Latest news with #Nescol
Press and Journal
16-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Exclusive: Joint plea to government reveals north-east ambition 'stifled' by missing £30 million
The future health of the north-east economy is being put at risk by a lack of funding from politicians in Edinburgh, according to a wake-up call warning from leading figures. The direct plea – in a joint letter to the SNP Government – comes as training providers and employers grapple with a looming crisis for the future workforce unless opportunities are unlocked in new industries. Among the signatories is Neil Cowie, principal of the Nescol college – with bases in Aberdeen, Peterhead and Fraserburgh – which is having to turn potential students away due to a lack of available places. The college calculates it has been underfunded by around £30m over a decade. The letter, seen by the P&J, states: 'What might we have done, how many lives could we have changed, with an additional £30m over the past decade? 'How many futures can we transform in the years ahead if we are funded appropriately?' It adds: 'There is huge ambition in this corner of the country that you know so well, matched by powerful and effective collaboration. We have a wealth of great opportunities and a vision for how those can be embraced. 'Those aspirations are being stifled by a funding system that is significantly disadvantaging the people and employers of the north-east.' The appeal warns says that with the government's help thousands more people in the region will have the opportunity to pursue careers in sectors including the energy transition. Other industries that could benefit from increased college funding include life sciences, digital, hospitality, and health and social care. More than a third (35%) of all school leavers in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire chose Nescol as their next destination, underlining its importance to the region. That rises to up to 60% of school leavers in the region's priority neighbourhoods, those which fall within the most deprived. We revealed last month that Nescol's indicative budget settlement for 2025-26 shows a rise of just over 3%. They were among the colleges to push the Scottish Funding Council to change how allocations are calculated. But college chiefs say the changes 'completely ignored' a funding issue which has existed since Aberdeen College merged with Banff and Buchan College in 2013. The previously separate Fraserburgh-based college used to get a 'rurality premium' to run more courses in areas with lower numbers. But funding changes which took place the year the colleges merged means it now loses out on around £3m a year. The letter states the proposed uplift in Nescol's budget in the year ahead represents less than 0.5% of its annual turnover and will be 'vastly outstripped by growing cost pressures'. It has been signed by representatives from Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, youth employment group Developing the Young Workforce North East, energy safety and skills body Opito and charities CFine and Aberdeen Foyer. A spokeswoman for the Scottish Funding Council said the recent changes aim to address the sector's concerns about funding comparability between learners on similar courses at different colleges and 'issues of transparency'. She added: 'Nescol benefits from the change to the funding model and, taking into account the overall increase in the college teaching budget, will see an increase of 3.1% compared to a sector increase of 2.6%. 'We will continue to evolve the methodology further and are committed to engaging with the sector through this process. Nescol will see further benefits from the changes to the model as they are fully implemented over the next few years.' A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Nescol was allocated a 3.08% increase in their 2024-25 funding, higher than the sector average. 'We are aware of the vital role that Nescol has in providing education opportunities across that region and will consider the points raised in the letter to the minister and respond in due course.'
Press and Journal
30-04-2025
- General
- Press and Journal
Colin Farquhar: Why Aberdeen College is a life-saver for people like this lad from Banff who daydreamed his way through school
This may, or may not, surprise you, but I wasn't really the most attentive pupil when I was at school. A touch over twenty years ago I left Banff Academy with decent Standard Grades, but only two Higher passes and Intermediates after two years of attempts to do better. Being honest I look back on my efforts at school with quite a lot of regret – I spent far too much time mucking around and not pushing myself, daydreaming at best and being disruptive when at worst. When I was nearing the end of school, I wasn't hugely sure what I was going to do next, being slightly unprepared. But I was lucky – although my qualifications, and at the time, my level of maturity, weren't likely enough to get me into University, I was accepted to a place in what was then Aberdeen College, now Nescol, to study Media & Communication. As such, I managed to leave Banffshire with a close pal, who was also accepted on the same course and moved to Aberdeen. After two years I completed my HND and aced the final project. I am still really proud of what I achieved there. I can't think what I would have done otherwise. I can't imagine I would have followed my Dad into fishing, never having the sea-legs for it. And I don't see that I would have ended up in a trade – I was always better with a pen when it wasn't stuck inside a compass. Aberdeen College was a lifesaver for me. It meant I could leave home, learn skills and crucially spend a bit of time growing up. Eventually, it did lead me to university, where so many of my smart cookie pals from school had gone two years earlier. Now, I reflect on it as a crucial point in my life; maybe THE crucial point in my life. I met friends I still have. I found that I was good at a wider range of subjects than just English. I found direction and avoided any other more destructive paths. It has left me a huge advocate for Nescol and everything it does. It's therefore upsetting to read about funding issues at Nescol and reports that it is having to turn applicants away due to a lack of resources to deliver courses. It makes me sad – the idea that others might not be afforded the opportunity that I had at the Gallowgate campus. To have the experiences I had there, learning a broad base of subjects that really built on what I was good at, in an environment that always felt more personal than the one I later experienced at uni. One recommended Belleville