Wiltshire College may be forced into staff redundancies due to Coronavirus impact
According to the College, it has an estimated £2 million budget deficit because of the pandemic
Last updated 24th Nov 2020
A major College in our region says it is assessing ways that staff costs can be reduced, due to a "substantial drop" of income levels.
Wiltshire College has campuses across the county, including around Chippenham and Trowbridge.
Employees there are currently being consulted about the decisions - it is hopeful redundancies will be minimised.
Amanda Burnside, Principal and CEO of Wiltshire College and University Centre said:
"The College had a turnover of £35m last year and we did see a substantial drop in our income levels as a result of Covid-19, particularly in terms of apprenticeship, commercial and residential income.
"Our staff are fully aware of this and we are consulting with them as to the best way of achieving the savings. We are hopeful that we will be able to minimise redundancies through a range of routes including voluntary redundancies and more efficient ways of working as well as flexible working requests".
The University and College Union claims it's been notified of up to 40 job losses at Wiltshire College.
Colleges across England have also been told their existing funds must pay for the extra costs of making their campuses COVID-secure.