Colleges have been given weeks to submit information on their borrowing and financing arrangements following the launch of a review which could see them brought back into the public sector.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency today asked colleges for “immediate assistance” to provide a debt return – including a consent letter that will allow the ESFA to contact their primary lenders to discuss college debt. This is required in just over a week’s time, by June 14.
They must also send details of all college borrowing and financing arrangements as of May 31, 2022 and also details of future financing needs. This is required by June 24.
The request follows a recent announcement by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that classification of colleges in England will be reviewed and potentially changed from private to public sector.
The Association of Colleges said that while the request is not part of the ONS review itself, it is likely to be part of the ESFA’s preparation for discussions with the Treasury which would need to happen if there is a reclassification.
“College leaders are pretty busy at the moment and will be providing 95 per cent of this information in the College Financial Forecast Returns which everyone has to send back on or before July 31, 2022,” Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive of AoC told FE Week.
“We are asking officials to co-ordinate their information requests better and to honour the promise in last week’s ministerial letter to minimise bureaucracy.”
Documents requested by the EFSA
Colleges have been told by the EFSA that they must send consent letters for each of their primary lenders, which will allow the agency to contact the lender and discuss the college debt if needed.
This letter is only for primary lenders i.e. commercial lenders and local authorities (not finance lease lenders).
These consent letters have to be signed and submitted by June 14.
Colleges are also being asked to complete an excel template providing details of all college borrowing and financing arrangements as at May 31, 2022 and also details of future financing needs that are currently known.
Colleges have to go into granular detail on their borrowing – with the EFSA requesting information on institutions’ debts, working capital and other financing arrangements.
These excel templates must be submitted by June 24.
The EFSA said that if a college has any concerns about meeting the submission deadline, they should contact their region and providers team as soon as possible and prior to the submission deadline.
ONS review of the classification of colleges
The ONS announced on May 31 that further education colleges, sixth form college corporations and designated institutions are to be assessed and possibly reclassified.
Currently, colleges are classified as part of the private sector, a decision the OfS took in 2012.
The review is expected to conclude by September.
[UPDATE: Two days after this article was published the ESFA extended the deadline for colleges to sign and submit their consent letter. The new deadline date is June 24.]
Sharon Blyfield, head of early careers at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, finished her BTEC at college and rose to the top at one of the world’s biggest brands. She talks to Jess Staufenberg about the ‘employer-led system’ and the scandal of apprentice pay
Employers occupy a curious space in FE. They are the raison d’être for so much of the sector’s work – great links with employers are a key boast for any self-respecting FE provider – but they aren’t strictly in the FE sector itself.
They may work closely with training providers and colleges, but very few are training providers themselves. And yet, ministers often defer and refer to employers in speeches on skills more than to FE providers themselves.
Employers have some claim to call themselves partners, or owners, or funders, or commissioners, or customers of the FE system.
It’s not a new rhetoric. Since the 1960s, just about every government white paper has pledged to give employers a greater role in addressing the country’s deficits in technical education and work-based learning.
As Tom Bewick, chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, has pointed out before, when David Cameron announced employer ownership pilots (EOP) in 2011, an independent evaluation of the £350 million pilots over five years concluded “there is no evidence to suggest” they’d had an impact.
So we have a mixed track record on an employer-led skills system. And yet the government has doubled down, introducing ‘employer-led’ local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) overseen by ‘employer representative bodies’, while local authorities, mayoral combined authorities and FE providers have filled column inches reminding ministers to remember them too.
Surely one of the most recognisable employers in the world is Coca-Cola. Today I am sitting opposite the ball of energy that is Sharon Blyfield, head of early careers at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, who works closely with training providers delivering apprenticeships at the company.
Blyfield with her professional awards
She’s a west London girl made good, and is disarmingly frank about the ‘employer-led’ agenda.
“From the Department [for Education], it’s all about employers and how they’re driving the agenda. And as an employer, of course we want to have a seat at the table,” she begins. “But we don’t want to be the only voice.
“We want to work collaboratively. Employers don’t want to own the agenda. They want to be a part of it.”
It’s a clear message to the government from Blyfield: don’t over-egg the employer role.
