This seminar considers the extent to which English post-secondary education offered by further education and higher education institutions constitutes a tertiary education system. It examines higher education being offered by English further education colleges (HE in FE) and further education offered by higher education institutions (FE in HE). It observes that while much of this cross-sector provision seems to reflect specific opportunities or institutional strategies, some reflects an explicit regional or industrial strategy. These findings are located within an analysis of possible types of arrangements between vocational and higher education sectors, and an analysis of possible levels of association of vocational and higher education. The study found promising developments in the integration of vocational and higher education in England despite the fragmentation of tertiary education policy and programs, but considerable variations in arrangements because of the lack of an integrated tertiary education policy.

Gavin is a SKOPE honorary research fellow. His first book From vocational to higher education: An international perspective (Open University Press, 2008) examined the relations between vocational and higher education in Scotland, Australia, and 3 USA states.

Register for other seminars of the SKOPE Seminar Series on England’s progress towards a tertiary education system here. Download the seminar series poster (SKOPE Seminar Series – Tertiary Education in England (HT 2026).