TUC Welcomes Guarantee For Young Unemployed

Commenting on the Government’s Jobs White Paper published yesterday (Tuesday), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said, “The new better off in work guarantee shows the Government has recognised that some people moving off benefits into very low paid work do not bring home any more money. They are right to try to correct this.

‘The promise of 100,000 new jobs, apprenticeships and training places is good news for nearly one million young people at risk of long-term unemployment.

‘In the 1980s, young people who lost their jobs were left on the scrapheap, and over two million of them were unable to find work even after the recession had ended. Today’s commitment shows that the Government has learnt those lessons and is taking this jobs crisis seriously.

‘With long-term unemployment still going up rapidly, making the Youth Guarantee available after six months is also a welcome and necessary investment.

‘However, the Government must continue to offer job and training guarantees to all those at risk of lengthy periods of joblessness.”

ATL Comment on Pre-budget Report

Commenting on the Chancellor’s pre-budget report, Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of AMiE partner the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:

“Overall this is a good pre-budget report.  There are a lot of measures we like.  However, some measures may be highly damaging to public services and education.

“We are deeply unhappy about capping all public sector pay at one per cent for two years because it is too blunt a measure, and will affect the majority on low salaries as much as the few who are highly paid, and is far too long when even the government is forecasting inflation will be three per cent in two years time.

“Instead of funding internships for unemployed undergraduates the money would be better spent on retraining courses.

“It seems perverse to allow bankers to be untaxed on bonuses of up to £25,000 when everyone else is fully taxed on their £25,000 salary including first year teachers.

“We support guarantees for all 16 and 17 year olds to be in education or training by 2010.

“We are pleased the Government has sensibly cut the amount of time for under 24s to be unemployed to six months before being guaranteed work or training.”

Demand Led Learning Is Sleight Of Hand

Delegates to next weeks Trades Union Congress being held in Liverpool will be told that the concept of  demand led learning is government sleight of hand. AMiE partner ACM will argue that demand for learning is not the same as need for learning, and that for those who are disadvantaged and lack skills, public subsidy is necessary to turn need into demand.

The congress will be urged to call on government to give colleges the flexibility and discretion to respond to local needs.

Tom Wilson, the recently appointed director of the TUC’s UnionLearn, previews the congress on FENews.co.uk.

TUC Welcomes Jobs Guarantee For Young People

Responding to the expansion of the Government’s Jobs Guarantee today (Wednesday) to young people who have been unemployed for ten months, as part of the Backing Young Britain campaign, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

“This is fantastic news for the many young people who are in desperate need of work.

“In previous recessions many young people have been left on the scrapheap. Today’s announcement shows the Government is committed to not letting this happen again.

“Demand will be high so it’s good to see so many places already on offer. The Government must also ensure that any new opportunities provide access to real jobs, offering good prospects and a decent wage.

“As a signatory to Backing Young Britain, the TUC will continue to encourage businesses to take on more young people, both as employees and as apprentices.

“We expect the Jobs Guarantee to be a huge success and the Government should consider extending it to anyone who has been out of work for over a year.”

MPs Condemn College Funding Scheme

MPs have condemned the Learning and Skills Council’s college building scheme in England. This follows the announcement earlier this month that just 13 projects would be allowed to proceed.

Both the LSC and the government are criticised in a report by the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee which deals with further education.

Committee chairman Phil Willis MP, is quoted as saying: “It really beggars belief that such an excellent programme which had showed real success in transforming the further education experience for students was mismanaged into virtual extinction.”

For more on this story, please see the BBC News website.

Reacting to the MPs’ report, Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of AMiE partner union the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) said,

“Further education, its staff and students, are suffering because of the total fiasco over the capital building programme.  This was a text-book example of how not to run a funding programme.  Both the Learning and Skills Council and the Government have to take the blame for this and learn from their mistakes.

“The Committee’s report supports our view that the structures set up to deliver post 16 education are ill thought through and too complex.  Contrary to what was proposed in the 2005 Foster Review the Government has been treating FE colleges like any other commercial, market driven business.  They are being used as ‘skills warehouses’ to educate those over 16.

“The current mess highlights the dangers of splitting education provision between more than one government department.”

Campaign Targets Young Voters

Anti-racism campaign Kick It Out and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) have produced a poster that encourages people to vote in the forthcoming European Elections. It is hoped it will increase awareness amongst young people in particular, who may otherwise be unaware of the elections.

The poster underlines the diversity of football and features players from all 20 Premier League clubs. The campaign slogan ‘Get Your Cross In The Box’ urges voters to ensure they get involved ahead of the elections, on Thursday 4th June.

Kick It Out and the PFA have worked together on the campaign to underline the powerful force that diversity plays in the game.

Polling day next Thursday comes at time when the integrity of politicians is at an all time low. Many of us fear this will result electoral success for the BNP. But as the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight points out, 65 years ago a generation risked everything to defeat fascism. All we have to do is vote!

For more information on the campaign against the BNP please see the Hope Not Hate website.

Budget Promises Reassure Colleges And Schools

As members will know, the Budget promised colleges and schools that all young people’s education and training will be funded. More information can be found at this DCSF link.

Wales Funding Campaign Success

Members in Wales already know, but on 16 April Deputy Minister for Skills John Griffiths announced an additional 8.93 million for Further Education Institutions (FEIs) and sixth forms in Wales.

This follows repeated lobbying by AMiE and other FE unions in Wales to bring about a change in the Welsh Assembly Government’s harsh financial treatment of the sector.

The effect of this additional allocation is that, in almost every case, FEIs and local authority sixth form provision will be funded at or above the same level for 09/10 as they were for 08/09. With the economic downturn being likely to lead to an increase in demand for post-16 training and adult training places, the extra support will provide funding for at least a further 2,500 places for young people and adults at FE institutions and school sixth forms.

In a good natured and clearly effective joint union campaign, AMiE Members joined lunchtime protests to draw attention to the effects of the original funding settlement, and then took their message direct to WAG on 1 April.

Commenting on the success of the campaign, Brian Thornton, AMiE’s Wales Officer said, “Our widely supported campaign has brought the Welsh Assembly Government to its senses. Further education has stood up for itself, and our voice has been heard.”

AMiE Calls on WAG To Overturn Cuts

AMiE and other education unions demonstrated against the cuts in Further Education outside the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) at Cardiff Bay yesterday. Hundreds of staff and students had turned out to demonstrate on April fools day.

Speakers from  opposition parties supported AMiE’s argument that cutting funding from the sector is irrational and should be overturned.

Commenting on the demonstration, AMiE’s Wales Officer Brian Thornton said, “The FE sector has met all the initiatives of WAG over the years, has raised it’s quality profile, and has provided top quality worked based learning, Making cuts in the middle of a recession is just plain madness.”

Even the speaker from the Labour party and Plaid, who are after all the government, agreed with our argument!

Angleo Conti, the chair of the AMiE branch at Swansea College met John Griffiths the deputy minister for skills, along with lay members of the other joint Unions. Angelo was able to make a clear case from a College perspective as to why the cuts needed to be reversed and needed to be reversed now. Swansea College itself is facing a £1.8M deficit and a consequent set of job losses just as it is working towards a merger with Gorseinon College, In other words, doing what WAG wishes it to do!

More information and photos are available on the AMiE website. A news report on the demonstration can be found on the BBC Wales website.

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.