Her company is also an interesting case study in this debate, since it has a relatively small footprint as an employer in the UK: just 3,000 employees, with about 25 to 30 apprentices each year (Blyfield says they are expected to be made permanent employees, hence the small number).
But Blyfield is frank once more about the issues.
“The interesting question I always have is, who are the employers being spoken to? I say, well, no one has come to speak to me.
“Is it the employers who have thousands of apprentices? Are they the ones being spoken to? As opposed to the smaller, but big, brands like us.”
It’s a very interesting point. Coca-Cola is probably one of the only brands almost every teenager in the world would recognise, just as withdrawal rates on apprenticeships in the UK hover horrifyingly around the 40-50 per cent mark, and apprenticeship starts have plummeted in recent years.
My question is, who are the employers being spoken to?
“So it’s also about, how do they use the power of the brand?” continues Blyfield. It would make an impression with the general public if Coca-Cola were engaged more strongly, she explains.
“Although we have a small number of apprentices, if someone says ‘Coca-Cola are doing x’, they don’t necessarily need to know the numbers behind that. It’s just the fact we have the influence.”
Perhaps it reveals the problem with the ‘local’ in ‘local skills improvement plans’. If an employer has only a small local footprint – but a massive global one – then they might be overlooked in LSIP engagement.
Are certain employers, including those with vast global influence, being under-utilised?
Another reason to listen closely to Blyfield is on apprentice pay. She says all apprentices aged 16 and over at the company are paid above the national living wage that is set for adults over 23 years old at £9.50 an hour.
It’s significantly higher than the current national minimum wage for apprentices of just £4.81 an hour. Her apprentices can also expect an annual pay review and typically a pay rise.
Again, Blyfield is upfront on her thoughts on this. “If you think to yourself about social mobility, how on earth can you expect anyone to live on an apprentice wage? My one ask would be to get rid of that apprentice hourly rate. Morally it doesn’t feel right.”
How on earth can anyone expect to live on an apprentice wage?
Blyfield has fed back her thoughts to the Low Pay Commission, the independent body that advises the government on the national living and minimum wages. In April, both rates rose, as well as the apprentice rate (albeit only by only 51p).
Financial instability is a reality Blyfield understands well from her own childhood. She and her two brothers were brought up single-handedly by her mum in Shepherd’s Bush in London.
Blyfield at primary school in west London
Her mum worked hard to pay a small fee so she could attend what was regarded as the best school in the area ̶ a voluntary-aided grammar school.
“You had kids from very affluent backgrounds and me on free school meals. I always knew I wasn’t strong academically, so I always wanted to make it up by being the best I could possibly be.”
Blyfield also wanted to make sure as she grew up that her mum “never had to worry about money.”
Her entry route into her career was a BTEC in business and finance while studying at Hammersmith and West London College.
The course included several weeks’ work experience at a billboard advertising company and when she completed her BTEC, she was offered a job as a finance administrator.
(Meanwhile, this also explains Blyfield’s strong criticism of the government’s one-time threat to scrap BTECs. She points out T Levels are still only available in the “very niche areas” of digital, health and social care and construction, and says they are “very technical, as opposed to vocational” like BTECs.)
Blyfield and her mum
But it wasn’t all good news at the advertising company. During the 1991-1992 recession, Blyfield and the only two other black employees were hauled into the office together and told to pack their things.
“They said, ‘You three are going to be made redundant.’ That was one of those moments. They handled that so badly.” It looked like a targeted firing.
To Blyfield’s satisfaction, she was quickly offered an impressive sales role at Cadbury Schweppes. At the time, Cadbury owned 49 per cent of Coca-Cola and Schweppes beverages, and Coca-Cola and Schweppes owned 51 per cent of Cadbury.
In 1998, the Coca-Cola side split from the Cadbury group in the UK, and merged with Coca-Cola in the US, forming Coca-Cola Enterprises, as it is today.
“With that came lots of investment,” explains Blyfield.
Whereas previously Coca-Cola drinks had only been in licensed venues, such as pubs and clubs, and in vending machines in leisure parks and schools, now the company developed branded coolers for corner shops – enabling a big rise in distribution.
As a sales manager, Blyfield was at the front of the action. Her team told her she set “really high standards”, although she reflects she may have been “quite abrasive” as she honed her management style.
After two years she wanted a different challenge, and got an internal job as project manager for the early career journey in the company. It was the start of two decades in human resources with Coca-Cola.
