View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. News
August 5, 2010updated 06 Aug 2010 5:09pm

Second NCTJ course falls victim to Government spending cuts

By Dominic wireposts

A second NCTJ-accredited journalism course has fallen victim to Government further education funding cuts.

Holdthefrontpage reports that the NCTJ pre-entry course at Warwickshire College is to close with three lecturers being made redundant. The lack of subsidy has sent course fees up from £1750 to £3700, and insufficient students have signed up to make the course viable.

The same issue left the only NCTJ-accredited photojournalism course, at Norton College in Sheffield, also facing the threat of closure. Although that course is now going ahead, albeit with increased fees.

NCTJ-accredited FE courses have provided a far more cost-effective, and quicker, route into journalism than more expensive MA degrees.

A typical NCTJ FE course costs around £1,000 and takes 20 weeks, giving students the essential core skills of shorthand, media law, public affairs and news writing. MA courses can cost up to £10,000 and take a whole academic year.

The closing off of these cheaper routes into journalism is only going to make it harder for those from less well-off backgrounds to make it into the profession.

UPDATE (6 August 2010): In response to the comment below I’ve checked the last Press Gazette Journalism Training Supplement, and those course fee figures are a little wide of the mark. Expect to pay typically £5,000 for an MA and £1,500 to £3,000 for an FE course.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network