These reforms are exciting, but they're not the first Britain's sector-based approach to training and the way in which employers influence the skills system is unrivalled in the industrialised world, says Tom Bewick

We won't get a fair and healthy society this way Inequalities in skills and opportunities still jeopardise economic performance, say Andy Green and Lorna Unwin

Going to the football does me good, but it isn't free Alan Wells on the subsidising of adult education

The vision is clear
FE colleges are key for social and economic regeneration, says John Denham

Dear Boris, here's how to be a skilful mayor ...
Vicki Fagg, principal of the College of North West London, offers her wishlist to the new mayor

Who needs to know?
A new ruling will allow colleges to omit details from their financial statements. Is this accountability? Peter Kingston reports

Here's why we can't let FE fall through the crack ...
We need fresh thinking if we are to provide more opportunities, says David Willetts

Don't restrict access to learning for all
If learning is so important to the health of communities and of the economy, why is there so much less of it about, asks Alan Tuckett

Skills update
Training opportunities are sadly out of balance, says Geoff Mason

Sink or swim
It's not easy teaching troubled students, says Rosemary Clark

The language of integration
The danger is of hitting the target but missing the point of teaching English, says Duncan O'Leary

It's time we looked after ourselves and our learners
Further education is one of the most regulated activities in the UK, says John Taylor

Form-filling could kill off adult learning
Learning for the sake of it is being squeezed out of adult education, says Mike Baker

Why we need a general diploma accessible to all
The government's new strategy for 14-19 follows the peak in numbers of 18-year-olds entering higher education, writes Martin Allen and Patrick Ainley

Breaking free
Forget self-interest, let's aim for self-determination, says Michael Davis

What did adults do to deserve this?
Who could blame colleges for further cutting adult opportunities when faced with fully subsidised provision for young people, and complete insecurity in the funding of adult learning, says Alan Tuckett

Education for all
Everyone must be given the chance to upgrade their skills, says Tony Watts

Lost opportunities
James Rees on how closing the skills gap is opening up the social divide

Screen break
Training levy guarantees happy endings for UK films, says Dinah Caine

A chance to help shape our own future. Let's grasp it
If FE is still the neglected middle child of the education system, the signs are that mum and dad are beginning to take a real interest, says Chris Thomson

Every college needs a race strategy
Sally Hunt: Tackling extremism is a highly sensitive issue

Plugging the gap
If you want to keep people learning, start planning now, says Mark Corney

The basic skills parade has passed on
I haven't heard when the next adult population survey is to happen, but surely it must be soon, says Alan Wells

A is for Apprenticeships - but are they the right ones?
Lorna Unwin on the government's promises on apprenticeships

When the pathway disappears
We are at risk of losing good, impartial careers advice, says Tony Watts