a vision booklet layout 1 - napdfurther education institutions occupy a space between secondary and...

By the Further Education CommitteeNational Association of Principals and Deputy Principals

A Vision for Further Education & TrainingA Vision for Further Education & Training

Realising OpportunitiesRealising Opportunities

NAPDPRINCIPALS AND DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

Realising Opportunities

2

AcknowledgmentsNAPD acknowledges the support of the Teacher Education section of An RoinnOideachais agus Scileanna and of Allianz Insurance for the Further EducationConference, 2014, and for the production of this publication. NAPD wishes toacknowledge the engagement of many stakeholders throughout the preparation ofthis vision document. This engagement has happened through meetings andconversations, and through the attendance of many different stakeholders at NAPDconference events. Those who have contributed to the debate include: NAPDmembers, NAPD member post-primary schools’ and FE colleges’ staff, ETBI (IVEA),IBEC, IOTI, SOLAS and QQI

This publication would not have been possible without the patience and hard workof the team at CRM, the encouragement of NAPD Director, Clive Byrne, thededication and enthusiasm of the Further Education Sub-Committee.

Further Education Sub-CommitteeMaureen Conway

David Forde

Geraldine Gibbons

Redmond Jennings

Anne Joyce

Ann Marie Lacey [Chair]

Mary Leahy

Ger Looney

Willie McAuliffe

Mary Madden

Pat Maunsell

Gerard Morgan

Markita Mulvey

Cecilia Munro

Barry O’Callaghan

John O’Donovan

Rory O’Sullivan

Ray Tedders

Designed by Derek West and Mark Daniel

Printed by CRM Design & Print, Walkinstown, Dublin 12


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Contents

Acknowledgements 2

Foreword by Professor Gareth Parry 5

A Word from the President, Pádraig Flanagan 7

Executive Summary 9

Introduction 13

Section One: Learner Opportunities, Experiences and Outcomes 17

The Irish Education System 24

Section Two: Partnerships 27

Section Three: The Future Model for FE Colleges 35

Conclusion 43

Bibliography 46

Page


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Foreword

Worldwide, Further Education (FE) colleges areassuming a key role in the lifelong learning ofyoung people and adults. Some are well-established, as inthe Community College systems of North America or thevocational and further education sectors of Europe andAustralasia. Others, such as Ireland, have come into view more recently and as part of awider reform strategy.

Further Education institutions occupy a space between secondary and higher education.This position used to be considered ambiguous or marginal. Today, going to college is apopular undertaking, leading to employment and higher qualifications as well ascontinuing education and workforce development. Everywhere, the goals are botheconomic and social. These are local institutions engaging with national and globalagendas.

For governments and for colleges there are key questions to be debated. The first relatesto the balance between vocational, academic and general education. The second is aboutthe merits of multiple and specialist missions. The third centres on whether economiesof scale are compatible with a personal pedagogy. The fourth is how to pursueresponsiveness and retain organisational and educational coherence, and the finalquestion is how collaboration can be a partnership, not subordination.

These are dilemmas in all systems. Yet they do not prevent colleges from taking a largershare of the new demand for education and training, from the economy and from society.Arguments for a college education have always to be made and remade in contexts ofchange and uncertainty.

Professor Gareth ParryUniversity of Sheffield

April 2014


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A Wordfrom thePresident

The NAPD represents principals and deputyprincipals working in the post-primary and furthereducation sectors in Ireland. It has been in existence forover 15 years and comprises an Executive Committee andnine Regional Branches, as well as a range of sub-committeesworking on specific areas of education. The Further Education Sub-Committee is onesuch sub-committee, and it works tirelessly to raise the profile of this sector at local andnational level.

I wish to commend the Further Education Sub-Committee on the publication of thisvision document. The ideas and initiatives it articulates will make a significantcontribution to debate and help to transform the further education sector at this pivotaltime. The various stakeholders, including FE Colleges, SOLAS, the ETBs and INTREO,have a common aim, which is to improve access to and outcomes from further educationand training programmes for a diverse range of students. This document sets out thecapacity of the FE colleges to help realise that aim, while highlighting a number of keyissues that should be considered.

NAPD will continue to work together with all stakeholders to maximise the very realopportunity for transformation of the further education and training sector at this time.The Further Education Sub-Committee can be assured of my continued support asPresident of NAPD and the support of the National Executive in this endeavour.

Bail ó Dhia ar an obair.

Pádraig FlanaganPresident NAPD

April 2014


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ExecutiveSummary

In the preparation of this document,NAPD has engaged in extensiveconsultation with its members, teachersand learners within the FE sector, highereducation institutions, governmentagencies, employers and employerbodies, as well as other traditional andnon-traditional education providers at alllevels of the national framework. Theviews expressed by these various sectorsare distilled into three categories asfollows: learner opportunities,experiences and outcomes; partnerships;and lastly a proposed future model forFurther Education colleges.

The establishment of SOLAS, the ETBsand INTREO represents a significantstreamlining of the further education andtraining sector, and offers the potentialto enhance experiences and opportunitiesfor learners. This vision document setsout how FE colleges working within theFET sector – at present referred to as PostLeaving Certificate (PLC) colleges –propose to address the challenges andrealise the opportunities for learnersinherent in the new FET sector. FEcolleges can and will play a pivotal role incontributing to Ireland’s economicrecovery and enhancing opportunities forall stakeholders.

The main themes and proposals that

have emerged can be summarised asfollows:

Current provision at Levels 1 to 6 isdiverse and dispersed: entry andprogression pathways are not alwaysclear to prospective learners. To bringstructure, economies of scale and joined-up-thinking to the sector, and to providea transparent and streamlined service tolearners, FE colleges can be the centralhub from which all provision is delivered.This delivery can be by collegesthemselves, and in partnership/outreachmodels with other providers wheregeographic access requires FE provisionin non-college centres.

FE colleges are ideally placed to supportthe ETBs in meeting their expanded remitin the provision of training. Many FEcolleges already offer learners acurriculum that includes several trades-related disciplines. This is an idealopportunity to consolidate and build onthe capacity of the FE colleges so thattraining can be delivered seamlessly fromthese established and recognisededucation centres within the variousETBs. Rather than continuing withdiscrete pillars of provision, FE collegesseek to integrate and build upon theexperience that training provision bringsto the new FET sector.


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The current funding model needs tochange to allow colleges meet these aims.In addition to full-time provision, NAPDproposes that funding should beextended to encompass the delivery offlexible, tailored education and trainingprogrammes of varying duration anddelivery modes in order to meet the needsof a wider target audience and to supportINTREO in its efforts to get people backinto the labour market.

Structural reform of the FET sector isunderway and with it must come reformof the operational structures for FEcolleges. Currently funded andadministered under the secondary schoolmodel, FE colleges have evolved withinthe confines of this structure. A new,more flexible model must be designed inorder to allow the colleges to meet theneeds of all learners. This will involve therevision of the current operational modelto allow greater flexibility ofmanagement, administration, deliveryand assessment roles within the FEcollege sector in order to enhance thelearner experience and outcomes.

FETAC certification (now awarded byQQI) is well recognised by highereducation institutions as well as by themajority of employers in Ireland, but at atime of increased international labourforce mobility, it is essential to equiplearners with certification that isrecognised by their particular sector, bothwithin and beyond Ireland. FE collegesadvocate the provision of recognisedqualifications from a wider range ofawarding bodies and professionalassociations, such as ITEC, BTEC, City &Guilds, CIDESCO, Cisco, CPA, etc.

FE colleges have demonstrated theircapacity to work in partnership with arange of stakeholders, including higher

education institutions, employers,government agencies, community andvoluntary groups, as well as othertraditional and non-traditional educationproviders. Each year, this partnershipmodel, and the existence of suchestablished networks, benefits manylearners who progress to highereducation, accessing opportunities thathad previously been out of their reach.Colleges are committed to ongoingdiscussion with HEIs in the evolution ofproductive progression opportunities forall learners.

