Scotland’s colleges are in a “better place” than those in England because the sector has avoided the “marketisation of FE” seen south of the border, according to Scotland’s FE minister.

Speaking to Tes to mark his first year in post as FE, HE and science minister, Richard Lochhead is in bullish mood about the successes of Scotland’s colleges.

“We can be proud of our colleges in Scotland, which clearly are much closer to each other and the government and working in a collective fashion,” he says. “We all feel we have a shared mission.”

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‘In a better place’

“There is a lot we can learn from each other across the UK. However, I feel the colleges in Scotland are in a better place. We don’t have the competitive market-driven environment you can find south of the border.”

Lochhead recently attended meetings of the Independent Commission on the College of the Future, a four-nation commission trying to establish what the FE institutions of the future should look like. “I feel [that] for the commission, there is maybe more for England to learn from the rest of the UK than in the opposite direction, but we have to keep an open mind,” Lochhead tells Tes.

Scottish FE has been transformed in recent years, with a government-driven reform programme that led to institutions being reorganised from over 30 colleges into 13 college regions, most with only one college in them. “Education is devolved and we have been able to create quite a unique part through the establishment of the college regions and in how we view colleges to be quite community focused in all regions of Scotland,” says Lochhead.  

Scotland has also, he adds, “avoided the marketisation of the FE sector” seen in England - in part aided by the fact that colleges are classified as part of the public sector in Scotland, unlike in England.

UK counterparts

Working with the Westminster government has been one of the challenges of his first year in office, Lochhead acknowledges. “One of the most bizarre aspects of the past year is that I am now on my fourth UK counterpart,” he says. During his term in office, he has worked opposite Sam Gyimah, Jo Johnson and Chris Skidmore on the higher education brief in Westminster, with Anne Milton having served as skills minister until the role was absorbed into the remit of education secretary Gavin Williamson in the most recent reshuffle.

“It is difficult to keep track of the UK government’s constant changes, not only in the ministers but also to the portfolio,” he says. “I do my bit to have a good relationship with whoever is in post at UK level, and my job is to ensure that both Gavin Williamson and Chris Skidmore are aware that some of the decisions they make can have an impact for Scotland. There are also UK-wide issues, the single biggest example of that being Brexit, particularly the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.”

Richard Lochhead’s appointment as minister on 30 August 2018 marked his return to government after previously having served as the cabinet secretary for rural affairs, food and environment from 2007 to 2016.

“It has been an exciting roller coaster of a ride and I have really had my eyes opened visiting our colleges, meeting staff and students and getting to grips with the huge contribution that FE makes to Scotland as well as the big issues we face to address going forward.”

But, inevitably, he says that the last year has been dominated by “the Brexit chaos, which is affecting all levels of tertiary education”.

“In terms of my impression gained from my first year, we seem to be at a crossroads and the challenge is to decide which road to take,” he says. “The fast-changing economy, the issues generated by Brexit, financial issues, our ageing population and demographic changes, and the impact of digitisation are all enormous issues in their own right.

“I think there is a growing concern that we now have to consider how to ensure FE is more flexible and more suited to the ever-changing needs of learners and employers. Every event I attend, every speech I give or hear is centred around the same themes. We have to harness that consensus and decide what interventions government can make to help the sector adapt to the future.”

‘Down to goodwill’

So what areas do colleges need to improve on? While some colleges work closely with schools, universities and employers, Lochhead says that performance in this area is “a bit patchy”. 

“I am here to ensure that every college is working hand in hand with employers on the one hand, and schools and universities on the other. I am considering how we formalise that a bit to make sure it is working.”

He says he has been “blown away” by some of the good practice in the sector - but stresses that this should be “the norm, rather than the exception”. He warned, however, that there was no single solution that could work in every college context. “Scotland is a diverse country so we also have to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Looking ahead

With his first year in post complete, Lochhead is now looking ahead to what challenges the next 12 months will have in store. “Year 2 will be about getting through the Brexit turmoil. Even if we stop Brexit, which I hope we do, some damage has been done already. We also have started talking about what building blocks we have to put in place for the post-2030 vision for FE and HE in Scotland, as well as ensuring we spread good practice within our sector.”

Demographic changes over the coming years, along with an ageing population and people working to an older age, means that lifelong learning is going to become even more important, says Lochhead. “The way in which we teach and learn with digitisation and the new technologies will inevitably have to change and I want us to stay ahead of that curve.” One way of achieving this is to ensure “all parts of the further and higher education sectors continue breaking out of their silos and keep on blurring the boundaries for the benefits of learners”.

The pace of change

But some of the changes that will be needed could well be radical, Lochhead insists.

“My challenge to the sector will be, ‘help the government decide what the priorities are and what to tackle first’. If the college in 2030 is going to be radically different to the college in 2019, we need to manage that change and we together need to decide the priorities and the order of priorities.”

But when it comes to the overall direction of travel, Lochhead is broadly satisfied. And he even goes so far as to suggest that, having met a number of students who have actively chosen to study at college instead of university, the age-old goal of “parity of esteem” for FE is getting ever closer. “We are making good progress on that,” he adds.