Further education courses may be full or part-time and are provided at universities, colleges of technology, technical colleges (often referred to as ‘tecs’), Colleges of Further Education (CFE), Adult and Community Colleges, and by numerous ‘open learning’ institutions. Each year, half a million students attend further education courses at universities alone, which are often of short duration and job-related, although courses may be full or part-time and may include summer semesters.
Qualifications that can be earned through further education include GCSE, GCE A-level, International Baccalaureate, BTEC (e.g. higher national certificate and diploma), SCOTVEC, City and Guilds, bachelors and masters degrees, MBA degrees, and a range of other nationally and internationally recognised certificates and diplomas. Qualifications for school-leavers include National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs).
The Business and Technical Education Council (BTEC) organises over 250 courses, designed with the co-operation of major companies in various fields, available in colleges, training centres and companies. BTEC (SCOTVEC in Scotland) courses are a combination of academic and practical, and cover everything from computer studies to engineering, catering to travel and tourism. BTEC trains over 200,000 new students each year and offers three course levels leading to the BTEC first, BTEC national, and BTEC higher national certificates and diplomas.
Many further education courses are of the open learning variety where students study mostly at home. Institutions include some 50 correspondence colleges which offer literally hundreds of academic, professional and vocational courses, and enrol many thousands of students each year.
Most correspondence colleges are private commercial operations, although there are a few exceptions, including the National Extension College (NEC), which has no entry qualifications. NEC courses are generally acknowledged to be among the best in open learning and include GCSE, A-levels, general education, business skills, and personal development courses. For information contact NEC, Michael Young Centre, Purbeck Road, Cambridge CB2 8 HN (01223-400 321, www.nec.ac.uk).
Open learning courses in accounting, management, marketing, supervisory skills, small businesses, health and care, retailing, information technology, and engineering are run by the Open College (OC), which has regional offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast and 80 local centres.
The Open College of the Arts is an educational trust that caters for those wishing to develop their artistic abilities, but who wish or need to work from home. Courses include art and design, creative writing, drawing, painting, textiles, sculpture, garden design, photography, singing, the history of art, music and camcorders. For information write to the Open College of the Arts, Registration Department, Freepost SF10678, Barnsley S75 1BR (0800-731 2116, www.oca-uk.com).
Some institutions such as the Open University and Warwick University Business School offer distance learning Master of Business Administration (MBA) courses for those who cannot or don’t wish to study on a full or part-time, locally taught basis. There are around 70 institutions offering MBA courses, which together accept some 15,000 students (many from overseas).
The Open University alone enrols some 10,000 managers each year, making it the largest business education institute in the UK. Many other business schools offer MBA courses, covering subjects such as banking, business administration, communications, economics, European languages, information systems, management, marketing, public relations, and social and political studies. Fees for a full-time MBA are around £10,000 a year, although those at the London Business School are over £20,000 a year for two years (plus a further £10,000 a year in living costs).
The UK Basic Skills Unit, Commonwealth House, 1-19 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1NU (020-7405 4017, www.basic-skills.co.uk) was established in 1980 and is the national unit in England and Wales for literacy, numeracy and related communication skills. It also has a limited, but important, role in the development of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).
The unit publishes a wide range of information leaflets and booklets, including a comprehensive Publications catalogue. General information about adult education and training is available free in many towns and cities from educational guidance units (usually part of the public library service) and adult guidance agencies.
In London, many further education courses are listed in Full-Time Floodlight, Part-Time Floodlight and Summertime Floodlight, London’s guide to April to August courses (published by Floodlight Publishing, www.floodlight.co.uk).
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