FE colleges wish to build upon the workexperience/placement components thatare integral to most full-time FEprogrammes, and develop genuinepathways for work-based learning. They are keenly aware of the diversity of learner, employer and otherstakeholder needs, and seek theoperational transformation and fundingflexibility to offer variable mode ofdelivery for qualifications, includingonline, blended and work-based modesas well as traditional full-time and part-time provision. FE Colleges arewell-placed to assist ETBs in thedevelopment of coherent employer-engagement programmes, with matchinghigh-quality training.

Colleges envision a landscape where FEcolleges, as ETB education hubs, willdeliver the following programmes on ayear-round basis:

l Full-time, part-time, blended anddistance/online academic andvocational programmes forprogression to further or highereducation, and to work

l Work-based learning, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship


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programmes for learners at all levels,whether on a full-time, part-time,blended or distance/online basis

l Higher education programmes inpartnership with Institutes ofTechnology, particularly NFQprogressive, terraced pathways, witha particular focus on work-based andblended provision

l Entrepreneurial education andbusiness incubation

l Short courses tailored to specifictarget groups or designed to addressspecific skills

l Access programmes for schoolleavers and non-traditional learners

l CPD programmes for localbusinesses and state agencies

l Commercial training services

FE colleges have a ready track-record ofbuilding on the synergies of diversitywithin existing provision. Colleges seeksector-specific operational protocols andfunding models in order to meet theseand many other opportunities to enhanceprovision for learners. Colleges are keenlyaware of the limitations of their currentconditions, and are committed todeveloping an enhanced, fit-for-purposeFET sector. Colleges will contribute to thesuccessful delivery of various governmentinitiatives, including its Action Plan for Jobs,Pathways to Work Youth Guarantee Schemeand national education strategies. Indoing so, colleges are equally determinedto preserve those aspects of their workthat are of greatest value, that being, aproven track-record of quality delivery, acommitment to meeting the needs of alllearners, a commitment to productivepartnerships, and a belief in thetransformational opportunities affordedto learners by a college experience.


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Introduction

The National Association ofPrincipals and Deputy Principals(NAPD) welcomes the development andrecognition of the Irish Further Educationand Training (FET) sector and inparticular the establishment of SOLAS,the ETBs and INTREO as vehicles thatwill provide for the significantenhancement of further education andtraining experiences and opportunitiesfor learners.

NAPD’s vision is to create anenvironment where the number oflearners availing of FET will increase andto provide purposeful up-skilling andprogression for learners, thus reflecting adetermination to support the meeting ofjob creation targets. FE colleges areideally positioned to assist thegovernment in meeting projected targetsfor education and training by 2020 andbeyond. The Expert Group for FutureSkills Needs (EGFSN 2012)1 identified avision to increase the educationalattainment level of 500,000 people byone level on the NFQ by 2020.

FE colleges are confident that theirprovision, and its expansion, can supportSOLAS to achieve outstanding results in

meeting FET targets and demonstrateexcellent value for money. Even in difficulteconomic times, colleges have a verifiablerecord of establishing new and innovativeprogrammes, underpinned by soundeducational practices and rigorousQuality Assurance (QA) procedures.Colleges have good grounds forconfidence as they face the challengesand opportunities of change anddevelopment. Colleges have outstandingstrengths on which to build, and thecollege network represents a significantexisting government investment in talent,knowledge, creative and physicalresources and infrastructure, which isdistributed throughout the country.

The EGFSN places an emphasis on thevalue of education and training inaligning skills with the needs ofenterprise. In order to re-enter the labourmarket and secure long-termemployment, the working-age populationneeds to be continuously retrained, up-skilled and educated. In order to achieveeducational and training targets for2020, as specified in the EGFSN2 report,the following must be achieved:

1 Forfás (2102)2 Ibid


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l 48% of the labour force to bequalified at Levels 6 to 10 on the NFQ

l 45% of the labour force to bequalified at Levels 4 and 5

l 7% to be educated at Levels 1 to 3

The EGFSN report highlights that actionmust be taken in the following way inorder to achieve these objectives at anumber of levels. An additional 500,000individuals within the workforce will needto progress by at least one level on theNFQ, as follows:

l An additional 260,000 will have toprogress to Levels 4 and 5

l An additional 170,000 will have toprogress to at Levels 6 to 10

l The progression rate to Third Levelwill also have to increase from 55%to 72%

Colleges are committed to dynamicpartnerships with business andemployers, enterprise and industry, HEIsand awarding bodies to develop new andexciting pathways for work-basedlearning, training and certification tomeet these worthy and ambitious targets.

The establishment of SOLAS and theETBs provides the ideal platform forstreamlined provision. Colleges respectand value the work of other providerswithin the FE landscape, in particularthose in Community Education, Second-Chance Education (e.g., Youthreach,VTOS), specialist providers andtraining/development organisations.Colleges seek to enhance partnershipmodels with these organisations,providing support as identifiable hubsthat are accessible to the widest range oflearners. Colleges are committed toilluminating genuine progression

opportunities for learners throughpartnership with INTREO and ETB-basedInformation, Advice and Guidance (IAG)services. Colleges recognise the need fordiversity in provision and the need tosupport local access through small-scaleFE provision within other institutions(particularly rural secondary schools).They have the capacity to support specificprovision with these partners, offeringquality assurance and structural backupto local delivery.

Colleges are recognised local andregional hubs in the FET landscape. Theyhave the capacity to broaden access tofurther education and training throughestablished high-quality educationcentres. Colleges are in a position toadapt rapidly to the changing local,regional and national skills needs.

The FE college network has many keyadvantages, including their:

l landmark institutional presence,embedded within ETBs

l immediately identifiable access-points for learners, employers andother stakeholders for full-time andpart-time provision at NFQ Levels 5and 6

l significant existing nationalinvestment in talent, knowledge,creative and physical resources andinfrastructure

l existing strategic partnerships withlearners, their communities,employers, local industry and otherproviders

l outstanding track-record ofresponsive, high quality andprogressive provision, with capacityand ambition to expand throughrigorous QA policies and procedures


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l pivotal relationship between post-primary and higher education sectors

The achievements of colleges in Irelandare considerable and a testimony to thecreativity and dedication of the formerVEC structure (now ETBs), staff andlearners. The challenge now for collegesis one of reinvention, as well as a timelyand appropriate revision of basicpractical matters such as resourcing andoperational models. Change has mostrecently been prompted by economiccircumstances and the emergence ofpolicy for FET. FE colleges have howeverlong sought for recognition, appropriateoperational models and fundingmechanisms, and this formed a keyfinding of the 2003 McIver ConsultingReport of the Steering Group to the PLC Reviewestablished by the Department of Educationand Science (commonly known as TheMcIver Report). It will be through thecreativity and ingenuity of college staff,with the support of ETBs, that collegescan achieve this change. To achieve thisvision, colleges affiliated to the NAPDnetwork engage and work in partnershipwith representatives of many stakeholdergroups to ensure relevance and purposeof their education and training offering.College provision is marked by resilience,

responsiveness and innovation, often inchallenging circumstances. Colleges havedeveloped a very significant role in theeducation landscape, providing career-specific certification for many sectors,including some that are not representedelsewhere. They also provide importantalternative progression pathways to thirdlevel for school leavers, mature, returninglearners and non-traditional learners.

