Almost half of colleges are planning to make redundancies in 2020, new research has found. 

According to a survey by the Association of Colleges, shared exclusively with Tes, 46 per cent of colleges plan to make redundancies by the end of the autumn term 2020, and 21 per cent will have made redundancies by September 2020.

Around 109 colleges responded to the survey – 45 per cent of colleges in England. 

The survey results come only weeks after the Association of Colleges’ chief executive David Hughes told the House of Commons Education Select Committee that as much as £2 billion out of £7 billion in college income could be at risk for the next academic year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. And an AoC survey published exclusively in Tes in May found that 13 per cent of colleges feared their solvency was at risk.

Background: 13% of colleges fear their solvency is at risk 

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Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive of the AoC, said that colleges only cut jobs as a last resort. He said: "46 per cent of colleges expect they will need to make redundancies by the end of the autumn term 2020; 21 per cent will have made redundancies by September 2020. In this week’s fiscal report, the Office of Budget Responsibility highlighted September as a likely peak in redundancies. Colleges only cut jobs as a last resort where they have exhausted all other options.”

UCU’s general secretary Jo Grady said: "Last week, the government talked about the important role further education has to play in educating more people, yet colleges are warning now that redundancies are on the cards at the start of the new academic year. An autumn White Paper is not going to deal with the immediate problems of people losing their jobs. The government has to come in and support colleges to maintain the capacity we have now if we are to have any chance of expanding it in the future.

"The education secretary last week talked up plans for further education, but gave no details of what that would entail. What is absolutely clear is that the sector needs support right now. Further education has suffered more than any other area of education under a decade of conservative rule and this report brutally exposes what the impact of successive governments’ neglect has delivered."

Unison's head of education Jon Richards said: “Just days ago, the government talked of boosting further education. But there won't be the staff to do the work without a rapid increase in college funding.

“Many thousands of people are going to lose their jobs as a result of the pandemic and will need to further their studies or retrain. Cuts to the college workforce will make it harder to help the nation through the difficult months ahead and to fill skills gaps caused by Brexit.”

Apprenticeship and skills minister Gillian Keegan said: "We are very grateful to the AoC and colleges across the country for their continued hard work to support learners over these past few difficult months.

“We have provided unprecedented support through the Job Retention Scheme, guaranteeing existing grant funding as well as the bursary and supplier relief schemes for contracted provision. We also recently announced an additional £6.5million to support providers to fund free meals for eligible FE students over the summer holidays. For colleges in significant financial difficulties, the existing support arrangements remain in place including short term solvency support through emergency funding.

“We know more needs to be done if we want our economy to grow and productivity to improve across the country. That’s last week, the Education Secretary set out our plan to invest in a high-quality further education system that will provide the skills that individuals, employers and the economy need to grow.”