further education uk meaning

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UK Further Education System

Further education in UK is the stage of education between compulsory education and higher education or university education. As we described here , at the UK education system students enter this stage at 16 years of age and finish it up when 18 years old.

In UK, once you complete the secondary school and get the GCSE results you’re free to decide whether you want to seek an education at higher stages or land the job market right away. As such, further education in the UK marks a vital time in one’s life since it indicates his further life’s track.

That said, a scholar has the following options after finishing secondary school:

• Prepare for University
• Vocational education

The education system in UK is very flexible regarding the fact that it offers numerous options for students in terms of career pathways they can get.

If you have no aspiration to attend education at higher stages, but you would rather like to find a good job and live independently then there are countless options to you at this point. Once you step out of your high school and take your GCSEs you can land the job market. Companies around are eager to recruit young and motivated individuals who are looking forward to starting their adventure in the job market. They value your motivation and therefore take care of your transition into the market comes with ease.

In line with this commitment, colleges in cooperation with many employers establish certain recruiting schemes offering short-courses to prepare candidates with the required skills for the job you’re willing to work.

Also, there are many apprenticeships you can get while under a constant professional provision. These short courses are mainly common for jobs in the industry that require a set of technical skills before start working. Surely this is much common for jobs which may require a bit preparation before start doing it. And also the opportunities to seek better job options afterwards are higher than if you have just landed a job which doesn’t require any level of expertise at all.

Further Education Qualifications

Further education qualifications rely on two purposes: to prepare you for seeking a job or to prepare you to get admitted into the university.

Qualifications that can be attained at this stage of education are divided into four sections

Academic qualifications

• Applied learning-qualifications
• Technical qualifications

Functional skills qualifications

On the other side of the coin, there are students who want to pursue higher stages of education. For these students, further education stage in UK represents a great opportunity to make their academic profile more appealing.

Furthermore, students who haven’t taken their GCSE exams at the age of 16 can still seek to make it through this stage of education. This is a much-desired option since UK universities are highly selective and getting a FE qualification will indicate a higher probability to take a university seat. Fortunately, in UK there’s a wide range of these courses covering particular subjects that lead to certain qualifications.

If you decide to get a university degree in a subject you’re interested than academic qualifications are a suitable option for you. These programs last for up to two years and aim to prepare you in a particular number of subjects required at the degree course you’re planning to apply at the university.

Your GCSE scores at particular subjects like English, Math and Sciences play a major role in your admission, while additional higher grades at particular subjects are required. For example, if you’re willing to apply for an Engineering course you may be required to have higher GCSE in English, Math and Physics.

Usually, further education courses cover 5 up to 5 subjects but are mainly focused on only 3 subjects because that’s how much universities expect from incoming applicants.

The following are academic qualifications  you can attain in UK further education

A-Levels – are subject-based qualifications conferred about several subjects. Most students concentrate on three particular subjects because this is what most universities require to get admitted. Over two years, students gain a grounding in subjects they’ve chosen to study and their knowledge attainment is assessed through several examinations

Cambridge Pre-Us – the course leading to this qualification lasts for two years and students can choose up to four subjects from among 26 subjects available.

Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers – are the qualifications required to enroll a Scottish university. Students can choose to focus their course in four subjects among 60 available subjects. Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers are the equivalents of the A-Levels and AS-Levels.

Baccalaureates – are qualifications that combine several academic subjects and particular skills related to them.

Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and Interdisciplinary Project – these qualifications can be taken aside from A-levels or Scottish Highers and you can run an independent study on your favorite subjects.

GCSEs – GCSEs are qualifications that students take when they get over their secondary school, but if one doesn’t score high at particular subjects, particularly in mandatory subjects (English, Maths and Science) he is obliged to undertake these exams during the stage of FE.

If you’re interested in a particular industry and would like to gain the professional skills required to find a job in that industry then vocational courses are are highly recommended to you. These courses are divided into Technical and Functional skills qualifications.

The followings are Technical vocational qualifications awarded as part of the further education in UK .

NVQs and SVQs – qualify you to do a specific job and can be taken if you have a full-time job a course that involves a work placement

Technical levels – several qualifications that grant you a set of practical skills to perform a particular group of tasks in the job environment.

Technical certificates – are designed to equip with a set of skills and knowledge for a particular job where employers hire applicants with level 2 qualifications.

TechBac – is a new programme which is a blending of Technical level qualification, the Extended Project qualification and some elements like teamwork

Aim to prepare you with a set of skills in core subjects of English, maths and ICT to be able to enter higher education or the job market. You can seek to get this qualification as part of an apprenticeship, traineeship or study programme.

Where can I attend a further education course?

Further education courses in UK are offered at so-called sixth form colleges. These are schools that run recognized courses and grant advanced qualifications like A-Levels required to apply at a UK university. Also, they offer similar courses to prepare you to sit in GCSE examination if you haven’t done it by the time you finished secondary school. Note that you can switch places if your school doesn’t offer further education courses.

What is the difference between Further education and Higher education?

For many foreign students when landing a new, unknown educational system which has its original terms and vocabulary, it’s hard to comprehend how it is structured and how it works out.

Many are confounded about the difference between further education and higher education. The reason has to do mainly with the uniqueness and contrast of UK education system to other traditional educational systems applied in other countries of the world.

In UK you cannot head directly to the university once you have completed secondary school, which is the case in most countries of the world. Here the final stage of compulsory education (the secondary school) terminates at 16 years of age in contrast to most countries where the high school is completed when a scholar turns 18.

Further education in UK is the stage at which students decide which path they’re going to take it in the forthcoming stages of their life. Those who have academic goals may choose a course that leads to a specific qualification required to succeed in university application afterwards, others may choose a short course that prepares them for a specific job place and some may drop further education to enter straight into the job market.

But, do universities in UK admit students aged under 18?

Rarely, they do. But there are certain rules applied in such scenario. Commonly a set of conditions and terms must be signed by your parents under an agreement presented by the University of your choice. That said during the further education in UK you either will be seeking to get advanced qualifications to enter university or you will start working full-time.

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What is Further Education?

In A-Level , General by Think Student Editor January 31, 2022 Leave a Comment

For some people, knowing what to do after they finish their GCSEs (or equivalent qualifications) can be a difficult decision. However you feel about the future of your education, further education is something that you have to do by law. It shouldn’t be something that is scary and the more you know about your options, the less scary it will become.

In short, further education is simply education after you’ve completed secondary school, usually at age 16. There are different types of further education. These include level 3 courses such as A-Levels and BTECs. Alternatively, you can leave school and do other types of further education such as an apprenticeship or traineeship. 

If you interested in learning more about your options after you finish your GCSEs (or an equivalent) then you should definitely continue reading. This article will be especially useful to you if you want to know more on specific types of further education, such as A-Levels.

Table of Contents

Further education is education after Year 11 whereby you have completed your GCSEs, at this stage most students are 16 years old. When in further education it is generally a lot more specialised than secondary school education as you study fewer things and may even only be studying and working in one very specific role (such as with an apprenticeship).

Further education tends to be a lot more advanced than secondary school education because the qualifications that you acquire as a part of further education tend to be Level 3 qualifications . Level 3 qualifications include A-Levels, BTECs and some apprenticeships. however, there are also Level 2 qualifications that can be taken as part of further education.

Further education is often confused with higher education. To ensure you don’t make this mistake I will give you a brief explanation of the latter. Higher education is education after the age of 18 and is usually undertaken at a university. If you want to learn more about what further education is follow this link  by the goodschoolsguide.

Is it compulsory to be in full time education until age 18?

In England, it is compulsory for people under the age of 18 to be in some form of education . Essentially, this means that students have no choice but to be doing further education.

