THE number of students at further education (FE) colleges is on the increase - with those taking degrees at their highest level in five years.
Statistics published by the Department for the Economy show more than 155,000 people enrolled at the north's six FE providers.
This was a slight rise of 1.6 per cent since 2016/17 (153,088) but a decrease by a net 14 per cent since 2013/14 (180,825).
Colleges typically provide access to education to those with barriers to learning, with no or low qualifications, who are furthest from the labour market, or those with learning difficulties.
They have a proud and often unrecognised tradition of attracting students from all sections of society, in terms of gender, age, religion and disability.
FE colleges also now offer higher education qualifications, including degrees and foundation degrees, and tuition fees are often less than at university.
The statistics show that higher education enrolments at FE colleges have increased by a net 2.3 per cent, from 11,576 in 2013/14 to 11,848 in 2017/18.
Of the higher education enrolments in 2017/18, the highest proportion was in the age group 25 and over, followed by those aged 19 and under.
The subject area `business, administration and law' had the largest share. This was followed by `health, public services and care' and `engineering and manufacturing technologies'.
Almost two fifths of those studying degrees at colleges were from deprived backgrounds.
