| Path: Home > Information Services > Briefing Sheets > Meeting needs of older learners |
Meeting the needs of Older learners - a briefing for LSCs
| "…many adults, including large numbers of older
and retired learners will want to pursue high quality and rigorous study
for its own sake, and I expect provision to be made available to meet
their needs."
(Blunkett, 2000, letter of remit to LSC) |
Who are 'older people'?
In a society focused on youth, it is hard to define. The 1993 Carnegie Inquiry into the Third Age for statistical purposes defined the Third Age (stage of life) as 50-75 with those older considered to be in the Fourth Age. In areas of employment, being older often starts at 40 or 45.
Older people are usually distinguished as being marginalised in some small or large way from various aspects of society.
Evidence shows that people over age 45 are excluded from work-based training; those over age 50 are not engaged in employment, education and voluntary activities. Those over 75, it is argued, are discriminated against in health and social care where they may receive little or no opportunities to learn.
The term 'older people' therefore can cover most of our lives, but because of the exclusion and discrimination that being older can bring, does require special attention in adult education and training policy.
It is important, whilst requiring age-related statistical data to inform us of progress, not to categorise people by age but rather be aware of the 'stages' in life achieved and individual need which can arise from learning for and in work to learning in care settings.
This huge age range also indicates that the breadth of opportunity accorded younger people must also be accorded older adults. Many older people still wish to work. The demographic changes currently taking place in our society highlight the urgent need to retain the wealth of experience and maturity within our social economy.
LSCs
This briefing paper is for local Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs). It aims to provide information on some of the work that is currently being carried out around older people and learning, and to highlight key areas of concern. NIACE hopes this will provide a useful starting point to help LSCs develop their plans to respond to the needs of the ageing population.
"The total economic cost is high. The drop in work rates among the over-50s since 1979 costs the economy about £16 billion a year in lost GDP and costs the public purse £3-5 billion in extra benefits and lost taxes."
Source: Winning the Generation Game, 2000"The proportion of the population who are aged 50 and over has doubled this century, to one in three as we enter the new millennium. This trend is set to continue with around 25 million people - 40% of the population - likely to be over 50 by 2021."
Source: Making a Difference: Better Government for Older People evaluation report, 2000
In April 2000, NIACE produced a briefing paper encouraging older people and older people's organisations to make contact with their local LSCs, Local Lifelong Learning Partnerships (LLPs) and information, advice and guidance partnerships (IAGs) to ensure that the needs of older people were on the agenda under the new funding arrangements. Since then, some LSCs have started to develop their plans around older people, and there is evidence that a number of LSCs are considering the learning and training needs of older people. The picture, however, remains patchy, and the broader agenda needs to be addressed.
There are a number of recommendations for LSCs that underpin this briefing. LSCs may wish to:
 | consult with older people about what they want and need. |
| ensure that older people and their organisations feature in LLP and IAG plans. |
| ensure clarity and consistency of approach around fees and concessions. |
| consider how to facilitate the process in cases where older people's organisations have the necessary experience and competence to deliver their own programmes. |
Older people and learning
Participation rates
A recent article written by Jim Soulsby for Help the Aged's Evidence Review
on Age Discrimination, 'On the Scrapheap', examined the recruitment and
participation of older learners in the sectors of education relevant to older
people. It revealed that:
| Over the last five years participation rates in learning have improved
across the board, but oldest learners are among those who have benefited
least (8% increase in the 55-64 age group compared to a 12% increase in
35-54 age group, dropping to 3% in the 65-74 age group, and -3% in the 75+
age group). |
| In local authority adult education, participation of older people
has shown a slight improvement in the last few years (people aged 60+ making
up 24% of total enrolments in 2000 compared to 22.1% in 1998). Over 40% of
daytime students on non-vocational, non-accredited courses are aged 60+,
compared to less than 20% on vocational and accredited courses. The
proportions almost halve for evening courses. This highlights the preference
of older people for daytime, non-vocational activities. |
| Older people are increasing proportionately in further education,
with nearly 1/10 of students in 1999/2000 aged 56 or over. There is still
considerable under-representation of older people, but some excellent work
has been undertaken. Adults are the majority of students. |
| In higher education provision, only 0.4% of first year full-time
undergraduates in 1999/2000 were aged 50 or over, 15.5% of part-time