Colleges can meet the challenges andopportunities of this exciting new era inIrish FET, and they have a clear vision ofthe significant transformation that isrequired. NAPD has developed this visionin the following strategic areas:

SECTION 1 – Learner Opportunities, Experiences and Outcomes

SECTION 2 – Partnerships

SECTION 3 – The Future Model for Further Education Colleges

A NOTE ON THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The photographs used in this report have been sourced from NAPD member schools and collegesoffering FE / PLC courses. They represent a broad sweep of activities across an ever widening range ofcourses, currently available to learners, from school leavers to older adults returning to education.

The sector has pioneered education provision in areas such as childcare, science & pharmacy, e-commerce, web design & multimedia, design and animation, sport, leisure & tourism to mentionbut a few. Consistently, the top ten international standard classification of education (ISCED) areasinto which courses can be classified account for some 70% of total PLC enrolment.

All of this … from humble beginnings in 1985, opening opportunities way beyond what was narrowlyavailable at that time in ‘traditional’ areas such as business and construction studies and significantlywidening the choice on offer to learners.


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Section

1LEARNER OPPORTUNITIES,EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES

3 DES (2013a)

Colleges offer a tangible, physicalpresence in their communitiesand are well placed to support accessfor learners and other stakeholders.Further education and trainingprovision is inherently diverse and canhappen in many contexts, all to theadvantage of participants, but this verydiversity can present challenges to thoseseeking to access opportunities.Colleges have the capacity to constitutea comprehensible and navigable accesspoint to FET opportunities, both intheir own immediate provision andthrough partnership with otherstakeholders. NAPD’s view is that anyindividual or organisation who seeks toengage with FET should findopportunities to participate, shouldexperience success and should befacilitated to progress. Colleges alreadyprovide this regional presence andaccess for learners and otherstakeholders.

Colleges place the learner at the centre ofall activities, supporting individualsthrough their course, helping them toachieve their qualifications, and advisingand guiding them on progression tofurther or higher education and to

employment. Colleges fulfil the followingcore functions. They:

l contribute to social equity byopening up educationalopportunities for learners regardlessof their economic means

l meet labour market needs byproviding vocational education forentrants to the jobs market

l provide important routes andpathways to higher education thatmight otherwise be under-developed,particularly for non-traditionallearners and for those withdisabilities

l combine the values of education forboth job entry and further/higherprogression – learning for jobs andlearning for life

Learners are supported to make informedcourse choices that suit their needs andtheir individual learning outcomes,whether academic, vocational orpersonal. Examples of those needs arelisted below. This list is by no meansexhaustive, but it is an indication of why35,524 learners choose to enrol in full-time FE-PLC courses in 2012/20133.


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Developing life skills, basic skills, Personal Personal Developmentkey skills and wider key skills Preparation for the World of Work

Preparation for participating in Personal Progression to Further Educationfurther education Academic Preparation for the World of Work

Vocational

Gaining certification (either Personal Progressionthrough RPL or participation Academic World of Workin programme) Vocational

Progression to higher education Personal ProgressionAcademic

Acquiring specific Personal World of Workvocational skills Vocational

Up-skilling or re-skilling Personal World of Workfollowing unemployment or Academicabsence from labour market Vocational

Personal development or leisure Personal Personal Development

Individual Learning Need Value Focus Learning Outcome Area

4 O’Sullivan (2013)

A Profile of College LearnersCollege learners are diverse in theirbackground, age, needs, basic and widerkey skills and general educationalattainment. Colleges have greatexperience of supporting learners whopresent diverse qualification and learningprofiles, support needs, and both short-and long-term ambitions. The sector hasevolved to educate and train learnersacademically, vocationally and personallythroughout their further education andtraining experience. The following aresome general characteristics of collegeparticipants4:

l They are typically of lower socio-economic status than HE learners

l They have relatively high levels ofmanual skills backgrounds

l Higher levels of participants come toFE with no prior qualifications

l Over 40% of students come directlyfrom Leaving Certificate

l 50-60% are aged over 21 years at thestart of a programme

l 33% are in receipt of a means-testedPLC grant

l 66% are exempt from the €200 PLCcharge (exemption based on receiptof medical card, receipt of socialwelfare or PLC grant)


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5 DES (2013a)6 Forfás (2012)

School Leavers - 65%(with


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7 Forfás (2012)8 Ibid

l Return to education as a maturelearner, having completed a LeavingCertificate and wishing to progressup the ladder of qualifications

l Wish to up-skill or re-skill, typicallyfor re-employment

l Wish to develop specific vocationalskills

Provision to meet Learners’needsWhilst colleges hold that their core full-time provision serves an established need– training for specific vocational skills inpreparation for work, and progressionpathways to Higher Education – thesector seeks greater flexibility indeveloping and aligning vocational andacademic content to meet as broad arange of learner-focused outcomes aspossible. Colleges see a dynamicalignment between long-term andimmediate labour-market needs andlearner progression.

Colleges are committed to provision thatenhances skills and competenciesthrough participation on core full-timeprovision, in particular on programmeswith a specific occupational employmentor employability skills focus7. To this end,colleges continuously participate innational, co-operative programme-development (for example, through ETBIprogramme-writing), as well as labour-market justification for course approval.Colleges are limited only by the confinesof having to operate under the current,traditional model of resourcing andoperations that applies to the post-primary sector. More dynamic and

responsive core full-time provision ispossible and desirable, but this requiresfunding and operational transformation.

Colleges are keenly aware of the need forcourses ‘to demonstrate where they cantake a learner to’8. Within the existingprovision, QQI/FETAC awards aresupported by the Department ofEducation and Skills (DES) as thepreferred award for further education.Such awards have become established asa convincing ‘brand’ that is understoodby learners and other stakeholders.Colleges are committed to thecontinuous development of these awardsand are actively engaged in their ongoingrevision as a national project.Engagement in this process ensures thatthese qualifications continue to meet theneeds of the established learner cohort,particularly in terms of those skills andcompetencies that are required forprogression to employment orfurther/higher education and training.

In less than thirty years, QQI/FETAC, theformer VECs and colleges have workedwith what was a largely self-certifiedprovision to create a respected andvalued suite of qualifications that hasnational and international currency for allstakeholders. Nonetheless, colleges areaware of the need for dynamic andflexible qualification development thatresponds to the requirements ofemployers and progression. In addition,colleges seek to broker the closeinvolvement of business and enterprise inqualification design and programmedelivery.

Colleges recognise that the delivery ofqualifications from different awarding


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9 QQI (2013)10 Forfás (2012)11 EGFSN (2011)12 Forfás (2012)

bodies is in the best interest of learners,particularly in cases where tradeorganisations and employers have astated preference for internationallyrecognised qualifications (for example,ITEC, CIBTAC, BTEC, City and Guilds,etc.). The establishment of QQI promisesthe possibility of assessment of variousqualification types, includinginternational awards, and their alignmentto the NFQ9. Colleges welcome theflexibility this could afford. However arevision of funding structures remains arequirement to enable delivery.

Learner PassportsThe qualifications that underpin corefull-time provision in colleges includegeneric skills and competencies that aretransferrable and have potential toenhance employability (communications,team-working, personal effectiveness,etc.), as well as the specific occupationalskills that are inherent in vocationalprogrammes. Colleges recognise goodpractice in this and see great potential toformulate a qualification suite of coreskills and competencies that couldunderpin all qualifications. Variouslycalled ‘Key-Skills’ or ‘Wider Key-Skills’ inother FET systems, these commonawards should be grouped as a suite thatis transferrable and progressive betweenprogrammes.

