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This is the first major study of employer views of qualifications in maths and English, in which 1400 employers, learners and training organisations have taken part. Employers are concerned about the maths and English skills of their recruits, but they are less concerned about qualifications. They use qualifications as a proxy for skills and, like the general public, employers regard [General Certificate of Secondary Education] GCSE as the main benchmark. However, functional skills are emerging as qualifications that are valued by employers, learners and the education and training sector. This report considers how maths and English provision and qualifications available to people aged over 16 years, other than GCSEs, are understood by and meet the expectations of employers. This review has asked employers their opinion of functional skills and other non-GCSE maths and English qualifications. It has asked them whether they understand and value them and whether these qualifications recognise the skills employers require for their workplaces. It has also considered the work that needs to be done to review the standards on which they are based, raise their profile and improve the brand.

This study showed that 47 per cent of larger employers know about functional skills, and 87 per cent of these value them for their approach to applied skills, flexible assessment and problem solving. GCSE consistently emerged as a well-known qualification with an established brand. However, employers' primary focus was the need for young people and adults with good practical maths and English skills, regardless of the specific qualification taken. Almost half of employers surveyed now recognise functional skills qualifications, but three quarters of employers consulted also believe action is needed to improve practical maths and English skills.

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In this publication we hear from employers on what they're doing to support learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), how this benefits young people, and how it can benefit you as employers. While some praise the passion and skill of the people they have worked with, others emphasise how working with learners has increased disability awareness among their staff, enhanced accessibility for customers or increased rates of staff retention. These stories demonstrate how a diverse workforce not only holds benefits for the individuals involved but also makes excellent business sense, including examples you can draw from to make your businesses more inclusive. This is crucial to addressing the unprecedented staffing shortages following the coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic and tackling the disability employment gap.

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The Further Education (FE) sector is a wide-ranging and remarkably diverse section of the education system. It is made up of many different types of provider and offers a vast range of exciting education and training opportunities. The FE sector is vast; there are literally thousands of different options available including academic, vocational, and recreational courses. If you are a bit bewildered by it all, you are not alone! It can be difficult to understand how all the different parts fit together. That is where this guide comes in. Whether you are a school-leaver, an adult returning to learning, a parent, a practitioner or anyone else wanting a basic overview of the FE sector, this guide is for you. Part One provides an outline of the different types of FE providers, followed by a summary of some approaches to learning that are prominent in the sector. Part Two outlines some of the different types of qualification available.

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Throughout 2015 the UCL Institute of Education's Centre for Post-14 Education and Work, in partnership with the Education and Training Foundation, ran a series of highly participative seminars focused on key issues for education and training. The seminars reflected the three key priorities for the Education and Training Foundation: Professional standards and workforce development; Vocational education and training; and Leadership, management and governance.

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The papers presented are: The limitations of professionalism and what to do about it / Norman Crowther; Barking and Dagenham College (BDC): setting the scene for professional learning / Cathy Walsh, Janet Curtis-Broni and Caryn Swart; Co-producing expansive vocational education and apprenticeship: a relational approach / Alison Fuller, Lorna Unwin and Lee Weatherly; FE Governance: where are we going? / John Graystone; Leadership: being a college principal (in interesting times) / Jill Westerman. Show less