Plans to cut more than 40 jobs at Coleg Gwent

Martin Shipton

One of the largest further education colleges in Wales has proposed making more than 40 of its teaching staff redundant.

Coleg Gwent, which has five campuses at Newport, Cwmbran, Cross Keys, Ebbw Vale and Usk, is consulting with the University and College Union (UCU) over the plans, which would see cuts across the board. which opposes compulsory redundancies. The UCU opposes compulsory redundancies.

A document issued by the college to staff states: “In 2023 we agreed a financial recovery plan with the Board, which we would put into action over three years. We wanted to take our time to get it right and to make sure that we still offer an excellent experience for our learners.

“As part of this plan, last year we formed working groups to look at savings across the college and had our first round of voluntary redundancies. This saved around £2.5m and met our initial targets of delivering a cash surplus of 0.1% for 2024/25.

“Our plan for next academic year (2025/26) is to get to 3.1% cash surplus, which we predicted would take around £3.5m of efficiencies. While some of our funding is predictable, we will always need to adjust our plans when things change. As we have now had our predicted funding allocation for next year, we have used the latest figures and adjusted our plans to reduce that £3.5m figure. The proposal that we have put together will deliver our 3.1% target for next year with £2.5m of efficiencies.”

Shocked

The scale of the cuts has shocked teaching staff. A lecturer impacted by the proposed changes who teaches at Crosskeys told Nation.Cymru: “Literally dozens have been called in for one to one meetings about whether we will have a job next year. We are told it’s just a consultation but the college has also told us how many staff we need to lose in my area. They say they want to offer us voluntary redundancy, contract reduction or redeployment but at the same time they won’t rule out that they will make us compulsorily redundant.

“A lot of us are scared and morale is low and we’re told not to tell the students anything in case we upset them but we’re all upset ourselves! They said in the union meeting the other day that the college wants to get rid of 41 staff by the end of July; we are concerned one of those will be us.”

Another Coleg Gwent source said: One of the problems is that in recent years the college has got rid of campus managers, which means that liaison with local communities is not as good as it used to be.”

A-level Welsh

One consequence of the cuts would be the end of A-level Welsh being taught at the Ebbw Vale campus in a move that would bring to an end the post-16 teaching of the language in the county borough.

Blaenau Gwent Labour MS Alun Davies said: “I spoke to the college last week. It’s very disappointing. We need to protect the integrity of the overall offer to students and the contribution that the college makes to the skills agenda.”

A spokesperson for Coleg Gwent said: “We, like many further education institutions across the sector, are navigating significant financial challenges.

“To balance the long-term financial sustainability of the college and the need to deliver an excellent learner experience, we are undertaking a strategic review of the college’s operations.

“Working closely with our trade unions, a formal consultation period has started, and we are exploring a range of proposals covering both the business support functions and curriculum delivery models. It is important to stress that at this stage, these are

just proposals; therefore, cannot confirm the number of jobs that may be at risk, but it is our aim to avoid compulsory redundancies, and this would be considered as the very last resort.

“Unfortunately, we have suffered a reduction in demand for A level Welsh in Blaenau Gwent, so as part of our proposed changes, we are considering consolidating A level Welsh to our Crosskeys campus. This is to ensure a good learner experience. The Welsh language and culture of Wales is significant to the college, and we put considerable resources into embedding Welsh within other curriculum areas. We will also continue to work in close partnership with Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to develop the Welsh language skills of our learners

“Despite these challenges, the college remains committed to supporting staff, providing high-quality educational opportunities and enhancing the learner experience for now and for future generations to come.”