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Guidance

Further education workforce data collection

How and when further education (FE) providers should submit data for the FE workforce data collection.

This publication was withdrawn on

Applies to England

Documents

FE workforce validation rules: 2023 to 2024

FE workforce governor data guidance

XML schema: FE workforce collection

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FE workforce staff data: desktop application

FE workforce application template

Details

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) closed on 31 March 2025. All activity has moved to the Department for Education (DfE). You should continue to follow this guidance.

This staff record specification is produced to assist providers in collecting and submitting staff data in an XML file for the 2023 to 2024 further education (FE) workforce data collection.

This return is mandatory for all eligible providers. This collection will allow us to build reliable data sets to help design effective and impactful policy to support the sector going forwards.

The collection for the 2023 to 2024 academic year is planned to open on Monday 14 October 2024 and close on Friday 17 January 2025.

The key changes to the specification for this year are:

  • amendments to the main subject taught options which a staff member delivers during the 2023 to 2024 academic year
  • updated guidance for some fields as a result of user feedback from the 2022 to 2023 academic year data collection
  • amendments to the scope to help clarify which providers are within the scope of the return

The collection will be available on the submit learner data service and will offer 2 options for returning data. These will be:

  • an online form which will allow direct entry on staff data
  • uploading an XML file

We will also provide a desktop application which providers can use to generate an XML file for upload should they wish to use this option and cannot generate the file from their existing management information systems (MIS). An updated version of this tool for 2023 to 2024 will be released in September prior to the collection opening.

You should complete a return if you access any of the funding streams listed below during the 2023 to 2024 academic year (1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024) and do not return the schools workforce census or the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) staff record:

  • adult education budget
  • apprenticeships (including carry-in, non-levy and levy funded)
  • devolved or delegated adult education budget
  • Skills bootcamps (including devolved or delegated contracts
  • 16 to 19 study programme
  • 16 to 18 traineeships

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