Special NO Ethics Award

Special NO Ethics Award ...shame on the OU
Does quality matter? Does working with arms dealers matter? Does teaching mercenaries matter?
The no ethics award goes to the Open University for joining the Metrix consortium ! even when costs were reduced by cutting the length of training courses by 25% and reducing them! Defence minister Bob Ainsworth announced that the MOD was ploughing ahead, he pointed out that "considerable progress had been made in driving down costs..This will involve cutting the length of training courses by 25% through "compression, rationalisation and harmonisation". Officially that means cutting waste but those involved in defence training say there is nothing like the scope for 25 percent cuts.

Then Charles Barrington, the chairman of Metrix, said the consortium and the Ministry of Defence had been able to cut costs. That had been achieved in part by reducing the number of courses that will be offered.

Quotes to remember 'benefits' to the MOD of transferring risk to the private sector? Derek Twigg MP, Under Secretary of State for Defence, talks to PSCA International's Matthew D'Arcy about what lies ahead in bringing a new flexible approach to learning through the Defence Training Review. “Partnership with the private sector does give us flexibility, and this is the key point here, to decrease or increase student throughput. The partner will be able to generate third party income from spare capacity and also dispose of surplus capacity.

It also allows for a very important part of the role for industry to bring private sector management expertise and the ability to include significant capital investment at this stage. It is really about delivering a modern and flexible learning environment that will be fit for our service personnel of the future.”
Facilities key to defence trainingThe PPP Journal Issue 56 - Thursday, April 12, 2007

See Welsh Politican of year special awards