A very significant structural shift in British education since the expansion of universities in the 1990s is imminent. While the headlines focus on tuition fees or teacher retention, a more profound revolution is taking place – one that challenges the very monopoly of the three-year degree The imminent explosion of microcredentials is a policy inevitability. With the rollout of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement in 2025, the UK Government will effectively decouple funding from the “full degree,” allowing learners to borrow money for individual modules and short courses. This legislative change is the spark that will ignite the powder keg. For the first time, the “atomisation” of education – that is breaking learning down into stackable, verifiable blocks – will have the financial backing of the State.