Similarly the CAS and the NQF have thepotential to allow for individualised‘Learning Profiles’ for learners, affordingRecognition of Prior Learning (RPL) inboth generic and vocationally-specificareas, which would allow colleges provide

‘a highly targeted approach that profileslearner needs and existingcompetencies.’10

By eliminating the unnecessary teachingof skills and competencies that learnersalready possess, greater focus can begiven to actual identified areas of need,both those personally required by thelearner, and those needed foremployment and progression. Collegesshare the view that programmes shouldfacilitate ‘assessment forcredit/exemptions from modules.’11

Learning Passports have the potential toenhance learners’ awareness of thespecific areas of development that theymight need to address in order toprogress to work or higher education. Inturn, this can enable the resourcesrequired for delivery to be focused, andclarify the learner’s achievements forpotential employers or for entrance toprogrammes leading to higherqualifications. Colleges are committed toensuring that their programmes clearlycommunicate programme outcomes interms of ‘what is achieved and ...potential pathways’ for progression12. Areassessment of the funding andoperational structures applicable tocolleges is required, as well as thenational development of an efficient andequitable system to record andcommunicate RPL through individualLearning Passports.

Quality and Outcomes Colleges are committed to continuousimprovement of provision by means ofQA procedures that are rigorous in


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13 Ibid14 Ibid

measurement, evaluation anddevelopment. As a logical extension ofthis drive towards better outcomes forlearners, colleges see the identificationand successful development ofprogression pathways for learners at alllevels as a key priority for the sector.

Quality AssuranceCollege programmes are governed byrigorous QA practices and procedureswhich are in line with international bestpractice. Colleges interpret the qualitystandard of the various awarding bodiesand create robust policies andprocedures as evidence that qualityeducation and training is actually takingplace. Through fully documented policiesand procedures, colleges outline theirapproach, ethos and philosophy aroundthe delivery of programmes. Collegeshave engaged in self-evaluation,continuous process improvement andsetting SMART targets, all the whilelistening and responding to learners, staffand other stakeholders to achieveprogressively better outcomes forlearners. Colleges are committed toprogressive development of QAprocedures and active participation inthe development of national standardsand protocols.

Quality MeasurementThe available national Key PerformanceIndicators (KPI) for college core full-timeprovision at Levels 5 and 6 show a 61%full-certification success rate, and 85%cumulative success rates, which aredescribed as ‘intensive with strongoutcomes in terms of certification.’13

Colleges seek to build on this by further

developing quality measures, and theysupport the call for more rigorousnational KPI data, emphasising theimportance of quantitative, qualitativeand thematic measurements14. It isacknowledged that the measurement ofprogression currently yieldsunsatisfactory information, withsignificant numbers of ‘unknown’outcomes. Colleges are committed toaddressing this, valuing the potential oflongitudinal information as anassessment of the effectiveness ofprovision. The achievements of colleges,and their respective ETBs, in providingopportunities for non-traditional learnerssuggests that additional measurements,with appropriate ManagementInformation Systems (MIS), will helpquantify further what is most effective interms of provision and value for money.

Value Added and DistanceTravelledThe collective experience of providing fora widely varied learner demographicsuggests that outcome measurements for‘value added’ and ‘distance travelled’ willadd significantly to the largely output-focused information currently collected.Of these, ‘distance travelled’ is dependenton measuring an individual learner’sinitial qualification level and relating thisto his or her overall certification success.More complex measurement tools thanthose currently available are required for‘value added’. In other words, aprediction of initial graded potential tobe compared with graded certificationoutcome is required. A learner who mightbe predicted to achieve a minimum gradeof ‘pass’, but who ultimately achieves


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15 DES (2012)

distinction demonstrates significant‘value added’, whereas a learnerpredicted to achieve a merit and whoachieves that, has only met theirminimum target grade. These subtletiesare important, as solely output-focusedperformance-measurement does notreflect the educational quality andchallenges of the process, especially in the

context of an education system thatvalues all learner potential. Colleges arecommitted to the use of national KPI asbenchmarks for quality assurance andimprovement strategies that will ensurecontinuous improvement of standardsand that will ‘enhance the outcomes forstakeholders.’15


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W

Hig

Further Educa

Adult Basic Education / Youthreach

Mat

ure

Lear

ner

The IrishEducation

SystemThis graphic makes more transparent the progression from graphic could be promoted throughout the second level sysdefined position to the FET sector that makes explicit how oultimately exit to employment.


25

WORK

gher Education (University / IOT)

ation

Post-Primary School

second level to higher education and work, via further education. Such atem, higher education institutes and universities. It accords a clear andone can navigate one’s way through and up the education ladder and


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Section

2PARTNERSHIPS

Colleges are a central part of theinfrastructure for enhancing theskills and employability capacities of thelabour force. They are committed to thedevelopment of a lean education andtraining provision that meets the needs oflearners, employers and progressionpartners. Colleges seek the operationalflexibility to align dynamically theirprovision to local, regional, national andinternational needs identified in policiesincluding the National Skills Strategy andAction Plan for Jobs. Partnerships withother stakeholders are of criticalimportance in achieving a targeted andlean provision and colleges seek toconsolidate and build upon their recordof purposeful engagement with a widerange of partners.

Education and Training BoardsThe creation of Education and TrainingBoards offers an opportunity forstreamlined and regionally-responsiveprovision for further education andtraining. Colleges anticipate manyopportunities to build upon the positivelegacy of VECs, as they seek to becomeregional FET hubs within the wider ETBservice. Colleges are committed to co-ordinated access to FET and support a

wide-ranging engagement in their work.

When a potential learner engages witheducation and training, colleges believethey must be facilitated regardless of timeof year. In short, no-one should be turnedaway. Colleges see a natural synergybetween core full-time provision andtraining activities, and they view both asinterdependent rather than exclusive. Asa physical infrastructure evolved throughlong-term investment, colleges representthe face of FET within their ETBcommunities. They are an accessiblelocation for learners seekingopportunities. By developing seamlessguidance and referral processes toappropriate programmes and byoperating with multiple start dates,colleges can provide FET for all.

Colleges recognise that there is significantexpertise within the existing trainingsector and seek to combine the bestfeatures of the FÁS traineeship modelwith those of full-time FE programmes.Doing so will afford learners both skillstraining and academic education and willprovide employment or educationalprogression opportunities, especially forthe long- term unemployed. The FETstrategy currently being developed bySOLAS will reflect the best of these two


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models, with ETBs central to thedevelopment and planning of provisionto meet local and regional needs. NAPDsees colleges as the ideal delivery agentfor this new form of FET.

Colleges welcome the expanding regionalremit of ETBs, and they seek to supportthis by leading active engagement with arange of partners. The formulation ofstrategy should be informed by the needsof learners and the experiences ofemployers, HEIs, colleges and othertraining providers. Colleges are well-positioned to lead this regional mappingfor their ETBs. As new ETBs embracetraining services formerly delivered byFÁS, opportunities for productiverelationships between the formerlydistinct worlds of education and trainingnow exist. Rather than continuing withdiscreet, separated pillars of provision, FEcolleges seek to integrate and build uponthe existing partnerships that the FÁSprovision brings to the new FET sector. FEcolleges seek more active employerengagement and wish to expand thenature of their work with industry,building upon ‘Services to Business’ rolesintegrated from FÁS. Colleges seek asupportive partnership with former FÁStraining provision and centres, to developan integrated, complementary service forlearners, where further education andtraining is linked directly to employers’needs and local industry. This mergingof experiences and resources is vital in thedrive to get the long-term unemployedback into the work force, whilststreamlining services and making best useof state funded resources.

16 Forfás (2012)17 OECD (2012)

EmployersColleges have positive and productivelocal partnerships with employers andconsiderable experience of developingsuccessful self-financing provision. Theyhave great capacity to build upon this,SkillVEC offering a national example.Colleges seek direct, co-ordinatedengagement with employers throughnational agencies, including IBEC andISME, employment services, INTREO andSOLAS. Importantly, colleges seek theoperational and accreditation flexibilityto develop the responsive provision that‘can respond as needs arise and, equally,curtail provision in responses to drops indemand.’16

At local levels, colleges can worksystematically with employer networks,such as Chambers of Commerce, CountyDevelopment Boards, etc. Both steps areessential in order that colleges candevelop programmes that align to localand national occupational skillsshortages.

