About us
Who we are
The Skills Funding Agency is a partner organisation of the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and it exists to fund and promote adult further education (FE) and skills training in England.
The FE and skills sector comprises more than 220 FE colleges, some 900 independent training providers, and some 2,500 training organisations with which colleges and providers subcontract. It is all of these organisations that make skills work. Our job is to facilitate their crucial mission by making funding and support available.
What we do
Each year BIS sets out its policy priorities for the skills sector in a Skills Funding Statement detailing the overall level of funding available to the sector to deliver the policy intentions of government.
The Agency’s task is to implement BIS’s policy, as set out in the SFS, consistent with the Chief Executive’s statutory duty to promote and secure reasonable adult further education in England. To achieve this, we influence and support the capacity and quality of the further education system so we can fund the expected demand for high-quality skills training.
Additionally, we house the National Apprenticeship Service, with a field force located across the country, working to develop the relationship with business to drive forward the government’s ambition for increasing Apprenticeships . We champion high standards of training and development through the running of vocational skills competitions and awards. Skills competitions support the Government’s ambition of raising aspirations and attainment in workplace learning, and awards, such as the National Training Awards , which identify best practice in workplace learning. Last year, we hosted WorldSkills London 2011 , the world’s largest vocational skills competition, with young people from across the globe competing to be the best of the best in their chosen skill.
Our Annual Report
The 2012-13 financial year was a period of significant progress for further education (FE) and skills and we, the Skills Funding Agency, were proud to be a part of it.
Skills Funding Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2012-1 3
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Working with us
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Frequently asked questions
