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Chapter 6: Colleges of the 90s
On 1 April 1993, most further education colleges were 'incorporated' and removed from the control of their local regional Council.
Key policy drivers have shaped progress since 1993. These include:
- the development of Higher Still, which provided an integrated curriculum for school pupils and college learners to progress from non-advanced to advanced study;
- modularisation, the process of constructing small units of learning that could be combined by learners into a wide range of programmes suited to individual learners' choices;
- in recent years, consolidation to secure financial stability; and
- the Scottish Executive's Lifelong Learning Strategy that encourages collaboration between providers and focus on the learner.
Colleges have also adapted to a changing economic climate. Since 1992, the employment rate has increased by about six percentage points. Around 170,000 more people are now in employment than in 1999. This general increase in employment levels occurred despite significant restructuring of the global manufacturing sector, which led to job losses in the industry in Scotland. For example, around 30% of Scottish manufacturing jobs have been lost since 1998. The net increase in employment is due to expansion in the service sector, particularly in business and financial services. Since 1998, banking & finance employment has increased by over 30%. In addition, transport & communication employment has risen by almost 15% and other services by around 20%.
This movement away from manufacturing to services started well before the 1990s and 2000s though it did gather pace during this period. Despite manufacturing retaining a key role in the Scottish economy, this continuing movement from one sector to another had a number of effects.
- The skill requirements of school leavers are now different than they were in the 1990s.
- Often those who were previously employed in manufacturing (and have stayed in the labour market) have required a whole new skill-set in order to re-gain employment.
- With services being much more customer/ client facing, core skills have become much more important than they previously were.
- Work/shift patterns have changed.
- Gender work patterns have changed.
- There has been a regional element to the situation, with particular areas of Scotland (such as North Lanarkshire) having to adapt to the changing nature of the economy. Other areas have grown markedly on the back of services expansion (such as Edinburgh). Therefore, different areas have had different experiences and requirements (and interventions where appropriate).
Unfortunately, it is not possible to compare statistical information about today's colleges with data gathered in 1993. This is because it was not collected on a comparable basis and is not in a form that allows subsequent changes to the college sector (such as the designation of Bell College as a higher education institution in 2001) to be excluded from the results.
However, it is possible to compare data from 1994-95 onwards which excludes Bell College and UHIMI. Figure 9 overleaf shows the number of college vocational enrolments since that period (other enrolment data are not available).
Colleges of 1993 and Now
Curriculum
- the concepts of learner choice and learner focus were less prominent, and curriculum planning was less flexible than it is today.
Staffing
- continuing professional development then was neither as comprehensive or well planned as it is now.
Guidance and learner support
- the body of knowledge and support available to meet the needs of learners with difficulties and disabilities, to provide extended learning support where required, and to offer advice on student finance and childcare is significantly greater and more effective today.
Quality assurance and improvement
- the concepts of quality improvement and enhancement and related activities were less well developed and significantly less comprehensive in 1993 than they are today.
During the 1990s colleges achieved significant efficiency gains. However, this resulted in colleges facing financial difficulties.
The number of vocational enrolments has increased significantly over the period - from about 234,000 to about 394,000; an increase of about 70%. In 1994-95, the average age of a student was 28 (27 for male students and 30 for female students). This compares with an average age of 32 for students in 2004-05. The most popular subjects were Business and Administration; Engineering and Technology and Combined Studies. Now they are Health Care/Medicine/ Health and Safety and Family Care/Personal Development/Personal Care and Appearance. (Changes in subject areas since 1998-99 are shown in figure 3 on page 16). As explained on page 15, while the overall number of students has dropped by 9% between 2001-02 and 2004-05, college activity has grown slightly. This is because of a shift to more intensive courses.
Figure 9: Time series of vocational college enrolments from 1994-95 to 2004-05
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