Our learners must be prepared tocompete in the context of a globalisedworkplace, where higher-level education,transferrable skills and competencies areessential to compete. OECD (2012)research shows that further educationhas a substantial impact on employmentprospects, with an employment rate ofapproximately 74% for people with uppersecondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education17.

Work-Based LearningColleges support a drive towards greateravailability of work-based learning andlook to the particularly successful


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practices for work-based learning that aredelivered by FE colleges in the UK, directlyin partnership with employers. Withflexible operating conditions,programmes designed to step upqualifications, skills and competenciesfor those already employed and toprovide work-based learning for newemployees have enormous potential.NAPD recognises that the workplacement/experience embedded incurrent college provision does not equatewith work-based learning, however, thisis a limitation of the operational model,which does not afford the flexibility ofroles to deliver this type of provision.Colleges are committed to work-basedlearning that moves beyond theacquisition of basic technicalcompetencies that may result from asolely training-based focus, to a rounderand more sustainable form thatintegrates learning, both in areas ofunderpinning occupational knowledgeand in basic and wider key skills,alongside occupational skills attainment.

Work-based learning is not necessarilylimited to those occupational areastraditionally associated withapprenticeship provision but hasapplication in every field. Again aprogressive, variable mode of provisionand a flexible accreditation process hasthe potential to yield genuinetransformation of the minimumqualification standards of the workforce.FE colleges have established significantlocal knowledge and contacts withindustry which, in combination with the‘Services to Business’ expertise of FÁS,can become an invaluable ETB resourcefor the entire FET sector to support thedelivery of work-based learningopportunities. Colleges view the

development of work-based learningopportunities as a key target and supporta symbiotic relationship between trainingand education activity to enable the bestopportunities for learners.

It is important to acknowledge the workof ETBs, funded by FÁS, through the‘Skills for Work’ programme, which up-skills those in employment who have noor low qualifications, throughprogrammes up to Level 3. Collegescould readily support ‘Skills for Work’programme delivery and provideadditional services to learners, notlimited to wider skills, includingguidance, enrichment and mostsignificantly direct-route progression.

Learners could feasibly progress fromentry-level work-based learning to HEqualifications whilst employed. This formof transitions-based provision, frommodern apprenticeships to foundationdegree programmes, has been jointlydeveloped and delivered by FE collegesand HEIs in the UK. Practitioners in Irishcolleges believe this presents a readyexemplar of a dynamic work-basedprogramme type that should exist inIreland.

Entrepreneurial Education andBusiness IncubationNot all occupations exist within anindustrial context, but this need notpresent barriers for the improvement ofemployment prospects. Colleges seek todevelop a greater entrepreneurial focuswithin all FE programmes, specifically todevelop the employment prospects oflearners. Areas that typically lead to sole-practitioner status, or where there isperceived over-supply, have the potentialto be transformed when underpinned by


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entrepreneurial skills. Colleges see noplace for complacency in terms of theircurriculum offer and already reviewprovision annually to this end. Whilstlabour market information yieldsdirection for those fields where these areestablished patterns of employment,greater creativity is required for othersubject areas. The Arts sector is, forexample, perceived as an area of over-supply yet, when viewed as part of theCreative Industries, it is instead an areafor potential growth.18

It is increasingly acknowledged that thiswide ranging sector has the potential todrive employment and exports, culturaldiversity and social inclusion … The mostrecent review of the Arts sector indicatesthat it supports more than 21,000 jobsdirectly and an estimated 79,000additional jobs indirectly. Ireland hasdeveloped international recognition …and benefits from its strong anddistinctive cultural base and heritage.19

The Creative and Cultural Industriesprovide but one cogent example of largelysole-practitioner/micro-business skillsareas, and colleges hold the developmentof entrepreneurial skills as central to long-term career viability for all non-industrialsubject areas, both in terms of provisionfor those starting further education andtraining in these fields, as well as forthose seeking to update and re-skill.

The application of new technology, bothfor subject-specific and wider purposes,and the incubation of emerging businessare priorities for all subject areas.Colleges seek dynamic partnerships withpractitioners, business development

18 DES (2013b)19 DJEI (2013)20 DJEI (2013)

agencies, particularly CountyDevelopment Boards and HEIs tosupport learners. In doing so, they aim todevelop talent and entrepreneurialpromise into long-term, rewarding andsustainable careers, by developinginnovative, flexible and responsiveprogrammes to support these specificneeds.

Guidance, Referral and Career-Management ServicesIn order to meet the needs of learners andachieve best value for state funding, col-leges seek to develop structured links withemployment services and guidance provi-sion to ensure that all referral processes,particularly for those unemployed, pro-vide direction to the most appropriateand timely education and training op-tions available. Colleges support the pro-tocols for engagement with INTREO and,through structured liaison, individualneeds can be met. In addition the localand regional profiles of educational at-tainment trends/employment history caninform directly the provision of colleges.

Colleges see the relationship betweenSOLAS, INTREO, ETB guidance servicesand college-based guidance provision ascrucial to the success of the emergent FETsector. In the context of a knowledgeeconomy, and the needs of individuals torapidly retrain to meet changingtechnology, markets and employmentopportunity, colleges support theemergence of career management skills ascentral to personal management of ‘non-linear careers pathways’ and the‘empowerment of individuals to managetheir own learning and careers.’20


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The development of INTREO offices as asingle focal point of information inrelation to entitlements and employmentsupports is a very positive step towardshelping all those who are unemployedaccess opportunities for FET. Collegesseek to develop a partnership workingarrangement with INTREO referralservices to ensure that INTREO clientsexperience seamless transitions toappropriate education and trainingopportunities that will meet their needs.

Colleges are keenly aware of the need tomeet this changing focus and to developnew programmes and progressionopportunities accordingly. Somecommentators speak of ‘mission drift’away from a supposed function of basictechnical training and an unwarrantedshift towards programmes focused onmore complex and higher level skills andknowledge acquisition. Colleges see thisas responsive programming, in otherwords, providing opportunities forlearners to gain progressive qualificationsthat can help secure competitiveadvantage in a knowledge economy.

Many of the unskilled jobs that existed inOECD countries a generation ago arefast disappearing, either because theyhave been replaced by technology orbecause OECD countries cannot competewith less developed countries on labourcosts.21

Higher EducationA significant number of post-primaryschool leavers use full-time FE collegecourses as access routes to HigherEducation. Applicants to CAO presenting

21 OECD (2010)22 CAO (2013)23 HEA (2008)

with FETAC/QQI qualifications haverisen from 2,903 in 2001 to 15,288 in2012, representing an increase of 527%,and in 2012 some 20% of CAOapplications were from FETAC/QQIgraduates22. The potential to developseamless progression to supportenhanced competitiveness is alreadypossible and being explored by collegesin partnership with the Institutes ofTechnology Ireland (IOTI). This is a jointexploration of defined progressionpathways from Level 5 to HE and directarticulation from Level 6 to the secondyear of HE in cognate areas. In doing so,unnecessary barriers can be removed andultimate use and sense is made of theNational Framework of Qualifications.This allows much greater mobility forlearners whilst eliminating unnecessaryduplication of provision.

The potential of such development is ofparticular importance in up-skilling andre-skilling existing workforce membersfaced with unemployment because theirqualification base is too low or their skillbase has become outdated. The potentialof dynamic variable-mode provision,transparent RPL, enhanced qualityprocedures and a responsiveaccreditation framework is of greatsignificance in meeting current andpotential skills supply needs and, inparticular, meeting the immediate needsof labour market activation.

