The Guardian view on post-16 education: colleges need attention, but the latest proposals are a mixed bag | Editorial

<p>Another qualifications upheaval risks undermining the government’s good ideas</p><p>Further education is one of the public sector’s Cinderellas – chronically neglected by policymakers who care more about schools. The government’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/oct/20/english-universities-can-raise-tuition-fees-if-they-meet-tough-standards-says-phillipson">latest white paper</a> is a welcome attempt to rectify this. If the plan succeeds, it would go some way towards fulfilling Labour’s pledge to break down barriers that block opportunities for too many young people.</p><p>But there is no simple way to enhance the status of further education colleges while also raising the quality of job-linked training and adult education more widely. Previous attempts have not gone well. Overall, investment in non-academic training has <a href="https://learningandwork.org.uk/news-and-policy/responding-to-the-department-for-educations-announcement-on-technical-excellence-colleges/">dropped</a> calamitously since 2010. The apprenticeship levy scheme introduced by the Conservatives in 2017 was a dismal <a href="https://feweek.co.uk/labour-think-tanks-radical-plan-to-tackle-apprenticeship-levys-abject-failure/">failure</a>, as employers spent the money on existing employees rather than entry-level opportunities. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/17/t-levels-vocational-education-disaster-students-realism">take-up of new T-levels</a>, which were&nbsp;meant to raise the status of technical learning to match A-levels, has been disappointing.</p><p><em><strong>Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/letters">letters&l