Overview of higher education
Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) represents all staff working in universities, university colleges and colleges of higher education (HE).
Approximate numbers of staff working in HE are as follows:
- 307,587 staff in England
- 6,747 staff in Northern Ireland
- 52,091 in Scotland
- 24,528 in Wales
(Source: LLUK Sector Skills Agreement Stage 1 Report).
There are 167 HE institutions across the UK, whose work is funded by the Higher Education Funding Councils for England and Wales (HEFCE and HEFCW), the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (DELNI) and the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC).
Some of the main stakeholders in the HE sector are as follows:
- Guild HE
- Higher Education Academy
- Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
- Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW)
- Higher Education Wales (HEW)
- Quality Assurance Agency
- Scottish Funding Council
- the national governments in the four UK nations
- Universities Scotland
- Universities UK.
Links to other organisations active in the HE sector are included in the relevant nations pages.
Detailed information about the HE sector is available in the relevant research pages, which include information on projects and reports covering this area.
For information on leadership and management and the reform of initial teacher/tutor/trainer education, please view the relevant Standards and Qualifications pages.
To learn more about careers and professional development in the HE sector, please contact LLUK's Information and Advice Service, which offers free, specialist advice via a telephone helpline.
