27 March 2006

NATFHE responds to FE White Paper

NATFHE agrees that the future for further education is to focus on providing the skills required by employment, and we welcome the White Paper’s explicit commitment that this will not be at the expense of the comprehensive curriculum offered by many general FE colleges.

NATFHE supports many of the White Paper’s proposals including: 

• The recognition of the importance of professional development for college staff

• The pledge to carry out more accurate data collection and analysis about the FE workforce

• The provision of free Level 3 (A-Level equivalent) qualifications for those aged 19-25 who previously had to pay for their study

• The extension of a subsidised national employer training programme to cover higher level qualifications

• The drive to improve quality in colleges 

NATFHE does not support: 

• In the guise of ‘contestability’, the move towards increasing competition which could take FE out of the public sector 

NATFHE highlights that the positive initiatives will come at a significant cost and that they could be seriously undermined by the current financial climate in further education.

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

'The White Paper contains some really good initiatives which should mean further education can play a major role in improving skills. But at the same time, we’re getting reports of financial insecurity in colleges, leading to more redundancies and persistent low pay.

'NATFHE has just rejected a dismal pay offer of 1.5% for lecturers next year which our employers, the Association of Colleges, reported was determined by colleges getting less funding for next year than they had expected.

‘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. 

‘Overall, it’s difficult to see how colleges will be able to rise to the government’s skills challenge when their workforce is demoralised by job insecurity, the spectre of private takeover, and the ever-increasing pay gap between college lecturers and schoolteachers.’ 

Notes to Editors 

• The budget for further education will increase by 3% between this academic year (2005/6) and next (2006/7). For several years, it has risen by an average 10%.
• Just 2% of colleges (9) are now judged by Ofsted inspectors to be inadequate, compared to 20% in 2001.
• Schoolteachers will receive a 2.5% pay increase in 2006/7. They received 3.2% in 2005/6.

Contact

Vicky Wilks: 020-7520 3207/07970-383 995
 

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