WILTSHIRE College has got rid of more than a fifth of its staff over the past five years due to government cutbacks and lack of demand for places.

Across the four campuses, 242 members of staff have been made redundant since 2010.

The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show the number of staff working at the Salisbury campus has fallen from 190 to 136, with 34 members of staff being made redundant in the past five years.

The college – which Ofsted rated as “requires improvement” last year – has 4,000 full-time and 11,000 part-time students.

It was founded in 2002 when Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College merged. Salisbury College joined in 2008.

Nationally since 2010, the adult skills budget, which funds non-academic (university-based) education and training for those aged 19 or over, has been cut by two-fifths.

The association of college lecturers also estimates colleges have seen a £400m drop in income over the past five years.

But Amanda Burnside, acting principal at Wiltshire College, said the decision was not always financial. “Every year colleges adjust their staffing profile based on the volume of their student intake and which courses they have enrolled on — some courses do not run if there is not enough student interest,” she said.

“So it is not always about reducing staff for financial reasons, more it is about having the right number of staff to deliver the right subjects where there is demand. Last year, for example, while we were reducing staff numbers in some areas for this reason, we were advertising for staff in areas where we did not have enough subject specialists.

“I’m pleased to say student numbers are increasing on our Salisbury campus and we are currently seeing demand across all our courses. We will know exactly how many students are coming to us after our enrolment days.”