Further education and economic development keynote given at thanet college, march 2012
1. Outstanding economics
James Kennell
Director, Economic Development Resource Centre
University of Greenwich Business School
2. Works at local, regional and national
levels on innovation and research in
local economic development
Bring together academics, policy-
makers, practitioners, community
groups and social enterprise
How do we get economies working
again, from the bottom up?
3.
4.
5. “Learners develop excellent skills,
knowledge and understanding that
are relevant to improving their
economic and social well-being.”
“learners progress to higher level
qualifications and into jobs that
meet local and national needs.”
“strategic objectives and targets
respond to local and national
agendas, such as ... developing the
skills of adults to be economically
active”
6. “...the rising importance of meeting the needs
of the local community for many providers in
the further education and skills system where
they are key players in the delivery of local
priorities; this will require inspection outcomes
that relate to a provider’s contribution to their
area’s priorities”
“the provider promotes and implements
national and local priorities and initiatives
that are relevant to learners, employers
and local communities”
“Programmes and activities are highly
effective and may be innovative in
meeting learners’ needs and those of the
wider community”
7.
8. 425,000 visitors in
the first year
Visitor Economy
resurgent?
Knowledge
Economy driver
New skills (or old
skills?) required
11. How does your course promote
economic well being?
How does your course relate to local
economic development?
•Creativity
•Entrepreneurship
•Knowledge Economy
•Engagement with key local drivers
of economic development
As we know, everything in coalition policy is slowly being subsumed into economic developmentBut this is a particular kind of economic developmentPrivate sector ledGrowth at all costsBUT – David Willets, the SOS for BIS is responsible for how this plays out in Further Education“The Pinch” – deep concern for social inequality and fairnessSo – this seems like a paradoxLots of our work in EDReC has been about spotting gaps, spaces in recent government economic policy in which innovation can flourish – the question I’ve been asking on the changes that are taking place in the assessment of FE provision is where is there room for local innovation and how can you, as the professionals responsible for teaching and learning, get into these spaces?
OFSTED and economic developmentI’ve been asked to reflect on the journey that Thanet College is on towards being awarded Outstanding status by OFSTED, and I’ve chosen to focus on the economics of the situation – not in terms of funding, or wages, or our pensions that are being eroded, but in terms of the interaction between the college and the economy of thanet – and how this is experienced by students.
In the pre-amble to their latest consultation, OFSTED are quite clear about:“the critical importance of employability skills and progression towardssustainable employment and further learning as outcomes from manygovernment-funded programmes, and the need to judge this alongside theachievement of learners”Outcomes for learners – to be judged outstanding: We propose to judge outcomes for learners by giving particular attention tohow well:To be outstanding in the leadership and management category:
From the pre-amble again:For leadership:Outstanding for quality of provision: provision is well coordinated, relevant to local communities and promotes social inclusion and sustainable development. But inspectors will take into account: the extent to which the range and content of learning programmes/services are relevant to local communities, ensuring the provision is coherent and does not duplicate other provision but maintains minority subjects and courses through the sharing of human and physical resources. “. “
Thanet is the most deprived district council area in Kent. It is also the 3rdmost deprived local authority district area in the South East (out of 67) and the85th most deprived in England (out of 354 authorities).