What will the next five years look like for students and teachers in Scottish FE?

There’s no need to dust off your crystal ball. Colleges Scotland has already gazed into its own and it has foreseen the answer. And finally, it’s a future that we can all look forward to, for if the organisation can make good on its promises, by 2023 the sector will look a lot more diverse.

In its Statement of Ambition this week (and there’s no doubt about it, its plans are hugely ambitious), Colleges Scotland says that it wants to “redress wider societal imbalances in the workforce by reflecting Scotland’s diversity in our staff members and students in terms of disability, ethnicity, age, other protected characteristics, and the care-experienced population”.

FE minister Richard Lochhead launched the statement on Wednesday, and revealed that Colleges Scotland also pledged to “help redress gender imbalance in the workforce by extending successful practices, for example, to encourage and retain women in [science, technology, engineering and maths] and to do likewise for men by capitalising on the early learning and childcare expansion”.

According to the document, there are plans to develop “a more coherent, collaborative regional curriculum with local authorities, the Scottish Qualifications Authority, schools and universities to develop knowledge and skills for life and work”.

The organisation says that it wants to be “the linchpin” that will help to realise the Scottish government’s ambitions for widening access to education, while supporting people and communities facing the tough challenges.

Across the UK, many a crystal ball will turn a bit murky when you look at 29 March 2019, but Colleges Scotland says that it has a got “a sector strategy to mitigate the repercussions to our communities of Brexit’.

Colleges Scotland chair Ken Milroy said: “The Statement of Ambition has developed from a recognition that Scotland’s economy and labour market is changing at such pace as to be labelled the fourth industrial revolution; that individuals seeking education, skills and training are demanding a more personalised and flexible learner journey; and that Scotland’s colleges will deliver across these and other priorities by ensuring that our strategy is bold, progressive and ambitious.”

Lochhead said Scotland had “the most qualified population in Europe, and the quality of learning and level of equality across the college sector has never been higher”.

“I welcome this Statement of Ambition, which will drive forward innovation in the sector while protecting the environment of equality and excellence our colleges are already known for,” he added.