Major restructure to take place at Telford College of Arts and Technology
Telford College of Arts and Technology has announced proposals for a major restructure after being informed of another multi-million pound cut in Government funding.
The college has been told that its budget for delivering Adult Skills education in 2015/16 is to be reduced from £16 million to £12.3 million – a cut of 23 per cent.
Chris Scott, Principal and Chief Executive of Telford College, said the restructure may regrettably lead to the loss of an estimated 85 jobs - some full time, and some part time. The college currently employs around 600 staff.
He said: “We are making every effort to avoid this possible outcome, and have tried to absorb funding cuts wherever possible, but this latest announcement has left us with little alternative.
“The Government’s austerity measures are disproportionately impacting upon the Further Education sector at the moment, and are forcing us to make significant savings from our staffing costs.”
Staff and unions were given the news earlier today, and a formal consultation period is under way.
Mr Scott added: “We hope that, as far as possible, any potential redundancies are voluntary. We acknowledge that this is a very worrying time for staff and their families, and we will offer staff whose jobs may be at risk all possible support.”
The college is giving staff access to its in-house counselling service, support and advice from HR and employee representatives, and employment agencies.
Mr Scott added: “The cuts in Government funding for adult education are nationwide. The Association of Colleges has indicated that the average college has already made 109 staff redundant up to the summer of 2014.
“This is a position the college did not wish to find itself in, and we are extremely disappointed that national cuts have made it necessary.
“Before the year 2014, Telford College was proud of the fact that it had never had any major redundancy programmes. But clearly, there is only so long you can continue to soak up such massive budget cuts.
“We are immensely proud of our talented staff, who have always been and remain key to the long-term success of Telford College, and it is with great regret that we are making this announcement.
“We are seeking to limit the impact which these cuts will have on the local economy by seeking to target as many of the cuts as possible at our non-Shropshire-based delivery schemes.
“The future success of our students, and supporting employers, remains at the heart of what we do, and we will be doing everything we can to maintain the high standard of delivery in Telford & Wrekin.”
Telford College has a proud track record of helping students to achieve great success.
In just the past few weeks, it has celebrated an engineering apprentice being taken on by the Mercedes formula one team, a sports student being called up for England, and a creative student linking up with French fashion giant Christian Dior.
The college is also partnering with the University of Wolverhampton in the opening of a new Higher Education centre in Telford’s new Southwater development.
