17 March 2026
Colleges often state that their number one concern is recruitment and retention. Attrition rates are severe – around 25% of FE teachers leave within their first year, and nearly half leave within three years. Recruiting from industry is exceedingly difficult, and trying to bring in teachers who could potentially work in schools where pay is significantly more is also difficult. This is even more of an issue with rising demand and increasing student numbers, alongside Union negotiations and ongoing industrial action.
The FE sector also struggled to articulate the value of HR leadership with little mention of this from College representative bodies, HR leaders or HR groups, despite plenty of views and opinions around issues that HR is central to addressing. Despite this being such a significant problem, there has been a lack of investment and focus on the HR function within colleges, often driven by constrained budgets but not wholly.
That isn’t to say there aren’t some HRDs (recognising that many are now called Director of People or equivalent) out there who are making a significant impact, Bristol College springs to mind, but developing an HR function that understands strategic HR, organisational development, workforce planning and leadership remains inconsistent across the sector.
The evidence, however, shows that robust HR leadership has measurable, transformative impact. In too many colleges HR is transactional and given the demands on colleges there is an urgent need for HR leaders who can:
Without this strategic capacity, colleges fall into reactive hiring, dependency on agencies and repeated vacancy cycles.
The impact of high-quality HR leadership
A compelling case study comes from a college in the midlands, which underwent significant cultural and workforce improvement after appointing a senior HR leader from outside of education. Before 2020, the college faced low morale, stagnant pay, weak union engagement, and limited investment in people. Under new HR leadership, the college implemented modern benefits, wellbeing initiatives, and progressive workforce policies, leading to increased staff engagement and an improved employer reputation.
This demonstrates that bringing HR leadership in from outside the FE sector can introduce fresh thinking, professionalised HR practice, and contemporary organisational development strategies that colleges have historically lacked.
Why colleges should recruit HR leaders from beyond FE
As with all corporate services, we are always keen to encourage exploration of those from outside of sector. The FE sector’s workforce challenges mirror those seen in large, complex organisations, for example, high operational pressure, multi-stakeholder environments, rapid policy change, union engagement and competition for talent. Leaders from sectors such as healthcare, universities, local government, charities, regulated industries, and professional services, bring expertise in employee engagement, culture transformation, data driven workforce planning, and large-scale people strategy that FE urgently needs.
As FE leadership roles become more multi-faceted, colleges need HR professionals who are trained and experienced in strategic workforce design, not just compliance and casework. External HR candidates often bring:
These are precisely the capabilities the FE sector is currently lacking.
Ensuring strategic HR has a voice at board level
Many of the sector’s structural problems, which includes high workload, weak succession pipelines, inconsistent development pathways, and low engagement — reflect issues that a board level HR voice is designed to mitigate.
Yet in many colleges, HR:
Boards must elevate HR leadership to the same strategic level as finance, curriculum, and estates by:
This is essential for shifting HR from a transactional service to a strategic partner guiding stability, culture, and long-term sustainability.
The other question of course is whether the board has strategic HR experience around the table. Given many of the strategic aims outlined in the corporate strategy involve people, a board must reflect this reality.
Conclusion: Investing in HR Leadership is not a cost, it is the solution
The evidence across the sector is consistent: high attrition, teacher shortages, and leadership gaps cannot be solved without strengthening the HR function. Strategic HR drives:
Colleges that invest in HR capacity and leadership, including recruiting from outside the sector and elevating HR to board level, are the ones best positioned to break the cycle of workforce instability and deliver long-term organisational success.
International Education: A New Strategy for FE Colleges | AQ
Anderson Quigley is highly experienced in recruiting interim and permanent HR leaders into the education sector, as well as supporting to appoint strategic HR board members for colleges. If you’d like support with you college, drop Paul Aristides an email at paul.aristides@andersonquigley.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.
