The 157 Group is to be relaunched as the Collab Group, TES can reveal, as part of a new strategy that will result in the organisation focusing on joint commercial activity across its member colleges.
Chief executive Ian Pretty also revealed that the group of 32 colleges will now concentrate this joint commercial activity on in seven key sectors, and aims to be at the vanguard of developing the Institutes of Technology (IoT) proposals outlined by the government.
And, after the group’s membership has grown by almost a fifth this year, there is potential for it to expand further. “We are not at our upper limit yet,” Mr Pretty said, but he refused to speculate as to how big the organisation could become.
The new name and logo will be officially unveiled at a launch event on Wednesday. The move comes a decade after the 157 Group was founded in 2006, in response to the Foster review on the future role of FE colleges. In Sir Andrew Foster’s report, paragraph 157 - from which the group took its name - called on principals of large colleges to play a greater role in policymaking.
‘Spirit of collaboration’
The rebranding is being carried out a year after Mr Pretty was appointed. He quickly established a strategic review of how the group operated. Since then, its membership has grown by nearly 20 per cent - from 26 to 32 colleges.
In an exclusive interview with TES, Mr Pretty said the name change represented the organisation “turning a page and starting a new chapter”.
If you look at Urban Dictionary, ‘collab’ is the term for collaboration, and collaboration is critical to us
“Collab is collaboration,” he explained. “If you look at the Urban Dictionary [website], that is the term for collaboration, and collaboration is critical to us. How do we collaborate with industry? How do we collaborate with government? How do we collaborate with each other? That chimes with our vision but it also still chimes with where we were in 2006.”
And pursuing joint commercial activities for members is a key aspect of this collaboration, Mr Pretty added. “To me, it is patently obvious that in a changing environment in terms of revenues, colleges have to more actively diversify their revenues. We are now focusing on seven key sectors [see box, below], and we have tested the water in terms of reaching out to trade associations.”
‘Pushing at open doors’
Following the introduction of the new apprenticeship levy next year, large employers will want a standardised apprenticeship curriculum, delivered consistently across the UK, Mr Pretty said. “If you are doing a construction apprenticeship, they would expect it to be as good in Barnet and Southgate as it is in Hull, as it is in north-east Scotland, as it is in Blackpool and Cornwall.
“And we are pushing at open doors. Employers are saying that the challenge they have, much as they want to work with the FE sector, is ‘Where do you start?’ They want to have a single conversation, and my view is that Collab Group offers that opportunity.”
The organisation has also developed “a good solution” for what the proposed IoTs could look like. “The place for IoTs, I believe, is around level 4 and 5, so providing apprenticeships that might lead to degree apprenticeships,” the chief executive said.
If Collab Group colleges take on the mantle of IoTs, they could then offer a clear pathway from lower-level provision through to level 6 and above.
The creation of new regional college groups is key in this, Mr Pretty said, with IoTs potentially being part of them. “There is a lot England can learn from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on this.”
Ian Pryce, principal of Collab Group member Bedford College, said the organisation’s principals had accepted a “different way of working”, with government more interested in discussing the implementation of policy than forming it.
“With 157 Group, it always took the first few minutes of a meeting to explain what [the name] meant,” Mr Pryce said. “Collaboration is certainly important. I think it is even more important between colleges and other bodies than between us members.”
Stella Mbubaegbu, principal of Highbury College in Portsmouth, also a Collab member, said that while the commercial opportunities available through the group were beneficial, shared values were more important. “We want to make a difference in our sector, taking a measured and constructive leadership role,” she added.