equivalents. The one exception in higher education is the Open University,
whose profile of students over age 50 is 12.2% in 1994 to 16.3% of
undergraduates in 2000/1. The upper age limit on student loans (55) denies
older people the opportunity to access full-time higher education, yet the
government is encouraging older people to fulfil a role as responsible,
socially included citizens. |
| Clearly, older people are not present in adult learning in numbers and proportions corresponding to their numbers and proportions in the total population. Over the last three to four years there has been a slow improvement in participation rates, but there is still a long way to go. |
What older people want to learn
Learning to Grow Older & Bolder (Carlton & Soulsby, 1999) identified some key features of older learners' participation:
| Older people want to learn, just like younger people, and they are no
different in their wide-ranging learning needs. There is a need to overcome
prejudices and assumptions about what they want. |
| Older people are less likely to require 'vocational' accredited
activities, and are more likely to consider activities that primarily
satisfy social need, allow opportunities for reflection and understanding of
their life's achievements and satisfy curiosity of the new - particularly
IT. In the age group 55+, languages, computing, business, history and
leisure emerged as the most popular subjects for study. This does not mean
to say, however, that some older people will not want accreditation. In many
instances, particularly employment related, this will be highly relevant. |
| Older people appreciate being consulted about their learning needs. |
| Drawing on older peoples' life experiences and maturity is a useful way of attracting them to learning opportunities. Any guided assessment of prior learning and experience could raise confidence, self-esteem and motivation. |
Examples of the benefits of collaborative working
National Service Framework Standard Eight: The promotion of health and
active life in older age
The Local Government Association is promoting pathfinder local authorities
that wish to develop policies and actions to help older people retain their
independence. One of the tools for this is the new National Service Framework
for Older People, which, in Standard Eight, identifies education and leisure as
an effective prevention against illness. This co-ordinated programme of action
is led by the NHS with support from councils and other agencies, and provides a
good example for LSCs of the benefits of relating to other agencies.
Better Government for Older People
The Better Government for Older People programme (BGOP) ran between 1998 and
2000 and was a unique partnership between central and local government, the
voluntary sector, the academic community and older people. It aimed to improve
public services for older people by better meeting their needs, listening to
their views and encouraging and recognising their contribution. Although the
initial BGOP programme has now ended, the BGOP Network, a forum for local
authorities, other service providers and older people and their organisations,
continues alongside the influential Older Peoples Advisory Group (OPAG).
Recommendations for LSCs
Further information: BGOP web site: www.bettergovernmentforolderpeople.gov.uk. |
Areas for Action
There are a number of issues that need to be addressed. Here we offer a brief summary of these and highlight the key recommendations for LSCs. We also provide some useful contacts for the range of organisations working in these areas.
Black and minority ethnic elders
Over the next 50 years the current proportion of black and minority ethnic
elders is set to grow significantly. (It was estimates in 1993 that the
percentage of black elders would increase tenfold in the next 30 years, from
3.2% in 1993 to 32.5%). However, older people from such communities remain
absent from existing learning provision for numerous reasons, including the fact
that the provision available to them is often irrelevant, culturally
inappropriate and inaccessible.
Recommendations for LSCs
Useful contacts: Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity (PRIAE), 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD. Tel: 0113 285 5990. Web site: www.priae.org |
Financial Literacy
A recent pilot study conducted for NIACE among people over the age of 50
revealed that almost 30% experienced some or extreme difficulty understanding
their finances. With the pattern of life moving toward more personal control of
finances and pensions, there is a need to examine levels of financial literacy
and better equip older people to maintain their dignity and independence in old
age.
Recommendations for LSCs
Useful contacts: Sasha Anderson, Information Officer Older & Bolder, NIACE. Tel: 0116 204 4227, email: sasha.anderson@niace.org.uk |
Mid-life planning and pre-retirement education
In such a rapidly changing society, with changing pensions arrangements and work
patterns, there is a need for high-quality, widely available 'preparation for
later life' education.
Recommendations for LSCs
Useful contacts: Jo Walker, Resources Manager, Pre-Retirement Association, 9 Chesham Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3LS. Tel: 01483 301170 Web site: www.pra.uk.com |
4th Age
Investing in more and better learning opportunities for older people has been
shown to lessen dependency, improve quality of life and reduce the costs of
medication and care.
