So where have all the photography courses gone? pt2

Following my posting yesterday, I decided to investigate further the under lying issues which have led to the demise of creative vocational courses in Birmingham for adult learners. Having last tried last year to defend the against the cuts at Bham Met College, I was quite familiar with the funding constraints being placed on FE education by the government and the introduction of the Skills Funding Agency to replace the sagging Learning and Skills Council.

With this change, all courses had to make sure that they made it on the new framework so as to ensure continued funding so that the colleges etc could continue to offer these units/courses. In reality, this meant that if the qualification was not funded, students would be expected to pay the full fees (full cost recovery) for the course and this could mean that a course which previously cost £220 (if you had to pay) would now cost £1200 if unfunded. Also if you were classified by the government as receiving 'inactive benefits' (income support, working tax credit, pension or housing credits etc.), you received your course free.

At the time, with the aid of C&G, I discovered the majority of the courses which we delivered at Bham Met were still funded having made it on to the new framework. So I was curious to see if the situation had changed in the last 12 months.

My first port of call was the new 'shiny' Skills Funding Agency website. I quickly download the relevant course files and was relieved to see that the agency was still to continuing to the majority of L2 & L3 photography courses along with a multitude of other creative vocational courses. However, here comes the rub, the criteria for funding for adult has significantly changed within the last 12 months. Post 19 students still qualify for funding provided:

- The course (level 2) helps you gain skills you need to enter a particular occupation.
- You must still be under 25 to be eligible for the free tuition fees for a Level 3 qualification. The qualification you choose could help you progress within a particular occupation and/or into higher education.

So what happens if your intended course or your learning strategy (studying a creative subject for personal self-development)  doesn't meet this criteria or your over 25 years old. Also, and far more worryingly, the government (Skills Funding Agency) has removed funding to all those who previously received 'inactive benefits'.

Take those for example on working tax credit, which was designed to help support those on low incomes and their families, as an example. If a single person works 30 hours a week on minimum wage, their income is just £9,050 a year. How many would be able to pay for further education and training fees on this kind of salary?

To me this kind of view seems so short sighted especially as the government is supposed to be growing the private sector so as to compensate for the severe cuts in the public sector. How are people so supposed to retrain to meet the requirements of new employers if they can't afford the courses. Conversely, why should education facilities continue to support adult education if they are forced to charge full cost recovery to all students. One example I was given yesterday was by a former student who had tried to enrol on an A level art course and had been told that the 1st years fees for 6 hours a week study would be charged £1400 excluding exam costs (because she was over 25).

I would strongly ask that both educators and local MPs look at the latest reports published by Skillset to see how strong the creative industries are in this area and how these new funding policies threaten to throttle all future growth from this short term planning. If you don't provide these new individuals with the skills and resources, you continue to undermine any future growth in this key industry sector.

Richard Southall

www.emphasis.biz
www.richardsouthall.co.uk


Ps
Just a couple of facts for those not convinced how big the Photo industry is:
- Photography is the largest creative industry in the UK employing 43,100 (in 2010)
- 9% (3,800) of the photography industry work/are based in the West Midlands
- 69% of individuals working in the photography industry (in a recent Skillset Survey 2010) stated that a major barrier to learning and continued CPD was the cost of education.