Following the demise of the Learning Skills Council (LSC) in
2009, and the collapse of the Building Colleges for the Future
funding programme, the further education sector has been faced with
a new challenge: how to raise capital in the absence of strong
central government funding.
With colleges already tackling increased competition and the
subsequent need to improve the student experience, a lack of
available capital funding is further restricting the opportunity
for them to update curriculum delivery and modernise and optimise
their estates.
Furthermore, colleges are still adapting to the implications of
the Comprehensive Spending Review - increased tuition fees, the
reach down into the 14-16 market, academy sponsorship, studio
schools, the introduction of HE into FE, accreditation, and the
growth of the sector into the overseas student market.
Capita Symonds delivers bespoke solutions that facilitate a
transformational change of the college estate while maintaining the
learner’s place at the centre of a college’s strategic objectives.
For the further education sectors we have developed various
alternative funding models including the introduction of local
asset backed funding vehicles that enable colleges to realise their
existing stock while raising capital for their ongoing estates
strategy.
Image:
Bitterne Park 6th Form College, Southampton