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Dozens of shared service projects mark their anniversaries
Caption: Sunderland College students are getting the benefits of joined up administration among members of the North East Shared Services Project.
Organisations coming together to develop services that can be shared, including teaching and learning as well as office systems, are a year into their projects.
The 157 Group and Association of Colleges (AoC) were each given a Shared Services Grant of £2.3m by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) to set up ten projects.
Christine Doubleday, deputy executive director of the 157 Group, said: “Real and worthwhile savings can be made by sharing and collaboration. The college projects report a cumulative saving to date of £1.5million.”
One of the AoC projects set up with the Shared Services Grant has designed a national skills qualification framework for adults who want to be entrepreneurs.
Nine partners came together to develop the curriculum, including Richmond Adult Community College, Tower Hamlets College, City of Bath College and Morley College.
Christina Conroy, project director, said The Enterprise Agenda for Adults – its official title – has been so successful partly because it focuses on teaching and learning, one of the most expensive costs for the sector.
Since the qualification framework became available in September, 25 colleges and adult learning services have signed up to share the curriculum, giving them access to teaching materials and the online activities for students, which accounts for half of the course.
Ms Conroy, former principal of Richmond Adult Community College, said the project has saved the sector more than £1.5m in the past year.
Ms Doubleday said 157 Group’s projects had been deliberately kept relatively small “to achieve deep implementation and learning”.
At the beginning of next year the organisation will publish a technical guide on shared services and evaluative research from the University of Warwick on the projects that it carried out.
The SFA said the programmes have developed approaches that deliver “greater value for money”.
The grant given was additional to the agency’s core budget and there are currently no plans for further grants, but the SFA said that it is is continuing to support the AoC and 157 Group to pass on the lessons learned and is encouraging the uptake of ideas that have been developed.
A 157 Group project, now given the go ahead, is to develop a toolkit to explain how to overcome the major barriers to shared services, such as VAT and competition law. It will be available from early next year.
In November last year the Chancellor announced changes to VAT, stating that it would introduce a VAT exemption for services shared between VAT-exempt bodies.
Savings of more than £700,000 have been made on the North East Shared Services Pathfinder project, says project manager Kathy Bland.
Ms Bland, who has been seconded from her senior manager role at Sunderland College to work on the programme full-time, said the funding has made a massive difference: “We would never have got this far if we hadn’t got the grant…releasing me from my senior management role in the college has been a big factor,” she said.
“I’ve been able to fully concentrate on the issues and go up and down the country where the need has arisen to talk to different people and remove the barriers…It would have taken me 10 years otherwise.”
Efficiency and Innovation Fund
Two years ago the Association of Colleges (AoC) was given a £4.6m Efficiency and Innovation Fund (EIF) by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) to look at the feasibility of shared services. This is separate to the Shared Services Grant, which was given to the AoC a year ago.
Background research on shared services and 41 projects were set up using the funds. A report evaluating the work, which involved 230 organisations, has been published by the AoC. The key findings of The Many Faces of Collaboration report were:
1.“Of the EIF project’s unique selling points, its ability to overcome previously entrenched isolationist views was perhaps its greatest: providers seeing the distinct benefits of sharing practice, ideas and issues rather than going it alone. Solutions were most often born out of a search for a third way, rather than simply taking on the perceived or accepted good practice of one particular partner – innovation in action.”
2. “Of those projects that found shared services overly challenging, there was perhaps too much reliance on the creative thinking of external consultants rather than themselves, and a lack of clarity on what was to be achieved – being overwhelmed by keeping all options open for too long. Having too many partners was also a common issue, as was failing to realise that trust and friendship need to be built on low-consequence projects before embarking on inter-organisational change.”
3. “What binds the most successful projects together was the clarity of their vision and their determination to overcome the challenges and barriers to success. They had a keen focus on the impact they intended to have, rather than on the list of jobs they had to do.
They engaged key stakeholders, such as front-line staff, in the change process, and in so doing developed not just trust, but new friendships between peers in the partner organisations.”
AOC projects funded using the shared services grant
The Enterprise Agenda for Adults
Aims to create an Adult Enterprise curriculum, supported by an efficient delivery approach, which can be rolled-out nationwide.
