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A message from our chief executive
At the time of writing a reshuffle in Westminster is underway, with Nadhim Zahawi MP appointed Education Secretary. With just over a month to the Spending Review, he and other new ministers will have to hit the ground running and have a long to do list.

Let’s start with Universal Credit. The £20 uplift introduced at the start of the pandemic ends at the end of this month. Modelling by the Resolution Foundation and others shows this is likely to mean several hundred thousand children pushed into relative income poverty. Along with 100 others, I signed a letter led by Joseph Rowntree Foundation arguing against this cut, which comes after years of freezes in working-age benefits.

Amidst all the debate we should be clear that: substantial numbers on UC are not required to work due to a disability or caring responsibilities; a large proportion are already in work and marginal deduction rates mean they’d need to work an implausible number of extra hours to make up this cut; and there’s no trade-off between helping people to find work or progress their career and providing adequate financial support to households.

This will be a big autumn for further education. The Skills Bill continues its progress through Parliament, the Government is consulting on the National Skills Fund and funding and accountability in England, and the Spending Review needs to deliver increased investment. We’ll be launching our ideas for how an increased focus on outcomes could help – sign up for an online event to discuss. We’ll also be thinking about what to expect / hope for from the spending review, as I’m sure will be the new Secretary of State!

Meanwhile, I was pleased to see our work informing Welsh Government plans for targets to increase the proportion of people qualified to level 3 or above by 2050 and reduce the proportion with no qualification – part of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. Achieving that will require a greater focus on adult learners. Our Inspire! award winners show the difference this can make.

Stephen Evans
Chief Executive
 
Work with us
To help us continue to deliver our important work, we’re currently recruiting for the following roles:


This is an exciting time to join L&W as we grow our team and continue to focus on the big questions: How can we help the labour market recover from the pandemic and ensure everyone has fair access to good work? How do we help more people to develop their skills in a changing job market?

Our offices are based in London and Leicester but location is flexible. As a Silver Investors in People award holder, we are committed to building a great place to work. We are a friendly and supportive team, passionate and enthusiastic about our work. Find out more about the roles and apply here.

 
Updates from L&W
Lifelong Learning Week 2021
We are looking forward to hosting our second Lifelong Learning Week from Monday 8 to Friday 12 November. A range of partners and stakeholders will help to deliver a weeklong programme of activity, dedicated to raising the profile of adult learning and skills. If you have activities, like taster session or visits, that you can host during the week, your organisation can get involved by contacting our team. In the meantime, explore our brand new website
Citizen’s Curriculum highlighted in Ireland’s 10 year Adult Literacy for Life Strategy
Following our input into Ireland’s ten year Adult Literacy for Life Strategy, we’re pleased to see the inclusion of Learning and Work Institution’s recommendation for a Citizens’ Curriculum. Developed through thirteen pilot projects, this innovative approach taps into people’s motivations to learn by giving them a voice in co-designing the curriculum content, ensuring that people are learning skills which are relevant to their lives and work.

Having a ten year strategy provides a longer term basis for coordination and a unifying vision to achieve the stated objectives. Similarly, we’ve called for a ten-year lifelong learning strategy for England to create continuous opportunities for people at all levels throughout their lives.

Welsh Government consultation -  Long term milestones to shape Wales’ Future
Our data analysis and modelling has helped to shape Welsh Government’s consultation  on setting national milestones for Wales, that will assist Ministers in assessing progress towards achieving the seven well-being goals as set out in the Well-being of Future Generations – the full consultation and our analysis on qualifications can be found here.
L&W announces evaluation partnership of DWP’s Restart scheme
Learning and Work Institute is pleased to announce that, in partnership with Ipsos MORI, we will be evaluating the Restart scheme over the next three years on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. The £2.9bn Restart scheme, which rolled out this summer (2021), provides up to 12 months of enhanced employment support to those in the Intensive Work Search Regime in Universal Credit who have been unemployed for between 12-18 months, in England and Wales. Referrals to the scheme will be made over a three year period and is expected to benefit more than one million Universal Credit claimants.