In that time, she says she’s seen a shift from apprenticeships mainly for men with an engineering focus, to expanding apprenticeship programmes into sales, administration and degree apprenticeships with more women and those from minority ethnicity backgrounds enrolling.
Blyfield with former Coca Cola apprentices
To improve access further, Blyfield says the company removed entry requirements for five GCSEs for apprenticeships, apart from degree apprenticeships, in 2018 (FE Week has previously reported on well-known employers who set GCSE entry requirements for apprenticeships, even though this is not a government requirement).
Meanwhile, Blyfield and her team also “don’t request CVs for early career programmes. How can I compare someone who has a network and can get work experience, to someone who doesn’t? That’s just not a level playing field.” This approach is applied to all job hopefuls aged 16 to 25, so apprentices, graduates and those on the Kickstart scheme.
Additionally, checking in regularly with training providers is crucial for reducing drop-out, which Blyfield says is usually about two or three apprentices per year.
This year, mental health struggles have seen four apprentices step back. “We’ve said we’ll take you back tomorrow when you’re ready to come back.”
Blyfield picks out three training providers – Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Lincoln and Remit Training – as examples of FE providers she works closely with across all these issues.
As she wraps up, she reiterates once more that the government should not forget where expertise lies – that is, across the whole FE system, not just with employers.
“We have our core business, while educators are the ones who are skilled in terms of delivery of skills.
“Let us be part of that conversation, but don’t put the onus on us to own it.”
The chair of City & Guilds has been given a damehood and a college principal has been knighted in the Queen’s birthday honours 2022.
Over 20 leaders from the FE and skills sector were named in the honours list, including two CBEs, nine OBEs, eight MBEs and one BEM.
Picking up the damehood was Ann Limb, who has over 25 years of experience in FE and last year was the first woman to be appointed as chair of City & Guilds.
Her career includes ten years as principal of Milton Keynes College. When she was appointed in 1987, age 34, she was the youngest ever college principal.
Limb set up the Helena Kennedy Foundation in 1998 and was lately the chair of the Scouts Association.
Ann Limb
The honours list explains that she is being recognised for services to young people and to philanthropy.
“A butcher’s daughter born in 1950’s Moss Side does not grow up dreaming of damehood,” Limb said.
“Inspired by teachers who believed in me and nurtured by the further education system that is a powerhouse for social change, I eventually found the courage to become myself, to speak out against inequalities of all kinds in society, and to speak up for others from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
There was also a knighthood for Weston College chief executive Paul Phillips who was honoured for services to FE.
Paul Phillips
“I am absolutely thrilled to hear the news that I am to receive a knighthood. I have spent my life in industry and education with 40 years in the further education sector and Weston College is the fifth College in my career,” he said.
Phillips thanked his college’s governing body, managers and partners who he said contribute to the institution in “so many ways” – adding that the college has grown “exponentially” without merger.
Three sector leaders from the Association of Colleges were named in the honours list – including chief executive David Hughes and former SEND senior policy manager, Elizabeth Maudslay.
David Hughes
Hughes, who has been made a CBE “for services to further education, particularly during the Covid-19 response” said he was “enormously grateful” for the nomination, adding he believed it reflects the “brilliant work” colleges do and the work the AoC does to support colleges.
“My time at AoC has coincided with an enormous amount of change in the FE sector and my colleagues at AoC deserve a lot of credit for how they have navigated every twist and turn along the way,” he said.
His colleague Elizabeth Maudslay, who was at AoC for seven-years before she retired last year, said she was “delighted to get this award”, adding: “I think it is great that our often under looked sector is being recognised in this way. My wonderful former colleagues at AoC, and across the FE SEND network, have been a tremendous support over the seven years I was there and I want to pay tribute to them.”
Liz Maudslay
It comes a week after Mary Vine-Morris, AoC’s area director for London, was named among esteemed foreign nationals awarded an honorary MBE ahead of the Queen’s birthday honours list.
Picking up a CBE alongside Hughes was deputy further education commissioner and deputy chair of Ofqual Frances Wadsworth.
“I am very proud to have been nominated for this honour,” she said.
“Working with college leaders and boards to improve the quality of education, through strengthened leadership and governance has been very fulfilling.”