Although further education is compulsory, this stage isn’t like earlier stages of education and differs from school in many ways. An example of how further education may differ is your timetable won’t be the same as the school timetable, you will have free periods and much more independence. Also, if you are at a sixth form college you are unlikely to have to wear a uniform and may call your teachers by their first name.

When it comes to further education you have a few options. You could continue to study in a traditional way, where you are at sixth form or sixth form college . These options would involve you having to go to lessons and do specific work. Alternatively, you could do an apprenticeship, or you could even have a full-time job as long as you are doing one of the other two options alongside it. 

Further education in England only became compulsory recently as these laws were only put in place in 2014, see this link for more information.  The idea of introducing these laws was to improve the career prospects and opportunities that young people have for the future . This law means young people were able to develop more skills and qualifications that they could use later on in life.

What are A-Levels?

In the UK, taking A-Levels (Which is short for Advanced Levels) is a form of further education (please note that they are not taken in Scotland). As a type of further education, they are typically done after GCSEs and are considerably the most traditional route of further education . You can learn more about A-Levels in this Think Student article.

A-Levels are the most common form of further education, this is due to how A-Levels are taught. A-Levels are studied in a similar way to how you were taught during secondary school. If you go to a sixth form at your school you will actually be taught A-Levels in the same building, by many of the same teachers as you studied your GCSEs.

The experience you have while doing your A-Levels will be significantly different to if you were still a Year 11 in secondary school. For example, you are given free periods and you may even be given other freedoms in sixth form college that you wouldn’t even dream of while in secondary school. A-Levels although similar are different from your GCSEs. A-Levels are generally harder and go into more depth in each subject area. If you want to find out more about the step up from GCSEs to A-Levels check out this Think Student article.

Benefits of Taking A-Levels

Taking A-Levels can have many benefits, especially as they are the most recognised Level 3 qualification in the UK. While they don’t directly prepare you for the working world, they act as a great way for you to work towards your goals.  A-Levels enable students to learn about their favourite subjects in greater detail so that they are able to decide whether those subjects might be of interest when considering future career paths.

You can only study up to 3 or 4 subjects (except for rare occasions) and so you have to think about which subjects are best for you. This may be based on which ones you enjoy, or it could even be based on which ones you need for whatever you are working towards. If you are planning on going onto higher education you may require certain grades in specific A-Level subjects, therefore it’s important to pick the right A-Levels for you.

If you need some help making this decision then look here for 11 Tips to Help You Decide Which A-Levels to Take .

As you pick your subjects (or at least by the end of your courses), you will probably have begun to think about what you want to do next. You may want to go on to higher education (such as university),  taking A-Levels is considered the best route to get to university as it is a rather natural progression and is generally a common requirement for university . Having said this most universities also have entry requirements for other types of qualification, such as for BTECs.

What are BTECs?

BTECs are another form of further education that you can do at sixth form college. BTEC stands for Business and Technology Education Council, which is the council that created them. This council later merged with London Examinations (ULEAC) in 1996 to form the exam board, Edexcel (now known as Pearson Edexcel), click here to learn more.

Although BTECs and A-Levels can be studied alongside each other, they are very different. This is especially true because BTECs are a type of vocational qualification, so unlike A-Levels, they tend to be more practical and work-based.

BTECs also tend not to have the long exams at the end of the two years and instead are assessed more gradually with smaller tests or coursework throughout the course.  At the end of the course, you won’t receive a grade from the A*-G lettering system but instead a pass, merit, or distinction (or distinction star).  For more information about how BTECs are assessed looked at  this Think Student article .

What are the different types of BTECs?

There are different types of BTEC, you would most likely take one (or more) of the Level 3 qualifications, which are BTEC Nationals. Although you could also take the Level 2 option, which are BTEC Firsts (this will depend on what you want to do and also possibly on how well you did on your GCSEs). For more information about the different type of BTECs you can look at this UCAS article.

There are 3 main types of BTEC National, that you can take at sixth form college, these are: the BTEC National Extended Certificate, the BTEC National Diploma and the BTEC National Extended Diploma (although these may also be called alternative names).

The best way to distinguish between them is to think about how many A-Levels they are equivalent to. Generally, the Extended Certificate is only worth one A-Level, the Diploma is worth two A-Levels and the Extended Diploma is worth three A-Levels. To understand more about BTECs check out this article by Pearson.

Studying a BTEC National for further education, can give you plenty of opportunities for the future .  As BTECs are highly job-specific, you can go straight into full-time employment once you turn 18 and finish your course . This option can be exceptionally great for you if you know exactly what you want to do or even if studying and school in general just isn’t for you.

What are Apprenticeships?

Apprenticeships are another, less traditional form of further education that you can do but unlike A-Levels or BTECs, you are not at sixth form college full-time.

Apprenticeships are all at least 12 months long and during this time you will be working alongside experienced staff, allowing you to train for the job. During an apprenticeship, you will also be working towards a nationally recognised formal qualification, so you will also have to go to college or some kind of training centre (but this is generally only about once a week).

The qualification that you get will depend on what apprenticeship you do as well as the level of apprenticeship but the most common are functional skills, a Nation Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and technical certificates (such as BTECs). Look at  this UCAS article  for more information about apprenticeships.

What are the different types of Apprenticeships?

Just like with BTECs, there are different levels of apprenticeship that you can take in the UK. There are intermediate apprenticeships, advanced apprenticeships, higher apprenticeships, and degree apprenticeships.  Click here to learn more.

For further education, you would generally take either an intermediate apprenticeship which is a level 2 qualification (equivalent to GCSEs), or you would take an advanced apprenticeship, which is a level 3 qualification which is equivalent to A-Levels.

For higher education, you could take a higher apprenticeship, which would either be a level 4 or a level 5 qualification. Degree apprenticeships are as the name suggests, as they are equivalent to bachelor’s or master’s degrees depending on the level.

Benefits of doing an Apprenticeship

Taking an apprenticeship for further education can really open up new doors for you in the future.  As apprenticeships directly train you for a specific job, you could immediately begin working once you have finished it. 

You would most likely have already built up the skills you need to begin working in that career. This is why 85% of people who finish their apprenticeships are still in employment. You may even be able to work for the company that you did your apprenticeship at as 64% of people who completed their apprenticeships did so. For more statistics about apprentices and apprenticeships look  here .

Alternatively, if you don’t want to go straight into official full-time work then you could begin another apprenticeship at a higher level . If you initially took an advanced apprenticeship, you could go on to take a higher apprenticeship and so on. This could also be a great opportunity for you to gain more experience but still keep the support than you have when doing an apprenticeship. This could also allow you to further your career without fully committing the position.

What are T-Levels?

T-Levels  are another form of further education that are worth 3 A-levels and last 2 years. When studying, your time is split between being taught in a classroom and having work experience at an actual business. T-Levels therefore can be described as something in between BTECs and apprenticeships.

During the course, you will have at least 315 hours at an industry placement, allowing you to build up your skills and put what you have learnt into practice. T-Levels are a much newer form of further education than the other examples as they were only launched in September 2020, so you may not have even heard about them.

This also means that the number of subjects currently available and the  places that you can study them  are both very limited, although this will increase . Click here to see where you can study T-Levels. You can also look at this Think Student article for more information about the subjects that you can take for T-Levels.

T-Levels are graded in a similar way to BTECs. Therefore, you will get either a pass, merit, or distinction grade. These grades can be converted into UCAS points which could help you go onto university if you so choose. Check out this Think Student article to learn how T-Levels are graded.

Taking a T-Level for further education can lead to many different opportunities.  They were created with businesses in mind, you could go straight into work and apply the skills that you have learnt. This is especially great for you if you don’t want to study anymore and if you feel confident to test out your abilities in the real world.

