“50+ courses under threat”
By Tony Watts - Editor - 01/09/2004
Getting back into the workplace for many 50+ people will mean going back to college to acquire new skills. But, argues Linda Baker of the Association of Colleges, are putting many of these courses under threat. The cuts are due to Government directing large sums to schools and universities, squeezing what is available for adult education and skills.
At the same time, many colleges have succeeded in meeting the Government target to recruit many more 16-19 year olds, putting even more pressure on adult learning budgets. Courses which are most likely to be funded are those within the Government’s National Skills Strategy targets for adults. These include basic literacy and numeracy skills, vocational and academic qualifications up to GCSEs or equivalent, and some A Level equivalent vocational courses, if there is a related skills shortage in the region. All courses for adults outside these categories are vulnerable, whether for employment or social/recreational purposes. There are nearly four million students in local further education colleges, of whom 350,000 are 50 to 60 year olds and a further 150,000 are 60 plus.
AoC has been warning Government since November 2003 that there was insufficient funding in the system to meet the demand for adult learning. At that time, we said that at least 70,000 places would be lost from this September. It is only because of intensive college lobbying that Government at the last minute has found enough money to defer the worst cuts this year. But next year could see very massive cut backs in provision, even in courses designed to meet Government’s own adults targets. This is very worrying for the national economy – the overwhelming majority of adults in colleges are doing courses which are linked to employment in some way or another. But it is equally worrying that many community courses supporting the social and physical wellbeing of older people will be threatened. Government allocates funding for colleges through 47 Local Learning and Skills Councils, which decide how much of each college’s funding has to be put towards the targets.
Colleges are then faced with often very hard choices about what is left. On average, 80% of college income comes from the government. The national Learning and Skills Council’s current consultation on college fees (“Investing in Skills”) proposes that colleges raise fees by 40% over the next couple of years and asks for views on various options. The most likely scenario is a 40% increase over 2 years, starting in 2005-6. At the same time, the government will be spending £7.6 billion on higher education teaching in 2004-5 compared with an estimated £2.3 billion on further education for adults. Part of the problem is, that too often, older people assume their education and training is less important than young people’s.
Yet they as taxpayers are contributing three times as much towards the cost of university education for young people as they are to helping adults make a living by learning a new skill. If your plans are affected by the cuts, you can contact your MP via www.locata.co.uk/commons. For more information about the cuts, see www.aoc.co.uk.