Memorandum 28
Submission from the Community and Youth
Work Training Agencies Group (TAG)
I am writing on behalf of the Community and
Youth Work Training Agencies Group (TAG), the professional association
for lecturers in youth and community work education in England,
Wales, Scotland, N. Ireland and Eire, to express our concern about
the changes to HEFCE funding recently announced by John Denham,
Minister for Innovation, Universities and Skills. The changes
will mean that universities will no longer receive HEFCE funding
for students embarking on a second programme of Undergraduate
study, where the second Award is of the same or a lesser level
of study than the first.
We fear that this change will impact significantly
on the recruitment and retention of youth workers, as there is
a lack of awareness amongst young people / the general public
of youth work as a career, and this means that people often complete
their first degree and subsequently discover where their interest
lies. Their work experience, or voluntary work, frequently kindles
this interest but in the initial stages, practitioners are seldom
in positions where they are well paid.
As you may know, to qualify as professional
youth and community workers, practitioners need to undertake a
course of Higher Education study leading to a professionally recognised
(JNC) qualification. Most of the courses on offer are undergraduate
courses. Consequently, many of these "career-changers"
enrol on Diplomas of Higher Education, Foundation Degrees, Honours
Degrees or Graduate Diplomas. Currently these students attract
HEFCE funding and this is reflected in the fee charged to the
individual student. It is, as yet, too early to say how individual
HE institutions will respond to the HEFCE change of priorities,
however, it is likely that it will lead to students needing to
meet the full cost of their study—either as individuals
or through sponsors. Alternatively, students may enrol for Masters
or other Post Graduate courses as these may better suit their
needs, but this, again, can be an expensive and more lengthy option
for practitioners and sponsoring bodies.
We are aware through the recently published
10-year strategy, Aiming High, that the government wishes to encourage
high quality candidates into the youth workforce and is concerned
about recruitment and retention within the profession. Any policy
that makes it more expensive for practitioners to qualify (as
opposed to providing incentives as occurs within some other professions
such as teaching or social work) seems to work against the spirit
of the vision as described within Aiming High. We also note that
the recently announced Comprehensive Spending Review includes
funding to support Higher Education and a commitment to "explore
new ways of delivering higher-level skills in the workplace",
we hope that this commitment might extend to professional qualifications
for this important sector of the children and young people's workforce,
as this will help to ensure high quality provision for young people.
We would therefore ask you to raise this issue
through appropriate channels, as we believe that this policy may
have an impact that is in direct contradiction to the government's
aspirations as expressed within its 10-year strategy. We hope
that you are able to take this matter forward and would also welcome
any opportunity for further discussion that might support the
vision of Aiming High.
January 2008
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