The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats have all come in for grilling with a host of questions from FE and skills figures.

In this first of three articles, Business, Enterprise and Energy Minister Matthew Hancock (pictured) takes the stand for the Conservatives.

Labour’s Shadow Skills Minister Liam Byrne answers tomorrow morning on feweek.co.uk, while a Lib Dem spokesperson fields questions in the afternoon.

 

Will FE be funded at all in the future — if so for what?

Yes, but we’ve made clear that we need to deal with the remaining deficit. That means savings for the next two years at the same pace as in this Parliament across the Government as a whole. We’ve also expanded the funding for apprenticeships even in this Parliament — so while dealing with the deficit, it’s one of the areas of government spending which has expanded, not contracted. And we’ve got a clear commitment to see 3m apprenticeships in the next parliament.

Will colleges be appropriately funded to deliver English and maths?

Yes, English and maths are very important. They’re the two central vocational qualifications. I think we’ve made good progress in expanding and strengthening the English and maths requirements. A huge amount of effort has been put into strengthening English and maths for the under 16s and this is clearly a central drive for the next Parliament too.

How do you envisage the provision for learners requiring “second chances” if students have not succeeded in the school system?

Raising the participation age (RPA) had been an important part of the reforms that was seen. We’ll continue with that with the final increase in September at the same time we’ve expanded the ability of FE to provide for 14 to 16-year-olds because often people succeed better in a different environment at that age, and there’ll be continued support for adult education and of course the apprenticeship system which had the biggest impact on lifetime learning.

What would you do to ensure that government-funded training leads directly to a job outcome?

This is a crucial part of the reforms we’ve seen so far, to link more directly the line of sight to work. The Trailblazer process is the most conspicuous and clearest link, but also the review vocational qualifications has brought employers’ needs more closely into the qualification system as a whole and as a I travel round the country and visit colleges I see increasingly colleges engaging with local employers to ensure that what’s taught is what’s needed in the local area.

How will you support the FE Sector to generate more income to replace the 24 per cent reduction in adult skills budgets?

Firstly apprenticeship funding is increasing and the colleges that have increased apprenticeship training have been able to boost their revenues that way. Secondly, some colleges have been much better than others in producing revenue through FE loans. Colleges are ultimately social enterprises and some colleges get an increasing amount of revenue form providing training privately and I see this as an increasing part of colleges’ income.

What are you going to do about ensuring independent careers advice?

We’ve made huge steps with the careers company and more engagement with local employers both from the public and private sector in their local schools,

What will you do to overcome the inherent mismatch between young people’s career aspirations and the skills needs of industry?

Information is the most important this, but inspiration is important too. You’ve got to raise expectations and lift people’s eyes to the horizon to what is available locally and making sure that the more engagement you get between employers and young people, the evidence shows the more likely they are to get the job and the more opportunities they know of available locally. So for example we have a shortage of engineers in this country, the evidence on the pay of people who take engineering tend to get paid more than those who don’t  — if you tell that to a young person, you’re likely to get an enthusiastic response.

By how much would you cut the Adult Skills Budget (ASB)?

Well clearly there’s going to have to be a spending review after the election, the ASB is only part of the mix. We’ve got a target of 3m apprentices which will have to be funded and so you’ve got to look at all these budgets in the round. We’ll have the spending review and we’ll settle it then.

What measures will you introduce to improve basic skills in the working age population?

There’s a three-pronged approach needed, the first is on English and maths — increasing opportunities for English and maths is important, the second is on digital skills because digital skills can themselves open up access to online education and so improve digital education opportunities and then the third is apprenticeships, which is available at all ages. And we’re building a ladder right from basic level two apprenticeships all the way through to fully-fledged degree level apprenticeships which are accessible to people from all backgrounds.

How do you think the quality of apprenticeship programmes should be monitored?

