Dick Evans asks questions about financial literacy as a separate subject. Concerns about financial literacy, capability and awareness continue to be very prominent. Numeracy Briefing has carried a series of highly informative articles on the topic. In spite of all the existing initiatives and key organisations involved in addressing this important topic the government has appointed yet another person who has come up with set of proposals to tackle this problem. Obviously there are concerns about the credit crunch and a personal debt level in the UK of £1.2 trillion (50% on mortgages and 50% on pension funds, corporate, credit
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FE: Further Thoughts.
Colleges’ priorities are not what they used to be. Richard Evans finds his unhappy predictions for the sector have come true. I have previously written about some of my views and concerns about the future of the FE sector. It gives me little satisfaction that many of the potential problems and concerns identified are now all too evident. One issue that merits investigation is the analysis of the cost of all the increased marketing, publicity and incentives that have been introduced since incorporation and the number of new students from previously nonparticipating groups that have been recruited into the sector.
Establishing a Culture of College Research
Dr R G Evans, of Stockport College, outlines the range of research being carried out in colleges today College Research quite rightly advocates a strong and effective culture of research in FE colleges and the sector. There needs to be a central focus for research and development in a college to share and use findings and developments across the institution and, in some cases, to disseminate findings throughout the sector. The publication College Research is an ideal vehicle for such dissemination. To create such a culture, a college needs a comprehensive research policy and money from the college’s budget. Colleges
Educating the Energy Technician
Dick Evans, Principal, Stockport College of Further & Higher Education. Over the past five to ten years, the further education sector has seen a serious and steep decline in enrolments in vocational science, engineering and construction. The reasons for this decline are multidimensional and reflect the major transformations that have occurred, not only in the world of work but also within the workings of the global economy. The long and deep recession in construction and engineering has seriously impacted on the number of students studying these subjects in further education. As companies have downsized and outsourced their services, fewer staff
Don’t Catch the Drift
Colleges must not sacrifice their Further Education (FE) work in an effort to make themselves like universities, says Dick Evans Suddenly, politicians are talking about the dangers of academic drift and the shift from vocationalism without realising their policies are driving these trends, Do they really understand the meaning of these terms and, more importantly, the dangers that they will bring? First, consider “academic drift”. Following the announcement that the Government wants one in three young people in higher education by the year 2000, many further education colleges felt they should play their part in realising this target. No real
Cutting Remarks
The long-term should be taken into account before singing the praises of downsizing, writes Richard Evans. Recent articles in the education Press indicate that 1996 is to be the year for cuts in staffing in the Further Education sector following the issuing of 188 notices. Announcements in last year’s budget will sadly mean that schools and universities will also be making staff redundant. Following on from the previous two years, Further Education is again being subjected to totally unacceptable levels of cuts, dressed up by the Government and the funding councils as necessary and attainable efficiency gains. The FE sector is
Convergence v. Divergence
As colleges are required to make even further so-called efficiency gains, a classic contradiction and paradox is presented to colleges who are trying to manage the current situation. Institutions are now expected to deal with a very harsh and steep reduction in their resources from the Funding Council, just at the time when we are beginning to open up access and attempt to increase participation of the new learners of the future. We are therefore confronted with two opposite and in many cases opposing forces arising from convergence of funding and the divergence arising from the increasingly diverse learner populations.
CONTEXT – AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT
Richard Evans is the Chairman of the CIPHE’s Education and Training Group. In this issue of ETM, he continues the theme of exploring various elements of vocational qualifications and their relationship with teaching technical and vocational programmes in Further Education. Technical and vocational One of the many strengths of the FE sector and its staff, is their recognition of the importance of context in teaching technical and vocational programmes. One of the challenges of teaching in FE, is the need to address the development of a vocational focus in curricula, particularly the content of the material and the critical aspects
CONSEQUENCES
Richard Evans is the Chairman of the CIPHE’s Education & Training Group. In this issue of ETM he continues with his views on issues that will have an affect on the plumbing industry. Perceptions This article focuses on the continuing crisis in the industry resulting from the shortage of qualified practising plumbers. The article in the last issue highlighted that fewer training places means fewer plumbers qualify. However, more funda- mental is the negative attitude towards practical occupations, coupled with a still prevailing perception about technical and vocational qualifications as somehow second class. Funding Since the early 1990s as a
Connecting with The World of Work
Fusing Workforce Development with Further and Higher Education. Dr Dick Evans reports on the annual UVAC conference which took place at the end of last year. Over 170 delegates in York for the 2004 annual conference of the University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC). As the title suggests the central theme for the event was the crucial issue of linking the worlds of education and work. Currently this topic is high profile as a result of a number of developments including the creation of Foundation Degrees (FDs), the publication of the Tomlinson Report, the new QCA framework, the government’s skills strategy