In the US there are technical/vocational schools that generally teach certification programs, junior/community colleges that usually only go up to the associates degree level (2 years) and also sometimes have certification programs as well, then beyond those are colleges & universities.

So, after high school these are the general options:
- technical/vocational schools
- junior/community colleges
- colleges & universities
I believe the only real difference between colleges & universities in the US is that universities, as far as I know, are typically made up of several colleges (but not always).

So in the UK, college would maybe be similar to junior/community colleges in the US (or maybe technical/vocational school)...