A COLLEGE sacking staff to save money is reported to be bringing in a PR firm to boost its image.

Lecturers union NATFHE is outraged by the move by Accrington and Rossendale College to employ an outside firm of public relations consultants with a monthly bill understood to be £4,000.

A NATFHE spokesperson said: "It's quite abhorrent given people's livelihoods are at risk.

"They have made people redundant to save money nowwe have heard they would like to give it to some PR firm.

"It's all quite appalling," added the spokesperson.

The college has been publicly attacked by students and staff as its axes 34 posts to reduce costs.

The NATFHE spokesperson added: "If there is some money there why are they saying they need to get rid of teaching staff to recover from the financial crisis they are in.

"People are just going to disbelieve what they are being told.

"If they paid our own marketing department the type of money they may be talking off, which I would assume to be quite astronomical, there is no reason why our own marketing people could not produce the goods and for far less."

Although student numbers are increasing the college has to make savings of £500,000 after failing to reach recruitment targets for new students.

College vice principal Tim Atkinson said: "The report that we have engaged the services of a public relations company is accurate but the reasons have nothing to do with improving the college image following recent redundancies.

"The college retains only a very small marketing function consisting of a marketing manager and a marketing assistant.

"In the period running up to our main enrolment at the start of the academic year in September we need to be involved in a very large range of marketing and publicity activities in order to ensure high enrolment numbers.

"In the last year a group of senior staff considered ways in which this could be most efficiently done and it was considered that the temporary help of an outside agency would be the most effective way."

The job is for a four-month trial period.

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