Linking London: Partnership, Success and Future
Further Education Landscape and the Future
Paul Head, Principal and Chief Executive March 2010
Where does it feel we are coming from…even if it’s not true
Ploughing a furrow…we knew the world we were in
• Sense of Direction:
public service reform not revolution
• Manage, in control of
what's happening
• Expanding resources
• Change that could be managed
• Keep the quality right, no problems• Hit the
targets, get the money
Where are we now…
Riding two, even more, horses…change is constant and uncertain….
• New political and economic directions
• Response to recession, prepare for recovery
• Innovate, react,
create, lots of risk
• Expanding resources but
it can’t continue
• Need to plan for reductions
and make best use of
what remains• Will be testing
of our skills and
experience
Current Context: Learners• For Learners it’s very personal…
– “fees, debts, will I get a job at the end of this, if I do this course now the recovery might have started by the time I finish, how much will I get paid, am I doing the right course, will I get to university, feeling safe in an uncertain world”
• Access to opportunities to succeed, high aspirations, high expectations of services, ‘driven’, success
• Where will the jobs be, what does a career look like at 18, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, personal risk
Current Context: Colleges• Recession, recovery and public spending
– Dealing with present, planning for the future, we all know reductions in public spending is coming (Monday), the uncertainty of the scale, future years
– Managing change in an world of expanding resources is very different from doing it in a static and even declining one
– Are we, leaders and managers at all levels, equipped with the skills to manage service improvement with declining resources, scale of reduction will be significant
• Organisation, simplification and regulation, a balance, be careful what you wish for
• Savings and investment– 5% is one thing, 10% another. 20% is
different, 30% needs you to rethink• Consolidation and shake out, specialisation,
small or large• Public sector 2020 what does it mean for FE• The fundamentals are the same….aren't
they?
Current Context: Colleges
So where are we going, using the horses differently…. making sense of change and new alignments….David and Nick…