Wessex Federation
Will examine the creation of a central shared service centre and implementation of a series of cost, efficiency and improvement initiatives across the five colleges.
Federation Development and Shared Services Programme
Will focus on developing an innovative organisational infrastructure for delivering technical/vocational further education, A-levels and higher education in Further Education Colleges
Federation of Strategic Services Project (FeSSP)
Will look at the development and implementation of a federation model for colleges in the delivery of non-core strategic services.
West Midlands SFC Exam Efficiency Consortium
Will establish a scalable group purchasing consortium to leverage discounted fees from major awarding body suppliers.
Project Daedalus
Seeks to establish an outsourced shared services platform available to all colleges operating in the UK.
157 Group projects funded using the shared services grant
North East Shared Services Project Limited (NESSP)
Wide ranging back office sharing with legally constituted delivery vehicle.
Services in Sussex and Surrey Colleges
Wide ranging back office sharing by consortium delivery.
Collaborative curriculum development and delivery
Developing and delivering shared curriculum using new technology.
One-Stop-Shop
Collaborative delivery of staff recruitment and student job placement.
Ofsted previews their report on effective practice in colleges
Poor inspection grades at colleges already suspected of performing badly are hiding a general downward trend in results, chief college inspector Mike Davis has told FE Week.
The principal officer for FE colleges at Her Majesty’s Inspectorate said that a range of issues that kept cropping up were affecting results.
He conceded colleges considered at risk of lower grades were being targeted which skewed overall results.
But Mr Davis said their lower grades were also being reflected across the board.
“There are issues — I understand and accept that — about it not being a proportionate sample because of risk assessment meaning that we look at a higher proportion of those of concern,” he said at an LSIS conference on college performance.
“But the general sense is that of those that we’re inspecting, the movement is not in the right direction.”
Mr Davis also revealed how the Skills Funding Agency’s £30m student satisfaction website, FE Choices, was seen as carrying irrelevant information in light of Ofsted’s new competitor website, Learner View.
“The data that is in FE Choices is often many years out-of-date by the time of publication, so it is not necessarily relevant for that cohort of learners,” said Mr Davis.
The general sense is that of those that we’re inspecting, the movement is not in the right direction”
“It doesn’t cover all of the providers. Sixth-form colleges, for instance, are excluded.”
He was addressing the Birmingham conference on September 19, giving a taster of the findings in Ofsted’s How Colleges Improve report, due out shortly.
“The overriding message for organisations — whether they maintained high standards, moved forwards, or wobbled around in terms of quality and standards — was that the importance and impact of outstanding leadership and management cannot be underestimated in how colleges improve,” said Mr Davis.
“All the elements in the report are inextricably linked to the actions and behaviours of leaders and managers.”
He added: “Themes that come through are complacency, a lack of ambition, direction and vision from the top.
“Governors who did not set clear institutional targets or monitor performance well enough, they were quite restrained in terms of their understanding of their role and what their expectation of the college.
“Therefore they monitored too narrowly and in some instances they allowed the senior management or leaders to effectively tell them what their targets should be.
“Again on inspection in many of these organisations there’s a defensive and inward-looking approach to management. They are organisations which look inward rather than outward.”
Mr Davis said he wanted to see good teaching take precedence over issues such as finance and buildings.
“Leaders and managers are too focused on finance and, or buildings to the detriment of the promotion of good teaching and learning, or the development of the curriculum,” he said.
“Now we go to organisations sometimes where say that it’s been really difficult. I know it’s been difficult in the sector — I worked in the sector for a long time and it has been very difficult over the last number of years.
“But at the end of the day, the learners that are in classes or on programmes this year will not benefit from that new build, which is a year, two years down the line, and if senior managers spend a lot of time and energy looking at that to the detriment of the curriculum and the quality of the teaching they will be held accountable.”
Mr Davis added: “Management teams that were unsettled by frequent changes in personnel or too reliant on external consultants working in key roles on an extended basis.
“So you’ve got this flux going on inside the organisation, people arriving or going who don’t have particular allegiance to the college, lots of stop gaps all over the place, so everybody starts getting demotivated in terms of their role and how the whole thing fits together.
