Civic Universities and Regional Skills Gaps: University-FE college collaborations

Recognising the potential for greater collaboration between universities and further education colleges and a lack of evidence on this topic, this review responds to the following questions: When are universities better placed to meet skills gaps, and when are FE colleges? How might they partner together to address a more localised skills agenda? It explores the types and impacts of different collaborations, with a focus on challenges in the FE sector, the potential role of university-FE partnerships and the role of voluntary sector partners. The report shows that partnerships are desirable to allow for greater flexibility in education delivery, fostering opportunity and civic impact at a regional level. It also develops an initial typology of university-FE collaborations to be further tested in future research.