1,500 college staff unqualified

MORE than 1,500 members of teaching staff in Scotland’s colleges have no qualifications in education.

This includes 436 who are without any formal diploma, a study has found.

When full-time, part-time, temporary and permanent workers were taken into account, 1,524 staff had no teaching qualification, according to a report looking at staffing in colleges in 2016-17.

In this group were 321 full-time and 340 part-time permanent staff, plus 35 fulltime temporary employees and 392 parttime staff hired on a short-term basis.

Meanwhile, there were 80 full-time permanent members of teaching staff and 84 part-time permanent employees with no formal qualifications, along with eight full-time temporary workers and 264 part-time, short-term staff.

Overall, colleges employed 10,891 fulltime staff members in 2016-17, up 0.4 per cent from the previous year.

Some 49.1 per cent were teaching staff but there were 29 fewer full-time posts than in 2014-15, while non-teaching staff rose by 122 over the same period.

The Scottish Funding Council report showed that more college lecturers have undergone teacher training – rising from 87.8 per cent of full-time, permanent employees in 2014-15 to 88.9 per cent in 2016-17.

It stated: ‘Teaching staff with no formal qualification are most likely to be employed part-time and to be on a temporary contract.

‘In all likelihood these staff will be delivering specialised subjects or be relatively new to the college teaching profession, and will either have a relevant technical qualification and/or industry experience.’

Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said that the second annual report on staffing in the sector included ‘many positives’.

She said: ‘It confirms there has been an increase in both overall staff and in fulltime equivalent staff within the sector.

‘There has also been an increase in the number of lecturers with a recognised teaching qualification, which is good news for students.

‘The data also shows there are more women employed, as well as more staff with a disclosed disability and from minorities. Colleges are taking their role as equal opportunity employers seriously.

‘The hard-working staff in colleges are the reason the sector continues to produce skilled learners, meets the needs of employers, and helps deliver inclusive economic growth in Scotland.’