There are around eight and a half million people in England who need support with essential literacy, numeracy and digital skills. And yet we are lacking a national strategy to tackle this, and future investment in skills may perpetuate the learning divide.
Participation surveys, such as those by the Learning and Work Institute, a research organisation, show that people are more likely to be in learning—whether formal, non-formal or informal—if they are already in work, have higher qualifications and are from a higher socioeconomic background. The skills system that Labour has inherited risks reinforcing this. It offers incentives for higher-level qualifications but not entry-level ones, focuses on high-growth tech sectors that are unlikely to employ adults without qualifications, and skews funding towards younger people in formal education settings.
“Tailored learning” is the name for courses for adults in community settings that offer a range of subjects including arts and humanities, English as a second language and everyday skills such as cookery and budgeting. These courses deliver impressive outcomes, including improved health and wellbeing and community belonging, and are eligible for funding in the new adult skills fund. But the emphasis placed by ministers on technical skills for work means that people risk missing out on the benefits of tailored learning.
The government’s plan for change aims to raise living standards in every part of the country. For this to happen, the level of essential skills also needs to be raised in every community. Adult education charities such as the WEA, formerly known as the Worker’s Educational Association, are best placed to work in and with communities, supporting those not served by traditional education pathways.
Learning opportunities are skewed towards younger people, which risks reinforcing social inequalities
With funding increasingly in the hands of the regional combined authorities, we look to mayors and council leaders to be the champions of tailored, lifelong learning, especially given regional disparities in levels of qualifications and educational opportunities.
Unfortunately, central government has not signalled that learning for those age 19 and over is its priority. In the last budget, an additional £300m was made available for further education. This will go entirely to 16- to 19-year-old provision, with the adult workforce overlooked once again.
This is the sector that has been hit hardest by underfunding. The most recent Institute for Fiscal Studies overview shows that investment in classroom-based adult education—even with some additional investment from recent budgets—will still be more than 40 percent below where it was in 2009–10.
The WEA would like to see Skills England tackling essential skills shortages such as literacy, numeracy and digital. The voluntary and community sector should be represented on its board as a means of connecting with communities most in need.
Combined authorities and mayors need to support tailored learning approaches by using their devolved adult skills funding to support a wide range of learning in community venues (not only colleges). The upcoming spending review must find investment for the adult workforce and begin a reversal of underinvestment—returning venue-based learning to the levels of funding it received in 2010, ideally by the end of the parliament.
This will bring adult learning within reach for everyone.
