Principal backs College of the Future report

Principal backs College of the Future report
Dr Ken Thomson OBE

Forth Valley College Principal Dr Ken Thomson has backed a ground-breaking new report which says lifelong learning will be central to helping people and businesses rebound from the pandemic.

The Independent Commission on the College of the Future calls for colleges to be placed front and centre of those reforms across the UK’s four nations in its ground-breaking new report published on Wednesday 28 October. It goes on to say that radical, long-term education and skills reforms and investment are needed to address current and future skills gaps and transform life chances for every adult.

The report, The College of the Future, calls for every adult to have the right to lifetime education and training, with colleges better supported to deliver this in every community across the UK.

The Commission has set out how colleges can be supported across the four nations of the UK to deliver the lifelong learning and business support needed for people, employers and communities to survive and thrive in the future. The vision and recommendations are endorsed by leaders from across business, academia, unions, colleges, and the student body from all four nations.

Recent research from CBI found that nine in ten people will need new skills by 2030 to support the future economy, and that further and faster action is needed. The case for action is clear: Covid-19 consequences, leaving the EU, climate change and the fourth industrial revolution mean that everyone will need access to part-time, adult and vocational education as the economy and jobs change.  Radical change is needed in education and skills policies and systems so that colleges can encourage people to train, upskill or acquire new skills throughout their lives for the jobs of tomorrow. 

The recommendations in the report call for the changes that are needed for colleges to deliver on lifelong learning.

  • Provide grants and loans that allow college students to live well whilst studying to bring down barriers many adults face to further study and training, particularly those on low incomes, in precarious employment, and for those  who require retraining or upskilling opportunities (due to Covid-19 and labour market changes). It will also offer equity for students across further and higher education by reflecting the specific additional support that particular groups will need – including childcare costs, travel costs, additional funding to support disabled students and scrapping limits when claiming benefits. 
  • Establish a new service through college employer hubs to tackle skills gaps, giving businesses a one-stop shop for upskilling current employees, finding the skilled workers they need, as well as innovation support, for example prototyping. 
  • Overhaul, rebalance and integrate the whole post-16 education and skills system in each nation with a 10-year strategy for how colleges will deliver what each nation’s economy and society needs and redressing funding inequity where it exists 

The report is the first time that experts and leaders from across the four nations of the UK have come together in this way. It argues that there are key themes that have to be developed and reaffirmed in each of the four nations, to meet common challenges that all nations face. This report will be followed by short reports setting out how to deliver these recommendations in the specific policy contexts of each nation.

The vision that the Commission set out in July was for the college of the future to empower people throughout their lives with the skills they need to get on in life, support better productivity and innovation of businesses, and strengthen every community’s sense of place.

Sir Ian Diamond, Chair of the Independent Commission on the College of the Future and UK National Statistician said: “Colleges are vital yet under-utilised institutions that offer the transformational learning and support that our four nations need now, more than ever, if we are to face the long term impacts of COVID-19 and to drive a sustainable, inclusive economy.

“We must all commit to a bold ambition on skills. Lifelong learning is the only way to ensure people and businesses will survive the recession and thrive in the future. With the right support, colleges can deliver on this urgent need for every community.”

Dr Ken Thomson, Principal of Forth Valley College, said: “We wholeheartedly welcome and support the report released today by the Independent Commission on the College of the Future and the recommendations made. We have been saying for years just how important the college sector is in Scotland and in the UK as a whole. Now more than ever as we all have to navigate through a pandemic and its consequences, colleges will offer essential learning, training and industry support that will be vital in the educational, economical and community recovery of our society.

“Today as this report is released, I can say without hesitation that Forth Valley College will be striving to incorporate the findings of this report and will continue to make learning work for all its students, staff, industry partners and stakeholders.”

Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director and member of the Independent Commission on the College of the Future said: “CBI-McKinsey analysis suggests that as automation transforms the nature of work, widespread reskilling will help society unlock the benefits of new technologies, support job creation and tackle inequality. Colleges have a vital role to play in this, and the Commission’s report sets out a bold vision for how institutions can collaborate with businesses to boost the life chances of people from all backgrounds. 

“We have the opportunity of a lifetime to revamp further education, and place partnership between institutions and employers at its heart. This will help colleges provide more tailored support to local labour markets, and empower individuals to develop the skills they need to succeed.”

Professor Ewart Keep, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Education, University of Oxford, and member of the Independent Commission on the College of the Future, said: “We want colleges to have a bigger role in lifelong learning, in helping businesses to innovate and improve, in supporting productivity improvements, and in strengthening a sense of place and purpose in their locality.

“To achieve this, the report argues for more stable long-term funding models, and greater cooperation between colleges, and between colleges and other educational providers, such as universities. The aim is to create coherent local education systems that can deliver for people of all ages in a way that is tailored to meet local economic, social and cultural needs.

“Much of what the report argues for is already happening, in pockets, around various parts of the UK.  Our vision for 2030 is to ‘level up’ practice, provision and thinking across all four UK nations so that what is path-breaking today is the commonplace of tomorrow.  Colleges have the potential to do and be so much more than now.   

“In a world where economic dislocation and its social consequences loom large, and where ‘levelling up’ is the slogan of the moment, colleges have the potential to deliver better outcomes for people, places and for productivity and economic success.”

Audrey Cumberford FRSE MBE, Principal & CEO Edinburgh College and member of the Independent Commission on the College of the Future, said: “Predictions of the potential for a global pandemic have circulated for many years, reinforced by the emerging conditions that could contribute to making this a reality; climate change, massive urbanisation, a global economy and growth in international air travel. Our report reflects a deep dive into how colleges can best be empowered to respond to these conditions. Scotland has undergone really important reforms over the past decade, putting us in a real position of strength that the Commission has learnt from. 

“The ongoing Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) review represents a serious opportunity to develop a more coherent, agile and integrated tertiary education system that will support colleges to deliver even more for our people, employers and communities. If ‘education is the passport to the future’ then my hope is that this report stimulates discussion, debate and thinking across our sector, policy-makers and funders to start preparing for our future today.”