Ian Billyard: Students can build a successful career in tough times

So it’s no surprise that many school pupils and college students, who would have previously seen university as a natural next step, now look more closely than ever before at all their options to see if there’s an alternative to paying costly tuition fees.

As a result, we’re seeing a big increase in the number of new and existing students saying they no longer plan to go to university and wanting to find out what we can offer as an alternative.

From speaking to colleagues at other colleges throughout the region, the picture is the same across the board. In recent years, colleges have been the unsung heroes of further education.

Despite enjoying some of the highest success rates in the education system, many often don’t receive the credit they deserve. In the latest figures from the Association of Colleges, Ofsted judged 100 per cent of colleges to be satisfactory or better in terms of the quality of their provision and 61 per cent were either good or outstanding.

The figures also show that 89 per cent of students are either fairly, very or extremely satisfied with the quality of teaching and 59 per cent of large employers that train staff do so through a college.

In order to maintain these standards and meet the new requirements of students, who deserve the best possible education and training, colleges must look carefully at everything they do and ask themselves what else they can offer. We’re now looking at how we can create a route through to higher education and degree level across every apprenticeship model that we run for those students that want the opportunity to go further.

As part of this new programme we’re also expanding the number of apprenticeships that we offer.

One course that we have recently launched is the Civil Engineering Advanced Technician Apprenticeship Programme. This was developed by Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) and Leeds College of Building is also working with the University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC) which champions higher level vocational learning and as a result apprentices can now achieve HNDs, first degrees and honours degrees.

Some might question whether we can offer the same standard of education as a university but we are confident that we can match the quality, because we believe that we’re just as good, if not better, than a lot of universities.

In addition, we can also deliver better value for money with the latest figures showing that nationally apprentices who are 19 years old and over generate £40 for each £1 of Government investment.

These new courses are immediately proving to be attractive to apprentices and despite it being well publicised that construction has been hit hard during the recession the industry still offers great job prospects.

The construction industry still accounts for almost 10 per cent of UK GDP, employs approximately two million people and has to recruit approximately 44,000 new entrants every year.

There are also some big growth areas such as the renewable and sustainable market as well as infrastructure and we work with lots of employers in these areas that are actively recruiting people with the right qualifications.

In addition, 50 per cent of spend in the construction industry is on repair and maintenance so this requirement is always there regardless of other external factors.

Students are definitely aware of this and Leeds College of Building’s enrolment figures this year remained very similar to last year which is great news for us.

We’re also continually working to improve our student retention rate which currently exceeds 90 per cent. Typically 95 per cent of students that complete courses successfully qualify without any problems. Our apprentices also develop a great work-ethic, gain valuable experience and the majority qualify without debts although it remains to be seen whether the Government’s decision to scrap the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) will impact on this.

EMA paid students up to £30 per week and although it has been replaced by a bursary fund that we can use to help students with expenses such as travel and equipment, there will be much less money in the pot. It’s too early to tell what impact this will have and it could hit our retention rates if students begin to struggle financially but unfortunately this is yet another sign of the times.

There’s no doubt that a lot is riding on the upturn of the economy, but at least if we offer the best possible training then our students will be ahead of the crowd when it comes to enjoying a long and successful career.

Ian Billyard is the principal at Leeds College of Building.