This is a very important issue. Firstly, by employers wanting to make sure that their apprentices get the skills they need in the workforce but secondly by making sure that those who are providing the training are of high quality and thirdly the new system of apprenticeship funding will allow a more explicit choice of training provider and I hope that that can lead to encourage higher quality training too.

How are you going to support FE by ensuring that by the time students come to us at 16 they are already equipped with the English and maths they need?

This is critical. And we have a massive education reform programme that’s been going for five years now and we need to keep going in the right direction. There are signs that is working but it takes a whole generation to see young people move through the education system even up to the age of 16, so it’s going to take more time but the focus on more rigour on English and maths in particular in school.

How are you going to make sure that opportunities for adults to change or develop their careers don’t decline due to lack of funding?

A lot of this is about targeting the funding. We’re going to have 3m apprenticeships which can help people who are changing careers and the loans system allows people to invest in themselves. So the opportunities are there, it’s a matter of using all of the tools available — apprenticeships, loans and grant-funded courses to support people.

How are you going to address the relationship between university qualifications and vocational qualifications and make sure their contribution to the economy is equally recognised?

I think this is an important task. The contribution to the economy should is best measured through the impact they have on peoples wages. The Small Business Act which has just become law will allow us to compare across the board the impact of different courses on people’s earning over time. I think this is a really exciting moment because we will be able to measure which courses have the most impact in an objective and comparable way, so there’s a level playing field between schools, colleges, apprenticeships and university programmes. I also think there’s an important side to linking universities and colleges to ensure that there is more of a vocational element to many university courses so they’re better linked to what businesses need and to make sure that colleges have more opportunities to offer higher education too.  There should be a continuum, not an artificial break in the education system — from the most abstract of academic study through to deeply practical learning on the ground.

What are you going to do to support skills competitions and help continue the great work they do for young people who are involved with them?

We love skills competitions and the Skills Show in particular is very exciting and we wish it every success. They’re great, I certainly want to see them continue. I don’t have a WorldSkills policy in my back pocket but I do have a huge amount of enthusiasm.

What are you going to do to help support young people who have found themselves in difficult situations with the law or unemployment to turn their lives around and get into jobs?

The more support that people in that situation can get the better. As unemployment falls, it allows Jobcentre Pluses (JCPs), for example, to focus more on those who remain unemployed and if you talk to JCPs around the country they’re able to put more into each individual from job centre advisors because there are fewer people unemployed at the more difficult end.

Our troubled families programme has had a huge impact on the lives of 100,000 of the most troubled and difficult families bringing together all of the different agencies, law enforcement and local authorities to try to have a single point of contact rather than leaving people to have to deal with a complicated system. Both of these drives have been positive but there’s clearly more to do because we must support as much as possible and in a way that works those who have found themselves in difficulty.

What effect has raising the school leaving age had on young people not in education, training or employment (Neet)?

The number of Neets is at record lows for 16 to 18-year-olds clearly now that there is a requirement to be in education and training of some kind we can focus more clearly on those who aren’t because there’s no excuse and we can have a more clear intervention because there is a clear legal requirement.

*A number of questions were not posed due to timing constraints

Student numbers, financial challenges, staffing capacity and a second consecutive Ofsted inspection blow were said to be behind plans to shut the Black Country University Technical College (UTC) — one of the first UTCs to open.

Governors of the University of Wolverhampton and Walsall College-sponsored UTC, which opened in 2011, tonight announced their decision to close the school on August 31.

News of the closure comes on the same day as Prime Minister David Cameron promised “a UTC within reach of every city” as part of the Conservative Party’s election manifesto launch, while Labour has also backed UTCs.

Black Country UTC principal Paul Averis (pictured) said: “This has been a difficult decision for all concerned.”

Of the Black Country UTC’s 158 learners, 57 are due to complete their studies before closure while the rest would be “supported to move to an alternative provision”, a Walsall College spokesperson said.

The UTC has an overall capacity for 480 learners — meaning it is currently running at just 33 per cent full. In 2013/14 it was running at 31.5 per cent full and at 36.5 per cent the year before that.

