Labour Party appoints Kate Green as Shadow Education Secretary - AoC responds

On Saturday 27 June, the Labour Party announced Kate Green MP for Stretford and Urmston as the new Shadow Education Secretary. Responding to the news, Chief Executive David Hughes said: "Congratulations to Kate Green in her new role as Shadow Education Secretary. I am looking forward to working with her to support young people and adults to access the learning and training they need in colleges. I know that she recognises the vital role colleges play in supporting people to get in in life and work, businesses to improve productivity and communities to come together. Colleges hold the key to rebuilding the country as we recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of young people and adults will struggle to find secure employment and colleges stand ready to support those who need to retrain and upskill to find work or to progress in learning. The current crisis has brought the best out of colleges which are doing so much to support their students and their communities, but they now need the long term investment which will help them thrive. A skills-led recovery is the only way to ensure that recovery comes to every community and to all parts of the country and at AoC we are keen to see a cross-party consensus on the role of colleges in that.”