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Adult Learning in Rural Areas
Learning, Employment and Rural Need
| Date: | Wednesday 15 November 2006 |
| Venue: | Megacentre, Bernard Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S2 5BQ |
| Ref: | C1424/11/06 |
[Background] [Audience] [Programme]
Background
Rural communities today are experiencing change on an unprecedented scale, and rural issues are rarely out of the news. The impacts of the demographic, economic and social changes affecting the country as a whole are being felt earlier, and more acutely, in the countryside, raising challenging questions about how a balance can be achieved between the demands of rural economic development, social inclusion and environmental protection.
For example:
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The age profile of many rural areas is older, and rising more quickly, than the national average. |
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Migration to the countryside, both from English towns and cities and from overseas, is a growing phenomenon. |
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Restructuring of the rural economy is having profound social and environmental consequences. |
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Provision of key services is increasingly patchy, as providers withdraw from rural locations. |
Adult learning has an important role to play in helping to equip rural communities, employers and individuals to meet the challenges of change in effective, sustainable and creative ways. With a keynote address from the Director of the Commission for Rural Communities and contributions from leading researchers and community development specialists, this conference will:
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Enhance participants’ understanding of the rural context and its implications for adult learning. |
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Focus on the distinctive ways in which adult learning and skills development will need to be addressed in rural areas. |
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Disseminate the findings of a range of ground breaking research and development projects to enable delegates to reflect upon and develop their own practice. |
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Make an important and distinctive contribution to the escalating debate about the ‘state of the countryside’. |
In addition, the event will showcase findings from NIACE’s on-going development project, ‘Learning, Employment and Rural Need,’ and all delegates will receive a copy of the project’s forthcoming policy-focused publication, Landscapes of Change.
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Audience
The target audience for this conference is all those with an interest in adult learning in rural areas, including: LSC; national, regional and local policy makers; local authorities (parishes, districts, and others); Regional Development Agencies; Government Offices; Learning Partnerships; Local Strategic Partnerships; Sub-regional Strategic Partnerships; learning providers; adult learning practitioners; adult education researchers; IAG providers; employers and those that work with them; learning champions; voluntary and community sector organisations working with rural communities.
It will also be relevant to practitioners working with Adults in:
| Business Support Organisations |
| Businesses and Employers |
| CBI Offices |
| Chambers of Commerce |
| Community Groups |
| Education Business Links |
| Education Consultants |
| Employment Service |
| FE Colleges |
| Government Departments with responsibilities for education, skills and economic development |
| Higher Education Funding Council |
| Jobcentre Plus |
| Learning and Skills Councils |
| Learning Partnerships |
| Local Educational Authorities |
| nextstep |
| Organisations supporting equality of opportunity and social inclusion |
| Probation Service |
| Professional associations |
| QCA and Awarding Bodies |
| Regional Development Agencies |
| School Sixth Forms |
| Sector Skills Councils |
| Small Business Service |
| Trade Unions |
| Training Organisations |
| Training Providers |
| Ufi/Learndirect |
| Universities |
| Voluntary Groups |
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Programme
| 10:00 | Arrival and Registration (Tea/Coffee available) |
| 10:30 | Welcome and Introduction to the Day
Chair: Jonathan Crossley Holland, Executive Director for Children and Young People, Sheffield City Council |
| 10:40 | The Changes and Challenges facing Rural Communities Margaret Clark, Director of the Commission for Rural Communities |
| 11:10 | The Ageing Countryside - the
implications for voluntary and community action Professor Philip Lowe, Director of the UK Research Councils, Rural Economy and Land Use Programme |
| 11:40 | Questions and Discussion |
| 11:50 | Tea/Coffee Break |
| 12:00 | Workshops: morning session 1)The new rural demographic: implications for public policy 2)Young adults in rural areas 3)The partnership approach 4)Sustainable Development 5)Skills for Life |
| 13:15 | Lunch |
| 14:00 | Workshops: afternoon session (repeated) |
| 15:15 | Launch of ‘Landscapes of Change’ Bill Jones, Development Officer - Higher Education, NIACE |
| 15:45 | Closing Remarks Sue Meyer, Director for Programmes and Policy, NIACE |
| 16:00 | Close of Conference (Tea/Coffee available) |
This programme is correct at the time of going to press. The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the published programme in the event of one or more of the advertised speakers being unable to attend. Delegates will have no claim against NIACE in respect of such changes.
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Also in November 2006...
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