In this post Emma Le Blanc discusses recent changes in the funding regime for vocational learners in England and argues that we need to do better.

The All Party Parliamentary Groups for Students and Further Education and Lifelong Learning recently produced a report entitled The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on students in further education. This is a damning indictment on central governments lack of policy oversight and investment in future generations, society, and economy in the UK.

It emphasises how Further Education (FE) has been underfunded since 2010 which has had adverse implications for the FE sector, and it states that the cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated the FE funding crisis that preceded the cost-of-living crisis. This has resulted in FE students who were already impoverished being even more so.

The student funding crisis in a nutshell

This report outlines the stark and dire plight of FE students, setting out how they are struggling to pay for transport, food, energy costs. Also, it highlights the fact that many FE students are dropping out of college due to the cost-of-living crisis or working in low paying jobs for many hours to support themselves and their families too. It argues that this situation is different and worse that that faced by higher education students.

According to research from the Sutton Trust, the young people who attend further education are more likely to be from disadvantaged backgrounds, to be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), and to have lower rates of pre-16 attainment than those in school sixth forms. Further education colleges are more likely to serve a host of disadvantaged groups including adult learners, disabled learners, learners with learning difficulties, care experienced young people, ex-offenders, asylum seekers and refugees, first generation students to go to college, commuter students, and students who speak English as a Second Language.

Challenges faced by further education students

The All Party Parliamentary Group report surveyed a sample of 700 students from 80 colleges to provide a snapshot of the current challenges faced by further education students. These included accessing food, energy, and transport and paying rent. As, if this was not bad enough due to their socio-economic circumstances, they are also often forced to prioritise work over attending their classes and doing their coursework and studying for their exams. The report underscores that many further education students who are eligible for the 16-19 bursary (i.e. £1, 200 for a course which lasts for 30 weeks or more) are using it to pay for essentials. Given, these pressures it is unsurprising that further education institutions are reporting higher rates and incidence of mental health cases.

Students may get very anxious about the breaks and holiday periods even if they get food vouchers to tide them over the break. While there are similarities with students in higher education, it’s clear that extreme financial desperation for FE students is linked to their families and households – 25% of student survey respondents said family financial situation was their biggest cause of financial worry (APPG report).

Safeguarding concerns in further education have increased dramatically due to the cost-of-living crisis. This includes family discord; domestic violence and more students are being referred to homelessness services. Some students are at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation to meet their financial needs e.g. gang involvement.

Apprentices are being paid very low wages i.e. for 16-18 years olds the minimum apprenticeship wage is £5.28 per hour and they are not eligible for receiving bursaries. Additionally, apprentices typically travel a further distance to go to their workplaces which costs them more in time and transport fees. Also, studying and working is difficult so some of students opt to drop out to find higher paying jobs, but this will have a detrimental impact on their future earning potential because students who have qualifications earn more than those who do not.

Students are selecting courses which are shorter so they can join the labour market quicker. Their decision process is understandable given their financial plight however the career decisions that they are effectively being forced into making will have adverse repercussions on not only their future earning potential, but also their quality of life and it will most likely result in generational poverty and inequality soaring in our society now and in the future.

Students are dropping out at higher rates due them needing to work to pay for essentials for them and their families. Given this many further education colleges are struggling with retention.

Responses by colleges

Many colleges are responding to this crisis by providing new forms of welfare for students including:

• food parcels;
• mental health and counselling support;
• warm spaces; and
• breakfasts and subsidised food and drink.

We need a new vision for further education

If we want the UK to be a place where there is a big knowledge and skills deficit. Where poverty and inequality are worse than they are today. Where the economy is not competitive and not fit for purpose. Where our young people have no future whatsoever. Then central government will continue to underfund further and higher education and ignore the current funding and cost of living crisis. But, as, a country and as citizens we have a bleak future without quality and ample investment in human capital.

But, we have an election coming up and it is possible to do things to make a difference. One of the key things that everyone can do is to support the National Union of Students ‘Manifesto for Our Future’. The NUS consulted 10,000 students and apprentices throughout the UK about their priorities to create this manifesto.

The NUS (2024) states that:

Right now, students are stuck in a cycle of crises: mental health, cost of living, spiralling rents, chronic underfunding causing constant strikes. They’re barely surviving, never mind thriving. The average student has 50p to live off per week after rent, 65% of students are cutting back on food because they can’t afford to eat and 46% of students’ mental health has worsened since September 2023.

The National Union of Students has five asks for the next government:

• In the first 100 days: Break the student crisis cycle: Lift every student in the UK out of poverty and give us all hope for the future.
• Invest in a thriving future, invest in education: Education that is free at the point of use and funded sustainably and publicly.
• Homes for our futures: Quality, green and affordable housing for all.
• A welcoming and inclusive future: The UK should be an amazing place for international students to work and study.
• A healthy future: High-quality healthcare available for free for every single person in the UK.

Support the Manifesto for Our Future.