Hurrah! It was good news for Scottish colleges this week, as the Scottish Funding Council published some very encouraging statistics for the sector.
The number of enrolments were up 3.9 per cent in 2017-18 and the total student headcount increased by 2.9 per cent.
More impressively, these increases came at a time when the number of young people in the Scottish population as a whole has been declining.
Meanwhile, the number of enrolments for non-recognised qualifications (NRQs) and courses under 10 hours in duration has increased in 2017-18 by almost a quarter, compared with last year - something that can be “at least, partly explained by an increase in the number of primary and secondary school pupils enrolled at colleges on these types of courses”, said the SFC.
The Scottish college sector has exceeded its delivery target every year since that target was introduced. In 2017-18, it exceeded that number by around 2,400 full-time equivalents (FTEs).
Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said the latest figures from the SFC revealed that colleges “are continuing to make good progress in key areas”.
“The college sector provides a variety of flexible routes into a career, working with schools, universities and employers to ensure that the learner takes the route that is both right for them and as efficient as possible. Colleges are contributing significantly to inclusive economic growth in Scotland and delivering courses that support people to gain industry-relevant skills that lead to employment.”
Other key findings published by the SFC include:
• Some 66.1 per cent of learners successfully completed their course - an increase of 0.8 percentage points over 2016-17 and the highest success rate over the past 10 years.
• In 2017-18, of the 26 colleges delivering full-time FE courses, 13 had improved success rates in comparison with the previous year.
• 4,678 additional full-time FE students successfully completed their course in 2017-18 in comparison with 2008-09.
• Of the 15 colleges delivering full-time higher education courses in 2017-18, six had improved pass rates in comparison with the previous year.
