When the collective voice starts to be heard, it is worth pausing to notice it.

Further education has carried a huge amount over the last decade. Recent Scottish Funding Council staffing data shows Scotland’s college teaching staff decreased by 11.6% between 2015–16 and 2024–25, and sector commentary has described core teaching capacity as having reduced by around 14% over that period. Yet colleges have continued to deliver, adapt, support learners, respond to communities and hold opportunity open for so many. 

That should not be taken for granted.

At Dundee and Angus College, I feel genuinely grateful to be part of a place where staff, leadership and union have continued to work together with commitment, honesty and care.

Change does not happen because of one voice.

It happens when people keep showing up.

When staff speak from experience.

When leadership listens and engages.

When union voice keeps the human impact visible.

When difficult conversations are held with respect.

When the future of FE is seen as something worth fighting for and building together.

It feels significant that colleges are being recognised nationally as anchors of economic and social progress, and that future infrastructure support for Dundee and Angus College has been specifically named in the SNP’s 2026 manifesto commitments. 

There is still a great deal to do, and the pressures across the sector are very real. But moments of recognition matter.

They remind us that collective, persistent, collaborative work can make change visible.

So today, this is a humble thank you, to you, to colleagues, leaders, union representatives and everyone who continues to care about students, staff, communities and the future of further education.

The power of the collective is not just in being heard.

It is in what we can change together