Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Department's further education workforce data collection is incomplete, undermining projection reliability.
Conclusion
The Department has overseen further education colleges since July 2016 with further education colleges reclassified into the public sector in November 2022. Its further education workforce data collection started in 2020, and while this was able to cover 94% of colleges in 2022–23, this compares to 99.7% of schools providing the Department with workforce data. As such, the Department must make broad assumptions as part of its further education workforce model which it uses to project the number of teachers needed. It has assessed 60% of assumptions in its model as having limited or no underlying evidence.45 40 Qq 6, 8-10, 13, 45; Targeted retention incentive for FE teachers: data as of 5 May 2025 - GOV.UK 41 Qq 12, 44 42 Q 7 43 ITN0001, Written evidence submitted by the Construction Industry Training Board; ITN0007, Written evidence submitted by Education and Training Foundation 44 ITN0014, Written evidence submitted by the Association of Colleges 45 C&AG’s Report, paras 10, 1.20 15 2 Initiatives and incentives to improve teacher recruitment and retention Teachers’ working environment and conditions
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.6 Strengthening the evidence base remains a key priority especially in FE where the department’s data and therefore its understanding of the workforce is less developed. The FE Workforce in England data publication plays a central role in this. The increase in provider response rates – from 76% to 85% overall between the first and most recent publication, and with approximately 97% of all colleges responding – demonstrates encouraging progress in this area. The department is also taking steps to improve the data and evidence we have available in relation to teacher training for the FE sector.