Frances Wadsworth
A number of college principals appeared in the honours list. Yiannis Koursis, chief executive of Barnsley College and Jasbir Dhesi, chief executive of Cheshire College South and West, have both received OBEs.
Koursis said: “This honour recognises one’s contribution to public service – but how can you ever make transformational difference without the strong support of those around you?
“I would like to say a huge thank you to my family and to everyone who has enabled me to do what I am proud to say I love doing.”
Those honoured from the independent training provider sector included Robert Colbourne, chief executive of Performance Through People.
Robert Colbourne
Colbourne was made an OBE for his commitment to services to skills and apprenticeships.
“I’m really chuffed for my parents. They don’t know about this yet,” he told FE Week the morning before the honours were announced.
“I’m seeing them tonight and I imagine they’ll be unbelievably chuffed that their son has got an OBE. I’ve never sought after one but I’m absolutely thrilled, someone believes I’m worthy.”
Also picking up an OBE was Jill Whittaker, managing director of HIT Training.
She said: “I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside a vast number of talented individuals and industry bodies during my career and I’m extremely proud of the positive change we’ve achieved in that time.”
Euan Blair, the son of Tony Blair who set up Ofsted grade one apprenticeship provider Multiverse, was awarded a MBE for his services to education.
Also picking up a MBE was DfE national leader of governance Andrew Baird, who is the chair of both East Surrey College and Brooklands College.
Paul Cook, principal at Hereward College was made a MBE for services to young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
And Jane Stoodley, personal assistant to the principal of Strode College in Somerset, was awarded a BEM.
During her 37 years at the college, Stoodley has been the personal assistant to seven different principals.
Current Strode College principal Katy Quinn said: “Jane helped me massively in my early days to understand the background and culture of Strode. She really deserves this amazing accolade of the British Empire Medal as her dedication and commitment to Strode has been exemplary.”
The cap on apprenticeship starts for small and medium-sized employers has been reset to zero again following pressure from the sector.
From today any non-levy paying business can start up to 10 new apprentices regardless of the number they currently employ. The cap will then be kept under review.
The decision, announced this afternoon by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, comes weeks after an FE Week investigation revealed how SMEs were being forced to turn apprentices away after reaching the previous 10 starts limit that had been in place since April 1, 2021.
An ESFA update said: “This reset will give employers who do not pay the levy greater certainty over their recruitment plans for the year ahead. It is made in recognition of the important role that SMEs play in creating apprenticeship opportunities, particularly for younger people and those in disadvantaged areas.”
Any reservations made before June 1, 2022 will not be affected and will not count against the new reservation levels from this date, the agency added.
The WorldSkills competition that was set to take place in Shanghai in October has been cancelled.
Organisers of the global event, which the UK was preparing to send 39 students and apprentices to, called it off today due to current lockdowns in China and ongoing prevention and control restrictions.
Following the decision, WorldSkills members and their partners said they began discussions on “alternative opportunities” for the competitors that were preparing for the competition.
WorldSkills UK, which organises and trains the UK’s team for the global competition known as the “skills Olympics”, said the decision was “extremely disappointing” for its competitors.
WorldSkills UK chief executive Neil Bentley-Gockmann said: “This is extremely disappointing for everyone involved in Team UK and for young people around the world who were looking forward to competing in China. After the delays and difficulties of the past couple of years, we are extremely proud of the skill and determination members of Team UK have shown to make it this far. Our number one focus is supporting them.
“WorldSkills International is considering a number of options that could allow Team UK members to still compete on the international stage. We are actively exploring these ideas and how else we can recognise the achievements of Team UK members and give them the chance to demonstrate the excellence and skills they have developed over the last four years. We will be discussing options with them and their training teams in the coming weeks.”
The WorldSkills Shanghai event was due to take place from October 12 to 17, 2022. The competition was originally planned to take place in 2021 but was postponed due to Covid.
An international WorldSkills tournament hasn’t taken place since the pandemic struck. The last one to take place was WorldSkills Kazan in 2019.
A major review has been launched which could see colleges brought back in to the public sector.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today announced that further education colleges, sixth form college corporations and designated institutions are to be assessed and possibly reclassified.
