Cardiff college says Brexit helping recruit Chinese students

Cardiff and Vale College says Brexit has forced it to look elsewhere for funding

One of the UK's largest further education colleges says Brexit is helping it boost income and recruit Chinese students.

Cardiff and Vale College will open a new campus in Shanghai later this year.

The sector said it is adapting to Brexit by developing new income streams but that the Welsh Government is not funding FE colleges as it should.

The Welsh Government said that it had protected funding for full-time FE courses.

Over the last decade further education colleges have been involved in delivering EU programmes worth £600m, funded by EU cash and other sources.

Mike James, college principal, told a committee of assembly members earlier this year that Cardiff and Vale College's activities in China will generate over £3m a year.

He also said that since the result of the 2016 EU referendum there had been a "huge push" from Chinese partners for further collaboration.

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"Our partnership with China has become very strong over the last two years, potentially helped by Brexit but also helped by the Belt and Road initiative, the strategic development in China which has encouraged international collaboration particularly around education," said Mary Kent, vice-principal at Cardiff and Vale College.

Eight students from Shanghai started their final year of A-level studies in Cardiff last month after undertaking the first part of their studies at the Cardiff and Vale College Shanghai Centre.

Zhihui Li said the quality of studying in Wales is better than in China

Later this year the college will open a second centre in Shanghai for over 200 students, with 40 coming to the Welsh capital to study.

"I think that the quality of studying in Wales is better than in China - there is more time for self-study but in China it is just teachers teaching and students writing notes," said Zhihui Li, who has been studying her A-levels in Cardiff since last month.

The college said there are many social and cultural benefits that come from the work it does in China.

But Colleges Wales, which represents the Welsh further education sector, said colleges have had no choice but to look for alternative ways to bring in money.

Iestyn Davies said the Welsh Government "hasn't really funded colleges the way they should"

Iestyn Davies, chief executive, told the Sunday Politics Wales programme that Cardiff and Vale College's (CAVC) work in China is a "fantastic example of how colleges are adapting to the reality of what Brexit means".

"But more importantly it is something that they've had to do for a number of years because the Welsh Government sadly hasn't really funded colleges the way they should," he said.

"I remain really concerned about what Brexit might mean with a £50m hole in the FE and skills budget and the inability of the WG at this point in time to prioritise post-16 education in schools and FE colleges," he added.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We welcome CAVC's decision to expand in China and have been encouraging FEIs to look at different sources of income for some time.

"We have been clear about the challenges our FE sector will face following Brexit and that's why we're calling for guarantees from Whitehall that EU funding will be replaced and that decisions on how it is invested will continue to be made in Wales."

Sunday Politics Wales, BBC One 11:00 BST