Just over two years ago Ofsted inspectors said it ‘requires improvement’ as they gave it a grade three rating and it is understood the improvement they wanted to see was not evident during a recent inspection — although the actual result has not been divulged.

Mr Averis said: “Our primary focus remains the wellbeing and success of the students at the school, not least of all those due to sit exams this term.

“We are absolutely committed to ensuring that all of our students can continue with their chosen learning outcomes.

“Support and guidance is being provided to students and their parents and carers both internally and through our local partners.

He added the UTC would “work closely” with the Department for Education, Walsall College and other local education institutions “to ensure a smooth transition” for learners.

A spokesperson from the UTC said: “This outcome has been reached following a recent disappointing inspection, a thorough assessment of actual and projected student numbers, financial challenges, staffing capacity and the impact these will have on standards of teaching and learning.”

The science and engineering UTC was one of the first of the institutions, which offer specialist vocational training alongside key literacy and numeracy qualifications for 14 to 19-year-olds, to open.

But its closure follows that of another early UTC — Hackney UTC. It announced in July that it had failed to attract enough learners to stay open beyond this academic year.

There are currently 30 UTCs operating, including Hackney, with 15 more due to open in 2016 and a further five in 2017.

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust, which oversees UTCs, said: “Baker Dearing Educational Trust has worked alongside the Governors of Black Country UTC, the Department for Education and Walsall College, and it is with regret that we support their decision for its planned closure in August 2015.

“Baker Dearing shares the disappointment felt by all staff, students, parents and stakeholders. The priority now is to ensure students receive the best support and guidance available, in particular those students undertaking exams this term. Black Country UTC has a detailed closure plan and we will support the UTC in any way possible in the coming months.

“UTCs are a national programme and we hope that some students from Black Country UTC may be able to transfer to one of the other UTCs in the region.”

The Association of Colleges (AoC) took on board more than 160 consultation responses before updating its new code of governance with clearer guidance on financial risk management, FE Week can reveal.

Ex-head of FE and skills investment and performance at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Dr Sue Pember spent six months last year collecting ideas for the AoC on what should feature in the code from more than 250 governors and other sector leaders.

A draft version of the code was sent to colleges and other bodies with an interest in the sector including BIS, the Education Funding Agency, Skills Funding Agency, Ofsted, the National Union of Students and the University and College Union in December, as reported by FE Week.

The AoC has now published a final version of the code (see below), which AoC chair Carole Stott (pictured above) said had been updated to take on board more than 160 written responses which, for example, called for clearer guidance on financial risk management.

The sixth guiding principal now states that boards should “adopt a financial strategy and funding plans which are compatible with the duty to ensure sustainability and solvency of the college”.

The AoC also stated, in a section of the online document elaborating on this guiding principal, that boards must “ensure that a statement on internal controls explaining the risk management arrangements that are in operation is contained in the corporate governance section of the audited financial statements”.

Ms Stott said: “The AoC’s governors’ council consulted widely with colleges on the ‘Code of Good Governance for English Colleges’ and changes were made to the draft version as a result.

“Colleges wanted the financial risk management section to be clearer and shorter so we condensed this information into one section.

“It was clear that colleges wanted a concise code, which can be used as a guidance document in developing a good governance regime, and we believe that we have delivered this.”

She added: “We wanted to make the student voice the heart of the code, but respondents said it hadn’t gone far enough and so we made the legal position of the student voice more explicit.”

The code’s third guiding principal now states that boards should “ensure there are effective underpinning policies and systems which facilitate the student voice”.

Dr Pember (pictured right) said: “We now have a robust and flexible code to provide reassurance about the quality of governance of colleges. It is a code for the sector by the sector.”