The ONS is run by Sir Ian Diamond, the UK’s national statistician, who also chaired the Independent Commission on the College of the Future. The stats body carries out regular reviews of parts of the economy to decide how they should be accounted for in the national accounts.
Currently, colleges are classified as part of the private sector, a decision the ONS took in 2012.
Possible reclassification of colleges to the public sector was first revealed by FE Week two years ago when the government’s further education white paper was being developed.
The very same white paper, Skills for Jobs, and its resulting legislation, the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, appear to be the catalyst for the ONS’ current assessment of colleges’ classification status.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Our colleges play a vital role in making sure young people and adults continue to gain the skills they need to progress and secure jobs and we want that to continue.
“Any decision to reclassify colleges will not change this driving mission. We will await the decision of the Office for National Statistics review and, if required, will work closely with colleges to ensure any transition from the private to government sector happens in as smooth and seamless way as possible.”
The ONS expects to have completed its review of colleges by September, and will conduct a similar review of universities in January 2023.
Documents published by ONS on their plans to assess the classification of colleges say:
“Following the Skills for Jobs White Paper published in January 2021, and subsequent legislative changes with the aim of improving the skills and post-16 education sector in England, ONS will carry out a review of the sector classification of FECs, SFCCs, and Designated Institutions, in England in the context of the latest international guidance.
“As part of this process, ONS will consider the content of the Post-16 Education Act 2022 alongside other relevant Acts, such as the Education Act 2011 and the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.”
Status change could mean financial windfall for colleges
While it’s not an official consultation, FE Week understands that sector organisations will be able to make representations.
In a statement David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “It’s important to understand the decision to hold a consultation – and the review itself – is taken by the ONS and DfE and politicians are not driving it. How the government responds to any changes, if indeed there are any, is largely up to them.
“Many other institutions deemed by ONS to be public sector operate under a variety of different rules already. Colleges in Scotland and Northern Ireland are now public sector and we have been learning from their experiences since that happened.
“Nonetheless, this is a significant review, and we will be active in the discussions to inform any decisions by ONS, and help them navigate the framework of laws, policies and rules which govern the relationship between DfE and colleges. Our initial sense is that DfE is taking a very open-minded approach to see what positives this might bring as well as trying to avoid any potential negatives, should ONS decide to make a change in status.”
In a briefing for college leaders, seen by FE Week, Hughes states that officials at DfE have used the private sector status of colleges “as a justification for excluding colleges from some of the funding paid to schools (most recently the national insurance compensation but also VAT relief, business rate compensation, risk protection, financial support for teacher training etc).”
A change to public sector status could, Hughes adds, allow DfE to decide to “make changes in many or all of these areas in the future” and possibly backdate any extra funding.
Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said: “Sixth form colleges will continue to do an outstanding job for students, irrespective of whether they remain in the private sector or move to the public sector. The key issue is what a move to the public sector would mean in practice, and there are a lot of unknowns and details to work through.
“Our assumption is that sixth form colleges would be treated in the same way as 16-19 academies and other public sector providers, which would include benefiting from a VAT refund scheme. We’ll be working with ONS, HMT and DfE in the months ahead to ensure there is a fair and swift conclusion to this major review”.
College borrowing rules shouldn’t change until 2025
Sector representatives are keen to stress that colleges should proceed as planned with existing contractual commitments. AoC’s briefing advises colleges to continue to sign construction contracts on imminent capital projects where loans are required to cover costs.
AoC’s briefing advises colleges that changes to college borrowing rules shouldn’t come in to effect until 2025 at the earliest so that it aligns with DfE’s current capital funding cycle. This “should not hamper colleges from investing in their estate”.
Recent college accounts data shows that the FE college sector owes just over £1.1 billon in borrowing.
It’s the first time in our organisation’s 50-year history that the number of apprenticeship vacancies is outstripping applications, writes Mike Driscoll
We have almost reached the end of another challenging academic year – and what a year it has been!
We have witnessed the coronavirus pandemic come, go, come back and then go again.
Even today, with restrictions lifted, the virus threatens the continuity of apprenticeship training, with staff illness and ongoing absences among our apprenticeship community.
As the weather improves, so does our optimism for better times ahead. We look to the future to tackle any emerging signs of reduced interest in engineering apprenticeships among young people.