What Is Further Education? A Guide To The Options

If you’re wondering what to do after you finish school, further education can in many different directions.

Once you finish school you may be left stuck on the next path, but there are lots of different further education routes that you can choose to go down.

What is further education?

Further education (FE) is any study that’s taken after you finish secondary education (GCSEs, in year 11). This differs from higher education, which is taken as part of an undergraduate or graduate degree. Unlike GCSEs which are standard for all year 11 pupils, you can choose what route of further education you’d like to take.

Further education options

1. a levels.

A levels are one of the most common choices when it comes to further education. If you attend sixth form or college, you’ll probably choose to take A levels. When taking A Levels you’ll choose a couple of subjects, probably ones similar to what you did for GCSE or your favourite subjects from school to focus on and will complete them over 2 years. A level subjects are normally quite traditional and will be similar to what you’ve learnt in school, just at a more specialised level, so they are best suited for people who favour more traditionally academic subjects.

A levels are free to sit and are offered at most colleges and sixth forms within the UK, so for many people if your secondary school has a sixth form you can easily just stay on for sixth form and continue your education there. When applying for uni, most unis will ask for certain A level grades as the standard entry criteria for example AAB, however, there are other courses you can take which are equivalent if there aren’t A level courses for subjects you’re interested in.

2. Art Foundation Diploma Course

If you’re interested in art, an art foundation diploma course is a type of BTEC level 3 and 4 qualification, and a vocational course that lasts for one year. Vocational courses are for subjects that aren’t traditionally academic and an art foundation can help steer you in the right direction if you’re looking to do an art course at university.

An art foundation diploma could act as a stand-alone qualification, or you could use it to help you confirm a place in university to study an art course at a higher level. If you do choose to do a fine art degree at uni, you’ll need to have completed a foundation diploma first, so this is the best option for students who know this is the route they want to go down as opposed to taking more traditional academic subjects as A levels.

Art foundation diplomas are free for anyone under 19 who has finished school, however, if you choose to take one later in life when you’re over 19 it will cost you around £1,300.

3. BTEC Nationals

BTEC Nationals are a good option for students who are better at practical skills. BTEC courses are level 3 courses just like A levels, so by successfully completing BTEC courses, you can secure a place in university just as you would by taking A levels.

BTEC courses are made up of a number of units and an 18 unit course is equivalent to 3 A levels, but if you sit a 12 unit BTEC you may also need an A level qualification too to make up the points needed to get into a university course.

If you’re studying a BTEC you’ll be learning valuable workplace and practical skills, alongside academic theory which is very valuable to future employers. BTECs are assessed by ongoing assessments throughout the year, practical tests and exams. You can take BTECs at the majority of colleges across the UK in subjects including: art and design, business, childcare, construction, media, travel and tourism, public services, fashion, hospitality and more.

While you can study more traditional subjects as BTECs, the courses tend to cover subjects that A levels don’t and are a good option for people who would prefer to specialise in something different to the academic subjects you learn in school.

4. Technical Baccalaureate (TechBac)

The TechBac was introduced in 2014 and are practical, vocational courses aimed at 16-19-year-olds who want technical qualifications and “soft skills”. Soft skills are skills that are desired in the workplace, such as being able to communicate effectively, being adaptable, working well in a team and being able to take constructive criticism.

Each course has to be recognised by the support of a National professional body or experts within their field, for example, Microsoft and Bosch. Students who choose to do a TechBach are recognised by employers as being work-ready, helping to immediately improve employability chances after completing the qualification. TechBachs will give you both a technical qualification and soft skills, so they’re a great option for students who would rather go straight into working instead of progressing into higher education.

Students under 19 can apply for funding to cover the costs of the course, and the course will be measured in hours, normally taking anywhere between 360-1080 hours to complete.

5. Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are a form of further education combined with working, so you’ll be doing on the job training allowing you to work while studying. If you do an apprenticeship you’ll get a qualification and you’ll be paid a salary at the same time.

Apprenticeships are available for school leavers over 16 and you can do courses in industries such as childcare, fashion, advertising, law, teaching, accounting, engineering, hairdressing as well as the more traditional trades such as utilities.

An advanced level apprenticeship (which is taken as further education, and is Level 3 the same as A levels) will typically take between 15 to 28 months to complete. Once done you’ll have a qualification and the skills needed to go into your chosen career sector.

6. T Levels

If you haven’t heard of T Levels before, that’s because they’re a new qualification introduced in September 2020. T Levels are equivalent to 3 A levels and are 2-year courses, developed in collaboration with employers and businesses so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for work, or further study or training.

T Levels offer a mixture of classroom learning and on-the-job experience including an industry placement of at least 45 days. T Level subject areas include: accounting, catering, design, education, finance, health, legal, science, media, management, childcare, animal care and many more. As T Levels are a new qualification, they’re only just being rolled out across certain colleges in the UK, but there are lots of new courses scheduled to be available from September 2022 and 2023, which you can check here .

T Levels have been designed to be one of the main choices for students after finishing their GCSEs so you will be hearing a lot more about them in future years, and they’re based on the same standards as apprenticeships on the basis that they’re designed by employers but differ as you won’t be earning a wage. You will be able to go on to uni after completing T Levels, which will be worth certain UCAS points when applying for university courses.

Although most schools will push A levels as the option you should take once you’ve finished GCSEs, there are plenty of other options which can also lead to uni if that’s what you’re interested in, or straight into a job. Of course, the choice is up to you based on what you think you’d enjoy the most and be best at, but it’s definitely something to think about carefully as it can help to define your future.

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Further Education System

When students reach the age of 16 and have completed their GCSEs they have a few options to choose from:

Academic Qualifications

Vocational qualifications.

If students opt for carrying on with their education this will take two forms, either by pursuing further academic qualifications or by following a vocational pathway.

Most schools in the UK have what is called a "6th Form" for students to enter after they have taken their GCSEs. As an alternative, there are many "6th Form Colleges" that will offer the same courses from students at schools that do not have a 6th form. Here students typically study A-levels, further academic qualifications required of students before they enter higher education and a degree program.

A-levels, like GCSEs, follow a two-year program and there are two components to them: full A-levels and half AS-levels. Generally A-levels comprise of 6 modules, and an AS-level has 3 modules.

Students will generally take between two to three A-levels, but depending on your academic ability and drive you may take more. Students at independent schools may take anywhere up to 5 A-levels.

For students who are not so academically minded, they still have the option to further their education by studying a vocational course that will provide them with a more hands on experience and education.

The most popular vocation programs include:

• BTEC Awards
• National Vocational Qualification (NVQ)
• City and Guilds Qualification
• Apprenticeships

Most international students coming into the UK will be taking academic programs with the aim of gaining admittance to a degree program. If you are one of those students, visit the UK Higher Education System page.

Please note that Scotland has a separate education system and does not conform to the above structure. Please learn more about the Scottish Education System .

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Further education

Whether you've just finished your GCSEs or are looking to return to education through adult learning, consider what the UK's further education (FE) sector has to offer. Discover how to apply for college courses, and explore studying for A-levels, T Levels, HNCs, BTEC diplomas or higher apprenticeships.

How to apply for college in the UK

Discover how to secure a place on your preferred course with this guide to applying for college in the UK

Overview of the UK's further education sector

College courses

BTEC diplomas

Studying A-levels at college

Adult education

T Level courses

HNC qualifications

Higher apprenticeships

Alternatives to university

Getting into university

How to apply for reasonable adjustments

Apprenticeships

Foundation degrees

HND courses

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Further education in England: the facts

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(Photograph) - Official statistics giving the most up-to-date information on the further education sector in England. The further education sector comprises 456 general further education colleges, tertiary colleges, sixth-form colleges (including former voluntary-aided and voluntary-controlled), agriculture and horticulture colleges, art and design and performing arts colleges and 14 specialist designated colleges.