Demographic trends show that the number and proportion of older people in the UK
is increasing, and the costs of long-term care are expected to rise
significantly. The patterns of care for older people are changing, with
care-planning strategies aimed to keep people in their own homes for longer.
Recommendations for LSCs
Useful contacts: National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People (NAPA), Unit 5.12, 5th Floor, 71 Bondway, London, SW8 1SQ, 0207 078 9375, Web site: www.napa-activities.co.uk |
Employability
For many excluded older people, access to relevant, sensitive and timely
adult education raises self-esteem and confidence and as a consequence also
creates opportunities to consider future employment prospects.
A Government report 'Winning the Generation Game' (published April 2000) put the cost of the drop in the employment rate of the over 50s since 1979 at about £16 billion a year in lost Gross Domestic Product and £3-5 billion in extra benefits and lost taxes. A third of people aged 50 to State Pension Age in Britain are inactive or displaced from the labour market.
The employment rate for the over 50s at 68% falls short of the overall employment rate of 75%. For those over 50 there is a comprehensive range of back to work help including New Deal 50 Plus, New Deal 25 Plus and the New Deal for Disabled People. The employment rate for the over 50s has increased each year for the last four years. Through New Deal 50 Plus alone, since April 2000, almost 62,000 people over 50 have been helped back to work.
New Deal 50 Plus was introduced to address the problems of unemployed older workers and the difficulties they encounter in finding work. The New Deal 50 Plus package consists of payment of a tax-free Employment Credit, a Training Grant once in employment and a wide range of practical support from a Personal Adviser at a Jobcentre.
| The Department for Work and Pensions has the lead role in challenging ageism in employment with its Age Positive campaign, which is promoting the business benefits of employing an age diverse workforce. The campaign focuses on the Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment and a wide range of research and development activities with both public and private organisations to help employers develop non-ageist employment practices that will help them prepare for the future legislation. For more information see the Age Positive web site: www.agepositive.gov.uk |
The area of employability is covered in more detail in a parallel briefing on older people and work from Third Age Employment Network (TAEN). It highlights the fact that the last 25 years has seen a dramatic decline in the number of those in work after the age of 50, and many of those who have left the workforce seem to have done so unwillingly. There are around 2.8 million people aged 50-65 who are economically inactive, of whom about 1 million are 'hidden unemployed' and want to work, at an estimated £31 billion cost to the economy. This coincides with a time of increasing life expectancy and when people are being encouraged to take responsibility for their finances into old age.
Recommendations for LSCs
Useful contacts: Patrick Grattan, Chief Executive, Third Age Employment
Network (TAEN), 207-220 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9UZ. Tel: 020 7843
1590 Website: www.taen.org.uk. |
Citizenship
It is widely accepted and recognised that participation in learning has much
wider benefits than contributing to a competitive economy. Volunteering involves
new learning and benefits those participating. Communities can only benefit from
an increasingly active, engaged older population that is encouraged to share its
vast wealth of experience. Winning the Generation Game refers to the need to
encourage older people to volunteer, and this has resulted in the establishment
of the Experience Corps.
Recommendations for LSCs
Useful contacts: Experience Corps web site: www.experiencecorps.co.uk and information line 0800 10 60 80 |
Advice and guidance
For many older people there can be an uncertainty as to what the future holds in
terms of work, income, health and fulfilment. People do need assistance to help
them analyse their life successes, present situation and consider future
options. This can be through formal advice and guidance agencies or through
targeted learning activities such as the 'bite size' programme. The development
of Connexions is a positive move to develop a coherent service for younger
people. It is to be hoped that the complex needs of adults of all ages and
stages of life can also be accommodated in such a coherent way. The
sensitisation to age issues of adult services requires consideration. In recent
years there has been a proliferation of third age agencies developing such
expertise and sensitivities themselves to cover the void in statutory provision.
Recommendations for LSCs
National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling (NICEC), Sheraton House, Castle Park, Cambridge, CB3 0AX. Tel: 01223 460277 Web site: www.crac.org.uk |
Gender
The provision of learning activities should take into consideration how older
women might have been marginalized through their lives by denial of educational
opportunities, by family commitments to children, partners and parents, by lack
of access to pensions and benefits and by access to limited and unfulfilling
employment opportunities.