The Consultative Document for the NextNational Access Plan identifies the routesand pathways to higher education thatare still significantly under-developed,particularly for older learners and forthose with disabilities23. This HEA report


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identifies that 14,000 FE learners appliedfor funding in 2011. The DES recognisesthat 192,000 people were engaged in FEin 2011 and that a significant proportionof these learners are from these ‘at risk’groups, i.e., presenting with social,intellectual or educational disadvantage.It also identifies that the existing groupswho are seriously marginalised andunderrepresented in higher education arethose who have been disadvantagedsocio-economically and also have adisability.

Partnerships with CommunityEducation and Other ProvidersPartnerships with other education andtraining providers are vital to thesuccessful delivery of a seamless, barrier-free sector. Colleges are keenly aware ofthe contributions of other direct andindirect state-funded providers, and theyhave already well-developed relationshipswith schools, Adult and CommunityEducation programmes and providers inother contexts. This applies equally tospecific-purpose education programmesincluding Youthreach, Skills for Work, aswell as to community-based Basic AdultEducation. Colleges acknowledge theimportance of engagement in informalcontexts for these harder-to-reach groupsand the significant achievements of Adultand Community Education, particularlywith non-traditional learners, in engagingstudents at entry level. They seek tosupport this work by providingtransparent progression routes.

Links with Adult and CommunityEducation provide progression pathwaysfor a wide cohort of learners, includingthose for whom achievement is often onthe basis of a series of shorter term steps.Colleges seek to support the valued role

of Adult and Community Education byenhancing the opportunities for learnerswho are achieving pre-level 4 and 5programmes to step up to advancedprogrammes.

Colleges will continue to work withagencies such as the HEA and theNational Learning Network, amongothers, which support learners withadditional needs to progress to advancedprogrammes. For these and other non-traditional learners, flexibility,appropriate and prompt supports areessential. At present many of theselearners are faced with artificial and oftenbureaucratic barriers to progression thatcan be overcome through clarity of roles,flexibility in funding mechanisms anddynamic relationships with the variousstakeholders engaged in supporting theselearners. Colleges are committed toworking with these organisations andtheir funding bodies to ensure thatbarriers are removed and equity of accessand progression is achieved.

Post-Primary Schools As the post-primary curriculum reforms,greater opportunities will becomeavailable to pupils to explore subjectareas that have not formerly beenavailable at that level. Colleges welcomereform in post-primary education andseek to support post-primary schools inthe development of link programmes thatallow students access skills and subjectareas that can signpost appropriatefuture career progression, as well assupporting school staff in thedevelopment of alternative assessmentprocedures and quality assuranceprocedures.

Where geographic access requires thatsmall-scale FE provision continues to


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exist in post-primary schools and othernon-college centres, opportunities existfor supportive partnerships in areas suchas quality assurance, assessment,programme development and studentservices to ensure that learners in thesecontexts have an equitable experiencewhilst still achieving the economies ofscale that larger centres can provide.Colleges recognise the need for diversityin provision and the need to supportlocal access to FET, particularly in ruralareas, and they propose the developmentof a joint consortium model to supportsuch provision. NAPD calls for theexploration of a consortium model tosupport collaborative delivery betweencolleges, post-primary schools and otherpartner providers.

Commercially Funded ProvisionColleges have the potential to developcommercially funded provision alongside

state-funded work, and they seek theopportunity to do so as a complementaryactivity rather than exclusively reinvestinggains directly into college resources,infrastructure and staff. Commercialtraining services are integrated with state-funded and supported provision in otherinternational FET systems, and these notonly add to breadth of revenue for collegeprovision, but also enable dynamicsynergies that are of wider potentialbenefit to emerge. Business investment isattracted to areas that have progressiveworkforce-development opportunitiesand a ready supply of high-qualitytraining support. Colleges seek to be thepreferred training partner of business,based on their ability to supply agenuinely quality assured service.


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Section

3A FUTURE MODEL FOR FET COLLEGES

Colleges as FET HubsNAPD’s vision is the creation of a learner-centred, statutorily-mandated,strategically planned, responsive anddynamic college sector as a foundationalpillar of a new and successful FETlandscape for Ireland. Colleges will behubs of access, learning and progressionfor their ETB provision. Colleges aspire tomirror international best practice,offering an identifiable and accessiblepoint of contact for learners seekinginformation, guidance, advice, educationand training within ETBs. In order to doso, FE colleges need to be recognised asa specific institution type, with a valuedand unique role, and with a fit-for-purpose funding model and operationalprotocol, distinct from those in post-primary schools.

It is our vision that all learners be able toengage with opportunities and achievesuccess, and that such would befacilitated best through coherent college-based provision. Colleges offeradvantages of scale, quality and accessthat have the power to transformoutcomes for learners and otherstakeholders.

Change and flexibility are necessary to

meet this shared vision. The revision ofoperational protocols and structures,funding mechanisms and accreditationsystems that are fit for purpose willenable this vision. The call for change is,however, built upon a track-record ofquality, commitment and success, and ofresilience and constant reinvention.NAPD shares an ambition to meet thediverse needs of learners and offer thebest possible opportunities foreducation, training and progression tolifelong careers. Colleges possess thedrive to challenge complacency and seekchange for the better.

Ireland’s new FET landscape has thepower to transform opportunities forlong-term employment and personaldevelopment of all learners, and NAPDsees a vibrant college sector at the centreof this exciting new development.

Funding Model Reform Structural reform of funding is required,as well as reform of the operationalprotocols that determine how collegesrespond to local, regional and nationalpolicy for the FET sector. Responsive,flexible, operational models and flexiblefunding arrangements are essential in


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24 DES (2013a)25 Watson et al (2016)

order to meet proactively the rapidlychanging landscape of short-term, needs-activated provision that forms such asignificant part of FET. Colleges seek toremove the arbitrary and bureaucraticbarriers that prevent their engagementwith new opportunities for education andtraining programmes.

Sourcing reliable data relating to the costof provision is an acknowledgeddifficulty, not least because there is nosingle national data source that coversthe broad spectrum of activityencountered in FET. For colleges, thecurrent resource/funding model – that ofsecond level Whole-Time Equivalent(WTE) teaching posts – is a keylimitation. 32,688 places were madeavailable for full-time FE-PLC provision in2012-13. This number reflected a cap onplaces introduced in 2003 to limitgrowth. Colleges continue to enrol overthe ‘cap’, with full-time FE-PLC currentlyoffering places to approx. 35,524 learnersin 2012-13, meaning that approximately8% of provision is unfunded.24 Collegesenrol over the cap in order to providecourse places to meet learner demand,following in a long tradition of ETBcommitment to access. Budget 2013announced a significant cut to the WTE‘pupil-teacher ratio’ (PTR) for PostLeaving Certificate courses, raising itfrom 17:1 to 19:1, which is the standardfor most secondary schools.

Although the bulk of courses aretaken in specialised further educationcentres, the operation and control ofPLC courses remains within thesecond-level sector.25

The most consistent features of thevarious issues and anomalies surroundingthe current funding model are thespotlight placed upon colleges’continued commitment to learners andthe utter inadequacy of the secondaryWTE-PTR funding model as amechanism for funding dynamic andresponsive FET. College provision issometimes criticised as being organisedto meet internal needs, with programmesdeveloped to occupy existing expertiseand resources, rather than meeting actualexternal policy direction. The post-primary funding model and itsoperational conditions are not designedto foster year-on-year flexibility andcreativity, suiting instead programmesthat operate over multiple years.

In spite of these restrictions, collegescontinue to reinvent and grow into newand emerging directions within full-timeFE-PLC provision, building upon thecreativity and commitment of staff toretrain and develop new programmes.Flexibility is inhibited by a fundingmechanism that restricts swift responseto immediate, short-term and part-timeeducation and training needs. Collegesnow seek a fit-for-purpose alternative,including opportunities to developcommercial funding streams that canbe directly reinvested into collegeprovision.

