Business as normal at College despite cuts in government funding

The latest round of government spending cuts has caused Bedford College to lose £1.8 million in expected funding, and with it, between 25 and 40 out of 750 jobs.

But Principal and Chief Executive Ian Pryce has pledged it will be 'business as normal' as far as students and trainees are concerned at the Ofsted Outstanding, Beacon Status FE College.

"Having gone from good to great and become one of the top FE colleges in the UK through the efforts of our staff and management, it is sad that economic circumstances outside of our control have caused us to be affected, along with all the other FE colleges, by government spending cuts," said Ian Pryce.

"However, we are here to serve the community, we are here to help young people and those over 18 to have the education and training they need to fill the jobs employers have on offer and we will continue to do just that. As far as students and employers who come to us for A Levels, apprenticeships and professional training are concerned it is business as normal.

"Because we are a financially sound college we can weather this storm better than many FE colleges who are now making hundreds of staff redundant or may even close."

The biggest cut in the College's previous £30 million per year funding has been £1.2 million in adult education, which is for those above the government priority age group of 16 - 18. Some courses may have to become purely commercial, where students pay full cost, while some may merge. No one area of educational provision will be lost - but adjustments will be made across the range.

Money saving initiatives will be made before jobs are lost but some redundancies are inevitable. Whether the number is 25 or 40 will depend on this analysis and current attempts to 'claw back' some money from the government in areas where the College argues that more should be made available.

In making the announcement on Thursday 11 February at Bedford College, Ian Pryce said: "Ironically this morning I was in London to receive an award for becoming an Outstanding Ofsted college, which is a tribute to the work of all our staff. And now I am having to tell you all this bad news, the like of which has come as a shock to all of us in FE who work so closely with employers to ensure we are providing the skills they need to help the country get back on its feet."

These changes will also impact on Shuttleworth College, which was recently taken over by Bedford College. As part of the larger FE organisation, Shuttleworth will be better placed to cope with the impact of government cuts than if it was a stand-alone institution.

Ian Pryce added: "Shuttleworth Director Mike Johnston and myself have explained to staff there the whole process and that the government cuts will impact on them as well as on other Bedford College campuses.

"Again, we hope for the minimum of disruption, but these government cuts would have been unavoidable whoever was in charge at Shuttleworth. In fact, because it now has the support of the Bedford College, Shuttleworth will be more able to weather the same storm than it if had been aligned with any other financial institution."