WAG Demonstration and Lobby

Photographs

 

Beverley's Speech

Here is the full text of Beverley Wilson-Smith's speech:

"This is the first time in its history that the members of the managers and leaders' union ACM have come out onto the streets to demonstrate and show unity.  It is probably the only occasion where the views of college leaders, managers, lecturers, support staff and importantly our learners are aligned and one.  This action has been necessary because our politicians in Wales will not listen to reason; they are not making decisions in a way that will clearly benefit the economy of Wales in the longer term.

"So, we join the other unions here today to lend our voice to ask the Welsh assembly government ‘not to target and attack’ the further education sector  and to revoke the decisions  which have been made without consultation with those who are best placed to advise the Assembly – the college leadership and the communities they serve.  The consequences of such decisions in terms of the funding settlements will exacerbate and seriously hamper the recovery of the Welsh economy. This impacts the very sector that can support the people in the communities of Wales and prepare the workforce to help the country move out of this recession. The sector that can provide people with a second chance and a better future!.
 
"Colleges have responded positively to the policies of the Welsh Assembly Government. They have made significant improvements in the delivery of work-based learning. Colleges have been at the forefront of delivering adult community learning, forging partnerships with schools and local learning networks, all in the spirit requested of them by DCELLS and its transformation policies. Colleges have also supported and responded to the Welsh Assembly Government’s agenda of widening participation. They recognise the importance of opening opportunities to the socially disadvantaged and to those who may have left schools with few if any qualifications.                     
All this illustrates the responsiveness of the further education sector.

"Whilst the DCELLS education budget has been increased by 6% for next year, FE   is seeing a cut in funding of 7.5%. This means that the total cuts to be sustained by 14 out of the 23 colleges in Wales, representing £3.5 million or 50% of the total £7 million cuts will directly impact provision in three colleges in South West Wales. This must be grossly unfair. This is the very sector that can respond to the needs of those who need to be retrained, this is the sector that has done everything that WAG has asked it to, so why is this sector being singled out and why is South West Wales bearing the brunt of these funding cuts?  Is it because we are seen as the sector with no strong political friends, or because we are seen as the Cinderella of education perhaps? This is an area which faces the significant effects of this recession where re-training is crucial for Wales’ economic survival. 

"Well sometimes you have to choose between doing what is easy and what is right. We are asking the Welsh Assembly Government to do what is right. Support the sector that has delivered on all the policies required of it. Support the sector with a high quality profile. Support the sector that you can trust to train people in the communities in Wales to help bring us out of this recession.

"Further Education as a whole sector want to play a real part in doing everything we can to support people especially through this tough time and help them prepare for the economic upturn when it comes.

"We should not make the same mistakes of the past. The new initiatives of Proact and React are not the panacea – small businesses will not access this money readily and therefore not receive the benefits they are expected to reap.  These decisions to direct funds from further education to other initiatives are creating more bureaucracy than necessary – we have been here before and come full circle – why have we not learnt from mistakes of initiatives like this from the past –  this is a question I would ask?. 

"We ask you to reverse the reduction of 7.5% in funding and reverse it quickly – over 100 redundancies have already been announced in colleges in South West Wales as they plan their education and training provision for the next academic year in line with the funding cuts.  More jobs will be lost in further education and there will not be the qualified teaching and training workforce to pick up the pieces to react to the training needs of the welsh economy. This will be a serious error of judgement and  I think the Assembly will come to regret, if action is not taken now.

"The Skills Secretary John Denham recently announced a £500m package for colleges in England to help people affected by the economic downturn, we want a similar initiative in Wales. 
Simply we say -investment in the long-term future of our people and our economy   – Believe in Further Education in Wales, Believe in EDUCATION."