Lecturers from 220 colleges are due to strike today over pay, with around 800 expected to protest outside a conference in Birmingham where the education secretary, Ruth Kelly, will be giving a speech.
Thousands of students could be affected by today's action, although college bosses have sought to play down the affect of the strike on students, saying they will ensure as many lessons as possible go ahead.
Further education members of the lecturers union Natfhe are striking after a pay offer of 2.8%, which they say fails to address the 10% gap in salaries between college teachers and those in schools.
Lecturers are meeting outside the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, where the Association of Colleges (AoC), which represents their bosses the college principals, is due to meet for the second day of its annual conference. They will congregate at midday. Ms Kelly is due to give her speech at 11.30am.
The protesters will then more on to the Birmingham Christian Centre for a rally, including speakers, at 1.30pm.
The union's head of colleges, Barry Lovejoy, said: "The government tells us that further education is the 'engine of a successful, dynamic economy' so why does it leave our colleges running on empty?
"Our members are angry and resentful that whilst more and more is expected of them, their pay is slipping further and further behind schoolteachers'. Given a choice between colleges and schools, it is not hard to see which new recruits would opt for. With 50% of the further education workforce due to retire within a decade, this is a disaster waiting to happen."
When the strike was announced last week, the deputy chief executive of the AoC, Sue Dutton, said she did not expect the strike to cause major disruption at colleges. "In those locations where action will take place, colleges will, of course, endeavour to minimise disruption to their students."
Both Natfhe and the AoC this week criticised the Foster review of further education for failing to address the issue of how much more money colleges need to be able to significantly improve the quality of education they offer.
Instead, the report focuses on colleges reforming their image, so that employers and students know what they offer. Failing colleges will also face being taken over, possibly by private companies, said the report.
