To ask the Minister for the Economy (i) for his assessment of how rising GCSE and A-Level exam results are affecting further education college enrolments; and (ii) what steps he is taking, and what conversations he has had with the Minister of Education, to address this issue and increase the number of students enrolling at further education colleges.

As you are aware, my Department has recently published an Official Statistics bulletin entitled Further Education Sector Activity in Northern Ireland: 2016/17 to 2020/21. This shows a continuing decline in Further Education (FE) college enrolments from 153,088 in 2016/17 to 97,532 in 2020/21 (36.3 per cent) with a 26.3 per cent fall on 2019/20 (132,354). I recognise that one of the factors behind this decline may be the increasing proportion of learners receiving higher GCSE and A level examination results. However, it is difficult to determine the impact of other factors including the difficulties colleges have faced in delivering community education during the pandemic.

There are a range of factors that influence young people’s decisions around learning and it is vital that they, their parents and carers are aware of the range of options and pathways available to them as well as the qualifications and skills to enable them to make informed choices. My Department is working with the Department of Education to develop a more strategic and joined up approach to 14-19 education and training provision and a Framework and Action Plan are currently being finalised. The actions set out in the Framework, aim to ensure young people understand the options and pathways available to them and can achieve their full potential as they move through their individual educational and training journey.

The FE colleges themselves have developed communication, learner engagement, and recruitment strategies to ensure that stakeholders including young people and parents are better informed about the specialist, diverse, and high quality range of provision delivered by the FE sector.

The six FE colleges have collaborated to develop a communications campaign, known as “FE for Me” which is part of a wider strategic approach aimed at building the profile of the FE sector and promoting FE as the first choice for professional and technical education. The campaign highlights the unique offering of the FE sector and the innovative FE products that set it apart from the offerings in the school and university sectors, and promotes opportunities for school leavers including full-time and part-time Higher Education (HE) courses and higher level apprenticeships within the six regional FE colleges.

The Department is currently undertaking a review of Level 4 & 5 Provision and Higher Education in Further Education (HE in FE). The review was initiated for a number of reasons, including declining HE in FE enrolments over a number of recent years. The review is considering a wide range of issues, including pathways into and through HE in FE, and is due to conclude in spring 2022.

I am very aware of the key role which FE colleges play in providing learners with those skills which they need to achieve their potential and which are critical to growing our economy and realising the 10X Economic Vision. I am committed to supporting colleges to carry out that role and will continue to work with the Minister for Education to ensure that further education remains a viable and attractive option for learners.