This follows the Government's announcement that 80 per cent of higher education courses in the UK will accept Diplomas - a move which the Government says is a testament to the high quality of the Diplomas and the skills they provide.

David Grailey, Chief Executive at NCFE said: "This is great news for education - especially for students, centres and organisations that have already dedicated time and resources into Diplomas.

"We are confident that this announcement will encourage more young people to consider Diplomas as an option and support future Diploma developments."

NCFE is approved as both a Diploma Awarding Body and a Component Awarding Body. It currently works with centres across the UK, offering Additional and Specialist Learning (ASL) and Functional Skills in English at Level 1 and 2.

David Grailey added: "Our Additional and Specialist Learning offers learners the opportunity to study a particular topic in more depth or broaden their studies in other areas. A large proportion of our existing portfolio is also included in the ASL catalogue across all lines of learning."

The study showed that in 2003-04 more than 5.1 million adults were on courses funded by the Learning and Skills Council, but by 2006-07 this had fallen to just over 3.1 million.

David Grailey, Chief Executive: "Adult learning has changed significantly over the past few years. We need to look at provisions such as employability qualifications to strengthen and support adults looking to develop their careers and also those looking for employment.

"It is vital that we continue to develop the workforce through adult learning. We need to ensure that once the recession is over we are still in a competitive position and have the skills base required."

The number of students studying NCFE Level 1 Certificate in Personal Money Management has rocketed, with a 32 per cent increase in the last year and a 50 per cent rise since the qualification was launched in 2007.

Recent surveys showed that student debt has now reached record levels with graduates now owing more than £21,500 by the time they leave university, while a report last week suggested that half of new students would be forced to rely on financial help from their parents.

David Grailey, Chief Executive at NCFE, said: "It is vital that young people learn the importance of money management and are able to manage their financial affairs before they finish their education and enter the world of work.

"The course has already been incredibly successful - teaching young people key life skills - and the popularity of courses such as this continues to grow.

"Economically it is a challenging time for everyone at the moment and it is critical that we equip young people with the necessary skills to support them through these difficult times."

The NCFE qualification has been developed to teach learners of all ages the value of managing finance in the short and long term. This includes an introduction to basic financial concepts, an understanding of how to avoid debt, the consequences of not repaying and the different types of monetary products available with advice on how and when they can be used.

Learners can use their own circumstances, financial experiences, bank statements and financial records to complete the qualification. The individuality of the NCFE qualification also enables learners to have the opportunity to identify a personal significant expenditure goal, and learn how this may be achieved through managing their personal finances.

David Grailey added: "This is a realistic qualification that is personal to the learners and helps to develop skills in financial literacy that young people can actually use.

"NCFE Level 1 Certificate in Personal Money Management is valuable as a means of teaching a crucial life skill. It also opens up a range of areas for further study and a taster for a career within the lucrative financial sector."

Further Education Minister Kevin Brennan recently announced that young people in England may be offered financial incentives to take college courses that are more likely to lead to jobs following claims that some courses fail to adequately prepare students for the workplace.

David Grailey, chief executive at NCFE said: "Unemployment among young people is set to reach over one million just this year, so attempts to ensure that more young people are qualified and able to land good jobs that will support our economy are very welcome indeed.

"There have been claims that some of the ‘softer' courses offered by colleges mislead young people and are oversubscribed when compared with the number of jobs actually available in those sectors. NCFE launched Get Set for Work in response to a growing need for courses that offer students training and skills that will make them more attractive to potential employers.

"NCFE's employability skills courses, for example, can be studied either separately or alongside other subjects. The courses work to ensure that young people leave education fully equipped with the vital key skills needed to enter, and survive in, the workplace."

Get Set for Work provides courses in employability skills, covering interview techniques, time management, working with colleagues as well as other modules. All courses provide the skills and support to follow pathways into key growth areas such as health, public services and care, leisure travel and tourism and retail and commercial enterprise.

Grailey added: "In the current conditions, finding employment is always going to be tough, however by investing in young people's futures now will ensure that they can secure sustainable jobs with good career prospects and develop the skills that are needed to help re-build our economy."

Never has the importance of learning basic workplace skills been so apparent following strong concerns from supermarket giant Tesco's chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy, who says that the standards in some UK schools are ‘woefully low'.

David added: "Programmes like NCFE's Get Set for Work teach students aged 14-19 the key skills needed to enter the workplace, so that private employers don't have to waste time and resources on re-training school-leavers.

"I would like to echo the thoughts of the British Retail Consortium, who commented that our education system desperately needs to equip young people with the right mindset and skills they should already be proficient in upon gaining employment - and that's what Get Set for Work courses aim to do.

"Employers should not be forced to pick up the pieces, 40 per cent of whom say that they are concerned by some of their employees' numeracy and literacy capabilities. School leavers should be able to enter the workplace, be able hit the ground running straight away and look forward to a bright future."

"Cuts are imminent and the rate at which apprenticeships and other skills-boosting courses are to be funded will be one of the hardest-hit areas, despite the recent surge in demand for such courses and plans to increase the number of places. Apprenticeships are designed to ultimately boost the economy, so that everyone can get back to some level of stability and for the Government to announce these cuts somewhat contradicts and unravels all that has been previously promised.

"Learners could stand to suffer amid these savings if they are not handled properly, and, echoing the points made by the Association of Colleges chief executive, Martin Doel, it will be vitally important for the Government to protect the FE community to minimise the potential detrimental impact it could have on the sector."

Grailey also commented on what the changes mean to the working practices of FE organisations: "Not only will everyone have to keep the best interests of learners close to heart, working smarter and the need to deliver better value for money will be very apparent on multiple levels, whilst continuing to provide high quality training to learners and employers."

NCFE offers a selection of NVQs that can be used within Apprenticeship frameworks.