I HAVE long been an admirer of the further education sector.
Too often, it has been the poor relation of Scottish education, not least when it comes to funding.
It attracts neither the public profile of school-based teaching nor the status of universities.
Yet it is on the further education sector that communities have long relied for teaching skills and services on which we all depend.
Where would be without the plumbers and mechanics who come through further education, working closely with local employers?
Of course, further education colleges run higher level courses as well.
In fact, they cover the entire educational spectrum from special needs to degrees.
The Scottish further education sector has been in a state of flux – some would say siege – over the past few years.
It has suffered massive budget cuts at the hands of the Scottish Government.
There is an astonishing drop in the number of students – about 150,000 across Scotland – as further education has been obliged to focus more on full-time courses.
I have concerns about that approach.
For many, particularly women who missed out on qualifications first time round, further education has always offered a second chance.
That is likely to be on a part-time basis to fit in with family and work commitments - a route to self-help which surely must be safeguarded.
The other source of major upheaval has been the merger of Scotland’s colleges as exemplified by the creation, in November 2013, of the North East Scotland College which brought together Aberdeen College with Banff & Buchan, as well as the Scottish Maritime College at Peterhead.
It’s now a pretty big set-up with almost 7,000 full-time students.
Amidst this reorganisation and re-focusing, it is vital that further education colleges retain their strong links with communities from which they have sprung and for which apprenticeships are at least as important as degrees.
NESCol recognises this through its Modern Apprenticeships programme as well as the interesting and recent Foundation Apprenticeships, building with existing links with schools.
Pupils in fourth year and beyond can start working on Foundation Apprenticeships across a wide range of subjects, in conjunction with their local campuses, while still at school.
This is a significant effort to bridge that gap while making the later school years more purposeful for many young people.
For obvious reasons, the jobs market in Aberdeen and the North-east is tougher now that it has been for several decades.
Skills will be more vital than ever for those who seek to enter that market-place and our further education colleges have as important a role as ever in ensuring that nobody is left behind.