Friday 18 May 2018
A working group has been formed to draw up plans for the integration of the College of Further Education, the Institute of Health & Social Care Studies and the GTA University Centre.
The Committee for Education, Sport & Culture formed the group to progress one of the resolutions agreed by the States Assembly in January as part of the debate on the future of secondary and post-16 education.
Professor Richard Conder, non-voting member of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture will chair the group, with the Principal of the College of FE, the Head of the Institute and Chief Executive of the GTA its other members.
The aims of the working group, which will report back to the Committee as soon as possible, include:
- Proposing how the three organisations will integrate in the short, medium and long term
- Proposing the structural changes that will be necessary
- Developing a timeline of evolution to integration
- Identifying opportunities and risks regarding integration
- Identifying any additional resources to realise integration
- Planning a staff engagement schedule to ensure appropriate involvement of staff and their representatives pre-and-post integration
Professor Conder said the group hopes to report back to the Committee during the summer.
'The Committee sees first-hand the extraordinary work that each of the three organisations deliver, however new governance and funding arrangements and the potential that exist for overlaps of educational provision and opportunities for further development mean that this review is timely. Working alongside the leaders of the three organisations offers a fantastic opportunity to fully explore potentially wide-ranging benefits whilst retaining the best of each organisation and their unique relationship with their client groups.
'While much of the focus since the States debate in January has understandably been on secondary education reforms, a major part of the proposals agreed by the Assembly was the safeguarding of the College of FE as a provider of vocational, professional and technical education for full-time and part-time students, including apprentices. The States resolutions set a clear objective for integration.
'The opportunity to exploit the clear synergies between the College, the Institute of Health and Social Care Studies and the GTA University Centre, was a crucial element of the agreed future direction of travel. In due course integration will require consultation with a diverse range of stakeholders, not least in relation to the governance of the organisation and the need for demand-led curricula.
'I am excited about the possibilities and will seek to report our findings to the Committee within a relatively short timeframe.'