The specialist designated colleges such as the Northern College of Residential Adult Education and Ruskin College recruit on a national basis in contrast to the predominantly local recruitment of most other colleges.

In addition to further education sector colleges, there are some 50 higher education institutions with further education work and some 400 other providers known as "external institutions", which are mainly local authority adult education centres also receiving cash from the Further Education Funding Council in 1994/95.

College information

* more than Pounds 2.6 billion in recurrent funding was allocated by the council to further education sector colleges, higher education institutions and external institutions in 1994/95 (figure 1)

* there are more than 450 further education colleges in England (figure 2). More than 60 per cent of colleges are general further education and tertiary colleges, 25 per cent are sixth-form colleges and the remainder are specialist art and design, agriculture and horticulture or designated colleges

* further education colleges vary in size (figure 3) both in terms of enrolments and full-time equivalents (FTEs). Thirty per cent of colleges had more than 18,000 enrolments. In terms of FTEs, 30 per cent of colleges have up 1,000 FTEs and 8 per cent have more than 5,000 FTE

* the proportion of income colleges receive from the council is around 90 per cent on average for sixth-form colleges, 71 per cent for tertiary colleges, 65 per cent for general further education colleges, 52 per cent for art, design and performing arts colleges, and 45 per cent for agriculture and horticulture colleges. The remaining income comes from a number of sources including education contracts with local education authorities, Training and Enterprise Councils, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, as well as tuition fees and charges Student information

* the majority of students in sixth form colleges are enrolled on full-time full-year programmes (figure 4). Students in other colleges in the further education sector are enrolled on a mixture of part-time and full-time programmes

* students in sixth-form colleges are mainly studying humanities, science, business and art and design subjects. Humanities includes foreign languages. In further education and tertiary colleges, there is a much wider distribution of students between programme areas. Students in other specialist colleges are studying on programmes that reflect the specialism of the college (figure 7)

Note that the total enrolments in figure 7 differ from figure 4 because of differences in institutional coverage and time period.

* a small amount of provision in further education colleges, some 5 per cent, is of higher education courses (figure 5)

* more than half of students in further education colleges study for vocational qualifications. A further quarter study for GCEs and GCSEs. Comparable information is not yet available for sixth-form colleges, however, the great majority are studying for GCE A levels

* 74 per cent of students in further education are adults, the majority of these are young adults. Men and women are fairly evenly represented up to the age of 24. At 25 and over, women outnumber men (figure 6). Comparable information is not yet available for sixth-form colleges, however, the great majority of students in sixth-form colleges are aged 16 to 18 Participation

* overall participation in education by 16 to 18-year-olds increased 15 percentage points from 1987/88 to 1993/94. Full-time participation by 16 to 18-year-olds is increasing in all institutions whereas part-time participation on FE courses is decreasing (figure 9)

Note that sixth-form colleges are excluded from figure 6, 8 and 9 as the data source for these tables is the further education statistical record (FESR) which sixth form colleges do not return.

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• scholarship
• special educational needs
• traineeship
• virtual learning environment
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UK Further Education

Not sure you’re ready for a Bachelor’s degree? Interested in both academic and vocational courses?

Enrol at a UK further education college. You can gain a UK Higher Education qualification such as a Higher National Diploma (HND), enhance your career prospects, and still top-up to a university degree later.

Why choose the UK further education?

If you would like to study in the UK and want to keep your options flexible, a course at a UK further education college could be the solution.

UK further education (FE) colleges are funded by the Government and offer access courses, higher education-level diplomas and in some cases full Bachelor’s degrees. College qualifications are designed to equip students with job-specific skills that they can transfer into the workplace, boosting their employability. They are designed in close partnership with employers, thereby ensuring a competitive edge and exposure to the latest industry.

UK college diplomas such as HNDs are often more affordable than other types of courses and offer articulation pathways to Bachelor’s degrees at a range of universities. Completion of an HND is considered equivalent to the second year of a university degree in the UK. In addition, many UK FE colleges also offer higher education qualifications in direct partnership with universities.

Studying at a college is a different experience to studying at university.College class sizes are generally smaller than at university and you will probably be in more timetabled classes. A college course is a great way to prepare for independent study and learning, progressing to university later if you choose to. There are colleges located all across the UK, in big cities, small towns and rural areas.

If you would like more information about the UK’s further education offer, including locations of colleges, courses and entry requirements, please visit the following links:

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General further education colleges offer high-quality academic, technical and vocational education to people of all ages. There are 158 further education colleges in England, educating hundreds of thousands of students each year.

The colleges offer a broad suite of qualifications and courses in levels 1 to 6, including higher national certificates (HNCs), higher national diplomas (HNDs), A levels, apprenticeships, T levels, GCSEs, BTECs, Cambridge technicals, post-graduate degrees and many more. There’s also a huge range of choices in skills to study: from engineering and hospitality, to IT and construction. You can often also study A levels at a general further education college.

Lecturers have often come to teaching after a successful career in their respective industries, which means that students are taught to demonstrate industry-level skills, behaviours and attitudes. Further education colleges take pride in their facilities too, and inside many buildings, you’ll find high specification, industry-standard facilities.

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• Further education outcomes

Updated to add link to industry dashboard

Introduction

The Further Education Outcomes publication presents statistics on the employment, earnings and learning outcomes of further education learners.

This publication covers learners who achieved apprenticeships, 19+ education and training learners, and learners who completed a traineeship in 2020/21, and tracks their outcomes in the following academic year (2021/22). Revised data for previous years is also provided.

Headline facts and figures - 2020/21

Overall, sustained activity has risen for learners achieving in England in 2020/21 compared to the previous year, driven by an increase in sustained employment rate. 

Of the 785,520 learners who achieved a government funded further education learning aim (including apprenticeships) in the 2020/21 academic year, in the following year:

• 80% of learners had a sustained destination in employment, learning, or both, representing a 4 ppt increase from 2019/20. 
• 70% of learners had a sustained employment destination, representing a 5 ppt increase from 2019/20. 
• 24% of learners had a sustained learning destination, a rate that remains unchanged from 2019/20. 

The increase in the sustained employment rate likely reflects the fact that learners achieving in 2020/21 are the first cohort since those achieving in 2017/18 where the employment destination reference period has not overlapped with any COVID-19 restrictions within England. This has also driven the rise in the overall sustained positive destination rate.

Explore data and files used in this release

View or create your own tables.

View tables that we have built for you, or create your own tables from open data using our table tool

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Browse and download open data files from this release in our data catalogue

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Learn more about the data files used in this release using our online guidance

Download all data (ZIP)

Download all data available in this release as a compressed ZIP file

View related dashboard(s)

This dashboard has recently been developed to allow users to effectively interrogate large data sources and create bespoke tables and charts.  The underlying data files are also available in the ‘Explore data and files’ section of this release, and in the table tool.

Industry dashboard

To view the industry dashboard, please use the following link : Further Education Outcomes Industry Dashboard

The dashboard has two main pages looking at the flow of learners between learning and industry of employment:

• Industry by subject: Shows which industries learners from the selected subject area move into employment in.
• Subject by industry: Shows which subjects learners from the selected industry studied prior to employment.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for improvements on this dashboard, please submit them using our  feedback form .

About these statistics

This publication was formerly known as ‘Further education outcome-based success measures’ (OBSM). Although the name has been amended for clarity, the content of the publication remains unchanged.