 

The Ten Principal Responsibilities of Good Governance:
1. Formulate and agree the mission and strategy including defining the ethos of the college
2. Be collectively accountable for the business of the college taking all decisions on all matters within their duties and responsibilities
3. Ensure there are effective underpinning policies and systems, which facilitate the student voice
4. Foster exceptional teaching and learning
5. Ensure that the college is responsive to workforce trends by adopting a range of strategies for engaging with employers and other stakeholders
6. Adopt a financial strategy and funding plans which are compatible with the duty to ensure sustainability and solvency of the college
7. Ensure that effective control and due diligence takes place in relation to all matters including acquisitions, subcontracting and partnership activity
8. Meet and aim to exceed its statutory responsibilities for equality and diversity
9. Ensure that there are organised and clear governance and management structures, with well-understood delegations
10. Regularly review governance performance and effectiveness

 

The number of colleges paying out upwards of £200k on their principal posts rocketed threefold last academic year, FE Week can reveal.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) published the 2013/14 college accounts during the Easter holidays and FE Week analysis shows that a dozen colleges handed over more than £200k in salaries to principals — up from just four colleges the previous year.

Andrew Harden, the University and College Union’s head of FE, said his members would “understandably be unhappy” to learn of this “considerable increase” — particularly as they were now being told there was “not the money for a fair pay rise”.

He told FE Week: “There cannot be one rule for them [principals] and one for everyone else.”

But the salary payments were defended by Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, who said: “The role of principal has become significantly harder in a number of ways and it is important that their pay reflects their senior business management role.”

The three highest sums that the 2013/14 college accounts said had been spent on principals’ salaries were £331k by Birmingham Metropolitan College (BMet), £291k by the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (Conel), and £238k by Warwickshire College.

A spokesperson for grade two Ofsted-rated BMet, which received £21.3m adult skills budget (ASB) funding in 2013/14, said: “The pay settlement for BMet’s principal in 2013/14 reflects two salaries for an overlapping period of time [May to July 2014]; both that of outgoing principal Dame Christine Braddock DBE and incoming principal Andrew Cleaves.

“In 2013/14, the outgoing principal was paid £271k. Of this, the base salary was £189,946. The balance consisted of a bonus payment and a further payment related to handover. The incoming principal was paid £60,000 for the period May to July [while Dame Braddock was still in-post].”

A spokesperson for grade two Ofsted-rated Conel, which received £21.6m ASB funding in 2013/14, said: “The figure of £291k relates to a period when the college employed an interim principal [Jane O’Neill] to cover during the period of the principal’s [Paul Head] illness last year, prior to his death in service [last September].”

A spokesperson for grade two Ofsted-rated Warwickshire College, which received £5.5m ASB funding in 2013/14, said: “The change in the salary of the previous principal [Mariane Cavalli] was primarily to do with the way in which pension contributions were paid.

“The 2013/14 salary figure, minus this additional contribution, for the previous principal was £196,365 and was agreed with the governing body.”

The SFA’s college accounts for 2012/13 stated that Ms Cavalli’s salary for that academic year was £197k, which the college has now told FE Week did not include pension contributions.

Sue Georgious, who was previously the college’s chair of governors, was appointed interim principal after Ms Cavalli stood down at the end of 2013/14.

The SFA’s 2012/13 college accounts also showed salary payments to principals amounting to £206k for BMet and £145k for Conel during that academic year.

Editor’s comment

Victory for ‘them and us’

It’s a well-publicised fact, at least within the sector, that budgets are getting ever and almost unmanageably tighter.

Courses will be cut, buildings will be sold, mothballed or simply remain a pipedream, and staff will lose their jobs — some at risk of unemployment might be lucky enough to cling onto a post, but at lower pay.

The warnings of industrial action and their even uglier fruition often utilise the issue of principals’ to capitalise on a ‘them and us’ attitude.

So to learn of a threefold increase in the number of colleges paying out in excess of £200k on the salary of their principal’s post comes as a huge blow in light of the unquestionably dark days we face.

Nobody’s denying the stress of the top job warrants just financial reward. Indeed, the stresses over the next few years will be such that it’s likely many at the top may think it not worth the worry (and in so doing add to the number of opt-out principals accepting pay while their interim replacement also gets paid).