But unless action is taken by the government to support employers and providers who are re-engaging with schools on quality career guidance, apprenticeship schemes may become a bit of a Cinderella story.
They are at risk of disappearing among the plethora of other educational routes that young people can choose to take. Has anyone else spotted this?
At a recent internal meeting, I asked our pastoral team to verify uptake across our apprenticeship schemes.
Southampton Engineering Training Association (SETA) advertise apprenticeship vacancies in partnership with our employers, and there is growing demand from employers for recruiting apprentices as they rebuild their businesses.
But the pastoral team’s feedback was, frankly, not great, and I was flabbergasted to learn that the number of apprenticeship applications received for this current academic year was well down on the previous year.
I sought clarification only to be told that in recent years, for every one vacancy advertised, SETA would typically receive eight applications.
However, this year only a few applications have been received per vacancy and in some cases, no applications have been received. This is the first time in our 50-year history at SETA that the number of apprenticeship vacancies pledged by employers outstrips the number of applications from candidates.
In some cases, no applications have been received
Feeling somewhat perplexed, I began to research what other providers have experienced and made some phone calls.
Exactly the same is being reported across other providers within our network: the number of applications being received are far fewer than in recent years, and interest among young people has almost diminished.
Not good news at all.
The cause? That’s a tough one.
The pandemic forced enormous pressure on all education providers to rapidly reform education and training systems and safeguard the achievement of qualifications. Career advice and guidance for young people had to take a back seat.
The solution? That’s a tough one too.
Like many providers, SETA has begun to re-engage with schools and while we work hard to “dampen the flames” from the pandemic, more fires are being lit.
Sources of ignition appear to include the introduction of new qualifications, T levels, traineeships and Kickstart schemes which are attractive alternatives to apprenticeships.
Employers are still recalibrating their business plans and desperately need more young people to fill apprenticeship vacancies now and those planned in the future.
But with spiralling operational costs in both industry and education, the impact of what can be reasonably achieved to address this issue is limited. Also, without opportunities to work jointly to provide quality career guidance we risk being unsuccessful.
Could the solution therefore be to harness funds within the apprenticeship levy somehow? Can employers and providers be given the opportunity to design and rebuild high-quality, meaningful career advice in partnerships with schools?
Millions of pounds have been invested designing standards, endorsed by employers, professional institutions and providers. Perhaps “tapping into” the very system designed to encourage apprenticeship training is a way forward to promoting the benefits of apprenticeship training to all.
The engineering sector desperately needs young people to engage with apprenticeship training and join the sector.
So the UK desperately needs the government to recognise this issue and support our fight to save apprenticeship training from becoming an upskill exercise only attractive for existing employees.
FE must focus on delivering a versatile workforce to help tackle the cost of living crisis, writes Mark Dawe
Following two years of political, social and economic disruptions, the government announced its levelling up white paper earlier this year.
With widespread devolution and the recognition of skills in socio-economic development, the white paper shared an optimistic view of opportunities development but left questions on how such proposals would successfully be delivered.
The variation in household income between regions and countries in the UK is increasing, with factors such as ethnic groups and disability status further exacerbating this. Those households in the north-east of England, alongside households from a Pakistani ethnic group, had the lowest median incomes before housing costs.
This is in contrast to the south-east, the wealthiest region in the UK, between April 2018 and March 2020, which has experienced a rise in median wealth by 43 per cent since 2006.
Now, amid skyrocketing energy bills, inflation, tax hikes and stagnant wages, food insecurity and widespread fuel and food poverty, those on the lowest income are most heavily affected.
Despite being the fifth wealthiest country in the world, the UK now has four million children experiencing food insecurity, alongside a 33 per cent annual increase in demand for food parcels, according to food bank charity the Trussell Trust.
Something must be done to support the recovery and security of the British economy and those individuals living within in.
Here are 7 ways FE helps to support the economy. Education does the following:
1. Helps close poverty gaps
2. Increases the productivity of an existing workforce
3. Encourages migration to highly demanded skills area
4. Creates a workforce with a versatile skillset
5. Creates a better-paid worker
6. Raises the overall skill levels of society
7. Supports government funding schemes
One of the biggest contributors to global poverty is education, with most of those living in extreme poverty lacking basic levels of education.