“Poorly-managed staff changes led to a loss of expertise and often were accompanied by a plethora of management initiatives that were simply not explained properly to staff.
“There is an issue where inadequate quality assurance systems extended to poor monitoring of sub-contracted work — if you’ve got an organisation that hasn’t got its own house in order in terms of quality assurance, assessment, a real clear focus on learners and driving up improvement, some of these organisations have taken the opportunity to take on numerous large subcontracted provision.”
He took on the challenge of laid down by chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw, who questioned whether colleges should look for opportunities abroad when they should be concentrating on local learners.
“Sir Michael is asking the question about other types of provision — surely there should be some link here between the organisation’s ability to manage its own provision well and the opportunity to expand and develop its own empire?”
Deptford not Delhi – but why not both?
Kate Green, director of business development at the 157 Group, responds to Sir Michael Wilshaw on behalf of the 157 Group International Network
It would be interesting to understand the basis for Sir Michael’s warning in the last edition of FE Week. Is he concerned our FE colleges are being overrun with foreign students, or is he worried that a college’s focus on quality could be undermined by diversifying its student body too much?
In either case, it is worth looking at the facts.
It seems odd that Sir Michael at this stage should choose to question what appears to be a central tenet of government policy”
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) figures for 2008-9 show the vast majority of FE institutions with overseas students have fewer than 200 such students on roll, spread over a wide range of curriculum areas.
What we can say is that the benefits of international work have been made clear over successive years – demonstrated by government ministers advocating a Global FE strategy. It seems odd that Sir Michael at this stage should choose to question what appears to be a central tenet of government policy in this area.
The important role of FE colleges offering qualifications to international students who may then progress to British universities, or, even more importantly, return home with skills they may not have been able to gain, is surely an aspect of global social contribution that should not be underestimated.
What do institutions have to gain from a vibrant international population?
Well, the financial benefits are one aspect – would anyone question the ability of leading universities or private schools to include large numbers of international students in their overall cohort?
It is worth remembering that the fees paid by international students contribute towards enhancing the provision of the college as a whole – and the use of local services by these students also has a direct impact on the local economy.
Should a group of students who undoubtedly bring diversity and a breadth of knowledge from which the whole college community can benefit not be encouraged to be here and study?
I am constantly impressed at the stories I hear from my colleagues in the 157 Group International Network about international students playing active roles in everything a college does.
It is often said that international students act as role models to others – either through an enhanced work ethic or simply because they appreciate the value of being able to access our skills system – which has obvious benefits to all. The global perspective is something we ask our students to develop – surely the best way for them to do this is to be exposed to those from other cultures and countries?
In an age where communities of learning are encouraged to flourish, many colleagues report that the opportunities opened up by international provision for the exchange of practice, for staff and students alike, have led directly to improved teaching and learning in the classroom or workshop.
And we must not forget the external face of our own skills system – why would we not want our skills sector to be a source of pride, and something that people from other countries might aspire to be a part of? Surely this is all about the reputation of UK plc as much as anything else?
All colleges have a local mission – they serve their communities well – the point is that they do not look to international markets to undermine this but rather to complement it.
Focus on Bradford and Bangalore
Professor Daniel Khan OBE, chief executive of OCN London, offers a response to Sir Michael Wilshaw’s ‘Deptford not Delhi’ speech
ir Michael Wilshaw has a reputation for making controversial statements, and his speech at AoC’s conference this month has once again thrown him into the media spotlight.
The Ofsted chief inspector warned of the dangers of concentrating on attracting international students to FE colleges. He spoke of focusing on Deptford rather than Delhi, in a speech aimed to promote the recruitment of domestic learners.
However Sir Michael’s speech reveals a rather short-sighted and narrow-minded approach to FE. FE exports are valued at £1bn a year and international learners are important both culturally and economically to colleges and communities.
Are Sir Michael’s misguided comments based on arrogance or, perhaps, ignorance of the FE sector?
Sir Michael appears extremely close-minded in ignoring the advantages of a multicultural student body”
In May John Hayes announced an FE ‘Global Strategy’. The AoC conference in which it was launched encouraged colleges to open themselves up to international students and stakeholders. Hayes advocated an international strategy in order to create a mobile and culturally diverse student body, which will be well-placed in the global marketplace. By doing so, colleges and students will have the skills and knowledge required to compete against the most competitive emerging markets.