But what we have been left with by this increase, sadly, is the impression of a sector in which those at the top move ever further away from those looking up.

For FE — with its rich social mobility pedigree — of all sectors, this is not how it was meant to be.

Chris Henwood

FE Week editor

Labour remains committed to scrapping level two apprenticeships despite the absence of the pledge from the party’s education manifesto, it has been confirmed.

Speaking to FE Week following the launch of the document at Microsoft’s offices in Victoria, central London, Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna confirmed his party still wanted all apprenticeships to be at level three or above.

It comes despite the fact the policy did not feature in the manifesto document itself, and was not mentioned by party leader Ed Miliband in his speech.

Mr Umunna said: “We want all our apprenticeships to be level three and above. That is not to say that we don’t see a place for level two qualifications — we absolutely do.

“In and of themselves, there are important qualifications that are level two and of course they are an important stepping-stone to do a level three apprenticeship or other qualification.”

When asked why the policy was not included in the manifesto document, a spokesperson said the party did not comment on process issues, adding that manifestos were only meant to provide an “overview” of policy.

A number of FE organisations have come out against the policy including the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, where chief executive Stewart Segal said: “We share the view of Confederation of British Industry, Unionlearn and the Commons Education Committee that high quality level two apprenticeships should remain part of the programme because they offer a ladder of opportunity to further progression.”

However, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace) has backed the policy.

Steve Mulligan, Niace assistant director for policy and public affairs, said: “At a time when we need to do all we can to boost productivity and people’s career prospects and incomes, the last thing we should be doing is capping opportunities at level two where, currently, most apprentices stop learning.

“No one would say that stopping learning once you’ve done your GCSEs is a good idea. The same should be true for apprenticeships.

“Apprentices have the right to a working and learning experience that sets them up for a successful career and life of learning. Raising the bar to level three, while of course maintaining level two training, is a sensible way forward.”

Mr Umunna also told FE Week that the details of which qualifications would qualify learners for his party’s proposed “apprenticeship guarantee” would be announced once his party is in office. The party has so far only said that those with two A-level passes or equivalent qualifications would be eligible.

He said: “In terms of the detail around that we will announce that when we get into government. I’m not going to go through the list right now because I can’t.

“Of course, when you put in place a guarantee you have a set of criteria that you reference your guarantee to, but I can’t give you a whole list of the qualifications now if that’s what you’re asking me to do.”

Labour also used the event to announce plans to divert £50m from the government’s widening access and participation fund to pay around 1,000 trained careers advisers, who will each work with clusters of two or three schools, in order to guarantee “face-to-face” careers advice for all learners from the age of 11.

Main pic: From left: Labour leader Ed Miliband,
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna.
Picture Chris Radburn/PA

Labour’s manifesto pledges for skills

Deliver a new gold-standard technical baccalaureate for 16 to 18-year-oldsEnsure all young people study English and maths to 18

Raise standards in FE, with new institutes of technical education

Guarantee all young people face-to-face careers advice

Give every young person that gets the grades has the right to a high quality apprenticeship

Introduce new technical degrees delivered by universities and employers

 

The Conservatives will put a University Technical College (UTC) “within reach of every city” and increase the use of destination data about FE courses if they form a government again in May, the party has announced.

Alongside existing pledges to create 3m apprenticeship starts over the course of the next Parliament and “improve” FE by opening new national colleges, the Tories included plans in their manifesto to expand the network of UTCs despite concerns about their popularity and quality.

Launching the manifesto at UTC Swindon this morning, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Our ambition is to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and we have a plan to get there.

“We will deliver 3m apprenticeships and open more great new UTCs.”

In the manifesto document itself, the Tories simply pledge to ensure “there is a UTC within reach of every city”, without explaining what distance they consider “in reach” to mean. They have also stopped short of setting out a timetable for the expansion or a final number they are aiming for.

