The new boss of Hull College has revealed the “books are balanced” following the start of a huge restructuring plan to drag the college out of debt.
Chief executive Michelle Swithenbank has faced protests and calls to resign since announcing her intention to cut 231 jobs amid huge financial problems at the college.
And while she admits there are still “bumpy roads” ahead, she now plans to draw a line under her turbulent first year and see through her action plan for a fresh start.
The former nurse is in her first chief executive role and says her experiences of the past year - including a University and College Union vote of no confidence - have been “character building”.
'We're moving into a new era'
She has also praised the way staff and stakeholders have rallied around the Wilberforce Drive based FE and HE college.
“All of our restructure is now complete," she said. "That’s all done so when we come back in September it is a new era, moving forward to new beginnings."
She says all the redundancies made have been voluntary and her focus now is to revive the college through implementing her five-year plan.
If successful, it will result in the company becoming financially self-sufficient following recommendations from the Further Education (FE) Commissioner.
“We’ve done all of it through voluntary redundancy as well so the line is drawn under that and we’re moving forward now," she said.
'There will be bumpy roads ahead but we can be great again'
“Our books are balanced at the moment. We put in a recovery plan and an application for some funding from the government to help us.
"That funding funded the restructure but it’s also balanced our books as well so we’re now in a position to move forward and be sustainable.
“It’s been character building but I think, for me, I’ve always seen the potential in Hull and it is going to be a long journey.
"We’re on a five-year plan and there’s going to be some bumpy roads as well. It’s not going to be plain sailing. None of the staff here feel that they’re going to come back in September and everything’s going to be glorious and wonderful and there’s not going to be bumpy roads.
“The students will come and have a fantastic time but the staff have got to get used to new policies, new systems, new ways of working which eventually will have huge benefits.
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“I know this college can be great again and that’s what we’re working towards.”
Last year a report by the Further Education Commissioner revealed the college, which also has campuses in Goole and Harrogate, had run up a deficit of £10m over the previous four years. It also said a further deficit in excess of £1m was forecast for the 2016/17 financial year.
New year, new look
As part of the summer overhaul, builders and decorators are now in the college to set about a large scale revamp.
Senior leaders are moving from offices that are high up and far removed from the day-to-day business of the students, to more accessible, smaller spaces on the ground floor.
Discussing the big move around, which Ms Swithenbank describes as a “culture change”, she said: “When I arrived I noticed there was very little student space available other than what was outside of the café area and we know that students don’t just come to learn. They come to socialise as well so they need some social space.
“We’ve had the luxury of some very large offices and we don’t need them. We just need a computer and a desk to work with and the management team should be part of the college.
"They should be visible, should be accessible and should really be in with the action at the heart of the college so we’re moving the management team downstairs into smaller offices.
“We are part and parcel. We lead from the front and by example. That’s the feeling I want to create. I don’t want to create a them and us. It’s about management and staff working together as one team.”
The chief executive’s first year in the role has been a baptism of fire but says she is looking forward to drawing a line under the 2017/18 college year.
'Anyone doing my job would have faced the same'
Ms Swithenbank says she believes whoever had taken on the role would have come up against the same problems.
She said: “We were a business in trouble and we’ve had to recover and when you know you’re doing the right things for the right reasons, that gives you the complete moral ground to continue and see your plan through and you have to do that as humanly as possible.
“Anybody who had been doing this job would have been faced with exactly the same accusations and reactions,” Michelle said while reflecting on calls for her to step down.
“People were losing their jobs. They’re going to do everything to try and save their job and if that meant getting the chief exec to resign and getting a new one in that might have done things differently – if you’d had a slight chance that would’ve worked, you would’ve tried anything.”
'We're ready to make Hull College fly'
Now the students have left for the summer, or in some cases forever, the campus is getting a fresh lick of paint with a brand new colour scheme of purple, lime and cherry red.
Likewise, the staff are getting the chance to freshen up too after a difficult year and Ms Swithenbank says its been thoroughly deserved.
She said: “People are tired. They’re ready for a break because they’ve been through a hell of a lot but I think staff are really ready for the journey. Really ready to really push this place and make it fly.
“The city of Hull has been really supportive in getting behind us so a thank you and please continue to support us.”
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