Rendezvous, and I may have skipped his class to catch the last screening. Sorry, Bill. I continued to have those experiences with Nescol through my working life – to do personal licence training when I started running the bar at Belmont Cinema, or to work on the Nescol Film Festival with the Creative Industries departments when I became Cinema Manager. And as for me, it's hard to exaggerate the impact that the College has on the north-east, in training and supporting our skills base in the region. Many of those students I met during the film festival have stayed working in the creative sector in the city – and some even make feature films here now and train the next generation of creatives. So hearing of financial constraints is therefore worrying. In addition to the recently announced savings drive at Aberdeen University and the redundancies at Robert Gordon University, it paints a grim picture for the north-east's further education institutions. The education sector has faced real-term cuts for years, as the costs associated with running campuses have ramped up. At times, it feels as if the whole thing is on somewhat of a precipice. Institutions are resilient and while I'm sure Nescol and the universities will emerge from the other side of current hardships, it's hard not to think about the individuals who they may be currently unable to support due to a tightening of the purse strings. Those learners, both old and young, who might need a steer at a pivotal point in their life. Nescol especially supports a huge amount of school leavers from the immediate region – 35% of them in the city and Aberdeenshire – who perhaps need those further steps in order to find themselves before entering the workforce full-time, like I did. Many of those will have additional support needs; and come from either areas of deprivation, or areas lacking in employment opportunities, as I did. I hope that resolutions can be found with funding so that everyone who wants to go on to learn there can. I'm sure the experience will be just as important for the majority of them as it was for me. Colin Farquhar works as a creative spaces manager and film programmer in the north-east culture sector
Press and Journal
27-04-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Is the university funding crisis spreading to North East Scotland College?
The funding crisis hitting Scottish universities risks spreading to college campuses including Aberdeen, Peterhead and Fraserburgh. And while political focus is concentrated on fixing huge funding blackholes at high-profile universities, North East Scotland College principle Neil Cowie warns vital training providers like his are getting a raw deal. Students are already being turned away from a place at Nescol – which has bases across the three locations – because of a lack of funding at a time of rising demand. It is more keenly felt as the region prepares to shift away from oil, and workers try to retrain for new, renewable energy jobs. Nescol recently learned its funding will rise by just over 3% in 2025-26. Mr Cowie says that 'relatively modest uplift' will see around £240,000 added to its core teaching grant. But that proposed allocation still only covers half of the anticipated increase in costs for the college. It will take three years before the funding formula brings funding up to about £800,000 annually, thanks to a change in allocations. Mr Cowie said: 'We are naturally appreciative for any additional resource. However, our campaign for fairer funding is not at an end. 'Our unique catchment area, covering more than 2,500 square miles and with large city campuses as well as rural campuses in Fraserburgh and at the Scottish Maritime Academy, is not reflected in the approach to funding. 'Even with the welcome changes announced last week, we remain underfunded in comparison with large urban colleges. 'In comparison with small rural colleges, we remain significantly underfunded. 'Consequently, Nescol and our region will remain disadvantaged.' Mr Cowie warns demand continues to grow at the same time as the college suffers from a 'lack of investment by the Scottish Government'. The college boss warned in February how the college was having to 'turn people away'. He added: 'We are being asked by the UK and Scottish governments to support a just transition towards a low carbon future for the north-east. 'The reality of the current funding arrangements is we are given no additional support to meet those ambitions as part of our core teaching grant. 'Instead we have faced a succession of real-terms cuts.' More than a third (35%) of all school leavers in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire chose Nescol as their next destination, underlining its importance to the region. That rises to up to 60% of school leavers in the region's priority neighbourhoods, those which fall within the most deprived. It is one of the largest providers of vocational education and training in Scotland, delivering courses to more than 20,000 full-time, part-time and distance learning students each year. The college operates from its main Aberdeen Altens, Aberdeen City and Fraserburgh campuses as well as the Scottish Maritime Academy in Peterhead and caters for around 6,000 full-time students each year. Nescol is among the colleges who pushed the Scottish Funding Council to change how allocations are calculated, claiming to have lost 'millions' of pounds previously. The pressure led to a change for next year which Mr Cowie says will help Nescol make up some lost ground. We previously detailed how the college lost millions intended to support rural communities since a funding model was introduced when Aberdeen College merged with Banff and Buchan College in 2013. The previously separate Fraserburgh-based college used to get a 'rurality premium' to run more courses in areas with lower numbers. Those changes resulted in the loss of around £3m every year. A funding council spokeswoman said recent changes were made after requests to address 'issues of transparency and comparability' between learners on similar courses at different colleges. She added: 'This provides allocations based on updated profiles of activity using data provided by colleges and moves to addressing historical inequities in funding. 'Our approach has received support from many colleges across the sector.' A Scottish Government spokesman said SFC's indicative allocations provide the sector with a 2.6% increase in teaching funding compared with last year. He added: 'Colleges called for greater transparency and the ability to compare funding for students on similar courses across institutions, and the SFC has been able to meet that ask.'
