Why get involved in adult learning in the workplace?

1. The government estimates that there are now more than 400 organisations involved in some sort of adult learning;

2. Skills gaps are holding back growth: over 30% of UK firms which have tried to move their business strategies forward have been constrained by gaps in workforce skills;

3. Jobs are becoming more complex: the proportion of jobs requiring no qualifications had fallen from 38% in 1986 to 27% in 2001;

4. New technology is changing the workplace: the number of jobs involving computing has risen from 50% in 1992 to over 75% today;

5. Too many workers have low skills: nearly 30% of the UK workforce does not have a level 2 qualification (equivalent to 5 good GCSE’s) compared with less than 20% in France and 15% in the US.

How can training activity lead to improved business performance?

1. Companies in the US investing between 3.5% and 4% of their total budgets on training out-performed companies with a below-average spend over a five year period;

2. UK companies with a high level of training are likely to grow at a faster rate and achieve above average profitability;

3. Increasing the proportion of employees trained by 5% is linked to a 4% increase in productivity in the UK;

4. 66% of employers involved in the Employer Training Pilot programme in England felt it helped improve quality of service or production;

5. Generally case studies have revealed that workplace learning has the following on-going benefits:

1. Improved quality and reduced error rates;
2. Reduced staff turnover and absenteeism;
3. Improved internal communication and reporting;
4. Enhanced staff recruitment and induction;
5. More effective redeployment of staff;
6. Improved learning cultures;
7. Increased internal promotion releasing the potential of existing staff.

In summary, it is agreed that in most cases adult workplace learning helps organisations improve their performance and achieve tier strategic goals.

Why get involved in Adult Learners’ Week?

• Be part of the UK’s largest festival of learning and one of the most high profile campaigns of the year;

• Use national publicity to highlight your learning opportunities at a local level;

• Celebrate your employees learning achievements with an Adult Learners’ Week Award;

• Find out more about the leading edge thinking on workplace learning.

> Review of Adult Learners' Week 2006 - [PDF file]