Operational Protocol ReformJust as colleges seek dynamic fundingmechanisms that allow for developmentof responsive provision, there is a clearneed for operational flexibility to meetthe emerging requirements of education,training and skills policy. SOLAS and


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ETBs promise a more responsiveframework for resourcing, which canapply to all aspects of provision. Bestvalue-for-money can be achieved bytargeting funding directly towardslearners, while allowing operationalflexibility to meet the needs of targetededucation and training provision.Colleges seek the flexibility to direct staff,resources and provision quickly to wherethe need exists, rather than operating onthe fixed-mode, pre-determined annualmodel that is the post-primary schoolWTE system. Colleges seek the fundingand operational flexibility to encompassfull-time, part-time, work-based, blendedand distance/online learning as part ofregular core provision.

Colleges are committed to developingfurther the considerable resource that istheir collective staff. NAPD acknowledgesthe professionalism and commitment ofcolleges’ staff to providing the bestopportunities for learners, and the veryconsiderable knowledge and expertisethat they possess. Colleges arecommitted to operational reforms thatvalue and nurture educationprofessionals and education careers.They seek to support dynamism andmobility with a wider range ofopportunities and roles for their staff.NAPD is keenly aware of the need toprovide college staff with the means torespond to changing needs of learners,employers and other stakeholders.Colleges support the reform of teachertraining and qualifications, where thismeets the needs of provision in the sectorand reflects the nature of subject andoccupational background. To this end,colleges seek direct engagement with theTeaching Council to ensure that emergingpolicy supports training and

qualifications that are appropriate to thesector.

The current post-primary schooloperational model has a fixed format ofstaff roles for teaching, intermediate andsenior leadership which does not supporta progressive, dynamic and responsiveFET service. Increasingly, flexibility ofdelivery model and qualificationoutcome is required to meet the needs oflearners and employers, and to supportprogression. This needs to beunderpinned by flexibility in operational,management and other role protocols toallow colleges match their staff and otherresources to needs as they arise. Collegesseek the flexibility to develop a range ofappropriate teaching, administrative andleadership roles to manage and deliverprovision in response to both long-termand short-term needs.

Colleges also play a central role in the life-long learning process for many membersof the local community through part-time certified and uncertified training aspart of an ‘adult education/night-school’self-financing programme. This provisionhas served both access and personaldevelopment needs. Current structuresplace artificial limits on the developmentof this provision, and there is a need toreflect changing practices in work andtime organisation, to allow a moredynamic form of part-time provisionemerge.

The Life-Long Learning part-timeprovision delivered through the ‘adulteducation/night-school’ is amongst themost responsive possible within thecurrent operational model for colleges.The range of innovative programmesdevised by colleges and deliveredexpediently through the ‘adult


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26 OECD (2012)

education/night-school’ programme istestament to what might be achieved indifferent operating circumstances. Byapplying the same principles in a contextof increased operational flexibility,colleges can capitalise on this experiencethrough the development of commercial,self-financing training services. This offersthe potential for additional lines ofrevenue to directly reinvest to enhancethe services and experiences available tolearners in colleges.

ValueColleges welcome the great potential forSOLAS and ETBs to refine strategicplanning of provision, and they supportcalls for a leaner provision. Best value formoney can be achieved by removingduplicate delivery in different contextsand by streamlining progressionopportunities. The college experienceoffers learners opportunities for positivepersonal achievement. It also supportswider social cohesion. In addition, thecollege experience instils the values ofhigh quality learning and skills provision,which in turn foster lifelong learning andmeaningful progression from onelearning context to another. In particular,opportunities for the long-termunemployed to engage with educationand training and to experience successare essential to meaningful progression tothe world of work. A positive collegeexperience is a vital foundation in theconfidence of those who are preparingfor the world of work.

In seeking a more pragmatic approach tostate funding, colleges aim to bring bestvalue for learners and other stakeholders.Thus colleges need to have flexibility todeliver fundable programmes leading toqualifications from a range of awardingbodies, to develop programmes to meetemerging and future skills needs, and todevelop responsive accreditedprogrammes that meet local, regionaland national needs.

As part of college Quality Assuranceprocedures, FE colleges are committed tothe exceptionally high level ofstewardship shown by VECs (now ETBs)in financial accounting, and they supportanalogous rigour within ETBs. Collegesuse labour market indicators and keyperformance indicators to makeevidence-based decisions in thedevelopment and review of provision,and they support the use of nationalinformation to underpin the quality ofprogramme offer.

This is a learner-focused vision forcolleges that provides high qualityeducation which:

l Offers excellent value for money

l Meets the immediate and long-termneeds of the economy

l Provides multiple positive personaloutcomes and value for each learner

l Adds currency to FET qualifications

A well-educated population is essential to a country’s economic and social development –a higher level of education means higher earnings, better health and a longer life.26


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27 DES (2011)28 McIver Consulting (2003)

Removing BarriersBy targeting resources towards qualityprovision, colleges can remove barriers toemployment creation and are well placedto respond to local and regionaleducation needs in improving provisionin line with SOLAS and ETB policy.Colleges are well placed to reduce theadministrative burden by integrating full-time and part-time provision with othervariable-mode forms. With appropriateoperational structures, colleges will havea significant role to contribute to ETBdelivery of SOLAS data-driven andtargeted further education and trainingstrategies. The National Strategy for HigherEducation to 2030 (2011), commonlytermed The Hunt Report, identifies the rolethat the FET sector plays in addressingsome of its objectives, including thecluster-partnership model. Colleges arecommitted to working with IOTs andother HEIs to remove barriers toprogression.27

Colleges see an exciting future as keyproviders within the context of SOLASand the ETB network. They arecommitted to developing and growingprovision that meets defined and tangibleneeds, welcoming reports such asGuidelines for the Alignment of FurtherEducation Programmes with Skills Needs ofEnterprise (Forfás 2012). Collegesunderstand the need for change and notethat provision is limited by operationalmodels that are suited to the needs of anentirely different education sector, as wellas by historic disconnects between serviceproviders that SOLAS and ETBs seek toovercome.

The McIver Report (2003) suggested aneed for structural change, but until now

the policy and strategic context tounderpin this reform has been absent28.Difficult economic conditions prevail,but our resilient ‘sector’ has shown overmany decades that it is equal to allchanges required of it. The emergence ofreal strategic interest and policy contextfor FET is new, and colleges anticipateopportunities for positively focused andproductive discussion that will facilitatethe creation of a mandated, strategicallyplanned, responsive and dynamic collegesector, which forms a central,foundational hub of a new and successfulFET landscape for Ireland.

Service to stakeholdersWithin the new ETB network, collegescan become regional hubs of FET thatoffer a full range of merged services,regardless of the level, programme ormode of study.

These services are summarised as:

Service to learners(adults and school leavers)

l Guidance, Career Management Skillsand Pastoral support

l Multiple learning opportunities – full-time, part-time, work-based andvariable mode

l Access and progression programmes– including pathways to HigherEducation and Employment

l Learning support for students withdisabilities and/or SEN

l Literacy and numeracy support

l Leisure and enrichment activities


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Service to employers and business

l Work-based learning programmes

l Commercial Training Services

l Entrepreneurial education

l Labour market supply initiatives

l Job club/work enablement

l Work placement service

Services to the community

l Bespoke, strategic, community-basededucation and training

l Community learning

l Civic engagement

l Charitable ventures

Services to schools/ Under 16s

l ‘School Links’access/retention/progressionprogrammes

l Essential and basic employabilityskills

l Intensive summer courses

l Support for new school curricula andassessment (Junior Cycle, TransitionYear and Senior Cycle)

l Support for outreach FET – coreservices

l Applied programmes for early schoolleavers

This vision relates to the comprehensivecollege model of provision that applies inother European countries, for example,Northern Ireland, where colleges areresponsible for the design and delivery ofeducation and training services for school

leavers, adults and part-time learners,people with disabilities and appliedprogrammes for early school leavers, inaddition to a number of higher educationcourses.

