Jobs at risk as Carnegie College funds are slashed

Published 8 Apr 2011 09:11 10 Comments

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COMPULSORY staff cuts could be on the cards at Carnegie College, as its principal hit out at cuts to core funding this week.

Professor Bill McIntosh, who steps down at the end of the month, was reported as slamming the cuts as a "recipe for disaster" for the provision of future skills.

He said the cuts made "no allowance" for the demand in places, despite the college seeing a 70 per cent increase in demand in the last two years.

Carnegie College will see funding slashed by 10.4 per cent - equating to £1.4million - in core-funded activities for the 2011/12 academic session.

This has led to a number of computer and furniture restoration courses being removed, and 18 staff will be leaving following the conclusion of the 30-day consultation period on voluntary severance.

The cuts have already prompted Unison members to stage a protest at the college last week.

Prof McIntosh said, "The next step in our review of funding will be to reassess the requirements for temporary staff next year.

"At this stage we cannot promise that there will be no compulsory redundancies.

However, you can be certain that everyone at Carnegie College is working very hard to do all we can to avoid compulsory redundancies, if it is at all possible, and to minimise the scale if they cannot be avoided."

Prof McIntosh said the decisions to remove the courses and staff had "not been taken lightly", adding, "At the heart of the decision-making process has been our intention to ensure that the quality of the learning experience is central to our thinking in addressing efficiency savings.

"However, ultimately we have to ensure that as an organisation we become more sustainable and affordable.

"Despite strenuous efforts to manage our resources effectively over recent years, the significant reduction in our funding has ultimately led us to consider a consolidation in our core provision at a time when demand from young people, employers and the community is high."

He continued, "As an organisation we fully understand the current constraints on the public purse.

"However, the scale of these cuts makes no allowance for the increased demand we have for places and come at a time when we are trying to work with our business partners to stimulate economic recovery for the area.

"I would like to thank the EIS and Unison with whom we have worked closely with throughout, for their understanding in what has been a fairly unprecedented situation for all.

"This is a resilient organisation which has managed change well in the past. I hope that we can draw on that strength and experience as we deal with the current challenges."

Unison also expressed its support for the college.

Karen Watson, shop steward, said, "Unison and its members are very concerned about the effect of Government cuts on Scotland's colleges in the coming years.

"Carnegie College is a crucial part of our community which has continually strived to provide the highest quality education and training for our area and beyond. As both staff members and Unison stewards we are supporting management, colleagues and students in their extensive efforts to secure a bright future for Carnegie."

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DinoSaur
49 posts
Apr 11, 12:35
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There are lots of people whose lives are enriched by Carnegie College, and the College and the people are to be applauded for that!

But come on! Do we not all know that it is attended in the main by youngsters who have no regard for the course they are doing, just maintaining their 'taking from society' lifestyle that we encourage!

The College of-course encourages this as it increases the financial support that the College receives, because of increased numbers.

Solution - get rid of the no-hopers, who have yet to contribute to society.. if they haven't been able to apply themselves in the 10 - 15 years of free education they have already been supplied with, why are we throwing more money at them?

If you have nothing, and get nothing, for nothing, you will put some effort into getting something! And for many, that would be a first!

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Carnage Collage
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Apr 12, 13:43
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What doesn't help is that the college scrimps back every penny it can on updating things, like computers or supplying paper for printing reports/essays etc., or having sections of the buildings locked off after certain periods of the day to save electricity (though not very good with regard to fire escape!).

Bill also seemed to forget to mention that even in these hard times, the main college staff got a 1-2% pay rise, but he got 15%, which is a fare amount when you're on a 6 figure salary!

I assume he will be branching out into spin doctoring when he steps down.

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Ex-Carnegie Student
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Apr 13, 14:30
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DinoSaur:

I am not aware of any evidence that Carnegie College has a particularly high number of " no-hopers", compared to any other college. As someone who has studied at Carnegie College, I can say that there are many hard working young people and many hard working older people (who have already contributed to society) taking the opportunity to reskill, to improve their employment prospects. Some of those who were in my class a few years ago, have gone on to get good jobs.

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Ex-Carnegie Student
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Apr 13, 14:42
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I am sorry to read about these cuts, I studied Computing at Carnegie College a few years ago, and the HNC and HND courses were a good stepping stone to work and for those who wanted to increase their qualifications, to degree courses. There were quite a few local mature students with family responsibilities for whom it was handy being able to study locally. In future such would be students will have to travel quite a distance (over to Edinburgh) to study and perhaps some will be put off.

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DinoSaur
49 posts
Apr 13, 23:44
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To the ex-carnegie student from another ex-carnegie student who may also be a dino saur, you know it is true! Full of them, and it's not a comparison thing, I didn't compare because Carnegie is the only college I have attended! You tell me that other colleges are the same and note the surprise in my reply - NO SURPRISE! My course was held back on a daily basis because of 'no-hopers' turning up late, or waiting for them to turn up at all! Not to mention constantly on their mobiles texting or on the computers surfing and catching up with e.mails from other drop kicks on other courses.... lazy good for nothing spawn of what we have provided - Yes it is us who are to blame!!

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DinoSaur
49 posts
Apr 13, 23:46
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Oh yes, and the older students you refer to had to pay for their coourses, having already, (as we agree) contributed to society. Whilst the no hopers are paid to attend! Yes that seems fair NOT!

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Disgruntled
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Apr 14, 10:45
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Having been on staff at the college I can tell you without malice, that this has become less a further education institution and more like a day-care centre for the teenage delinquent. The management in this college are visionless and incompetent and the Principal is the worst of the lot of them. Bring on the change!

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Gruntled
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Apr 17, 15:36
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I'm currently a degree student at sitting a Napier degree through Carnegie College.

Napier provide the paperwork including useless timewasting presentations which state the obvious, coursework briefs catering to the self-indulgance of Napiers lecturers and other such pointless drivel Universities seem to enforce on their students and the Thankfully our Carnegie tutors take all this B.S. cut out the non-essentials and turn it into something worth learning.

Sadly if I wish to go onto Honours I have to do them at Napier and not Carnegie, which is why this year is my last in further education.

Carnegie is a GOOD college with GOOD tutors. It's our countries educational system as a whole that is a total shambles, with more emphasis put on trying to get people pieces of paper with qualifications written on them than getting people the skills to succeed in jobs.

And it doesn't help that our surplus teenage "no hoper" population are there to waste student loans and bursaries, leave litter in the refectory and empty packets of sugar all over the seating area in Media Space in their educational year long procrastination from the door line.

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wasssup
Unregistered User
Apr 18, 09:23
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There are too many "no hopers" at the college....im of the older status and am studying due to illness and to retrain and i cant belive some of the kids at the college...I know some of the staff HATE teaching the young ones ,We are lucky in our class as most are not too young and soon get it from the older class members if there are problems.Dont blame the staff its the managment and goverment to blame here.

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keepoofthelawn
Unregistered User
Apr 21, 11:31
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Make everyone pay tuition fees! Judging by the massive car parks that are overflowing so much that the road and pavement from the roundabout at Halbeath up the Carnegie School is blocked full, there must be loads of money around to pay for what they are gaining.

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