What are further education outcomes and what do they cover?

Further education outcomes (FEO) shows the percentage of further education learners going to or remaining in an education and/or employment destination in the academic year after achieving their learning aim. The most recent data reports on learners who achieved their aim in the 2020/21 academic year, and identifies their education and/or employment destinations the following year (2021/22). 

FEO also includes estimates on the earnings outcomes of learners who achieved a Full Level 2, Full Level 3 or Level 4+ qualification and have an earnings record, a record of sustained employment and no record of further study at a Higher Education institution within the earning year. 

This publication reports outcomes by various learner demographics and type and level of learning. Where a learner achieves more than one aim within an academic year, the outcomes for the learner are reported against the highest and latest aim within that year. For example, if a learner achieves an aim at Level 2, and a separate Full Level 3 aim in the same academic year, their destinations will be reported against the Full Level 3 aim. Full Level 2 and Full Level 3 are counted as higher than other Level 2 and Level 3 aims respectively, and apprenticeship aims are prioritised over education and training aims.

What data is used?

The Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset is used, which looks at how learners move through education and into the labour market by bringing together:

• schools, further and higher education information from the Department for Education (DfE)
• employment information from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
• benefit histories from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)

All learner counts reported here relate to those learners for whom a match was found in the LEO data, therefore the counts will not match headline achievements in the FE & Skills National Statistics release .

What further data is available?

In addition to the headline measures presented in this publication, further data is available on detailed destination, earnings and progression measures broken down by geographic areas, provider, learner demographics, type/level of learning completed and qualification title.  

A number of detailed breakdowns using this data have been signposted throughout the publication, and can also be accessed using the table builder tool which allows users to build custom tables. Alternatively, the underlying data files themselves can be downloaded from the ‘Explore data and files' section above.

Provider level figures are not currently available through the table builder tool, but can be downloaded from the ‘Explore data and files’ section above.

The outcomes in this release are presented as raw figures. They do not seek to control for differences in learner characteristics that may influence outcomes over time or across different learner populations.

Rounding and suppression

Full details on rounding and suppression are available in the accompanying methodology document. 

Any percentage point (ppt) changes reported that appear to mismatch the percentages provided in the charts and tables are due to rounding conventions. The use of rounding and suppression may also mean that some charts do not appear to add up to 100%.

Overall results

Destinations of all learners.

What is a sustained positive destination? To be counted in a sustained positive destination, learners have to be recorded as having participated in education and/or employment for a 6-month period (October 2021 – March 2022) in the year following study. This means attending for all of the first two terms of the academic year at one or more education provider, spending the 6 months in employment or having returned a self-assessment record for the destination year, or a combination of employment and learning (see methodology document for further information). A sustained apprenticeship is recorded when 6 months of continuous participation is recorded at any point in the destination year (between August 2021 and July 2022). How are multiple destinations recorded? Destinations are not mutually exclusive and learners can be recorded as being both in sustained employment and in sustained learning. For example, the overall sustained employment rate is made up of learners with a sustained employment destination only, as well as learners with a sustained employment and learning destination. Further information is available in the accompanying methodology document.

In the academic year 2020/21, 785,520 learners achieved a government funded further education learning aim or completed a traineeship. Of these learners:

• 80% of learners had a sustained destination in employment, learning, or both. 
• A further 11% had a positive destination, but it was not sustained. 
• 4% of these learners had no positive destination and were in receipt of benefits.
• 5% of learners had no identifiable destination in the data.

The percentage of learners with a sustained positive destination rate rose dropped from 78% in 2017/18 to 76% in 2019/20 before rising to 80% in 2020/21.

Sustained employment has increased and remains the most common destination.

• Sustained employment has risen from 65% in 2019/20 to 70% in 2020/21.
• 56% of learners who achieved in 2020/21 were in sustained employment only in 2021/22, whilst 14% had a sustained learning and employment destination.

The increase in sustained employment drove the rise in the sustained positive destination rate for 2020/21. This increase in the sustained employment rate likely reflects the fact that learners achieving in 2020/21 are the first cohort since those achieving in 2017/18 where the employment destination reference period has not overlapped with COVID-19 restrictions within England.

The second most common destination was going into further learning.

• 24% of learners in 2020/21 went on to a sustained learning destination. This remains unchanged from 2019/20.
• For 10% of learners this was their only sustained destination. 

Apprentices achieving in 2020/21 were most likely to go on to a sustained positive destination in 2021/22. 

• 93% of learners who achieved an apprenticeship went into a sustained positive destination. 
• 78% of learners who achieved an education and training course went into a sustained positive destination.
• 70% of learners who completed a traineeship went into a sustained positive destination.

For more detailed breakdowns by provision, please see the Adult Education and Training, Apprenticeships or Traineeships accordions below.

Learning destination rates remain relatively stable over time, with slight increases in the overall sustained learning and sustained higher education rates this year.

For learners who achieved in 2020/21:

• The sustained learning destination rate was 24%
• 17% of learners went on to sustained further education, a decrease of 1 ppt since 2019/20.
• 6% of learners went on to sustained higher education, an increase of 1 ppt since 2019/20.
• 4% of learners went on to a sustained apprenticeship.

Destinations by region 

Sustained positive destinations varied significantly between regions in england..

For learners who achieved in academic year 2020/21, sustained positive destination and employment rates followed a similar pattern to previous years: 

• The South West had the highest sustained employment rate of 77%, and both the South West and South East had the highest sustained positive destination rate of 84%.
• London had the lowest sustained positive destination rate of 77% and lowest sustained employment rate of 64%.

Conversely, London had the highest sustained learning rate of 28%, with the North East having the lowest sustained learning rate of 19%. 

Broadly, sustained positive destination rates were higher in southern and eastern regions of England, and lower in northern and western regions.

Adult education and training

Destinations of education and training learners.

What is education and training? Education and training is mainly classroom-based adult further education that is not classed as an apprenticeship or community learning. It can also include distance learning or e-learning. Contrary to the Education & Training statistics in the ‘ FE and Skills’ National Statistics, it excludes traineeships and offender learning.

Of the 785,520 learners in 2020/21, 634,900 achieved an education and training course as their highest learning aim:

• 78% went into a sustained positive destination in 2021/22, a 6 ppt rise from the previous year. 
• 65% went into sustained employment, the highest rate in the last 5 years.
• 26% went into a sustained learning destination, remaining relative stable compared to previous years. 
• 4% of learners were in receipt of benefits only, the lowest rate in the last 5 years. 

The increase in the sustained employment rate likely reflects the fact that learners achieving in 2020/21 are the first cohort since those achieving in 2017/18 where the employment destination reference period has not overlapped with COVID-19 restrictions within England. This has also driven the rise in the overall sustained positive destination rate.

Destinations by level of learning achieved

What is level of learning? Most learning aims have a difficulty level. The higher the level, the more difficult the learning aim is. Further information can be found on this list of qualification levels . How is the level of learning classified for learners with multiple aims? This publication reports outcomes by various learner demographics and type and level of learning. Where a learner achieves more than one aim within an academic year, the outcomes for the learner are reported against the highest and latest aim within that year. For example, if a learner achieves an aim at Level 2, and a separate Full Level 3 aim in the same academic year, their destinations will be reported against the Full Level 3 aim. Full Level 2 and Full Level 3 are counted as higher than other Level 2 and Level 3 aims respectively, and apprenticeship aims are prioritised over education and training aims.

Education and training learners who studied at higher levels tended to have higher sustained positive destination rates.

