Enriching further education, humanising VET? European perspectives on the subject and the case of English college enrichment

Context: The paper examines the scope and boundaries of VET at a time of tension between
instrumental international policies seeking to strengthen skills transmission and increasingly
urgent concerns about broader issues facing young people approaching adulthood. Its empirical
basis is an extended study of provision outside the formal curriculum in English further education, where neoliberal policies since the late 1970s have positioned both occupational expertise
and generic behaviours within a discourse of marketable skills, to the detriment of wider educational practice.
Approach: The empirical study was carried out in England and Wales between 2020 and 2024,
through two national surveys and an extended interaction between the research team and the
further education sector, leading to nine case studies of enrichment practice.
Findings: The studies evidenced the possibilities of ‘enriching’ the curriculum of students aged
16-18, through attention to its broader dimensions. However, these were often overcome by an
imperative to focus on skills and competences, and by an impetus to keep students on their
course in the wake of post-pandemic mental health difficulties
Conclusions: The study drew attention to the necessity for and possibilities of attention to the
broader human development of young people engaged in VET studies, continuing a decadeslong debate in England. At a time when greater emphasis on the specific needs of employers,
on competences and on ‘matching’ skills to vacancies is spreading across Europe, these areas
may require further attention in countries with a history of greater attention to the human dimensions of VET.