What Businesses Actually Need From FE and Skills Partnerships

It’s fair to say that businesses don’t, as a rule, begin with a desire to engage with the higher education sector. It starts with the commercial requirement, the need to recruit people, develop employees, introduce new technology, to develop the business or, to prepare for skills they expect to need in the future.

If colleges want to build stronger and more productive employer partnerships, the conversation must begin with the needs of the business rather than the provision the college wishes to promote.

The case for closer collaboration is already well established. Skills England’s 2026 Annual Skills Report finding that more than a quarter of vacancies are difficult to fill because of skills shortages, with demand expected to grow across occupations critical to the country’s priority sectors. Meanwhile, the Employer Skills Survey 2024 found that 12% of employers had skills gaps within their existing workforce.

However, identifying a national skills problem does not automatically create an effective local partnership necessarily. Businesses need colleges to translate the skills agenda into support – which reflects the reality of running and growing an organisation.

Start with the commercial challenge

A business rarely describes its problem in educational terms. It may be struggling to recruit experienced engineers, losing productivity because of a lack of management skills within the team or delaying expansion, because it’s struggling to find people with the right tech capabilities.

The role of a strong FE partner therefore, is to understand the commercial issue behind the training requirement. That means asking about the organisation’s direction, workforce, recruitment difficulties and growth plans before discussing courses, qualifications or funding.

This is especially important for small and medium-sized businesses. A large organisation may have a HR team, an apprenticeship manager and a detailed workforce development strategy. Whereas, the MD of a 20-person company may be handling recruitment, operations and business development personally.

That employer is unlikely to have the time or knowledge to navigate a complicated training system for example. So it needs a partner capable of assessing the situation, identifying the most suitable route and explaining it clearly.

Make the route into FE easier

Further education has a broad and valuable offer, but employers don’t always understand how to access it. Apprenticeships, short courses, technical qualifications, adult skills provision, industry placements and funded training can appear as separate propositions, each accompanied by its own language and processes.

Businesses need a recognisable route into the college and a consistent person who understands them. They shouldn’t have to determine who they need to speak to, or which funding stream or programme applies before making contact. While many have designated managers and coordinators, and departments designed especially for apprenticeships, the businesses won’t necessarily know that.

This also means organising employer engagement around the way businesses seek support. A company should be able to describe its workforce problem and trust in the college to coordinate the appropriate response.

The experience also needs to be proportionate. Employers recognise that public funding requires proper administration and accountability, but repeated forms, unfamiliar terminology and slow responses can discourage participation. This could be somewhat damaging when the organisation is considering an apprenticeship or industry placement for the first time.

The National Audit Office’s examination of T Levels identified securing sufficient industry placements as a continuing challenge for providers. Placements require a genuine commitment from employers which becomes more likely when expectations are clear, communication is reliable and the practical demands on the business have been properly considered.

Provide a response at the pace of business

Curriculum planning and qualification development inevitably take time, yet business demand can change considerably faster.

A contract win, investment decision, new regulation or technological development can alter an employer’s workforce requirements within months. By the time that change appears in a formal labour-market dataset, the business may already be recruiting or attempting to retrain its people.

This does not mean colleges should redesign provision in response to every individual request. It does mean employer intelligence must be gathered continuously and used to identify patterns early.

Regular, informed conversations with businesses can reveal where several employers are experiencing the same emerging need. Colleges can then consider whether existing provision can be adapted, whether a short programme would provide an immediate response or whether employers could be brought together to shape a longer-term solution.

The introduction of 39 new Local Skills Improvement Plans for 2026 to 2029 provides a stronger evidence base for aligning provision with regional priorities. Their value will depend on how effectively those priorities continue to be tested against current employer behaviour and demand.

A plan should provide direction, but the relationships surrounding it will determine how quickly the system can respond.

FE’s should offer influence with a clear purpose

Employers are frequently invited to complete surveys, attend roundtables or contribute to advisory groups. These activities can provide important intelligence, although participation becomes difficult to sustain if businesses can’t see the changes as a result.

Employers should understand what decision they are helping to shape, what contribution is required and when they can expect to see an outcome.

Equally, colleges should be clear about the limits of that influence. Not every request can become a new course. The objective is to identify shared demand and combine employer evidence with the college’s educational expertise.

Businesses bring current knowledge of roles, technologies and working practices. Colleges understand curriculum design, learner development and the requirements of effective teaching and that partnership works when both forms of expertise are respected.

Demonstrate value beyond a qualification

Businesses ultimately judge a partnership by its effect on the organisation. Completion rates and qualifications remain important, but employers are also looking for improved performance, stronger retention, greater confidence and a more dependable route to future talent.

This is especially relevant at a time when employer investment in training is under pressure. The Employer Skills Survey estimated that total training expenditure fell from £59 billion in 2022 to £53 billion in 2024. When budgets are constrained, employers need to understand what training will ultimately achieve and why it is relevant.

Agreeing desired outcomes and reviewing them on completion would be a good measure. Has the training helped the employee be more responsible in the role, or has an apprenticeship supported retention and has the programme addressed a specific operational need it was intended to do?

Only when the foundations are in place, does employer engagement become part of the local infrastructure for growth.

By Adam Herbert, CEO & Co-founder, Go Live Data