​Highlands College is the Island’s only further education provider.  It operates in a different political, educational and legal context from colleges in the UK and with a different landscape of competition and regulatory bodies.

In 2008, Skills Jersey and the Skills Executive (a tri-department body of the Department for Education, Sport and Culture, Economic Development and Social Security) were established to take responsibility for the strategic leadership of skills development on the Island.  Jersey is also developing its own international personality and this means that policy imperatives of the Island are different from those experienced by colleges in the UK.

The college offers a wide range of courses to meet the needs of the Island.  It predominantly offers vocational education, although it has a significant leisure oriented adult education provision (approximately 5,000 enrolments and 500 courses) and a portfolio of higher and professional programmes.  

There is also a full-cost recovery unit, which meets the needs of the financial services industry and the demand for management training for which approximately 1,000 individual students enrol. There are numerous links with businesses, adult and community groups and approximately 500 students a year participate in the ESOL in the community programme, which in 2007 was Highly Commended in the AoC’s Churches' Beacon Award for Sustainable Partnerships. 

There are good arrangements with the 9 secondary schools, with a common application process post-16. Most of the work of the college is conducted on a single-campus, though adult, community and financial education are offered on over 25 sites.  In 2007-08, 777 full-time further education students attended the college (1 November census date) and there were over 7,000 individuals who enrolled on part-time provision.