It’s tempting when someone proposes a shiny new policy idea to find all of the things wrong with it, get defensive and undermine it.
That was, I must admit, my instinctive reaction to the idea of two elite technical colleges in the north, a Voxbridge coupling to match the ancient dreaming spires of learning and wealth, Oxford and Cambridge.
Those two universities have a combined wealth of over £21 billion and over 800 years of history.
If Voxbridge was funded like that, it would be an interesting proposition but that feels unlikely.
So, in a sector of 221 colleges turning over about £7 billion, it’s pretty easy to dismiss the Voxbridge idea as superficial click bait. It appears to be another proposal to instantly solve the problem of technical education in this country with new institutions rather than with the funding, respect and support that FE colleges have been starved of for too long.
Finding the Positives
There’s a seductive and cathartic release in setting out all the flaws in a policy idea, but if you work hard, it often pays to get behind the thinking and intentions of an idea like this.
I’m speculating now, but I presume there are a number of drivers of the idea and some of them fit into the FE sector’s view of the world.
Presumably, the creators of the Voxbridge proposal wanted to raise the profile and prestige of technical education and skills, to see more investment and to support excellence.
Their proposal also focuses on the need for more people to study at Levels 4 and 5, in the technical disciplines which our labour market is lacking, with employers supporting and partnering.
Is Voxbridge Feasible?
If that’s all about right, then we can work with that; even if plonking two new colleges somewhere in the north is simply unfeasible.
Unfeasible because we already have 55 general FE colleges in the north, all delivering high quality technical education and ripe for investment.
They are spread far and wide, with sites in every city and in most sizeable towns, they are locally accessible - although better and cheaper public transport would help with that - and the vast majority are Ofsted good or outstanding.
They have been subject to swingeing funding cuts over the last 12 years and to cope they have squeezed wages, cut back every possible bit of fat and are starting to gnaw on the bones of what they do due to energy cost increases.
The existing colleges all show excellence in what they do – a thorough reading of Ofsted reports shows that colleges judged as good nearly always have jewels of excellence. The average college has around 1,000 employer relationships and student satisfaction easily matches the best of Oxbridge.
Invest in Existing FE Colleges of the North
Investing more in those colleges would have a quicker and more profound impact than starting something new.
It could build on their specialisms, employer partnerships and excellence, develop pathways for students, bring in new equipment and improve lecturer pay and CPD.
Importantly, it could also support growth in the Level 4 and 5 learning opportunities that will help fill skills shortages and improve productivity.
Building on Wider Policies
All of this would build on the Government’s existing policies – T Levels, apprenticeships, boot camps, Higher Technical Qualifications, Lifetime Skills Guarantee, Lifetime Loan Entitlement.
Trusting colleges to deliver all of that with streamlined funding and regulation, higher funding rates and more capital investment are all simple steps that would make a long term and profound impact on prestige, profile and delivery of skills for productivity and economic growth.
A Springboard for Radically New Policies
There's nothing very radical, sexy or new in any of that, of course.
So, how about investing in residential accommodation for college students so that they can live near the college with the specialism they want to study?
This could be part of the solution for how to give 16 to 19 year olds the full range of T Levels by helping them live away from home when they do their 45 day industry placement.
It could help make technical education at Levels 3, 4 and 5 more attractive and more akin to the experience young people get for their undergraduate degrees.
And it might even reduce the numbers opting for a full three-year residential degree because they get to live away from home and grow up a bit whilst getting the learning they need for good jobs and pathways in work to higher level skills, promotions and pay.
Not as exciting as the Voxbridge idea but it would go with the grain of current policy, build on institutions we know are working and could be started now with quick results.
All it needs is some trust and belief in colleges and a modest investment to follow.
David Hughes is the Chief Executive at the Association of Colleges