Furthermore, the government’s 2011 New Challenges, New Chances paper spoke of the increasing demand for technical and vocational skills and their importance to sustained economic growth. Hence, the government has demonstrated its commitment to ensuring colleges remain focused on international recruitment.
In the light of such commitment, Sir Michael’s words seem somewhat ill-informed.
He also woefully ignores that students from across the globe do not just benefit the college in which they study, but the community as a whole. International students bring their own traditions, enriching the local area culturally. They can help in widening the horizons and experiences of local students, exposing them to new values, beliefs and opportunities.
He appears extremely close-minded in ignoring the advantages of a multicultural student body. An influx of international learners can offer a wealth of experience to our students, colleges and communities.
Aside from cultural concerns, foreign students are also of enormous benefit economically, to both the communities in which they live and the country as a whole. Such economic value extends well beyond their fee payments. International students, especially those arriving with expertise, can fill skill gaps and generate new economic growth during study and after graduation. This is particularly the case in students from emerging markets, primarily China and India, who bring with them cutting edge technical expertise. At the same time, the local economy also benefits from ‘subsistence’ spending, the money that students spend on goods and services outside their studies. Inevitably local businesses profit from such expenditure.
A good example of a college’s success in tapping into the international market is the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education. In conjunction with major local employers, the college helped create an Institute of Food and Fisheries. It did so to meet the needs of the industries based in the town, the largest concentration of food industries in Europe. The Grimsby institute recognised an excellent opportunity to provide expert training and consultancy in this area.
Since its creation it has been recognised internationally and attracted students from across the globe to its programmes. This has enabled local students to integrate with people of diverse backgrounds, which they would need to do when working in a global economy.
In the light of these considerations, Sir Michael’s words seem ill-judged and short-sighted. He fails to see the wider perspective and the importance of an international outlook for colleges.
The creation of an international student body extends beyond bringing in money for the College; it diversifies the local community and boosts the economy with new skills and innovation.
If colleges follow Sir Michael’s advice they are in danger of sacrificing their share in the country’s best export and compromising the strength of the FE sector as a whole.
WorldSkills UK squad selection
Some of the UK’s most talented young apprentices, employees and students have once again been put through their paces for a place in Squad UK for WorldSkills Leipzig 2013. Last week’s second round, held in the Midlands, follow the initial contests in June and focused on 12 skill areas, including Mechatronics, CNC Milling and turning, Jewellery, Auto body Repair and refrigeration.
The host colleges, Northern Regional College, North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, and City College Coventry were transformed into hives of activity with 40 competitors undertaking various pressured practical examinations.
The support from colleges and employers is pivotal to the success of Squad UK; competitors need time away from the classroom or office, while college staff need time away for their support and training roles, which can include performance coaching and acting as training managers.
Our involvement has had numerous positive impacts – on our success rates firstly”
North Warwickshire and Hinckley College has invested heavily in WorldSkills, not only by putting forward their students for competition, but also by embedding elements of the competition within its teaching and learning strategy.
Marion Plant, the college’s principal and WorldSkills champion (official supporter), is one of the most vocal supporters of WorldSkills and how it can transform lives. She is clear that while her college’s commitment uses a lot of resources, the benefits to her staff, students and employers make the investment worthwhile.
“The increase in students and subject areas signing up to WorldSkills has risen once again, and more and more of our staff are now getting involved through formal channels. I was overwhelmed by the level of response that we had to the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) request for performance coaches.
“Our involvement has had numerous positive impacts – on our success rates firstly. Plus three staff have roles as performance coaches for skills categories that are alien to them. They are now coming back to the college with a plethora of new ideas, best practice and bags full of enthusiasm – which is also a motivator for other staff. Last, and most important from my perspective, is the transformational impact it has had on the culture of our college.
“It is also rewarding to have so many of our students reaching the Squad and the Skills Show finals next month.”
