There is nothing new about the relationship between apprentice training and further education (FE)colleges; indeed the provision of off-the-job training for craft and technician apprentices is at the heart of the history of FE. The Mechanics' Institutes of the 19th century were established for the purpose of providing training, on a part-time basis, for those employed across the range of manufacturing industries seeking to gain qualifications. The central purpose of these institutions was to provide technical education, especially in engineering, for working men. As the century progressed, the numbers of such institutions grew in order to provide for the training needs of those employed within the rapidly growing industrial sector. The absence of a system of technical education, such as those in place in Germany and the USA, was also seen to be one of the causes of Britain's relative decline visa visits competitors in terms of its manufacturing output. By 1900, Great Britain had been surpassed by Germany and the USA in the production of steel; it had already been overtaken by the USA in the production of coal. é Patrick Ainley, Helen Rainbird and named contributors, 1999.
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