operate as separate sectors then we will continue to waste talent, frustrate employers, and fall behind global competitors.

What is needed is to make this change is strong leadership both on a local and national level in order to create a skills system that is genuinely joined up. That means shared funding models, collaborative delivery, and a culture shift where colleges and universities are working together and not seeing each other as rivals but partners.

The skills system will only be fixed when we stop the division between FE or HE, and start asking how can both these sectors start working together?

It’s time to make this change to better our economy and enhance the success of our learners.  

By Imran Mir SFHEA, FSET, CMgr MCMI, FRSA