David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, recently wrote in Tes that warm words butter no parsnips; and that colleges need an unambiguous statement of intent from the Department for Education – that colleges are central to their thinking, that colleges are vital in every community and that investment is on its way to support those policies and words.

I hope this statement is unambiguous enough: colleges are absolutely fundamental to our thinking at the Department for Education. We know how important they are for local communities, for businesses, and for giving people of all ages and backgrounds the skills they need to thrive and succeed. During my time as apprenticeships and skills minister, I have visited colleges and providers right across the country and have met staff and students so passionate about the difference colleges can make. Further education changes lives, there’s no doubt about it.  

Colleges are also a key factor in making sure Britain has the skills it needs for the future. In a fast-changing global market, the skills required by businesses are also changing. We need people to be trained in increasingly important areas at the cutting edge of industry; for example, artificial intelligence, software engineering, cybersecurity and digital technology. And, of course, no one is better placed to know the skills our country is currently missing than those working in industry.

Plugging the skills gaps

That’s why I’m so pleased to announce a new £5 million fund that will help up to 150 top industry professionals become trained teachers in the FE sector. Our Taking Teaching Further programme aims to attract experienced professionals to pass on their expertise to the next generation, plugging the skills gaps in an increasingly digital and tech-savvy world.

We are serious about further education, and about growing and strengthening the link between FE and industry. I’m also thrilled that this programme was designed hand-in-hand with the Association of Colleges and the Education and Training Foundation – our partnership with the sector is certainly not just about warm words, it is about making real things happen, with real outcomes.

The workforce of the future

The programme is part of our wider changes to technical education to put vocational choices on a par with our world-class academic routes and give young people a real, genuine choice about their futures. We are rolling out our revolutionary T levels, which combine study with an industrial placement, and these FE industry professionals will have a real hand in teaching these pioneering qualifications. Our reforms of technical education are the biggest shake-up seen by the sector in over 70 years and we want business to play a key role.

I know that FE teaching is an incredibly rewarding career; it means having the opportunity to shape the next generation and pass on knowledge to people who are keen to learn and grow. This new programme offers professionals in different industries the opportunity to help train and develop the workforce of the future at a time when businesses are crying out for that expertise. Colleges are absolutely central to our thinking and will remain so as we work to give the further education sector the attention it deserves.

Anne Milton is apprenticeships and skills minister