Known as “the great equaliser”, at a basic level education opens the doors to jobs, resources and skills, allowing individuals to break cycles of poverty, boosting the economic state.
In 2016, The World Economic Forum highlighted the ability of education to affect a country’s productivity. Education increases the collective ability of the workforce to carry out existing tasks more quickly, facilitating the transfer of knowledge about new information, products, and technologies and increasing creativity.
The combined effects of education and its boost to economic output offer better opportunities on both an individual and a societal level.
A recent report by The Skills Network shed light on the changing skills demands of the labour market following the pandemic, with a growth in the demand for mental health and green skills on a national scale.
It means a workforce equipped with a varied and versatile skillset is key.
Similarly, as the government works to boost economic activity through the introduction of skills funding streams, such as digital bootcamps and the Multiply numeracy programme, the role of FE providers in developing and delivering on this is fundamental.
The role of digital resources in modern education is pivotal, creating the most accessible learning provision through digital means, allowing individuals and businesses around the country to upskill and re-train regardless of location and lifestyle.
As we navigate challenging economic periods and look towards a more settled economic future, the education sector has a responsibility to provide support.
The year previously, Ofsted had downgraded NCG to ‘requires improvement’. A significant step change was required for the colleges all to reach the threshold for a ‘good’ grade.
NCG’s two challenges were sustainable financial stability and quality improvement. Firstly, we had to stop being seven colleges plus a centre, and become “one NCG”.
We then had to undertake a quality, learner-led journey towards Ofsted’s 2022 judgment of ‘good’.
Here are my 7 key lessons from that journey.
1. Clarity of purpose
Why are we doing what we do?
First, we designed a “strategy towards 2030”, through wide consultation about our mission, vision and values. This strategy underpins every decision – all business planning must contribute to the strategy’s delivery, and all colleagues must “own” the strategy.
2. Visibility of leadership
All seven college principals joined the college executive group to raise the visibility of leadership.
To become “one NCG” we had to understand that the core business of education happens in college, so college leadership must be part of the leadership of the group.
Consistent standards, expectations, alignment to the strategy, vision and values, had to be seen in the behaviours of the leadership group-wide at every opportunity. And so, the concept of “one NCG” became reality.
3. Clear, two-way communication
Sustainable cultural change across a large, dispersed group requires clear, consistent and two-way communication. Videos, town hall meetings (ironically, made easier by Covid and Microsoft Teams), regularly updated FAQ lists, and progress updates all contributed to “one NCG”, and ultimately one ‘good’ NCG.
During our Ofsted inspection, update communications were shared in near real time.
4. Building up willingness to change
A willingness to change was a vital cultural shift for moving us to ‘good’. Strong leadership, consistent communication and clarity of purpose reinforced the ambition to prove to Ofsted that we were now a learning organisation with the prerequisites for a ‘good’ judgment.
During the two years before inspection, a willingness to change evolved group-wide from an ambition to succeed.
5. Collaboration
A key element of “one NCG”, essential to achieving our Ofsted judgment, was collaboration. Covid created the opportunity to work across the geography – frequently meeting remotely to manage the pandemic, then to discuss policy change and the white papers, managing financial challenge and, critically, preparing for inspection together.
Every college wrote a student aid report (SAR); colleagues from other colleges and professional services became critical friends; the final versions formed the basis of our group SAR and this proved critical for a single judgment.
6. Communities of best practice
A tangible outcome from collaboration was the emergence of communities of best practice.
A huge benefit of being a large national group is our talent pool of varied experience and understanding of the differences between delivering education in inner cities, in rural communities, in areas of high deprivation or where there is dense industry.
This talent pool created virtual, group-wide communities of best practice, supporting teaching enhancement, good mental health, subject specifics and functional skills improvements. They showed Ofsted our consistent approach to quality enhancement and student-first teaching and assessment.
7. Shared ownership and accountability
Clear vision, collaboration and communication led to group-wide shared ownership and accountability for our actions. This led to shared success when Ofsted judged our provision to be ‘good’.
The biggest lesson NCG has learned throughout the last two and a half years is that to be “one NCG” we have to work together. Then we can celebrate together!
This was my first experience of Ofsted; I hope it will not be my last. “One NCG” was the basis for collaboration in all areas across our inspection, and we will build on this to move from good to ‘ambitious for outstanding’!
