As slump cuts jobs, number of would-be students more than doubles

Published on Tuesday 12 May 2009 20:12

THE recession has caused the number of college applications to soar, forcing many institutions to turn away hundreds of prospective students.

Record demand for places has been fuelled by growing numbers of workers who have been made redundant and school leavers unable to find jobs.

College principals have now called on the government to fund additional places to reduce the numbers they will be forced to turn away.

Linda McTavish, principal of Anniesland College in Glasgow, said her college had seen a 106 per cent rise in applications. Anniesland, based in the west of the city, usually has around 700 full-time students, but has this year received more than 3,000 applications.

Mrs McTavish, who is also convener of the principals' group of Scotland's Colleges, which represents the sector, said: "We are turning away in my own college hundreds of students, and that will be replicated across the whole of Scotland."

Applications to Carnegie College in Fife are also reported to have risen by 65 percent. Overall, there has been a 35 per cent increase in applications to colleges across Scotland. Schools minister Keith Brown said:

"It is no secret that a recession requires tough decisions, and that includes those by colleges. Ministers rely on the expertise of college boards to decide how resources are spent effectively.

"While the number of funded places within a college is set at an agreed limit, there is no restriction in the number of extra students a college can enrol if it has the capacity to do so."

He said colleges had already been asked to focus on vocational training and courses which would help the economy.

The Scotsman has already revealed college principals were told by the Scottish Funding Council, which allocates cash, that evening and leisure classes should be sacrificed in order to focus on work training.

Claire Baker, Labour's colleges spokeswoman, said it was crucial in an economic downturn to have enough places.

She said: "School leavers who can't get jobs, people made redundant, and those improving their skills in a more competitive jobs market all need the courses that colleges offer.

"Fiona Hyslop (the education secretary] must react to these huge increases in applications to colleges by investing in additional places in the short term during this economic downturn, to invest in the long-term future of Scotland."

Margaret Smith, Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman, said: "It is important school leavers can still access places at college, but colleges also have a key role in retraining those who have lost their jobs.

"The minister must engage actively with the sector to make sure that individuals are properly trained to fill identified skills gaps. There has never been a more important time to invest in skills."