17 February 2006

Let's focus on the 96% of colleges doing well, says NATFHE

Following a report of the Public Accounts Committee about leadership in further education, NATFHE – The University & College Lecturers’ Union, has called for the good work of the overwhelming majority of colleges to be given more recognition.

‘Securing strategic leadership in the learning and skills sector’ called for 35 under-performing colleges to have their funding moved to other colleges or providers, or be merged with successful colleges.

The report also called for colleges to do more to meet the needs of employers through stronger engagement with businesses about their skills needs.

Barry Lovejoy, NATFHE’s head of colleges, said:

‘Let’s focus on the positives rather than negatives. According to Ofsted, 96% of colleges were providing a decent standard of education last year. Given that inspectors also found that colleges could improve dramatically within the short space of a year, it seems short-sighted to remove funding from underperforming colleges or merge them with others. With the right support, colleges can improve quickly.

‘Another key route to pushing standards up in all colleges is for them to address low pay which hampers their ability to recruit and retain the best staff. We know that 59% of colleges have failed to implement a two-year pay deal that NATFHE and the Association of Colleges recommended as a breakthrough step in reducing the 10% pay gap between schoolteachers and college lecturers. There is also a desperate need for workforce development which Sir Andrew Foster recognised has been neglected for too long.

‘For colleges to meet employers’ needs, drive and determination is required from both sides. We know that 95% of those employers who already work with colleges are satisfied. The problem is that many don't know about the training that colleges could offer them, or are confused by government messages about which courses are subsidised and which aren’t.

‘Crucially, too many employers are not willing to pay for their employees’ training. We think it’s time the government took employers to task and made them obliged to train.’

Notes to editors

• FROM Annual report of Chief Inspector of Schools 2004/5:
  Only four general further education (GFE) or specialist colleges were inadequate in meeting the needs of learners compared with 13 last year. On completion of the cycle of inspections, just over 4% of colleges remain inadequate; this excludes independent specialist colleges.
• FROM Learning and Skills Council National Employers Skills Survey 2004
  Use of further education colleges for training
  Around 1 in 7 of all employers (15 per cent) had sourced training provision in the previous 12 months through a further education (FE) college, and 7 per cent had funded or arranged such training as a result of tailored or customised advice they received from an FE college. Satisfaction with FE-delivered training was high (at around the 95 per cent level), and varied little by the subject of the training.

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