The overall sustained positive destination rate of learners who had achieved: 

• Full Level 2 was 82%
• Full Level 3 was 86%
• Level 4 was 84%
• Level 5 was 90% 
• Level 6 was 93%

Details on learning destinations by level of learning achieved can be found in the following tables:

Learning destinations for education and training learners achieving a full level 3 aim in 2020/21 learning destinations for education and training learners achieving a full level 2 aim in 2020/21 learning destinations for education and training learners achieving other level 2 aims in 2020/21 learning destinations for education and training learners achieving a level 1 aim in 2020/21, access to higher education courses.

Access to Higher Education courses are qualifications which prepare people without traditional qualifications for study at university

18,410 learners achieved an ‘Access to Higher Education’ course in 2020/21: 

• 67% of learners went on to a sustained higher education course in 2021/22, a decrease of 4 ppts from the previous year. 
• The ‘Construction, Planning and the Built Environment’ sector subject area had the highest rate of sustained higher education at 83%.
• ‘Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care’ had the lowest rate of sustained higher education at 39%, the only sector subject area where fewer than half of the learners did not progress to higher education. This likely reflects the fact that there are comparatively fewer higher education courses in this sector subject area.

Destinations by region

Sustained positive destination rates varied across regions in England for Education and Training learners. 

• The South West had the highest sustained employment rate of 73%, and both the South West and South East had the highest sustained positive destination rate of 81%.
• The North West had the lowest sustained positive destination rate of 75% and the lowest sustained employment rate of 60%. 

Sustained learning rates followed a slightly different pattern to employment and overall positive destination rates. 

• London had the highest sustained learning rate of 30%
• The North East had the lowest sustained learning rate of 18%. 

Apprenticeships

Destinations of apprenticeship learners.

What is an apprenticeship? Apprenticeships are paid jobs that incorporate on-the-job and off-the-job training leading to nationally recognised qualifications. As an employee, apprentices earn as they learn and gain practical skills in the workplace.

The proportion of apprenticeship learners in 2020/21 moving into sustained positive destinations remains consistent with previous years.

Of the 138,750 learners achieving an apprenticeship as their highest aim in 2020/21: 

• 93% had a sustained positive destination, remaining consistent with previous years.
• 92% had a sustained employment rate, remaining consistent with previous years.
• 15% had a sustained learning rate, a decrease of 2 ppt from 2019/20.

Sustained positive destination rates remain higher for apprenticeships than any other type of provision. This is to be expected as many apprentices remain with the employer following their apprenticeship, which results in a high rate of sustained employment.

Higher level apprenticeships tend to have higher sustained employment rates but lower sustained learning rates.

• There was a 4 ppt difference between the sustained employment rate of Level 4, Level 6 and Level 7+ apprenticeship learners, who had the highest rate of 95%, and intermediate (Level 2) apprenticeship learners, who had the lowest rate of 91%. 
• There was an 18 ppt difference between the sustained learning rate of intermediate (Level 2) apprenticeship learners, who had the highest rate of 20%, and Level 7+ apprenticeship learners, who had the lowest rate of 2%. This likely reflects the fact that learners who are already highly qualified are unlikely to move into additional education compared to learners achieving a lower level qualification.

However, overall positive destination rates were fairly consistent across all apprenticeship levels.

Destinations by apprenticeship type

What are apprenticeship frameworks and apprenticeship standards? As part of the Government’s apprenticeship reform programme, apprenticeship frameworks were phased out by the start of the 2020/21 academic year. Instead, new apprenticeship standards were introduced in 2014. Apprenticeship standards are focused on quality learning, with a single end point assessment, and are developed by employers and industry experts.

In the 2020/21 academic year there were 60,500 apprenticeship frameworks and 78,250 apprenticeship standards achieved. The number of apprenticeship standard achievements will continue to increase and apprenticeship frameworks will decrease as they are phased out.

Learners achieving apprenticeship standards were more likely to move into a sustained positive destination than learners achieving apprenticeship frameworks.

• The overall positive destination rate for apprenticeship standards (94%) was higher than that of apprenticeship frameworks (93%). This trend was generally consistent across most apprenticeship levels.
• Learners on apprenticeship standards were more likely to go into sustained employment compared to framework apprenticeships across most levels. 
• Learners achieving framework apprenticeships were overall more likely to go into sustained learning only compared to standard apprenticeships. However, when looking at the level of apprenticeships, intermediate and Level 4 apprenticeships were the only levels where learners had a higher rate of sustained learning destinations for frameworks than standards.

Sustained learning showed a different pattern across regions to sustained employment and overall sustained positive destinations. 

Across regions in England:

• The sustained positive destination rate was fairly uniform, with London having the lowest rate of 92%, followed by the North East and North West with 93%. All other regions of England has a sustained positive destination rate of 94%. 
• London and the North East had the lowest sustained employment rate at 91%, followed by the North West and West Midlands with 92%. All other regions had a sustained employment rate of 93%.
• London also  had the lowest sustained learning rate of 12%, while the North East had the highest rate at 18%. 

Traineeships

Destinations of traineeship learners.

What are traineeships? Traineeships are a work-based pathway programme to apprenticeships and other employment for young people aged 16 to 24 (or up to age 25 if they have an Education Health and Care Plan) with no higher than a Level 3 qualification.

Employment is the most common sustained destination for traineeship learners.

There were 11,870 learners who completed a traineeship as their highest aim in 2020/21. Of these learners:

• 70% had a sustained positive destination in 2021/22.
• 59% went into sustained employment.
• 35% went into sustained learning.
• 21% went into a positive destination which was not sustained.

The proportion of traineeship learners moving into a sustained positive destination has risen

The percentage of traineeship learners with a sustained positive destination increased by 10 ppts in 2020/21 (70%), up from 60% in 2019/20. This represents the highest sustained positive destination rate in the last 5 years.

The proportion of traineeship learners going into any positive destination (whether sustained or not) was 91% in 2020/21, a 9 ppt increase from 2019/20 (82%). 

The percentage of 2020/21 traineeship learners going into sustained:

• Employment (59%) has increased 14 ppts since 2019/20 and increased 7 ppts since 2016/17.
• Further education (28%) has decreased 3 ppts since 2019/20 and decreased 1 ppt since 2016/17.
• Apprenticeships (19%) has increased 2 ppts since 2019/20 and decreased 2 ppts since 2016/17.
• Higher education (4%) has increased 2 ppts since 2019/20 and increased 3 ppts since 2016/17.

Explore traineeships data

You can create your own tables looking at traineeships data by using the table builder tool to explore the underlying data file 'Destinations by demographics and provision (NAT01)’.  

The following tables also offer a range of useful breakdowns:

Traineeships data The number of traineeship learners completing their course is reported on, rather than the number achieved, as the definition of ‘achieving’ a traineeship is based on the learner’s outcome. Note that some traineeships go on to complete further aims at a higher level in the same academic year, and a learner's outcomes are reported against the highest aim. Therefore, traineeship numbers presented here will be lower than those presented in the ‘Further education and skills’ publication Percentages are calculated using unrounded figures, discrepancies in sum totals are due to rounding.

Community learning

What is community learning? Community learning includes a range of community based and outreach learning opportunities, primarily managed and delivered by local authorities and general further education colleges, and designed to bring together adults (often of different ages and backgrounds).

There were 177,840 learners whose highest aim was in community learning in 2020/21. Community learners are a distinct group from the 785,520 learners reported on in other sections of this publication.

Of these learners, in the year following their learning aim:

• 71% had a sustained positive destination.
• 63% were in sustained employment.
• 19% were in sustained learning.
• 43% were in some form of learning whether sustained or otherwise.

Why do so many community learners have positive destinations that are not sustained?

There is a large increase in learning destination rates when including non-sustained learning. This is because community learners typically move into another community learning course or other qualifications that are structured in a similar way to community learning. That is to say that these courses tend to be short but intensive.

