6 Fraser of Allander Institute
2.1 Introduction
In this section, we provide a summary of the college sector in Scotland.
Colleges in Scotland provide a wide range of training and qualifications across a variety of professions from
basic skills to postgraduate degrees. They are the providers of both further and higher education (HE) in
Scotland.
In 2015/16, over 227,000 students attended college of which, approximately two thirds studied part-time.
In addition, colleges provide 28% of all HE level study in Scotland.
Following a series of mergers and a reform of the college sector from 2012 onwards, Scotland now has 26
colleges across 13 regions.
2.2 The Sector in Scotland
Table 1: FTE staff by occupation and mode of employment 2014/15 to 2015/16
2014-15 % of staff 2015-16 % of staff
% change
between
years
Teaching Permanent Full-time 3,604 33.4% 3,626 33.6% 0.6%
Part-time 1,225 11.4% 1,247 11.5% 1.8%
Total 4,829 44.7% 4,873 45.1% 0.9%
Temporary Full-time 72 0.7% 53 0.5% -25.7%
Part-time 471 4.4% 398 3.7% -15.6%
Total 543 5.0% 451 4.2% -16.9%
Teaching total* 5,372 49.8% 5,324 49.3% -0.9%
Non-teaching Permanent Full-time 3,736 34.6% 3,775 34.9% 1.0%
Part-time 1,201 11.1% 1,260 11.7% 4.9%
Total 4,937 45.7% 5,035 46.6% 2.0%
Temporary Full-time 300 2.8% 262 2.4% -12.4%
Part-time 187 1.7% 183 1.7% -2.2%
Total 487 4.5% 446 4.1% -8.5%
Non-teaching total* 5,424 50.2% 5,480 50.7% 1.0%
Staff total* 10,796 100.0% 10,804 100.0% 0.1%
* May not sum due to rounding Source: Scottish Funding Council
There were 10,804 FTE staff in Scotland's colleges in 2015/16 compared to 10,796 in 2014/15, an increase
of 0.1%.
Staff numbers have changed over the years. Following a series of mergers and reform of the college sector
there was a nine percent fall in FTE staff numbers. However, this has increased in recent years.
Table 2 provides the most recent expenditure data for the sector. Expenditure totalled £663 million in
2015/16. By far the biggest expenditure was staff costs (65.3%) with other operating expenditures making
up 25%.
The College Sector in Scotland
Chapter 2