Ultimately just one competitor from each of 41 skills will represent the UK at the 2013 WorldSkills Championship next July. Successful competitors for Squad UK will undergo a specialised training programme supported by a dedicated training manager for each skill, as well as by a team of other trainers, experts and performance coaches. Team UK will be selected after a series of events next March.
Places are limited for Squad and Team UK Leipzig 2013, but Matthew Bell, Training Manager for Mechanical Engineering and Design, said the selection would not only nurture a team for 2013 but upcoming competitions in 2015 and 2017. “In previous years we found that we would lose some of the great talent that did not make it to the latter stages, such as squad or team. This year we are trialling a new method whereby we aim to retain all those that are taking part in today’s selection. While not all of these young people will make it through to the next round, they are young and will continue to meet the age criteria for several competitions. So their journeys will continue alongside this year’s squad and team members as an additional training exercise.”
Meanwhile, a new event to inspire people about FE, skills and apprenticeships launches in November.
The Skills Show at the NEC Birmingham from November 15 to 17 is the culmination of many WorldSkills competitions and other awards, including the National Apprenticeship Awards and National Training Awards and activities.
It will provide a platform for the best of the nation’s young talent to perform, as well as providing opportunities for visitors to have a go at new skills, get careers advice, access apprenticeships or job opportunities.
Jaine Bolton, chief operating officer for the NAS and official UK delegate to WorldSkills International, said: “I offer my support and congratulations to every young person that has been invited to compete for a place in Squad UK.
“By competing in international competitions, the UK is able to showcase the high levels of performance that can be achieved by individuals and organisations through high quality further education, skills training and apprenticeships.
This provides the inspiration for young people and adults to be ambitious in their pursuit of skills to the highest level.”
FE Week will be following the journey of the UK competitors from selection to the grand finale at the Leipzig WorldSkills Show in 2013.
Picture above of Martin McGarry during an autorepair squad selection at City College Coventry, taken by Nick Linford
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FE Week Q&A: Bill Jones is a cluster lead for WorldSkills which is a mentoring role for seven training managers. Has worked with WorldSkills for 17 years and has attended eight international competitions
How has WorldSkills changed during your time on board?
Massively. We now have a really professional organisation and it’s grown hugely. My first competition was in 1997 in St Galan, Switzerland. I went not knowing or really understanding what I was expected to do or what we were going into. We weren’t given much training in those days by our organisation, other than general logistics of what we were likely to face. We came second to last, and quite rightly.
WorldSkills London in 2011 was the best, without a doubt. It very much rivalled the Olympics, except it was very cosseted to us. I wish more people had been able to experience it.
Clearly there is a buy-in from the FE sector, but what about employers?
There is a more of a buy-in now from bigger companies. They have seen the benefits, not just to themselves, but also to the industry when there is a real hard core of good quality ex-WorldSkills competitors. Without a doubt I’ve seen that happen so many times. Mentally these kids have to be tough. There is no doubt in my mind that to win any kind of a medal, it’s 70 per cent mental, what your head is telling your hands to do. These are all gifted kids, they really are talented in their own ways and they’re very competitive.
How do you choose when there are so many talented young people applying to compete?
A number of factors are common to every selection. You are obviously looking for good skills, methodology, organisational ability, problem-solving, mental toughness, character, reactions when things go wrong, to be able to pull yourself up by the boot strap. There is massive pressure when they get on to a world stage!
What makes a good training manager?
Most of our training managers come from FE. We are not looking for teachers, we’re looking for coaches and mentors. They may well demonstrate something during training, but we never really teach anybody anything; the competitor teaches themselves. The penny needs to drop in their own mind.
We try to persuade our training managers to go through this coaching approach, so they ask very pertinent questions and listen very carefully.
For me, this is a competitor’s journey, it’s not a training manager’s journey. We are part of that journey. Nobody taught Jessica Ennis to run, but her coach made her better, and that’s what these guys are doing.
They’re looking for raw talent and they’re saying right, I want to make you better.
Sally Hunt, general secretary, University and College Union
Arguing with teachers about the Falklands War, a plucky and inquisitive teenage Sally Hunt makes her way to Greenham Common women’s peace camp to campaign for nuclear disarmament.
“I think things have to be argued and I think they have to be justified – I don’t think there are any givens in this world,” she reflects.
