31 March 2006
Further education leaders have urged Education Secretary Ruth Kelly to be more radical in her reforms, following publication of the white paper on the future of the sector this week.
Under the proposals, colleges will focus on the needs of employers, providing vocational skills training and acting as an engine for economic growth. All under-25s will be able to study for A-levels or GNVQs free of charge and maintenance grants will be available for the first time.
Failing colleges that do not improve within a year will face takeover by other colleges or private bidders, while an £11m workforce investment programme will be launched to tackle staffing shortages and improve standards.
The government has also pledged to tackle the funding disparity that means that sixth-form students in schools are around 10% better funded than their counterparts in FE colleges.
College leaders, trade unions and employers all gave the government's plans, largely based on last year's report by Sir Andrew Foster, a broad welcome. But there were complaints that it was not bold enough.
The Association of School and College Leaders said the government had been too timid in its pledge to reduce the burden of regulation and bureaucracy.
ASCL deputy general secretary Martin Ward urged Kelly to go further and cut the £500m annual bill. 'There is a strong need to reduce the cost of bureaucracy and audit for all colleges, not just for those deemed to be highly performing,' he said.
John Brennan, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, representing England's 388 FE colleges, said the government should make employers contribute to the cost of training their staff.
'The total investment in training undertaken off employer premises is a miserly £205 per employee per year, a national total of £2.9bn – only a fraction of what the taxpayer spends on skills development.'
Barry Lovejoy, head of colleges at lecturers' union Natfhe, criticised the takeover plans as privatisation by stealth. 'We don't agree that FE is ripe for private organisations to make a quick buck. It has been shown that where problems of quality are identified, they can be turned around very quickly.'
But the white paper was strongly endorsed by Trades Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber and CBI director general Sir Digby Jones for its emphasis on producing a skilled workforce.
Foster also endorsed the reform package and urged the government to ensure it is backed up with action.
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