The document also commits the Conservatives to publishing “more earnings and destination data for FE courses”, but does not say how the roll-out of such data would be handled.

Three London colleges have announced plans to form a federation in a bid to combat budget cuts.

Newham College, Tower Hamlets and Redbridge College have formed the Federation of East London Colleges, due to have its first working group meeting this month.

College leaders said they hoped the move would allow them to share resources and facilities and to submit joint funding bids.

Di Gowland (pictured above left), principal of Newham College said the federation would “enable strategic collaboration to maximise opportunities… in the face of devastating cuts”.

The colleges, which employ a total of 1,366 staff and cater for 29,320 students, have a combined income of £82m, they claimed.

Redbridge College chief executive Theresa Drowley (pictured above centre) told FE Week the 24 per cent cut to the Adult Skills Budget announced last month was “unsustainable” for her college. “We felt we needed to take our college destiny into our own hands,” she said.

“As a group together we could be more efficient, get the best from each college and have a bigger voice within the national agenda.”

The news comes just months after the federation formed by Middlesbrough College and Gateshead College was disbanded in its first year after failing to offer additional value to learners.

However, all three East London college leaders insisted each institution would maintain its own independence and governance. Tower Hamlets College principal Gerry McDonald (pictured above right) said: “We’re not creating a Middlesbrough-type situation. Middlesbrough failed because it didn’t properly articulate the relationship between the colleges and the overarching structure. This is a soft federation — we’re not appointing an overarching chief executive, there will be equal status between the three colleges.”

The federation company would not have any dedicated staff “at this stage”, but would be a “vehicle” for bidding, said Mr McDonald.

“The Local Enterprise Partnerships don’t want to work on a borough by borough basis, they want to see real collaborative partnerships across the whole patch,” he said.

“It makes sense for us to put together bids for the European Social Fund as a strong partnership, rather than independently.”

Ms Drowley said cutting jobs “wasn’t the intention” behind the federation, but redundancies at management level were “likely”.

It is understood that a merger of Redbridge and Tower Hamlets colleges has not been ruled out, depending on both colleges’ individual strategic options reviews.

 

Providers have been warned to be vigilant after another attempted scam hit the sector.

Andy Cole (pictured), principal of the College of North West London, told FE Week how this month he was invoiced for a fictional United Nations (UN) programme.

And just two days before Christmas another phoney invoice, claiming to be from within the college, had demanded more than £100,000.

“I’m seeing a lot more stuff like this happening and hearing about it from other principals” Mr Cole told FE Week.

“It’s not just scams but stuff that’s getting past firewalls — we’ve got a pretty good one but we’re still seeing it.”

On Wednesday March 11, Mr Cole received an email claiming to be from the UN, asking for payment for a programme he had made an “irrevocable” commitment to — despite Mr Cole never having heard of the programme.

And on December 23, the college received an invoice claiming to be from within the college itself for £100,440 for money spent on railway engineering equipment — a key area of business for the college.

“It wasn’t college paperwork, but it was very convincing,” said Mr Cole. “If I was new to the college, I’d think ‘that’s credible, maybe that’s our paperwork’.”

The case was handed over to police but FE Week understands no further action has been taken.

“Our controller won’t let anything from anybody – including me – through if it isn’t 100 per cent compliant with our policies and procedures,” said Mr Cole.

He added: “The greater concern is the potential for electronic messages that get through any firewall containing a virus.”

Mr Cole’s comments follow a string of attempted scams to have hit the sector.

Last month, FE Week reported on a fraudulent email sent to Westminster Kingsway finance staff, claiming to be from college principal Andy Wilson, requesting an urgent payment.

And the Colchester Institute was hit around the same time by con artists posing as the contractors carrying out £5.8m worth of building work actually being carried out on campus.

In January at least eight colleges were targeted by a man calling himself Brian Hall who claimed to be a bailiff on the way to collect a fictional £7,000 debt. It is understood no colleges handed over money.