4.11 Further education colleges will play a key role in educating both young people and adults. Young people aged between 16 and 18 make up 20 per cent of the four million students in further education. The majority are adults over 18, most of whom study part-time. Student numbers have grown by a quarter in the last four years, while unit costs have fallen by 12 per cent.

4.12 Further education has demonstrated innovation and flexibility in response to new demands from individuals and businesses. Many colleges have worked imaginatively to improve access, operating across a number of sites and working collaboratively with employers, LEAs, community organisations and private training providers. The sector also has an excellent track record in reaching disadvantaged people, helping to reduce social exclusion and promoting employability.

4.13 More 16 and 17 year olds study full-time in further education colleges than at school. We will look at how recognition can be given to this, including issues surrounding funding. We will promote greater co-operation between schools and colleges in sharing resources and in providing greater choice. In some places there is also potential for greater efficiency through rationalisation of provision and facilities, harnessing competition and making progress through local partnerships. The development of a collaborative network of tertiary education is a long-term objective of the Government.

4.14 Learning Works - the report of the Committee on Widening Participation chaired by Baroness Kennedy and published last year - set out a clear vision of how to build on this record to transform individual and national performance. The report, commissioned by the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC), emphasises that providers, particularly colleges, should seek out groups with low participation and people who have not achieved to their full potential. It sees further education as the key to breaking the vicious circle of poor economic performance and an inadequate standard of living.

4.15 The challenge facing us is great. 62 per cent (21 million people) of the adult population of working age do not have a level 3 qualification - the minimum to which the Kennedy report believes people should aspire in future. 40 per cent of the adult population of working age (14 million people) do not have a level 2 qualification. Many people’s life experiences and knowledge should entitle them to recognition and accreditation which they have not received in the past.

4.16 The Government endorses the Kennedy report's vision. It sets out a radical vision which we must pursue over the years ahead. Our detailed response to the report is being published alongside this consultation paper. We agree that further education will be at the centre of widening participation, together with adult and residential community education and non-traditional approaches. Widening participation, however, is not enough on its own. Students have a right to high standards of teaching so that they can achieve. Our proposals for raising standards in further education are set out in Chapter 5.

4.17 Meeting the challenge will take time but we have already made a start. We have announced additional funding totalling £100 million for further education to provide for up to 80,000 additional students over the next year. The great majority will be drawn from the educationally disadvantaged population.