Women live longer and are more likely to be the recipients of care which does not necessarily consider gender issues.
The changing employment patterns among older people show that women age 50 plus are more likely to be in work than men, but there are questions around the quality of that work in terms of status, hours worked, wages and security. A report undertaken by the East Midlands Development Agency in 2000 highlighted a survey which revealed that in 2006 the number of women aged 45-59 will form the largest group in the region's labour force, having risen by 54% (113,000) from their 1986 level, compared to a 25% (76,000) rise in the number of men.
Recommendations for LSCs
Useful contacts: Older Women's Network Europe, Via del Serraglio 10 - 06073 Corciano (PG), ITALY. Tel./Fax: (+39) 075 506 8006 Web site: http://own-europe.org |
What is Older & Bolder?
NIACE's Older & Bolder initiative promotes learning opportunities for older people. This covers the whole range of learning for whatever purposes in whatever setting at times and in ways appropriate to their stated needs.
The work of Older & Bolder includes collecting and disseminating information around issues relevant to older learners. It involves publishing newsletters, briefing papers and policy papers, and organising conferences and seminars. It also includes maintaining a specialist reference library and database of good practice, running email discussion groups for practioners and older learners themselves, and providing guidance on curriculum and provision.
For further details about Older & Bolder contact Sasha Anderson, Information Officer at NIACE, tel: 0116 2044227, email: lois.gladdish@niace.org.uk . Information about the programme can also be found on the NIACE web site: www.niace.org.uk/research/older_bolder/
References and Further Reading
Ethnic Minority Communities
Older & Wiser: A Study of Educational Provision for Black and Ethnic Minority Elders. Stella Dadzie. NIACE, 1993. ISBN 1 872941 48 6
Financial Literacy
Summing Up: Bridging the Financial Literacy Divide. National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, 2001.
4th Age
Learning in the Fourth Age. Jim Soulsby. DfEE, May 2000. ISBN 1841852821
Employability
Ageing to Advantage: Work, Learning and Guidance for Older Age Groups. Third Age Employment Network (TAEN) briefing, 2001.
Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment. Department for Work and Pensions Publications, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottingham NG15 0DJ. Also available to download from www.agepositive.gov.uk
Evaluation of the Code of Practice on Age Diversity. Department for Work and Pensions Publications, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottingham NG15 0DJ. Also available to download from www.agepositive.gov.uk
Good Practice in the Recruitment and Retention of Older Workers. Department for Work and Pensions Publications, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottingham NG15 0DJ. Also available to download from www.agepositive.gov.uk
Mature Workforce Development: East Midlands 2000: research and report. Geoff Ford and Jim Soulsby. NIACE, 2001.
Winning the Generation Game: improving opportunities for people aged 50-65 in work and community activity. Performance and Innovation Unit, Cabinet Office. The Stationary Office, April 2000. ISBN 0114301662
General
Discriminaion in Public Policy: A Review of Evidence. Help the Aged, 2002. ISBN 0 905852 67 2
All Our Futures: the report of the Better Government for Older People Steering Committee. Better Government for Older People, 2000. Available to download from www.bettergovernmentforolderpeople.gov.uk
Better Government for Older People web site:
http://www.bettergovernmentforolderpeople.gov.uk
for information and on-line
subscription to the BGOP Network.
The Learning Divide: A Study of Participation in Adult Learning in the United Kingdom. Naomi Sargant. NIACE, 1997. ISBN 1862010161
Learning in Later Life: Motivation and Impact. Sally Dench and Jo Regan. DfEE, 2000. ISBN 184185199X
Learning to Grow Older & Bolder. Shiela Carlton and Jim Soulsby. NIACE, 1999. ISBN 1 86201 050 1
National Adult Learning Survey 2001. Ivana La Valle and Margaret Blake. DfES, 2001. ISBN 184185 652 5
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back : the NIACE survey on adult participation in learning 2002. Fiona Aldridge and Alan Tuckett. NIACE, 2002. ISBN 1 86201 145 1
___________________________________