Explore data on community learning

You can create your own tables looking at community learners by using the table builder tool to explore the underlying data file ‘ Destinations of community learners by demographics (NAT02)’ 

Where does earnings data come from? Earnings estimates are based on information recorded by HMRC through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and self-assessment  tax return systems for collecting income tax and national insurance. Learners are only included in the figures if they have an earnings record on the self-assessment data or P14 (HMRC data), a record of sustained employment in the Real Time Information submitted to HMRC , and no record of further study at a Higher Education institution.  Limitations of earnings data The PAYE records from HMRC do not include reliable information on the hours worked in employment so it is not possible to accurately distinguish between learners in full time and part time employment.  See the quality and methodology information that accompanies this release for more detail. When interpreting the results below, it should be remembered that some of the difference in earnings could be a result of factors other than the qualification achieved, such as:  the number and proportion of achievers in part time employment, the employment history of achievers, pay conditions within the local labour market, characteristics of individual learners. The outcomes in this release are presented as raw figures. They do not seek to control for differences in learner characteristics that may influence outcomes over time or across different learner populations. Changes to earnings data For the first time, the earnings estimates in this publication are based on earnings from both self-employment as reported through self-assessment tax returns, as well  as data from paid employment as reported through the PAYE system. This means that earnings data presented in this publication is not directly comparable to previous publications. 

The median earnings is calculated by ranking all learners’ annualised earnings and taking the value at which half of learners fall above and half fall below. This is shown in the data label for each bar. 

The lower quartile earnings is calculated by ranking all learners’ annualised earnings and taking the value at which three quarters of learners fall above and one quarter fall below. 

The upper quartile earnings is calculated by ranking all learners’ annualised earnings and taking the value at which one quarter of learners fall above and three quarters fall below.

Earnings five years post training

Earnings steadily increase each year after achievement for almost all levels of learning..

Median annualised earnings one year after study for learners who achieved in academic year 2016/17 were:

• £16,810 for intermediate apprenticeships - rising 34% to £22,450 five years after study.
• £18,910 for advanced apprenticeships - rising 32% to £24,920 five years after study.
• £23,850 for Level 4 higher apprenticeships - rising 42% to £33,800 five years after study.
• £26,470 for Level 5 higher apprenticeships - rising 19% to £31,380 five years after study.  
• £10,950 for Full Level 2 education & training courses - rising 66% to £18,180 five years after study.
• £11,250 for Full Level 3 education & training courses - rising 57% to £17,640 five years after study.
• £16,990 for Level 4 education & training courses - rising 44% to £24,410 five years after study.
• £20,470 for Level 5 education & training courses - decreasing 1% to £20,360 five years after study.

Aside from Level 5 education and training courses, earnings steadily increase each year after achievement for all other levels of learning in both apprenticeships and education and training. At all levels, apprenticeships had higher levels of earnings one year after study than equivalent level education and training courses. 

Earnings one year post training

Learners who achieved higher levels of learning tended to have higher median earnings one year after training..

For learners who achieved their course in academic year 2020/21, median annualised earnings in the first full tax year after training tended to correspond with the level of learning, with higher median earnings for those who had achieved higher level training:

• £19,600 for intermediate apprenticeships 
• £23,660 for advanced apprenticeships 
• £29,310 for higher (Level 4) apprenticeships 
• £33,710 for higher (Level 5) apprenticeships 
• £35,860 for higher (Level 6) apprenticeships 
• £43,600 for higher (Level 7+) apprenticeships
• £16,420 for Full Level 2 education and training courses 
• £15,950 for Full Level 3 education and training courses 
• £18,500 for Level 4 education and training courses
• £24,360 for Level 5 education and training courses 

Median annualised earnings vary considerably between sector subject areas for Full Level 3 education and training learners.

One year after study, median annualised earnings for learners who achieved a Full Level 3 education and training course in academic year 2020/21 were: 

• Highest in ‘Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care’ at £21,840.
• Lowest in ‘Science and Mathematics’ at £7,810.  

Within some sector subject areas, earnings had a wide range between the upper and lower quartiles of earnings: 

• This was widest in ‘Social Sciences’ for which the lower quartile was £7,940 and the upper quartile was £21,360.
• Followed by ‘Leisure, Travel and Tourism' which ranged from £8,690 at the lower quartile to £21,750 at the upper quartile.

Large variations in median annualised earnings can also be seen for advanced apprenticeships across sector subject areas. 

One year after study, median annualised earnings for learners who achieved an advanced apprenticeship in academic year 2020/21: 

• Were highest in Business Management (£33,900), followed by  Engineering (£32,690) and Public Services (£29,720).
• Were lowest in Direct Learning Support (£14,670), followed by  Travel and Tourism (£16,680) and Service Enterprises (£16,780).

Explore earnings data

The following tables contain useful further breakdowns of earnings data: 

Progression

Progression into higher level of study.

'Sustained progression from achieved aim' details the proportion of learners with a sustained further learning aim, who went on to sustained study at a higher level than they just achieved.

Two thirds of learners who moved on to a sustained learning aim progressed into a higher level of study.

• 67% of learners with a sustained learning destination progressed to a higher level of learning in the 2021/22 academic year than the level they had achieved in 2020/21, a 1 ppt increase from the previous year.

Learners who achieved an apprenticeship were more likely to progress to a higher level of learning than learners studying an education and training course.

• The percentage of apprenticeship learners progressing onto a higher level of sustained learning in 2021/22 than they had achieved in 2020/21 (89%) was 23 ppts higher than for education and training learners (66%).
• The rate of progression for apprenticeship learners has increased over time, likely due to the increase in the number of learners undertaking higher (Level 4+) apprenticeships. Progression rates for education and training have fluctuated and are now at the highest rate in the last 5 years.

Rates of progression to a higher level of learning varied considerably by level of learning achieved.

• There was considerable variation in progression from an education and training course to a higher level of learning by level, ranging from 30% for Entry Level ESOL courses, to 96% for Entry Level digital courses.
• Progression also varied for apprenticeships depending on level of aim. Rates ranged from 35% for Higher (Level 7+) apprenticeships to 94% for Higher (Level 4) apprenticeships.

Progression of younger learners born in or since 1988

The Department has used the National Pupil Database (NPD) in conjunction with the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) and Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) data to detail students’ attainment throughout their educational history. The resulting dataset includes attainment records from schools, and further and higher education institutions allowing for robust comparisons over time. This has enabled experimental statistics on progression to be calculated for those learners whose full educational history has been recorded. This cohort is limited to learners born in 1988 or later. Please note that previous publications also limited this cohort of learners to learners aged 24 or under. As this is the first year where the cohort has been expanded to all learners born in or since 1988, the figures presented here are not directly comparable with previous publications.

Of the 785,520 learners achieving their further education aim in 2020/21, 297,490 (38%) were born in 1988 or later, and had a full educational history recorded by the department. 

The rest of the analysis in this section relates specifically to this group of younger learners.

Younger learners studying at this level of learning for the first time

Data on studying a particular level of learning for the first time is presented to provide further insight into learners’ pathways through further education and training. Care should be taken when interpreting the data, particularly when making comparisons between different subgroups or seeking to draw wider conclusions. In particular, there may be valid reasons for a learner to take a qualification at a level of learning they have previously achieved, including:  Where a learner is moving from an academic to a technical pathway, and needs to develop the core technical skills and knowledge that will enable them to progress to higher levels. Where the qualifications are complementary, such as a qualification in English or maths that is required to access a technical or vocational qualification at the same level. Where a learner is retraining in order to develop a new career pathway, or to update their skills after a significant career break in order to re-enter employment.

