Education / Local UHI chief among names signing letter to PM encouraging investment in colleges
THE PRINCIPAL and CEO of UHI Shetland has added her name to a letter sent to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer urging the government to invest in colleges.
The letter has been signed by college principals across the UK, including UHI Shetland’s Professor Jane Lewis.
Although education and skills is a devolved policy area, the letter says that investment in the sector in the UK Government’s upcoming spending review will be a “powerful statement of intent, and equip devolved administrations with the funding they need to resource colleges”.
“Those of us in the devolved nations are similarly calling on our national governments to respond to the spending review with an absolute commitment to further education and skills so that renewed growth and opportunities truly do benefit us all,” the letter added.
The letter has been organised by the Association of Colleges, ColegauCymru/Colleges Wales, Colleges Scotland, and the further education colleges in Northern Ireland.
Dr Graeme Jackson, interim CEO of Colleges Scotland, said: “Scotland’s colleges provide both further and higher education, and are vital to delivering economic growth and opportunity, not just in Scotland but across the UK and internationally. Scotland’s colleges are training talented people for key sectors which are important to the whole of the UK, including energy, construction, and digital, helping to lift people out of poverty and supporting communities.
“While most funding comes from the Scottish Government, the Prime Minister must also back Scotland’s colleges if UK wide goals are to be met.
“With the right investment, colleges can do even more to build a stronger, fairer economy.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to present a spending review to parliament on 11 June.
Funding has been an issue of concern for UHI Shetland in recent years.
Professor Lewis said back in 2023 that the current funding model for the university and colleges sector in Scotland disadvantages smaller rural and island colleges.
The following year a number of staff left the organisation via a voluntary severance scheme as part of a wider restructuring process to save around £2 million over two years.
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