How FE colleges can overcome new challenges to provide high-quality and relevant education

Further Education colleges are facing a new, long-term challenge: that is, to ensure that they will be able to directly compete in a widening marketplace. As both policy and popular mood shift towards a focus on promoting and providing apprenticeships, particularly for the 25+ learner, for some colleges this will represent a significant cultural shift and will require these institutions to take a good look at their current leadership, management and governance to ensure they can adapt to the challenges and respond effectively. FE institutions simply cannot afford to assume that their current infrastructure and curriculum is always fit for purpose and capable of addressing these changes. Whilst tackling the immediate challenge of funding cuts, the opening up of the adult skills budget is requiring colleges to enter unfamiliar territory previously the province of independent learning providers.

The recently launched £5bn Work Programme and Outcome Incentive Payment scheme encapsulates the message that colleges will be rewarded for success; rolling out the historic course list every year will not be acceptable (or fundable) if it does not meet local skills and labour needs as well as delivering the education expected by these new, more discerning customers. In such a transitional environment, robust curriculum planning and reviewing of plans is needed more than ever to ensure that learning aims are still valid and funding-efficient; that they meet Agency priorities in terms of addressing local skills shortages; that they are reaching the more disadvantaged and engaging the unemployed in their area, and that they are competitive and attractive when compared to other colleges in the region. Again, colleges need to ensure that they have either the internal skills to carry out this function or that they invest in external curriculum expertise to do the job.

Engaging with the community

Colleges must be able to form effective working relationships with local businesses, job centres and other partners to compete effectively for business. This, for some colleges, may require a review of current staffing skills to ensure they have the right people in place to instigate and maintain these collaborative relationships. With this in mind, many colleges are carrying out internal reviews of current governance to ensure that the body contains members that suitably reflect the diversity of key industries, sectors or communities served by the college, and if such members are not in place, the colleges are taking action now to renew membership where necessary. The critical relationship between principal, chair and clerk is being focused upon to ensure that together they can effectively promote greater collaborative working.

Colleges are also holding “listening events”, where governing bodies and academic heads can meet key stakeholders (learners, employers and community-leaders) and get a better understanding of current learning needs. Wider national strategies such as the Healthy FE agenda are being incorporated into curricular programmes, which is attracting local businesses to get more directly involved in college life; this in itself is requiring staff to take a greater role in engaging with the wider business world outside the college walls.

Measuring success

It’s essential that colleges can measure their own effectiveness robustly in order to compete to the best of their ability and to deliver high quality outcomes at the lowest possible cost. Effectiveness can be measured in a variety of ways – certainly through benchmarking against similar institutions to make value for money comparisons (funding efficiency versus delivery cost). Measurement can also include qualification success benchmarking or wider institution benchmarking to highlight areas of opportunity within both academic and support areas. Some colleges are also benchmarking against similar institutions in order to understand the business models of their peers.

Time for action

Colleges are taking various approaches to tackling the challenges I have outlined. Some are taking advice on new organisational configurations – whether this involves mergers, partnerships or federations. Additionally, leadership and governorship roles and responsibilities are being reviewed. Others are gathering the latest intelligence on funding through workshops and commissioning funding training from education and curriculum professionals, and investing in software systems for effective student and curriculum planning, management and decision-making.

To ensure that they meet local needs, many colleges are undertaking market research and improving dialogue with employers, learners and the community. This is prompting them to commission curriculum and planning support to highlight opportunities to improve efficiency and quality of outcomes to ensure offer is competitive and meets local priorities. To support this, some colleges are restructuring to ensure they have the right skill sets and experts in place to match the changed market needs.

The challenges faced by the learning and skills sector are many but, equally, the means of tackling them are numerous. Colleges are used to taking up a challenge and this will be no different. However, what will be different is the level of change and adaptability that is needed by the sector now and over the coming years. As always there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, and a coordinated approach to tackle the range of challenges is required – to draw on the best bits that already exist and to take advantage of appropriate opportunities to address those aspects that colleges do not already possess in-house. Now perhaps more than ever colleges need to know if they have the infrastructure, the right curriculum offer and the right leadership and governance to compete effectively, to be cost-effective and to offer a value for money service. If not, they need to know precisely where their issues lie and what steps are needed to address them.

Joanna Justice is FE curriculum and funding adviser at Tribal, the education support services company