[Scabbydog]

I came upon this in the Star.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/J...-by.6054151.jp

The University and College Union believes more than 15,000 jobs, could disappear in the next few years as Government spending cuts bite, 340 of them at Sheffield Hallam University.

Whatever happened to "our 3 priorities are education, education and education"?

[Entwhistle]

There is no smoke without fire. My fear is that education, education, education will become cut, cut,cut after the next election. There has been a recent big increase in students applying for university places, I think largely due to the fact that people leaving school cannot find suitable work. The increase has come at the same time as an announcement of cuts in university spending. The next few years will be rocky , to say the least in my opinion.

[Agent Gypo]

I feel sorry for anyone who faces losing their job, but this has been on the cards for a while. A radical shake-up of the way universities are structured; at least at faculty level; is long-overdue.

[vwkittie]

The 340 job losses part isn't true. Although I would definately expect that staff numbers will be reduced at Hallam over the coming years - we have been told that compulsory redundancy will be a very last resort.

But then, who knows

[Entwhistle]

Originally Posted by vwkittie

The 340 job losses part isn't true. Although I would definately expect that staff numbers will be reduced at Hallam over the coming years - we have been told that compulsory redundancy will be a very last resort.
But then, who knows

That is a management way of stating that they are leaving the door open for compulsory redundancy.

[Darth Vader]

Well if Sheffield attracts less students because of the hugely disproportionate and vicious response to the war memorial issue, I wouldn't be surprised.

[DeathAxe]

Why not instead stop giving alot of those higher paid staff free rides, by providing them with trips accross the world, all expenses paid etc. Those so called 'research assistants' could do with the boot aswell as they get paid to do nothing (they also get free rides too)

[Rupert_Baehr]

There are likely to be job cuts everywhere, IMO. They're perhaps easier to predict in the private sector, where a downturn in demand will lead to layoffs and company closures, but they're going to happen in the public sector, too.

The government has used education as a political football in an attempt to hide unemployment problems. If you leave school at 16, there are no jobs, so you can't have unemployment benefit, so you may as well stay on until you are 18. At 18, we want you to go to college. If you can't get a place on a challenging course , we will introduce easier courses so you can get a place. (Mandelson last summer: "Entry requirements for some university courses are too high for the applicants. We need to offer easier courses."

So you get loads of people with 'degrees 'in under-water basket-weaving".

Unfortunately, there aren't many jobs going in under-water basket-weaving so you get loads of unemployed (and unemployable) graduates.

Who is going to employ all those people who 'graduate' from the easier courses?

Do you really need a bachelor's degree to say: "Do you want fries with that?"

I wonder how many graduates in 'Meeja Studies' will be trying to enter the work force this summer? How many people will be chasing each job?

How many lawyers will graduate this year? How many pupillages or training contracts will they be chasing?

How many newly-qualified doctors will be unable to find a residency?

Perhaps it's time that the universities matched the number of places offered in each discipline more closely to the number of vacancies predicted for people with the qualification they are studying to obtain.

[Scabbydog]

I suspect that this is just the tip of the iceberg because last month Mandy announced a £500,000,000 cut in funding for the universities at a time when record numbers of students are applying as an alternative to being on the dole.

However as these cuts are in the budget for next year no doubt he will try and blame the job losses on the incoming government.

[swissheavy]

Originally Posted by DeathAxe

Why not instead stop giving alot of those higher paid staff free rides, by providing them with trips accross the world, all expenses paid etc. Those so called 'research assistants' could do with the boot aswell as they get paid to do nothing (they also get free rides too)

Completely agree. Some have been on a great old gravy train for far too long. The research assistants are usually PHD students though and are useful for undergrad studies.

Above all of this though is the core undergraduate stuff. The government needs to stop fast tracking college leavers into University. Far too many are leaving with a decent 2.1 degree to find it completely useless in the workplace and useless towards getting that crucial first job.

[Dan_Ashcroft]

Both unis are having about 15-20% of their budgets cut (as all HE is) - around £25-30m per year.

Both will have a tough time over the next 2 years or so, but neither are planning redundancies. Sheffield have already had their big voluntary serverance scheme. Generally though people leaving wont be replaced and fixed-term contracts wont be extended.

However in 2012/13 unis will be allowed to increase their fees, and that will solve this funding crisis. Market forces will take over and because both universities are excellent, they are well equipped to thrive. Demand will always succeed supply for them, while the poorer unis will go out of business/end up merging.

[mogwai84]

Originally Posted by DeathAxe

Why not instead stop giving alot of those higher paid staff free rides, by providing them with trips accross the world, all expenses paid etc. Those so called 'research assistants' could do with the boot aswell as they get paid to do nothing (they also get free rides too)

Who gives them 'free rides'? All the money comes from some form of research funding/consultancy. HEFCE accounts for a small fraction of the total budget for many faculties/departments.

And research assistants being paid to do nothing? Dream on! RA's and equivelant contribute a huge amount to research and teaching. Many on a research scale may well not see their fixed term contracts extended.

I actually guess that this will hit the administrative and central resources of the unis harder than the academics, most of whom have been tying down longer grants and funding before they are frozen. I'd guess to ride out the next few years until fees can increase.

As mentioned, UoS ran a voluntary severance scheme, and I'd guess Hallam will follow suit.

[GrannyGranny]

Sheffield Uni were offering a years salary as the volentary redundancy package. They didn't need to make any compulsary redundancies as a result.

[girlanon]

No - the 340 referred to 340 people on the associate lecturer list who don't do this anymore.

[vwkittie]

No one can deny that there are a heck of a lot of overpaid buffoons employed at Hallam, who couldn't find their arse with both hands and a map.

And there is also far too many people taking the pee with sick leave, off for years at a time, come back for just long enough to get their pay back then off they go again

No wonder they need to reduce staffing costs.

[hobotime]

Originally Posted by girlanon

No - the 340 referred to 340 people on the associate lecturer list who don't do this anymore.

Can confirm this is true.

[metalman]

Originally Posted by Rupert_Baehr

Perhaps it's time that the universities matched the number of places offered in each discipline more closely to the number of vacancies predicted for people with the qualification they are studying to obtain.

That really only works if you assume that everyone who does, say, physics, is going to become a physicist rather than go into any number of other careers where their numerate degree might be useful e.g. teaching, accountancy, whatever.

[al_partridge]

Originally Posted by GrannyGranny

Sheffield Uni were offering a years salary as the volentary redundancy package. They didn't need to make any compulsary redundancies as a result.

The VSS reduced the annual salary bill by around £13m, but they're still £9.5m over budget so further measures will be taken.

[Shef_Fitness]

I hope they simply don't cut the Admin staff or Porters. Could be a good time to remove a few overpaid Directors

[dink]

How come there is always a mass interest in job cuts at university etc, but when steelworks, shops etc go bust, no one really cares, Universities will never go under, they will just not have the funding to offer all they have before, for example, maybe the staff canteen prices may rise slightly and not be subbed as much?

I dont wish anyone to lose there jobs, but when the money coming in drops and nearly goes lower than the money going out, things need to happen to bring the situation back in line, i lost my job through redudancy in 2006 when my company decided that they could get the same output from the work force by dropping the Admin staff from 12 members to 4, they where right to as it did work the lazy sods, who use to sit on the net all day had to work as the others couldnt 'cover' for them, most business in this country have been run poorly, everyone blames the credit crunch, but if these companies hadnt stretched themselves in the chase for more profit, maybe they wouldnt have gone under.

Maybe reducing the number of libary assistants may free up more funds for the university to spend on learning??