To date, duplication and the separationof FET in discrete strands has created,from the learner’s point of view and thatof other external stakeholders, an almostun-navigable curriculum that lackstransparency of progression and otheroutcomes. Colleges believe that learnersneed to be provided with an environmentthat offers an appropriate provision,whilst also affording a genuine andprogressive, outcome-focused collegeexperience – not just a course for the sakeof doing one.

Colleges demonstrate capacity to provideholistic, tailored and responsiveeducation and training for a diverse rangeof learners. Colleges have the expertiseand vision to develop an integratedmodel of education and training andsupport service provision, wherebyopportunities are available to all learnersand other stakeholders, with the level ofeducation and nature of services tailoredto their needs.

The benefits of integration include:

l Access coherence: colleges formimmediately identifiable, physicalregional education hubs for learnersand other stakeholders

l Clear information, advice andguidance: learners and otherstakeholders referred to the mostappropriate services

l Programme coherence: learners andother stakeholders can be directed toprogressive programmes that meettheir needs


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l Quality provision: a broad, dynamiccurriculum of validated programmes,with focused progression outcomes

l Access to a wider range of supportservices

l Education and training in fit-for-purpose, specially equipped buildings

l Equality and diversity: opportunitiesfor a diverse range of learners,removing perceived barriers toprogression

l Best value: best value for investmentin education and trainingprogrammes

Colleges are not limited in ambition ordesire to meet the changing face ofeducational needs; rather they arefrustrated in attempting to do so as aresult of operating under post-primaryschool terms and conditions that are notfit-for-purpose in the more fluid contextof FET. The shift towards a needs-based,labour-market driven FET policy, whichhas informed the creation of SOLAS andETBs, has long been sought by colleges.NAPD welcomes the opportunities thatthis presents and calls for the recognitionof the colleges as an institutional sector,and as the regional hubs of the new FETlandscape.

Colleges envision a landscape where FEcolleges, as ETB education hubs, willdeliver the following programmes on ayear-round basis:

l Full-time, part-time, blended anddistance/online academic andvocational programmes forprogression to further or highereducation and to work

l Work-based learning, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship

programmes at all levels full-time,part-time, blended anddistance/online

l Higher education programmes inpartnership with Institutes ofTechnology, particularly NFQprogressive, terraced pathways, witha particular focused on work-basedand blended provision

l Entrepreneurial education andbusiness incubation

l Short courses tailored to specifictarget groups or designed to addressspecific skills

l Access programmes for schoolleavers and non-traditional learners

l CPD programmes for localbusinesses and state agencies

l Commercial training services

NAPD envisions a coherent network of FE colleges that are regional hubs of access for a comprehensive coreprovision of full-time, part-time, blended, distance/online and work-basedprogrammes, underpinning the deliveryof FET for ETBs. NAPD also seesopportunities to further partnershipswith the adult and community educationsector, to enhance delivery of communityeducation, adult basic education andyouth initiatives, thereby leading to betteroutcomes for learners, further economiesof scale and co-ordinated delivery ofservices. Finally, colleges are committedto dynamic partnerships with otherstakeholders, for instance employers andbusiness, employment and guidanceservices, schools, HEIs, national policyorganisations, SOLAS, DES and ETBs, inorder to ensure that they continue toprovide the best possible outcomes andvalues for all learners.


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Conclusion

This document is NAPD’sarticulation of its vision forFurther Education colleges and the verycentral role that colleges can occupy in astreamlined landscape for FET. It isNAPD’s vision that a statutorily-mandated, appropriately-resourced FEcollege sector, embedded in ETBs, shouldemerge. NAPD seeks not only to preservethe best characteristics of existing collegeprovision, but also to remove thelimitations that result from the currentalignment of FE colleges with the post-primary school model. NAPD envisagesan FE college sector that is ableconcurrently to meet the needs of itsmany learner cohorts - long-termunemployed, school-leavers, mature andnon-traditional learners - with equity ofemphasis and outcome.

Colleges are committed to programmesbased on labour-market and skills-needsinformation. They seek to clarifyopportunities for learners, withoutduplication of activity. In doing so,colleges seek to expand their productivepartnerships with employers, HEIs,INTREO, and other referral andprogression agencies to provide the bestprogression opportunities and careerpotential for participants. Colleges seek

to develop multiple modes of delivery,adding in particular work-based andblended learning to conventional full-time and part-time provision. Building ontheir regional presence and recognition,they seek to be the face of FET for theirETBs. Many industry and local linksalready exist within FE colleges and, withthe assistance of the ETBs, colleges canenhance provision and opportunities bybuilding on these links, and thus providea blueprint for labour market activationthrough these education and trainingembedded in the workplace.

NAPD also envisions opportunities tofurther partnerships with the Adult andCommunity Education Sector, to supportcommunity education, adult basiceducation and youth initiatives, therebyleading to further economies of scale andco-ordinated delivery of services. Collegespropose the development of consortiumpartnership arrangements to support theprovision of small-scale FE in schoolsettings where regional and geographicconditions make such provision essential.

NAPD seek to build upon the provenquality of FE colleges, and its membersare committed to rigorous qualityassurance and improvement. Colleges


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seek the consistent application ofappropriate Key Performance Indicators,measuring both the quantitative andqualitative outcomes of FET, so thatprogression is measured in the context ofindividual and collective value-added anddistance-travelled metrics for alleducation in general and FET inparticular. In doing so, colleges seek toachieve the best value possible frompublic funding and investment.

NAPD supports government initiativesthat seek to improve opportunities,including the Action Plan for Jobs, Pathwaysto Work, Youth Guarantee Scheme andrelated national strategies. FE colleges aredetermined to build upon their long-heldvalues and those of their ETBs – a proventrack-record of quality delivery, acommitment to meeting the needs of alllearners, a commitment to productivepartnerships, and a belief in thetransformational opportunities affordedby a college experience – to help theirlearners meet the challenges of the future.The separation of FET in discrete pillars

has created, from the learner’s point ofview and that of other externalstakeholders, an almost un-navigablecurriculum that lacks transparency ofprogression and other outcomes. NAPDbelieves that learners should be providedwith a progressive, outcome-focusedcollege experience, not just a course forthe sake of doing one.

Finally, colleges are committed todynamic partnerships with stakeholderssuch as employers and business,employment and guidance services, HEIs,national policy organisations, SOLAS,DES and ETBs to ensure that collegescontinue to provide the best possibleoutcomes and values for all learners.NAPD sees this vision both as ambitiousand yet as entirely feasible. Those areasthat need change have been articulated,and NAPD seeks designatedrepresentation in those discussions wherethe future strategy for FET is evolved inorder that the significant potentialcontribution of FE colleges can berecognised and capitalised upon.


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BibliographyAEOA (2011) Education & Training Boards (ETBs) Balancing Effectiveness and Equity in the new FurtherEducation and Training Sector.

CAO (2013) FETAC Statistics packs 2012 & 2011. As supplied to NAPD by CAO.

DES Department of Education and Skills (2011) National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030.Dublin, DES.

DES Department of Education and Skills (2012) An Action Plan for SOLAS. Dublin, DES.

DES Department of Education and Skills (2013a) Annual Statistical Reports 2012-2013. Dublin:DES.

DES Department of Education and Skills (2013b) Guidelines for VECs in aligning further educationprovision with the skills needs of enterprise 2013 Update. Dublin, DES.

DSP Department for Social Protection (2013) Pathways to Work 2013. Dublin, DSP.

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