157 Group colleges, in collaboration with others, are transforming the UK economy through the delivery of high-quality technical and professional education.
We achieve this through:
- Partnerships with employers to co-create and deliver high quality and relevant professional and technical skills.
- Thought leadership in the areas of professional and technical skills, policy implementation and sector funding.
- Providing transformative leadership in the education sector
- Providing learning environments which support enhanced technical, professional and other skills so learners are ready for work.
- Taking a leading role in shaping the future skills needs to ensure the long-term economic capacity of the UK economy.
Our current focus themes are:
- A “Ready to Work” workforce
- Economic & Employability Impact
- Leadership Capacity
- Diversifying Revenues
- Demonstrable Cost Efficiencies
- Responding to the devolved skills agenda
The role of FE Colleges
We recognise that Further Education Colleges are driving many new initiatives, such as the development of IOTs, UTCs and studio schools, the creation of Traineeships and the expansion of Apprenticeships. They are the provider of choice for vocationally-based education in a wide range of employment sectors, and aim to be the providers of choice for LEPs. However, we also understand that significant change is needed to transform colleges into even more highly responsive providers and effective strategic partners for skills and economic regeneration, nationally and locally We are keen to lead such change by example.
We believe
- the primary function of a college is to contribute to the growth of its local economy, through strategic links with the local business community and by improving the life chances of learners
- large, diverse FE Colleges offer an unparalleled opportunity to do this most effectively through economies of scale, collaboration and levels of local influence
- colleges which focus relentlessly on the quality of teaching and learning and on the needs of businesses and learners are ultimately the most successful
- colleges will best achieve success by establishing strategic relationships with employers in order to become an integral player and strategic partner in the provision of local IAG, education and training
- an effective and responsive curriculum is based on consistent, high-quality provision, that poor quality provision must be swiftly and firmly tackled and that high quality will drive increased demand
- outstanding teaching and learning can be achieved by employing dual professionals who inspire confidence in learners and in the local business community and enabling them to be innovative in, and accountable for, their own performance
- those colleges that have built their credibility with the economic community and LEPs will have a long term future by demonstrating the contribution they make
- successful colleges rely upon excellent leadership
- colleges make an especially useful contribution to social mobility through the provision of aspirational education and training
- the success of colleges is best judged by their impact on the destinations of and distance travelled by learners and by the return on investment they can demonstrate to the local economic community.