College places drop by 8,000 in a year

Responding to new statistics showing that the number of full-time equivalent places delivered by colleges dropped to 116,602 in 2023-24, the lowest on record and falling by more than 8,000 places in a single year, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP said:

“Colleges are in crisis and this big drop in learners is really worrying. The SNP’s failure to get to grips with delivering the skilled workforce Scotland needs is a multi-billion-pound problem.

“Our economic future rests heavily on the capabilities and knowledge of the workforce and colleges are key to boosting this. We need a greater focus and parity of esteem for colleges, skills and vocational education for the sake of social care, renewables, construction, hospitality and many more sectors.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have just secured millions of pounds to deliver new college programmes focused on care and offshore wind through our budget negotiations. It shows our commitment to working with colleges to deliver the skills our economy and public services need.”