Adult FE Is Down 8.8%. The System Is Still Arguing About Targets.

5 days ago
3 min read

Adult education and training participation in England is down 8.8% this year. That is the blunt figure in the latest DfE release: 948,340 adult learners between August and April, compared with just over one million at the same point last year. Total adult FE and skills participation, including apprenticeships, is also down by 3.3%. [GOV.UK]

Empty construction training workshop with brickwork bays and timber frames

The drop isn't spread evenly

Level 2 participation fell by 7.9%, while level 4 rose by 10.9%. Adult essential skills participation dropped by 14.8%, although much of the English and maths fall reflects the rule change that removed the requirement for many adult apprentices to achieve level 2 qualifications before completing.

That caveat matters, but it doesn't make the wider participation problem disappear. An adult provision manager looking at September enrolments still has to ask whether the local offer is reaching people who need a first step back into learning, not only those ready to move upwards quickly.

The figures also land just as national and local government are arguing over what success should look like.

Devolution, with a long list attached

Seven mayor-led combined authorities now have integrated settlements, replacing separate annual pots such as the Adult Skills Fund and skills bootcamps with multi-year funding. In theory, that gives local leaders room to shape provision around local need.

The National Audit Office found a messier picture. Mayors said centrally shaped outcome frameworks contained too many measures and left them feeling like delivery arms of Whitehall. Government departments argued that some local targets lacked a clear baseline. [FE Week]

Colleges sit in the middle of that tension. West Midlands' level 3 target, for example, recorded 9,812 starts against 14,200. A provider can fill an employer gap, support a learner into stable work and still look off-track if the agreed measure rewards a different outcome.

£625 million, 74 starts

Construction brings the delivery problem into sharper focus. The government's £625 million skills package is meant to support up to 60,000 additional workers by 2029. The NAO says the plan carries substantial delivery risk because it depends on employers offering placements, apprenticeships and jobs in difficult trading conditions. [NAO]

One number deserves attention: only 74 construction foundation apprenticeship starts had been recorded by April, against a full-year assumption of 1,000. Colleges can build capacity, recruit tutors and open new facilities. They can't manufacture employer demand.

Who qualification reform touches

The first final V Level content arrived this week, alongside an equality assessment for removing funding approval from 120 legacy qualifications in 2027. The affected learners aren't an abstract cohort. In digital, 18% of learners on the qualifications examined had SEND, compared with 7% across level 3, and 22% had been eligible for free school meals at 15, compared with 13%. In level 2 education and early years, 37% had been eligible for free school meals. [GOV.UK]

DfE says the new qualifications should improve access and progression. Colleges will need to test that claim against real recruitment patterns, support needs and destination data. Draft specifications are expected from autumn 2026. That is the next point when curriculum teams can see whether the replacement offer fits the learners already in their classrooms.