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THE number of full-time staff working at colleges in Scotland fell by 13.5 per cent in just over a decade, according to analysis by Scottish Labour.
There were 12,653 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees at colleges across the country in 2007/2008, figures from the Scottish Funding Council show.
The number had dropped to 10,942 by 2017/2018.
The statistics also show the number of FTE teaching staff fell over the same period – down by 12.7 per cent from 6,311 to 5,512.
College staff in Scotland are locked in a bitter dispute with management over pay, prompting strikes and a work-to-rule.
Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray said: “Further education in Scotland has suffered since the SNP’s botched regionalisation of the sector.
“Colleges have faced under-investment, the number of students has plummeted by 120,000 and staff numbers have also declined.”
Writing about the pay dispute in the Morning Star earlier this week, Education Institute of Scotland (EIS) general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “Lecturers and students want this dispute resolved, yet college management and Colleges Scotland continue to show few signs of a willingness to settle.
“The EIS is now calling on the Scottish government to intervene to help resolve the dispute.”
