Policies towards work-focused Higher Education - are they meeting employers' needs?

Since the mid-1980s, the UK government policies for higher education have reflected a belief in the contribution of higher education to economic prosperity and have generally encouraged the development of work-related curricula in higher education. In 2000, the government supported the introduction of a new kind of higher education programme (the foundation degree) specifically aimed at improving the delivery of technical and professional skills to meet industry and business needs. Foundation degrees were to be work-related intermediate awards which also provided opportunities for progression to honours degrees. In this paper, I look at employers' perceptions of intermediate, work-focused higher education in general, and consider the issues raised for the government's new policy in relation to foundation degrees