Preparing young people and adults for their future careers and transforming lives through learning is at the heart of everything we do.
As we celebrate Colleges Week from 3rd to 7th March, now is the time to reflect on our essential role as an anchor institution and where we need further investment.
Anchor institutions are typically large public sector employers that have a significant and longstanding connection to their local area.
They are heavily invested in the success of the towns and cities where they reside. As an intrinsic part of the fabric of their locality, colleges also help fire the engine of the local economy.
That’s why this year’s Colleges Week campaign is focussed on championing the contribution that colleges make to building brighter futures and the fundamental role they play supporting communities across the country.
College leaders are also making some major asks of the government in the run up to the next Spending Review 2025.
In England, according to the Association of Colleges, further education, sixth form and specialist colleges educate and train 1.6 million students. Around two thirds of those students are adults aged 19-plus and there are an additional 49,000 learners training as apprentices.
As well as enabling young people and adults to progress to university, higher level technical and vocational education or employment, colleges provide skills solutions to employers and support the economy contributing to job creation. Interestingly, 36% of large employers who train their staff do so through a college compared with 28% who do so via a university.
We know that employers struggle to find candidates with the right skills. Yet, there are thriving sectors regionally offering opportunities in advanced manufacturing, construction, creative and digital, engineering, green and low carbon, and health and social care.
We support job creation and economic growth by providing a talent pipeline to employers and a curriculum tailored to industry needs given that we educate and train around 14,500 young people and adults a year and have up to 1,300 staff.
Crucially, we contribute to social mobility by providing life changing opportunities to help our students achieve their potential. A significant percentage of our college community are from disadvantaged backgrounds or have a learning disability or difficulty. The majority of our students are from the city and local region, and they stay on to live and work in it.
A thriving college sector is key to raising aspirations, equipping students to go further, enabling businesses to thrive, reducing skills gaps and shortages, supporting social mobility and contributing to wellbeing.
We also have a vital role to play in responding to the big issues of our time: artificial intelligence, climate change, the cost of living crisis and economic turbulence. For all of these reasons and more, colleges like ours are well positioned to deliver on the government’s Plan for Change, which focuses on the following key themes:
- kickstarting the economy
- becoming a green energy superpower
- taking back our streets
- breaking down barriers to opportunity
- building an NHS that is fit for the future.
However, in the run up to the next government Spending Review 2025, there are four areas where colleges need investment to maximise their impact.
We need a skills fund for the growth-driving and priority sectors highlighted in the industrial strategy and Plan for Change. A single skills fund should join up funding to support the growth, opportunity and work plans.
We require more investment to address the expansion in places for 16 to 18-year-olds and teaching capacity for the growing population of young people who need college education and training.
Colleges also want to do more to support their communities by providing education and skills training for people currently not in work so that they can secure good jobs. Finally, we want to see action to improve pay and buildings to ensure we recruit and retain high calibre staff and provide industry standard facilities for students.
Given the rising number of young people and the need for more adults to acquire skills to get into good jobs and to contribute to identified growth sectors, there is a pressing need for more investment.
Here in Sheffield, we have a real sense of pride in what we do. We are ambitious for our college, students and the city, which is reflected in the launch of our new five-year strategy this week as part of Colleges Week.
In our upcoming Strategic Plan 2025 to 2030, we reaffirm our commitment to be a great place to learn and work as well as a sustainable organisation that is also a trusted partner to employers and civic organisations in the city and wider region.
Our recently launched Bloom provision at Peaks Campus is just one example of our commitment to prepare young people for work and life and highlights the strength of partnership working with civic leaders and Sheffield City Council.
Another example is our renewed partnership with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where we work with NHS and health and social care employers to provide skills and training solutions that help them retain and grow their workforce.
We are introducing a green curriculum as part of our wider sustainability commitments and strategy supporting the clean energy transition to generate growth and jobs and tackle the cost of living crisis and climate change. As part of that we have invested in new facilities at our Advanced Technology Centre.
Together with employers and other partners, we can play an even more influential role in our great city, transforming lives and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from education and skills opportunities.
Angela Foulkes CBE, Chief Executive and Principal, The Sheffield College
