Post conference thoughts

The last few weeks have been a busy time for conferences, with the fdf Conference in October followed by the UVAC and C-SAP conferences in November. As I mentioned in my last post, I was particularly looking forward to hearing the contrasting views of the Minister of State for Higher Education, David Lammy MP and his shadow John Hayes MP. Unfortunately due to ministerial business David Lammy was unable to attend – a great shame as it would have been an excellent opportunity for the minister to talk with the people who are trying to make the higher skill agenda a reality on a day-to-day basis. The address by John Hayes was long on criticism of current government policy, but rather short on policy proposals to overcome the problems identified. Such is the luxury of opposition.

Party Politics

With the next general election approaching, the parties are getting busy outlining their policies. Whether they will have the funds available to pay for these is of course another matter, but following on from the Liberal Democrats commitment to 10,000 extra university places and 50,000 extra college places for Foundation degrees (see blog entry for 12th September), the Conservatives have also pledged 10,000 additional university places. From their press release there seems to be no mention of additional Foundation Degree places whether college or university based. However, the point that does interest me is that both parties are proposing these as a response to rising levels of youth unemployment in the current downturn. It’s easy to see the short-term political logic of getting people off the unemployment figures, but less clear how this might relate to a longer term skills strategy aimed at addressing the skills needs of the economy.

Perhaps we shall hear more at the forthcoming UVAC conference where both the Minister of State for Higher Education, David Lammy MP and the Shadow Minister John Hayes MP are scheduled to speak.

Research and Foundation Degrees

A review of research literature relating to Foundation degrees has recently been published on the fdf website. I've not had a chance to read it all yet - but from what I have seen, it provides an excellent survey of publications up to the start of this year.