ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES | BUSINESS PROFILE
THE VOICE OF TRAINING QUALITY
ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES
www.aoc.co.uk
Giving colleges a voice is an essential part of Martin Doel’s job description. As Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), he is committed to promoting the interests of this sector, which offers further and higher education courses to people aged 14 and over. Technical and vocational education has
traditionally been seen as the poor relation of academic studies. But this is changing, not least thanks to the work of AoC, which represents more than 360 colleges – over 95 per cent of the sector – across the UK.
CAMPAIGNING FOR CHANGE “Colleges are at the heart of higher skills training,” says Doel, “and AoC has been central to promoting their work on a national basis. One of the successes of colleges in the past 20 years has been in raising the standing of technical and vocational education, giving young people the opportunity to choose an apprenticeship over a university place.” Campaigning for change is what AoC does
best. Set up by colleges in 1996 as a not-for-profit membership organisation, it employs more than 100 people who ensure that important issues affecting colleges, their students and staff are kept at the top of the political agenda.
It was successful representations by AoC that resulted in a change of government policy to allow disadvantaged 16- to 18-year-olds in colleges access to free meals. Previously, only pupils in school sixth forms had received free lunches, which meant over 100,000 students in institutions such as further education and performing arts colleges were missing out. In March 2012, AoC launched the No Free
Lunch? campaign, which received widespread cross-party support. “The campaign was innovative in that it was built from a grass-roots level,” says Doel, “utilising students and staff in colleges from across England to communicate the message and keep the issue on the political agenda.”
SUCCESS STORY AoC achieved its aim in September 2013 when Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, announced that free meals would be available to college students from September 2014. Says Doel: “The fundamental inequality and simple message of the campaign resulted in
widespread coverage which, along with changing the policy, also helped to raise the profile of colleges and the further education sector.” Despite such successes, AoC is never
complacent. Doel highlights the fact that the labour market is facing growing challenges in meeting employer demand with skills shortages in leisure, manufacturing and caring sectors. This “technician gap” could be closed through the training that colleges offer – but only with the right support. Each year, colleges educate and train more than 3 million people, yet higher technical and vocational education in England is small in comparison to other countries. “Higher apprenticeships are a development
in the right direction and have political capital, but need support,” says Doel. “We have worked, and continue to work, with government, businesses and other partners to further support higher technical and vocational education.” Making sure that this is given national exposure by giving colleges a voice is what AoC has been doing for the past two decades, and will continue to do for years to come.
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“ HIGHER APPRENTICESHIPS ARE A DEVELOPMENT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND HAVE POLITICAL CAPITAL, BUT NEED SUPPORT”
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