Our evaluation will run from now until the end of 2023 and provide DWP with rigorous evidence on the programme to inform live running improvements to the service, while developing the long term evidence base for similar programmes in the future. The research will consist of three strands; geographical case studies, a provider survey and a longitudinal cohort study.
Call for evidence – ethnic minority youth employment review
L&W is working with Youth Futures Foundation and the Youth Employment Group to review evidence on the impact of government policies on employment outcomes for ethnic minority young people in England. Young people from ethnic minority backgrounds face a range of barriers to accessing and sustaining good quality jobs, and the review is seeking to establish an evidence base on what works to improve outcomes.
If you’re working on a project in this area, or know of any evidence that we should include in the review, we’d love to hear from you. We’re particularly interested in:

  • Evaluation of policy interventions focused on employment outcomes for ethnic minority young people.
  • Surveys and secondary data analysis reports focused on outcomes of ethnic minority young people across the labour market
  • Policy analysis focused on ethnic minority young people’s access and experiences of employment and the wider labour market.

If you would like to submit evidence to the review, please get in touch with Corin Egglestone at corin.egglestone@learningandwork.org.uk
 
Events
Inspire! Adult Learning Awards ceremony | 16 September | 6.30pm
The Inspire! Awards are a reminder of the impact and value of lifelong learning. The 2021 awards in partnership with the Welsh Government, The Open University in Wales, Adult Learning Wales, Agored Cymru and the National Centre for Learning Welsh celebrate the outstanding and life-changing achievements of individuals, families, community projects and organisations. Join us tonight for our online awards ceremony as we reveal this year’s award winners. Book your free place.
Change your story with Adult Learners’ Week | 20 – 26 September 2021
Adult Learners’ Week is the largest celebration of lifelong learning in Wales. Together with our partners, we have built a platform which hosts over 500 opportunities for learning, advice and guidance. Throughout the week we will promote a range of live taster sessions, showcase inspiring adult learning stories, whilst raising the profile of lifelong learning in Wales through social and digital media and PR. Find out more.
Better Work Summit | Wednesday 22 September | 10.00 – 11.30am
Sign up for our inaugural Better Work Summit as part of the Better Work Network, run by Learning and Work Institute and Trust for London. This event will explore how we can support access to better work and progression from low pay after the pandemic, with a keynote from Rajesh Agrawal, the Deputy Mayor of London for Business, and a panel discussion. A range of smaller breakout sessions will take place throughout the week, hosted by some of our dedicated partners. If you are interested in hosting a discussion, please do get in touch.
Youth Employment and Skills Summit | 9.30am - 2pm 20 October 2021
We’re delighted to announce that Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP will be delivering the keynote speech at our Youth Employment and Skills Summit on 20 October. With the final unfurlough around the corner and 500,000 young people leaving education over summer, the Summit comes at an important moment, just one week ahead of the Government's Spending Review.

Join organisations and policymakers across the sector as we reflect on jobs and skills prospects for young people and consider the opportunities and challenges for different groups, employers and localities. Book your place here.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact sam.windett@learningandwork.org.uk

Driving participation, improving impact – refocussing our approach to learning outcomes | Wednesday 29 September | 3.30 - 5.00pm
The Skills for Jobs White Paper and funding and accountability consultation set out the Government’s plans to introduce a greater focus on the outcomes of learning. Our new report, supported by Association of Colleges, looks at how other countries have embedded a focus on outcomes in further education and draws out potential lessons for England. At this event, we’ll explore these international examples and discuss what we can learn for the approach in England. Book your place here.
Webinar series: Effective practice in pre-apprenticeship programmes
Learning and Work Institute is running a series of webinars to support the dissemination and exchange of knowledge on effective practice in pre-apprenticeships. The interactive webinars will offer training and insight to providers about how to develop key aspects of pre-apprenticeship provision to secure positive outcomes for young people. Find out more and register for the third event in the series here.
  • Blended learning on pre-apprenticeships
    Wednesday 6 October | 14:00 – 15:30
    This webinar will provide practical advice on developing an evaluation approach, collecting and interpreting data and using evidence to inform decision-making about your pre-apprenticeship.
 
Press and media
Contact L&W
Leicester (+44) 116 204 4200 | London (+44) 20 7582 7221 | Cardiff (+44) 292 037 0900

E: enquiries@learningandwork.org.uk

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