To grow technical higher education, invest in FE, says AoC

Responding to the Policy Exchange's report, Engineered for Success, David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said: "We strongly welcome the focus on technical higher education in the new report by the Policy Exchange. All young people, in every postcode, deserve to have access to higher-level technical training so that they can become the skilled workforce businesses are crying out for.

"However, rather than investing £50 million into a "new wave of technical higher education institutions", the most effective and efficient route would be to invest in further education colleges to be able to grow this offer, building on the great work they already do with thousands of employers.  

"Great colleges already serve the cold spot areas the report highlights at all levels of learning and bring an infrastructure, expertise and ambition which should be the starting point to develop and build this provision at scale, rather than trying to set up new organisations, which as the report shows can face big barriers and take many years before they start delivering. The National College for Nuclear, mentioned in the report and led by the UCS College Group in the South West, is a great example of how investing in an existing college can have rapid and lasting impact."