Now A Warning From Welsh Colleges

The employers association for FE colleges in Wales, ffrowm, has added its own voice to the growing criticism of the Welsh Asembley Government (WAG) accusing them of continuing to underfund colleges in Wales.

John Graystone, fforwm chief executive is reported on the FE News website as saying “Colleges in Wales should not have to languish as the least supported in the UK.”

Meanwhile, AMiE has now produced a briefing from members and other campaigners on the current state of funding in Wales. It can be downloaded from the AMiE website.

AMiE Members Take Campaign To Cardiff

AMiE is taking a leading role in the fight against  funding cuts at many Welsh colleges. AMiE and ATL,  along with all the other unions involved in education, are working together to bring the Welsh Assembly Government to its senses. This follows the latest funding settlement for 14-19 provision in Wales which will see some colleges losing up to 7% of their funding. School sixth forms are also badly affected.

Joint union lobbying of the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and officials from the education department DCELLS is already underway; and this will be made visible with a demonstration outside the WAG building in Cardiff on 1 April. Campaign supporters can also join a Facebook group opposed to the cuts which has been started by an AMiE member at Coleg Sir Gar.

Commenting on the campaign, AMiE Wales officer Brian Thornton said, “I’m delighted by the level of support our members are showing. We are confident of a good turnout for the demonstration next week. Today we have seen an excellent turnout from members of AMiE and the other education unions in coordinated demonstrations against the savage cuts outside Sir Gar, Swansea and Gorseinon Colleges. Now we must unite to demonstrate outside WAG headquarters to argue the case for a properly funded and valued further education sector “

The impact of funding cuts on college staff and students will be severe. AMiE is expecting sweeping job losses at a number of colleges including Coleg Gwent, Coleg Sir Gar, Gorseinon and Swansea Colleges.

Further information about the cuts can be found at the BBC News Wales website.

Link Up To Close Soft Skills Gap

Employers should work with schools and colleges to help close the “soft skills gap” according to the communications firm BT. A report on the Personnel Today website quotes Mike Rake, BT Group chairman as saying:

“We can’t afford to educate our young people without giving them the personal, management and communication skills they need to be effective in the workplace. It is vital that business, education and government find ways to work together.”

Denham Pledge on Apprenticeships

Skills Secretary John Denham today pledged to help apprentices go to university, and to ensure higher education meets the needs of students who have come up through a vocational route.

Welcoming Progression into Apprenticeships, a  Skills Commission’s report published today, Mr Denham said:

“Apprenticeships are valuable in their own right, but I believe there should be clear progression routes for young people and adults who complete their apprenticeships and want to go further – whether that’s onto an advanced apprenticeship, a diploma or a foundation degree and beyond.

“Alongside this, I want universities to offer high-level vocational courses to meet the needs of students who have come up through vocational routes. Vocational routes to higher education are important. But it is also important that vocational training should continue to higher levels.

“Demand for apprenticeships far outstrips supply and they’re proving increasingly popular with young people and adults alike. More and more people will reach the threshold of university education through vocational routes, such as apprenticeships. Our education system must be able accommodate those people and help them gain higher levels of skills and qualifications.”

The Government affirmed its commitment to incorporating Apprenticeship frameworks into the UCAS tariff to make it simpler to go to university after an apprenticeship in its New Opportunities white paper, published in January.

Currently, apprentices can progress onto a foundation degree. Foundation degrees are rising in popularity: 72,000 students studied for one in 2007/08 and the Government has a target of 100,000 enrolments by 2010.

Over the coming months, ministers will be considering a fresh form of vocational degree which would benefit learners and employers alike. Vocational degrees could help more people get the high-level skills they need to pursue a rewarding career and could address particular skills gaps in industry.

The Skills Commission report published today also recommends clearer mapping between diplomas and apprenticeships, so that people studying diplomas know precisely when and where they have acquired a qualification that is also part of an apprenticeship and what further qualifications they would need to complete the apprenticeship.

Mr Denham reaffirmed that young people completing a diploma would have clear progression routes into apprenticeships, and that, from 2013, learners in England will have entitlements to both apprenticeships and diplomas.

Mr Denham said:

“We are making good progress on supporting progression from diplomas to apprenticeships. We will make sure the links between apprenticeships and diplomas are clear and understandable to learners and their parents, as well as to employers and apprenticeship training providers.”

The Skills Commission report also called for a clearer definition of programme-led apprenticeships, courses which involve an apprentice studying full time at a college or training provider without necessarily having an employer.

DIUS and DSCF will respond in full to each of the Skills Commission’s recommendations in the summer.

Stop Micro-managing Teachers

The Lords Merits Committee has hit the nail on the head saying the Government should leave greater room for teachers to use their professional expertise to improve education, in its report into education regulations, according to our AMiE partner, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

ATL fully agrees with the Committee’s views that too many regulations are introduced piecemeal, and that the Government rarely reviews the effect of regulations it imposes.

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL, said,  “The Government has been trying to micro-manage what goes on in schools through a plethora of detailed and over-prescriptive regulations.  It shows a lack of trust in teachers and a failure to understand the complexity of teaching, and means many teachers are afraid to teach in the way they know would best suit the children in their class.”

“Problems arise because of the number and rate of Government interventions, the number of agencies and departments involved, and difficulties translating policies into the classroom.  Even the Government’s attempt to set out a vision for children in the Children’s Plan has become more like a list of interventions.”

“Too frequently it is impossible to see how, or whether, the evidence from pilots have any impact on the development of Government policy, and because of delays in implementation the Government has often moved onto the next issue on its list before the first policy has been bedded-in.  This leaves teachers feeling their feedback will be ignored.

Dr Bousted said:  “Although we are grateful the Government consults us about education policies at a draft and early stage, the relentless churning out of instant initiatives undermines all attempts to base policy on the evidence of what works best for children.”

ATL would like the Government to have a much clearer picture of the cumulative impact of proposed policies on schools, teachers and pupils.  It would also like the Government to continue working in partnership with educational professionals to find how best to put its education vision into workable policies.

Debt Worry Affects Health and Work Performance

Over a quarter of employees are worried about debt, with one in five reporting they are being kept awake at night by financial worries and over ten per cent saying their health was suffering as a result. Additionally, workers with fewer financial worries report better productivity at work than those with concerns.

The findings, which recommends that financial education programmes for staff should be more widespread and accessible, come from the Institute for Employment Studies and are reported on the Workplace Law Network.