Report highlights skills crisis in colleges

Citation

(2001), "Report highlights skills crisis in colleges", Education + Training, Vol. 43 No. 8/9. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2001.00443hab.008

Report highlights skills crisis in colleges

Report highlights skills crisis in collegesKeywords: Vocational training, Academics, Learning, Continuing professional development

Many college lecturers teaching vocational subjects are out of touch with the latest workplace practice and there is a lack of systematic support for their development, says a new report from the Learning and Skills Development Agency. Developing Leading-edge Staff in Vocational Education and Training highlights the difficulties that lecturers face in keeping abreast of current workplace practice in their vocational subject. Although most of them endeavour to keep up to date, this is usually through reading or research. An alarming number have not had enough recent practical experience in the subject they teach.

The report, based on a survey of 891 college lecturers, shows that the number with significant and recent work experience in their vocational area is diminishing. While over half of lecturers have spent more than ten years employed in the occupational area in which they are teaching, about one in five have had fewer than five years' previous occupational experience. Few lecturers have had recent workplace experience and many have not been employed directly in their industry for between 5 and 15 years. Less than a third of lecturers have benefited from placements or secondments to the workplace. Most would like expert training and access to industry-standard training courses. They clearly see the value of a period back in industry, but only a minority has achieved this. More than half of lecturers consider themselves "quite up to date" in knowledge and skills and a third "very up to date". But most achieve this through reading or personal research, which may not be the most effective methods. More than 12 percent of lecturers believe themselves to be "out of date" or "very out of date".

Most lecturers believe they need to work in a commercial setting to keep up certain skills. Many do this by operating independently from the college – by freelancing or part-time work, often outside timetabled hours, at weekends and during holidays. The increased demands of the job and the lack of "slack" in timetables are significant barriers to enabling lecturers to update their knowledge and skills. As a result, many are taking responsibility for their own continuing professional development in their own time. Chris Hughes, Learning and Skills Development Agency chief executive, said: "Vocational staff in colleges need continuing professional development if they are to contribute effectively to the development of leading-edge skills in the current and future workforce. Rapid changes in technology and working practices mean that lifelong learning is as important for them as it is for their students."

The agency calls for:

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  minimum standards of recent industry experience as a requirement for all lecturers teaching vocational subjects;

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  a strategic approach within colleges to support staff in updating their skills;

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  more opportunities for staff to experience the real workplace other than in their own time, possibly through a central fund for staff updating or through joint continuing professional development activities with employers;

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  bursaries to promote the uptake of work placements by teachers;

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  guidance and support from the Learning and Skills Council, national training organizations, awarding bodies, the Department of Education and Skills, as well as the Learning and Skills Development Agency.

Developing Leading-edge Staff in Vocational Education and Training, by David Brookes and Maria Hughes, is obtainable, free of charge, from Information Services, Learning and Skills Development Agency, 3 Citadel Place, Tinworth Street, London SE11 5EF.