Who is further education for?

As mentioned in the first two chapters, FE colleges are now characterised by a diverse student population, and are no longer the preserve of largely young, mostly male apprentices and A-level students. Different groups of students – 16-21 year olds, adults, part-time, full-time students – contest for space in colleges. The refectory is no longer divided into camps with an ‘us’ and ‘them’ situation with the apprentices located at one end and A-level students at the other. The post-compulsory sector of FE is open to all, yet certain groups may be more dominant than others if colleges choose to target particular groups. Since incorporation colleges have to compete in the market place for the more attractive and lucrative ‘customers’ in industry. At the same time HE work offers status, some funding – particularly those receiving direct development funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) – and a growing group of adult students. Such students may, through course progression, remain in the same FE college for a number of years. In contrast, disadvantaged and community groups may find themselves further marginalised from learning because of their lack of economic power in an era of marketisation, particularly as ‘efficiency’ comes to replace ‘social responsibility’ (Cripps, 2002, p. 139) in the FE mission.