Lifelong Learning Week was a real highlight, it was great to see so many of you celebrating the impact and importance of lifelong learning. We kicked off the week with our annual adult participation in learning survey showing the first rise in adult learning since 2015 (good news) but stark and persistent inequalities between groups (bad news).
We hoped the Spending Review might help change this. Leaks beforehand of a £3.8bn ‘skills revolution’ boiled down to delivering the 2019 manifesto commitment to a National Skills Fund and natural growth in the
apprenticeship levy. It’s good to see investment going up, but our analysis suggests this doesn’t even take us back to 2010 levels of investment. And we need to change how we invest too to match the big challenges of the future.
Speaking of which, while learning at level 3 and above is crucial, I’m increasingly concerned about English, maths and digital. Around one in
five adults lack these functional skills but 60% fewer adults are learning them than a decade ago. Our English, maths and ESOL conference explored this and we were pleased Lord Blunkett wrote about our new Skills for Life Alliance.
Better news on the labour market, where fears of mass unemployment at the start of the pandemic have been avoided due to the furlough scheme. However,
too many people have stopped looking for work – our new report showed there 900,000 fewer economically active people than if pre-pandemic trends had continued. We need a renewed effort to help the 3.2 million people out of work who say they want a job to fill the record number of vacancies.
Lastly, it was great to welcome our Patron, HRH Princess Royal, to celebrate our
centenary. And to welcome people in person and online to our first hybrid event. Our focus was on the future, and making this the lifelong learning century. You can read my reflections on this here.
Stephen Evans Chief Executive
Learning and Work Institute estimates of adult skills funding
Updates from L&W
Nominations open for Festival of Learning 2022 Nominations are now open for next year’s Festival of Learning awards and we want to hear from you! If you know of any inspiring learners, tutors, learning provision or exemplary workplace learning in England, nominate them for a Festival of Learning award. You have until Tuesday 1 February 2021.
Inspire! Adult Learning Awards 2022 – Nominations open! We are welcoming nominations for individuals, projects and organisations across Wales who demonstrate the powerful transformation that lifelong learning can make. We have eleven categories for you to choose from, two
of which are new for 2022 – Wales for Future Generations and Active Wales. More information can be found on our website. Please submit your entries by 1 March 2022.
Lifelong Learning Week Earlier this month, we hosted our annual Lifelong Learning Week as part of the Festival of Learning. The week featured a range of online activities including new research on adult participation in learning; celebrations of our 100th anniversary with HRH Princess Anne; our English, maths and ESOL Conference; and a range of partner events. Thank you to everyoneinvolved. You can catch up on the activities and join the online conversation.
Lord David Blunkett authored an article for Times Red Box on why basic skills education is vital for making levelling up a reality, and also spoke about the issue on Times Radio. Kate Green MP and Angela Rayner MP. also shared messages in support of lifelong learning, and Stephen Evans, Chief Exec, spoke on FE Week’s podcast.
Employability and Skills Wales Convention – Catch up This month we were joined by key stakeholders across the sector for our annual Employability and Skills Wales Convention.Speakers reflected on the labour market challenges facing Wales as a result of the last eighteen months and discussed how we can build a greener and fairer economy that is fit for the future. We were joined by Minister for Economy Vaughan Gething for the key note speech. Catch up on the convention here.
Annual adult participation in learning survey reveals class divide in access to learning We’ve published the findings of our latest adult participation in learning survey which shows a rise in overall participation , from 33% in 2019 to 44% this year – the first increase in five years. However, the survey also reveals inequalities in who accesses learning, including
between social classes. Adults in lower socio-economic groups (DE) are twice as likely as those in higher socio-economic groups (AB) to have not participated in learning since leaving full-time education, whilst age and proximity to the labour market also affected participation.
Driving Change for young adult carers Our Driving Change project aims to improve support for young adult carers in further education by working with higher and further education institutes to provide more flexibility and tailored support. Our evaluation of the second year of the project highlights the outcomes and benefits of the project for both colleges and young adult carers.
Our researcher Abigail Lagou has written a blog about the findings from our
project.
Youth Engagement and Progression Framework Learning and Work Wales and Gower College Swansea were commissioned by the Welsh Government to undertake a review of the Youth Engagement & Progression framework through series of stakeholder consultation events and in-depth focus groups with learners. The key findings from the research can be found here.
Degree Apprenticeship Programme – Scoping Report
Our initial evaluation of the Welsh Government’s Degree Apprenticeship Programme, which we were commissioned to conduct alongside Wavehill, has been published. It considered the international evidence on the effective introduction of the Degree Apprenticeships programme and sets out an initial theory of change. Read the full report here.
Call for Evidence on the future of work and people with protected characteristics
(PCs)
We are conducting research, commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), on the changes in long-term employment trends in Great Britain and their impact on people with PCs such as disabled people, ethnic minorities, women and younger/older workers.
If you have unpublished research or a projectunderway on the future of work and people with PCs, we are keen to hear from you. We are particularly interested in receiving submissions on the impact of changing working practices (for example more home/remote working) , the expansion of the gig economy and/or the growth of AI and new technologies on the employment of people with particular PCs.
Please email futureofwork@learningandwork.org.ukby 12 November with your
submissions or inquiries about the research, which will later include a series of wider engagement events with relevant stakeholders and experts.
