The next UK government must boost investment in skills training to accommodate a looming increase of 150,000 more students seeking higher education by 2030 in England, educational experts have warned.

In a report to be published this week The Association of Colleges, which represents technical colleges, will argue that extra demand caused by a short-term rise in school-leavers must be a catalyst for creating more educational opportunities for those not studying traditional degrees.

The number of first-year undergraduate students in England entering higher education will increase by about one-third by the end of the decade — from roughly 522,000 this year to 683,000 in 2030-31, according to estimates commissioned by the AOC from the consultancy London Economics.