Further Education Outcomes: Academic Year 2021/22

1. About this report

This report presents analysis of the ninth annual Survey of Further Education (FE) College Leavers. Taking place approximately six months after course completion it provides a snapshot of the immediate added value of a further education course.

The survey and associated analysis focuses on FE College leavers who completed and achieved:

The survey provides a snapshot of the immediate added value to leavers of completing and achieving a regulated qualification at Level 3 or below in the FE sector during the academic year 2021/22.

Monitoring and reporting on the destinations of the thousands of students who complete FE courses in Northern Ireland each year helps to measure the impact and outcomes of student learning in terms of progression into further learning and employment.

As the survey is carried out approximately six months after qualifying, the figures provide only a snapshot at this time.

Survey is undertaken approximately six months after course completion

2. Key Points

Positive Outcome: 91% of FE College leavers reported a positive outcome i.e. they were either in employment, further study, or both within six months of achieving their qualification.
Employment: Almost three-fifths (58%) of FE College leavers were in employment six months after achieving their qualification.
Learning: One-third (33%) of FE College leavers were re-enrolled in education six months after achieving their qualification. Of those who are in further study, over four-fifths (82%) had enrolled on a course at a higher level.
Unemployment: The proportion of leavers who classified themselves as unemployed six months after achieving their qualification was 4%.

Infographic outlining the Key Points detailed above

3. Overview

Metric outlining that 91% of 22 leavers had a postive outcome

91% of FE College leavers reported a positive outcome (in employment or education) within six months of achieving their qualification.

Almost three-fifths (58%) of leavers were in employment and 33% were in re-enrolled in education.

Figure 1: 91% of FE College leavers were in employment or learning

Percentage of all leavers by outcome activity

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Employed	Learning	Unemployed	Other	Total
58%	33%	4%	5%	100%

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4. Outcomes: Employed

Metric outlining that 58% of leavers are in employment after 6 months of gaining their FE qualification

Almost three-fifths (58%) of FE College leavers were in employment six months after achieving their qualification. This is compared to 50% in 2020/21.

The majority of those in employment were working full-time (71%), 23% were working part-time and the remaining 7% were primarily working but also studying. This includes apprentices and trainees, as well as those undertaking re-qualification courses.

Figure 2: 71% of FE college leavers in employment were working full-time

Percentage of leavers in employment by mode

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Full-time work	Part-time work	Primarily in work & also studying	Total
71%	23%	7%	100%

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The majority (71%) of FE College leavers were working full-time six months after achieving their qualification and this remained consistent with the proportion who said they were working full-time in 2020/21. The proportion of leavers in employment who were working part-time and primarily working but also still studying also remained consistent with 2020/21.

5. Outcomes: Learning

Metric outlinging that 33% of FE leavers are in learning

One-third (33%) of FE College leavers were re-enrolled in education six months after achieving their qualification. This is compared to 41% in 2020/21.

The majority of those in learning were studying full-time (59%), 11% were studying part-time and the remaining 30% were primarily studying but also working. This is largely full-time students who are working alongside their studies.

Figure 3: 30% of leavers in learning were primarily studying and also in work

Percentage of leavers in learning by mode

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Full-time study	Part-time study	Primarily studying & also in work	Total
59%	11%	30%	100%

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Of the FE College leavers who were in learning, over four-fifths (82%) had progressed onto a course at a higher level. This proportion remains consistent with the previous year (82%).

Table 1: 82% of leavers in learning were studying at a higher level

Percentage of leavers in learning by location and level of study

Location and level of Study following FE Qualification	Higher	Same	Lower	Total
University (including Open University)	31%	1%	0%	31%
FE College	46%	12%	1%	60%
Other	5%	4%	0%	9%
Total	82%	17%	1%	100%

The majority of leavers who continue their studies, do so at a FE College (60%). However, it is also worth noting, nearly a third (31%) progress their learning at a University. A small proportion (9%) represented as ‘Other’, continue their studies at a school or other training facility.

6. Outcomes: Unemployed and Other (Not working and not studying)

Metric outlining that 4% of leavers classified themselves as unemployed

Six months after achieving their qualification, 4% of FE leavers were unemployed and looking for work. The same proportion (4%) also classified themselves as unemployed in 2020/21.

Typically, unemployment rates were lower for those qualifying at a higher level. For instance, 14% of those who qualified at Entry Level or Level 1 were unemployed, in contrast to 5% at Level 2 and 2% at Level 3.

An additional 5% of FE leavers reported being either retired, being long-term sick and unable to work or caring for a relative.

7. Dashboard

This publication marks the first release of an interactive FE Outcomes Dashboard. The dashboard is created for users who want to know more than just the headline statistics. It aligns and complements the report. Users can explore each section of the report e.g. employment, learning etc, in more detail by using the filter options to find out more about the various cohorts of leavers:

College
Level of Study
Mode of Study
Broad STEM Indicator
Subject Area
Sex
Age Band
Disability
Deprivation Quintile

8. Further Information

Methodology

For more information on the methodology and processes involved in producing this FE Outcomes report, please refer to the Methodology Report.In particular, it is recommended to read the sub-section ‘Interpreting the findings’.

The questionnaire and commonly used terms and abbreviations can also be found in Annex A and Annex B of the Methodology.

FE Sector Activity

It is also recommended that the report findings are read in conjunction with annual FE Sector Activity publications. These will provide context as they report on additional information about the students enrolled on regulated courses at FE Colleges and are available on the FE Sector Activity in NI web page.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank all the FE College leavers who took part in the survey. Without your help, this report would not have been possible.

Review

As outlined within the methodology, evaluation is one of key phases when conducting this survey. As part of this, and in light of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Skills Strategy for NI recommendations about its content, coverage, timing, marketing and response rates, a review of the survey is currently underway. For more information, please see the ‘review’ sub-section within the methodology.

Feedback

As this marks the first release of the FE Outcomes Bulletin in HTML format, as well as the introduction of an interactive dashboard, we are interested in getting feedback from our users to understand how we can improve.

Bearing this in mind, we would be grateful if you could complete the short survey below.