Hunt is at the University and College Union’s headquarters, tucked away behind the hustle and bustle that is Camden High Street, North London, where she speaks about her upbringing in Germany.
Her father taught in a British forces school, before the family moved to Chippenham, in Wiltshire, when she was seven years old.
Her mother, also a teacher, brought her up with a firm belief in the importance of social justice.
“She gave me a very strong sense of what women ought to achieve and how they ought to aspire to be a part of life, and actually be a full part of life – not someone who just sits on the sidelines and watches,” she says.
At 16 Hunt went to a “very cold, very unpopulated church hall” to see Nobel Peace Prize winner Philip Noel-Baker speak. The steadfast campaigner for nuclear disarmament and former Labour politician was “very old, very frail”.
“I remember seeing him having to pop pills while he was speaking because his hands were shaking,” she says.
Campaigners like Baker had a huge impact, admits Hunt.
Her interest in political activism flourished when she went to the University of Sussex to study international relations.
It was a university renowned for its radicalism and she was “hit by an absolute melee of interests and persuasions”.
The debates, protests and fundraising that engulfed her life taught her as much, if not more, than the degree itself.
“It’s the bit I worry most about students now,” she says.
“It’s so hard with the fee regimes for students to actually have time to participate in all those extracurricular activities.
What education does is make you learn to debate. It makes you learn the world is a very big place”
“I think it’s really important that you’re given that space – to be quite stupid or too black and white in your opinions, or too determined in what you think is the right thing.
“What education does is make you learn to debate. It makes you learn to argue. It makes you learn the world is a very big place.”
Hunt was at university during the 1980s when miners were going on strike across the country and she became heavily involved in trying to defend the Kent mining community.
Unbeknown to her, her grandfather had been a Kent miner.
“It was a very strange full circle. That was where my family had been and that’s where I ended up,” she says.
More than 20 years later her time in Kent remains vivid.
“They had no money — no sustenance. They were on strike for a year and that’s not something I imagine many people will have to confront in their lives,” she says.
“I remember spending a weekend with one family and them giving us steak. There wasn’t a hope in hell they had the money to do that, but it was really important to them because we were their guests.”
Since the mine closures she has driven back through the area.
“I find it very sad still. You can see the outlines of the old coal piles and you can see the old pits — it’s tough to see that,” says Hunt.
Nevertheless, she speaks passionately about helping to defend this “extraordinary” community.
“It teaches you what solidarity is and it teaches you what struggle is,” she adds.
“It’s not about heroic speeches. It’s not about shouting really loudly from the barricades. It’s not about saying that I demand resolution at every stage — what it’s really about is communities looking after each other.”
So when she graduated, having been vice-president of the students’ union, she had no doubt she wanted to work within the trade union movement.
Her first job was senior research officer at a union for staff at Halifax Building Society and she later represented employees at Nationwide.
And it was her subsequent position at the Association of University Teachers (AUT), which she joined in 2002, that led her to the UCU.
The move to the UCU followed the merger in 2006 of the AUT and National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education.
Hunt, who had been general secretary at the AUT, was elected the first general secretary of the newly-formed UCU in March 2007, narrowly beating main challenger Roger Kline by 1,346 votes.
When members cast their votes in March this year, however, she won with a landslide victory — defeating sole opponent Mark Campbell by a margin of 6,835 votes, gaining 73 per cent of the ballots cast.
“I felt absolutely blown away by that,” she says.
But whereas this was one particularly memorable event, it’s the people she’s met along her union career path that have proved an unending source of inspiration.
“It’s where it’s people — it’s not about going in and seeing a minister,” she says.
“It’s not about sitting down and talking to a national employer — it’s where you meet the people who have the courtesy to pay £100 each to a collective pot to enable me to do my job.
“I will never cease to be amazed that I get to do this.”
As she talks about the information and confidence people entrust her with, the suggestion her role in people’s lives is a responsibility meets with an unexpected frown and shake of the head.
“It’s not a responsibility. It’s an absolute honour,” she points out.
“It is something you are very lucky to have if you are part of the trade union movement.
“People often think we spend our whole time very cross and very upset and very depressed.
