The Minister for Further and Higher Education has called for universities, colleges, schools, learners, and businesses in Wales to share their views on post-16 education and research.
The Future of Tertiary Education in Wales evidence paper, published today, sets out the challenges facing further and higher education in Wales and invites the post-16 education sector to help build the evidence base that will inform and address these challenges.
The paper identifies key challenges the post-16 education sector faces and invites the sector to answer questions on these areas where further insight is most useful to policy making.
These challenges include participation gaps, rising costs for both learners and institutions, demographic changes, competition between education providers and aligning skills provision and research to the needs of the Welsh economy.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, said:
“The challenges facing our post-16 education system are too complex for us to solve alone. Universities, colleges, schools, employers and learners hold vital insights about what is working, what is not, and what is possible.
We have already delivered reforms to the post-16 sector, including establishing Medr and maintaining our approach to student support, but we cannot ignore that there are further challenges that need to be addressed.
This call for evidence is our opportunity to build on our progress, and your expertise will shape Wales’s future. This is your opportunity to influence the future direction for your institution, your staff, your learners and your communities.
This week I will be visiting Bangor University and Coleg Meirion Dwyfor to speak with staff and students and hear their views on the challenges the sector faces. These conversations will build on my ongoing dialogue with the sector, and will be an essential part of this work.
I encourage everyone involved in post-16 education to come forward and be part of this conversation.”
The call for evidence is open from January to March 2026 and NEON would very much like to respond. We intend to contact all NEON members in Wales to get their views and respond as a community of widening access professionals.