Colleges 2020

Article

Experts on colleges in the UK look at how current challenges might affect teaching methods, building design, the way colleges cope with a diverse student body, the way they work with local partners and how they balance meeting the needs of business while also delivering social value.

The college sector in the UK is diverse and dynamic, comprising general and tertiary further education colleges, sixth form colleges and specialist colleges. Over the next decade the sector will face many challenges. Public funding is likely to be cut but colleges will be expected to play a major role in developing the employment skills needed by the workforce to enable the UK to be competitive in global markets, while also continuing to help strengthen local communities.

How colleges respond to these challenges will go a long way to determining the shape of the college system and the nature of individual colleges in 2020.

Related items

  1. A diverse group of runners smiling and high-fiving spectators as they cross the finish line

    The Europe agenda: Our values

    Why we must redesign our relationship with Europe around the values we share and want to defend.
  2. A view from above a wind turbine with two engineers standing on top of it

    Partner to scale: How international collaboration can enable the green transition

    Scaling clean industrial technologies requires a shift from fragmented national strategies to targeted, durable international cooperation.
  3. Three EU flags outside a large glass and steel building in Brussels, Belgium

    The Europe agenda: Trade and integration

    This briefing note explores the options for the UK to deepen the trading relationship and sets out a proposed path forward.