Passions are running high over the tuition fees debate but I do wonder if things are being put totally out of perspective by the well organised opposition of the NUS.

                What is missing from the debate is the lack of funding for vocational education for those who do not seek a University degree but who benefit from learning about their chosen profession and, as a consequence, are able to provide better quality service to their customers.

                Nowhere is this more important than in care provision.

                Yet in the cuts made by the Government the Train to Gain budget taken away and there is to be no funding for anyone over the age of 24 and even for those who qualify only level 2 qualifications will be available.

                Many people come into care work without formal qualifications, it is a low paid job after all, but, as a Nation, we expect care provision to be of a high standard yet, it seems, not prepared to provide those who care for the vulnerable in society the tools and knowledge with which to provide that care.

                It is not enough to be a caring person. Without the knowledge that underpins care provision being a caring person can be as problematic as being an uncaring one. People who deliver front line care must have a knowledge of infection control, health and safety etc in order to be able to deliver care that is both caring and safe. Care workers need knowledge about the specific conditions of the people they are supporting, the needs of an individual with dementia will be very different from a person without and the range of conditions associated with learning disabilities need to be understood by those who are being paid to help them live as independently as possible.

                The big question is how this knowledge and learning is funded. We, in the care sector, are more than aware of the issues over care funding. It is not recent phenomena, many local authorities have given lower than inflation fee increase over the past couple of years, putting pressure on private care providers.  This has been somewhat mitigated by the availability of funding through Train to Gain and other initiatives to provide training for the care sector.

In any business sector, as soon as money starts looking tight, the first target of cutting back is usually training and staff development. In the care sector this has been positively encouraged by the removal of the requirement for 50% of care staff to have a level 2 or above qualification.

There are plenty who will criticise and condemn the care sector when the quality of care provision when standards fall below those expected but there seems to be a total ignorance of the need to provide, and pay for, a system of vocational education for those who provide that care and support.

I am not against a University education but I do believe that there needs to be a balance in the Further Education debate. Do we need more graduates receiving subsidised degrees or do we need to provide better educational opportunities for those who left school without qualifications but who are expected to provide a service of high standard without support from a society which values degree education over the needs of the vulnerable in our society.