Collab Group

Collab Group is a membership organisation representing a network of 35 colleges and college groups of further education in the United Kingdom[1]. The organisation uses their UK-wide collective capability to work with civic and business communities to influence and lead the future of technical and professional education development and delivery.

The organisation pursues commercial activities to deliver nationwide apprenticeship and training services to large employers and delivers expert consultation services. Collab Group also works, through policy influencing, to raise the profile and reputation of further education.[2]

The group changed its name from the 157 Group in October 2016,[3] having been established under its former name in 2006. Its creation was announced at that year's Association of Colleges annual conference chaired by the then Secretary of State for Education Alan Johnson, with its former name taken from the 157th paragraph of a British government paper on education, The Foster Report (formally the Review of the future role of FE colleges), published a year previously.[2]

Chief Executive Ian Pretty explained the group's new name: "Collab is collaboration ... collaboration is critical to us. How do we collaborate with industry? How do we collaborate with government? How do we collaborate with each other?"[3]