The Skills for Jobs White Paper and funding and accountability consultation set out the Government’s plans to introduce a greater focus on the outcomes of learning, including a new Skills Measure that looks at the employment and other outcomes that learners achieve.

Will this give colleges and providers greater freedom to deliver for learners, or create an added burden of measurement? How do we reflect different economic and social circumstances across the country and avoid unintended consequences? What are the right outcomes to focus on given the many economic and social benefits of learning?

Our new report, supported by Association of Colleges, looks at how other countries have embedded a focus on outcomes in further education and draws out potential lessons for England. It argues we should consider both social and economic outcomes, going hand-in-hand with greater simplification and flexibility in longer-term and increased funding.