Funding Post Compulsory Education and Training: A retrospective analysis of the TEC and FEFC systems and their impact on skills

Abstract

The way is now being paved for a major upheaval to the post-compulsory education and training system in England. By the time the new Learning and Skills Council (LSC) opens for business on 1 April 2001, the Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) and the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) will have been in existence for barely ten years. This paper outlines the funding principles on which the TEC and FEFC systems were established and what this meant in practice. It also traces the consequences these arrangements had for skills delivery. The paper therefore offers a retrospective account of previous regimes and their consequences. It is hoped that the paper will serve to inform current policy debates as well as provide a benchmark against which to judge the effectiveness of the LSC in future years.