“But actually I am in the best group of people you could possible ask for, because it’s about people making a positive contribution to each other. “That’s something that very few people get to do.”
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It’s a personal thing
What’s your favourite book?
Impossible question. At the moment The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
What did you want to be when you were younger?
My mum tells me I said unions and politics from an early age
What do you do to switch off from work?
I don’t really, but I cook, I read, I run
Who, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?
Catherine de Medici, Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth David
What would your super power be?
Helping Arsenal win the triple would be good, or water divination — preferably both
Delhi for Deptford
John Mountford, AoC international director, defends colleges’ foreign recruitment
In recent weeks criticism has been levelled at colleges for their hugely beneficial work abroad.
This very paper reported a turn of phrase by Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty’s chief inspector, which appeared to question the benefits of FE’s international work.
In his speech to an AoC conference, Sir Michael challenged colleges to consider whether international work was being sought at the expense of the local community and quality improvement or, as it was phrased, Deptford not Delhi.
I think it is important to answer that challenge – and the public should be assured that both from quality and strategic perspectives there are plenty of reasons why colleges should embrace and develop their international work.
It is by working with Delhi that you can give learners the education they need to be successful in Deptford.
Colleges have a long and successful tradition of developing programmes that meet the needs of local and national partners. It therefore makes sense to use the skills and experience we have gained from this work and export our world class FE system to international partners.
These commercial opportunities allow colleges to develop programmes, generate income that allow them to run courses they wouldn’t normally run, hire local staff and purchase resources that they couldn’t normally purchase. It is a credit to the sector that we were asked to lead on the government’s FE Global Strategy.
To address the quality issue there is no known correlation between poor quality and international provision. A quick study of 20 colleges, all with sizable international operations, shows them to typically demonstrate grades of ‘good’ or better.
The proven benefits in internationalising the curriculum in a global skills market, coupled with the confidence working internationally brings to students and staff, has obviously benefited these colleges.
However, as I’m sure the chief inspector is aware, international provision sits outside the Ofsted remit and due to this gap a number of colleges have stepped forward to undergo a review of the quality of their international work to become AoC International Charter members.
The college sector knows that to be effective internationally you need to display a high commitment to quality. To suggest that we can take our eye off this essential element, when working with international partners and students, simply doesn’t make sense.
Colleges work with their local communities, to provide learners with meaningful skills and qualifications that allow them to be competitive and productive in the workplace or in their future studies. With this key mission in mind, it is important to acknowledge that we live and work in a globalised environment, where technology and industry have radically changed. It is one that needs a fluid, high-skilled and internationally competitive workforce.
In this technologically driven age it seems both outdated and out of touch to start questioning whether colleges should be taking an international perspective”
A large number of students will have jobs that are directly linked with multinational companies. Colleges’ international work goes a long way to provide an environment where learners can start to gain these skills. It is by working internationally that we can inspire our learners to think internationally and show them how they can develop and grow from their local communities.
Shouldn’t we be applauding colleges who have the ambition and strategic vision to work together to establish a UK Colleges office in Delhi; isn’t it a credit to the sector that we have been asked to lead on the government’s FE Global Strategy?
The income generated from international projects and initiatives helps develop the quality and resources for all our provision and grows our sector’s worldwide reputation.
In this technologically driven age it seems both outdated and out of touch to start questioning whether colleges should be taking an international perspective – a more pertinent question would be how we can do more.
We should strive to remember and celebrate the great benefits overseas students and partnerships bring to all our colleges and home students’ experience – in fact the real headline should be ‘Delhi for Deptford’.
Prison story wows crowds at respect event
The cautionary tale of ex-con Shaun Attwood was one of the highlights of a tolerance and respect day at a Cheshire college.
An audience at Macclesfield College was enthralled by the former stockbroker’s speech, in which he told of his time spent as a prisoner in the notorious Arizona state jail system having become involved with drugs.
“The focus of my talk was on jail conditions, gangs and the realities of living in the prison with the highest death rate in the US,” said Mr Attwood.
“The students could relate to me — at school I was a model student and went to university. I am not some tough guy. It is a true story and they recognised that. It makes people really think about the consequences of the decisions they make.”