GR Direct - Winter Sale 2024
Friday 8 November 2024
 10.6°C   S Moderate Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Education / Union devastated after UHI Shetland confirms job losses

THE UNION representing lecturers at UHI Shetland have described the loss of 13 jobs through voluntary redundancies as “devastating”.

Responding to the news that the college had more or less achieved its savings target of £2 million, the EIS-FELA union said the loss of almost 150 years of lecturing experience from further and higher education in Shetland was “irreplaceable”.

In an interview with Shetland News on Thursday, UHI Shetland principle Jane Lewis confirmed that there would be no compulsory redundancies, while two departments would merge into one new section, the community learning centres would close, and a number of courses would be removed.

More details in the link below: 

UHI Shetland to lose 13 staff as budget cuts are made

EIS-FELA branch secretary Andrew Anderson also doubted the number of students affected by the changes. “The job cuts are devasting with almost 150 years of lecturing experience and skills being lost to Shetland – this is irreplaceable,” he said.

“We are very concerned with the statement that only a relatively small number of students, around 40, would be affected by the changes – for the learning centres alone the number is 80 and on top of that you have the administration, accounting, business, ESOL, maths and skills for work courses that have been lost.

“We agree the funding model for colleges should be reviewed but the chronic under funding of colleges also needs to be looked at and college principals and college boards can play a crucial role in putting pressure on the Scottish Government to do this – this could be done without the need for waiting on the first minister to visit Shetland.

“It is ironic that the distant islands allowance has only become an issue since we were taken out of local authority control and effectively privatised”.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.