Plymouth city centre protests on Saturday over devastating cuts to adult education

The rally, organised by UCU and supported by City College Plymouth, will be held on the piazza outside the Civic Centre Royal Parade and starts at 12pm.

Protestors will gather in the piazza to listen to speeches before setting off on a march to City College Plymouth at 1:30pm. Speakers include college staff, students, UCU regional official Nick Varney and Plymouth's poet laureate, Sullivan the Poet.

It has been organised following the announcement that funding for adult learning courses across the south west is to be cut by up to 24% in 2015/16. Hundreds of staff have been put at risk of redundancy in colleges across the region, including City of Bristol College, Cornwall College, Petroc College, Somerset College and Yeovil College.

UCU said that adult learning opportunities are crucial for people who need to improve their skills or retrain. A national petition organised by UCU calling for the cuts to be reversed has been signed by over 42,000 people.

UCU regional official, Nick Varney, said: 'Plymouth has an ageing population. Between 2011 and 2021 the number of residents over 75 will rise from 19,716 to 24,731. Five neighbourhoods have over 40% of residents aged over the age of 50.

'A one size fits all funding regime and a concentration on apprenticeships does not match what is needed in the city. Lifelong learning should encompass all ages and improving the skills of existing workers is essential to breaking the low wage economy that currently exists.

'Many small businesses report skills gaps that are hindering their ability to expand, or even to stand still. They report a lack of suitable short courses and costs as the main reason for this. Over the last five years, short courses have increased in price or disappeared due to funding cuts.

'Politicians need to understand that without colleges running the variety of courses that they currently do, thousands of people will be left high and dry and the economy in the region will suffer for it. The message that we will send out on Saturday is clear: we should be expanding opportunities for people to train, not cutting vital resources.'

The rally comes in the same week that a report confirmed the crucial role further education plays in teaching skills to adults aged 19 and over. The report's author, Professor Alison Wolf who also produced a government review of vocational education, warned that the further education sector faces possible collapse if these cuts are implemented.