• 21% of younger learners were studying at their level of learning for the first time in 2020/21, consistent with the 2019/20 rate.
• Apprenticeship learners were more likely to be studying at their level of learning for the first time (38%) than education and training learners (13%).
• Since 2016/17, the rate of younger learners who were studying at their level of learning for the first time has risen for apprenticeship learners, and fallen slightly for education and training learners. 

Broadly speaking, younger education and training learners at higher levels of learning were more likely to be achieving their level of learning for the first time.

• There was wide variation in the rate of younger education and training learners studying at their level for the first time in 2020/21, ranging from 1% for Level 1 to 91% for Level 6.

Younger apprenticeship learners also showed a general trend of more learners at higher levels achieving for the first time.

• 24% of those achieving Intermediate aims in 2020/21 were achieving at that level for the first time, while the same was true for 87% of those achieving Higher (Level 7+) apprenticeships.
• While, in general, more apprenticeship learners at higher levels were achieving for the first time, the rate for learners on Level 5 apprenticeships was actually slightly lower than for Level 4 apprenticeships.

Younger learners progressing to highest level of sustained learning to date

'Sustained progression for learner overall’ gives the percentage of learners that progressed on to a sustained level of learning higher than they have attained at any point in their educational history.

Of the 785,520 learners in 2020/21, 75,230 (10%)  were younger learners with a full educational history recorded by the department, and went into a sustained learning destination. The analysis in this section relates specifically to this group of learners.

The proportion of younger learners progressing to their highest ever level of sustained learning is at the highest rate since monitoring began.

• 60% of these younger learners in 2020/21 progressed into their highest level of learning to date in 2021/22. This is an increase of 1 ppt from the rate in 2016/17.

Younger learners who achieved an apprenticeship were more likely to progress to their highest level of sustained learning to date than learners studying an education and training course.

• The percentage of apprenticeship learners progressing into their highest level of sustained learning in 2021/22 (74%) was 19 ppts higher than for education and training learners (55%).

Learner characteristics

Benefit learners.

What do we mean by benefit learners? Benefit learners are defined as those in the following benefit groups: Income Support Job Seekers Allowance Universal Credit - Searching for work Universal Credit - Working with requirements Universal Credit - Working with no requirements Universal Credit - Preparing for work Universal Credit - Planning for work Employment and Support Allowance - Work Related Activity Group

Benefit learners were less likely to move into a sustained positive destination than learners who were not on benefits.

Just over a third (34%) of learners were on benefits at the start of their learning. Of these 265,820 benefit learners:

• 70% went into a sustained positive destination, 15 ppts lower than learners who were not on benefits (85%).
• 58% went into sustained employment, 18 ppts lower than learners not on benefits (76%).
• 22% went into sustained learning, 3 ppts lower than learners not on benefits (25%).

Learners who were on benefits at the beginning of their learning aim in 2020/21 were more likely to have a destination that was not sustained (18%) compared to learners who were not on benefits (8%). They were also more likely to be on benefits only with no positive destination (9%) compared to learners who were not on benefits at the start of their learning aim (1%).

Differences in destination rates may be partially explained by the levels of learning undertaken by benefit learners.

• Learners on benefits tended to achieve lower-level learning aims than learners not on benefits. 49% of learners on benefits took Entry Level or Level 1 learning aims, compared to 24% of learners who were not on benefits.
• In addition, only 9% of learners on benefits undertook learning at Level 3 or above, compared to 35% of learners who were not on benefits.

Benefit learners who achieved apprenticeships were most likely to move into a sustained positive destination, compared to other provision types.

The outcomes of benefit learners varied greatly depending on the type of provision completed:

• Those who completed apprenticeships had the highest sustained positive destination rate of 90%.
• Those who completed education and training courses had a sustained positive destination rate of 70%.
• Those who completed traineeships had a sustained positive destination rate of 65%.

Learner ethnicity

Trends varied considerably by learner ethnicity, but tended to be different for sustained positive destination overall and sustained employment, compared to sustained learning.

• Learners from ‘other ethnic groups’ had the lowest sustained positive destination rate of 72%, 10 ppts lower than white learners who had the highest sustained positive destination rate at 82%
• Learners from ‘other ethnic groups’ were least likely to move into sustained employment with the lowest sustained employment rate of 44%, 31 ppts lower than white learners who had the highest sustained positive destination rate at 75%.
• White learners were least likely to move into sustained learning with a sustained learning rate of 20%, 21 ppts lower than learners from ‘other ethnic groups’ who had the highest sustained learning rate of 41%.

Differences in destination rates may be partially explained by the levels of learning undertaken by different ethnic groups.

There is a skew towards lower-level qualifications for learners from ‘other ethnic groups’, where 69% of learners undertook an Entry or Level 1 aim compared to 24% of white learners.

Explore learner characteristics data

You can create your own tables looking at outcomes by various learner characteristics by using the table builder tool to explore the underlying data file ‘ Destinations by demographics and provision (NAT01)’ .

Geographical breakdowns

Explore geographical tables.

The following tables offer a range of useful breakdowns for geographical data:

What is ‘English devolved area’? ‘English devolved area’ is used to refer to combined authorities, mayoral combined authorities, and the Greater London Authority

Create your own geographical tables

You can create your own tables looking at different geographical breakdowns by using the table builder tool to explore the following data files.

Provider and qualification breakdowns

Downloadable provider data.

Provider level figures are not currently available through the table builder tool, but can be downloaded from the ‘Explore data and files’ section above. The table below provides a summary of information available in each file.

Downloadable qualification data 

Industry sections of employment.

What is an industry section? The UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) of economic activities is used to classify businesses by the type of activity they do. Using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) of economic activities, there are 21 broad industry sections, which are used within this publication. For more information see the Standard industrial classification of economic activities or the UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Hierarchy .

Of the 548,440 learners who had a sustained employment destination in 2021/22: 

• 19% had employment in the ‘Human health and social work activities’ industry section, the most common industry section destination.
• 13% had employment in the ‘Education’ industry section.
• 11% had employment in the ‘Administrative and support service activities’ industry section.
• 10% had employment in the ‘Wholesale and retail trade - repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles’ industry section.

We have developed a dashboard to allow users to effectively interrogate the industry data and create bespoke tables.  The underlying data files are also available in the ‘Explore data and files’ section of this release, and in the table tool.

Other related publications

Help and support, methodology.

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

Official statistics

These are Official Statistics and have been produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics .

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:

• managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
• meet identified user needs
• produced according to sound methods
• well explained and readily accessible

Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance .

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing [email protected] or via the OSR website .

If you have a specific enquiry about Further education outcomes statistics and data:

Further education outcomes statistics

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• Education, training and skills
• Teaching and leadership
• Teacher training and professional development

Further education: initial teacher education

Information for providers of initial teacher education (ITE) for the further education (FE) sector.

Applies to England

Overview: the initial teacher education system for fe, expectations for the delivery of initial teacher education for fe, recognised further education teacher training courses eligible for student support: 2024 to 2025.

This guidance is for:

• providers of publicly funded further education ( FE ) initial teacher education ( ITE )
• organisations developing qualifications or curricula for FE ITE programmes

Prospective FE teachers may also find this information helpful alongside information on how to teach in further education .

If you have any questions regarding the content of this page, you can contact the team at FE . ITE @education.gov.uk .

Added 'Recognised further education teacher training courses eligible for student support: 2024 to 2025' document. Updated 'Overview: the initial teacher education system for FE' to reflect this change.

Information has been added to 'Expectations for the delivery of initial teacher education for FE' on the teacher mentoring programme developed by Cognition Learning Group.

First published.

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