4: The Coordination Conundrum: Three Core Policy Principles for Post-16 Education and Training

Having a resilient, agile, and effective post-16 education and training (E&T) sector is critical to economic growth, prosperity, social cohesion, and supporting the aspirations of individuals. There is a lot at stake. However, without appropriate policy frameworks and strategic coordination of the sector, there are significant economic risks and the potential to deepen and entrench social and geographic inequalities (Robson et al., 2024). Sadly, for the last two decades, post-16 E&T in the UK, and particularly in England, has been subjected to near constant policy churn. This has led to significant instability in Further Education (FE), Higher Education (HE), and adult education as well as structural incoherence, complex pathways, a ‘qualifications jungle’, a stretched and precariously employed E&T workforce, and a crisis in funding (Association of Colleges (AOC), 2020; Keep, 2015; Raffe, 2015; Robson, 2022).