Learners' Voices

Introduction

The Inquiry aims to develop a lifelong learning system that works for all adults. To this end, it is committed to involving learners directly in its work. Over the coming months, the Inquiry will be undertaking a range of activities through which learners can help to shape its conclusions and recommendations.

Many learners have already engaged with the Inquiry by submitting personal testimonies in response to the thematic calls for evidence, testifying to the power of learning to transform lives for the better in a host of ways. A selection of learner testimonies can be found below.

“Lifelong learning is I believe one very positive way of re-engaging people in life and giving hope for the future.

“I have been lucky, as I became a Union Learning Rep for the Communication Workers Union. This has led me to look at my own development via the TUC and also at the learning needs of our members and the impact this has had on my life and the lives of our members and their families.

“Since 2005 I have had over 200 hundred people go through an incredibly diverse range of courses and learning opportunities. These have included Maths & English, ICT, Spanish, French, Turkish, BSL, Family History, Digital Photography, Sport, Cake Decoration and Floristry. One of the most rewarding aspects of this role is the change that I have seen in people that have engaged in the lifelong learning agenda. These people have increased self-confidence and often become more positive about life matters in general.

I receive an incredible amount of positive feedback from learners.

“Learning is contagious. One of my learners explained to me how after she had taken part in a course called Computing for the Terrified that she has gone on to take a Turkish Language Course and both her son and Partner have taken up courses.

“My greatest desire is that lifelong learning should mean just that – not just the minimum levels of skills needed by an employer, (this could end up as a type of surface learning) but a whole range of learning and development opportunities that can and do enhance peoples’ lives and that of their families and the wider community.

“The biggest blow that I have suffered in terms of delivery of lifelong learning was the loss of funding for ICT courses. When I began work in my ULR role providers were able to offer ICT courses free of charge. These same courses now cost in the region of £100. This has made it difficult to recruit in particular older learners (but not exclusively) who wanted to learn new skills that are now put off by costs. This is a blow to inclusion as without these skills it is increasingly difficult to access many learning related and other opportunities in the wider community. When you take into account some of my learners are returning to education after 30+ years, a £100 bill is not encouraging.

“ I believe that learning by an adult in a household can impact in a positive way on children and in particular on the children’s outlook on learning. If a child sees someone in their household regularly engaging in some form of learning this can become part of their accepted world. One of the reasons for returning to learning for myself and a number of my members, is the need to brush up or build new skills so that we can help our children with their homework.”

“I am 47 years old. My first experience of lifelong learning was via adult education classes as part of a concerted effort in 1992, when I was 32, to explore my creativity and to become less lonely – my job involved drafting tedious legal documentation and I had moved to a new area having returned from working abroad. I took classes (creative writing, art and bridge) at Merton Adult Education for about a year and have good friends from the art and writing classes to this day. In terms of skills, the classes helped me to believe in myself and my abilities and were immensely satisfying. I have written and painted since then, taking part in a local writing group and occasionally performing and publishing work.

“In 2000, thanks in part to the writing skills and confidence I had developed in lifelong learning, I made a career change at the age of 40 from banking to translating, which is a job that gives me far more happiness and satisfaction. I think I had been close to a mental breakdown prior to this change - I had been bullied by a new general manager, dreaded going into work and couldn't stop crying. I switched jobs internally to remove myself from the general manager's influence by working for our foreign head office, but this involved a lot of stressful air travel. I looked at what other skills I could sell in the marketplace and realised I needed to enhance my language qualifications (degree in French and German), so I took a correspondence course in translation. I then successfully applied for a job with a financial translation company and gained a diploma in translation from the Institute of Linguists. So lifelong learning has definitely helped me change my destiny, which has been to the benefit of my mental health and personal satisfaction.

“In 2005 I started art classes at Putney School of Art and Design because I felt creatively stuck with my art. Since enrolling in the Experimental Media class, I have been refining my style and language, have finished and framed five works in the last year, and am just completing a painting for an open competition. This excites me because I feel I am working up to re-shaping my destiny again in terms of creating another income stream.”

“I’m 54 years old. I’ve lived in Sheffield all my life. I was born and brought up on the Manor where I lived for 37 years. I was happy at school but I had an undiagnosed hearing problem so I was often accused of day-dreaming when really I just couldn’t hear what the teachers were saying half the time.

“I left school at 15 and went to work at Woolworths. I was a cashier and enjoyed working there. After a while, I fancied a change so I went to work with my mum at a hospital as a domestic.

“The hospital shut down so then I went to work at Milletts. I was cashier and key holder. I met my ex-husband there. We got married and had five children together. However, as time went on, my husband turned violent and I suffered a lot of assaults, once he even tried to strangle me. After a long struggle, I managed to get away from him but I had to leave all the kids except my youngest daughter with him. It broke my heart to do it, the kids were aged from 14 down to 7, but I knew I was in danger if I stayed and it was bad for the kids to be witnessing all the fighting and violence.

“Me and my daughter went to stay at my mum’s but she had emphysema and only had a one-bedroom bungalow so it wasn’t easy. We had to go homeless. I was found temporary accommodation at a hostel. It was a nice place especially when I’d got nothing else. Eventually, I was offered a maisonette and I moved there with my daughter. During this time my ex had been trying to get me to go back to him and the kids. He sent me jewellery but I wasn’t going to be bought. I knew he’d never change and I’d made the break from him now. I kept going to court to try to get custody of my other children but my ex bribed the kids to stay by buying them presents. This was very hard for me to accept but I had to try to make a new life for me and my daughter so I stuck it out. I went to work at a school as a cleaner and a lunchtime supervisor and my daughter settled well in the local primary school. I joined a local line dancing group and for the first time in ages, I started to feel happy again.

“I was caring for my dad by now. My parents had divorced when I was young but I stayed close to my dad. He was always there for me in the years I was subject to domestic violence. He had bowel cancer and despite having surgery, it didn’t work and he died. I spent a lot of time looking after him whilst he was ill and I still miss him a lot.

“I met a new partner, Don, 17 years ago when I was out delivering sandwiches with my sister one day. He was a kind person and gradually I started to trust him enough to let him into my life as a partner.

“In 2000, I moved to Gleadless Valley and that’s when Don moved in with me. We are still very happy together and he treats me like a Queen. Well, at least he buys me a Mars Bar every now and again!

“In September 2005, I noticed that there was a Sign-language course advertised in the Gleadless Valley Community Forum Newsletter and I’d always fancied learning sign language because of my hearing impairment and I’d taught myself to lip read over the years out of necessity. I wasn’t brave enough to go on my own at that time so I asked my friend to come along with me. I really enjoyed the course and this set me off on adult learning! I’ve just passed my NVQ Technical Certificate in Health and Social Care and I’m really proud of myself because it’s not always been easy to study. All the tutors are very helpful, and my friend who has done a lot of the Health and Social Care courses with me, always encourages me if my confidence is low. We are doing the same placement at Beech Hill Rehabilitation Unit which is great.

“I hope that what I have been learning in recent months will lead to an interesting career in Health and Social Care.”

“I started learning Italian as I felt that at 49 I needed to do something challenging in my life. I had run a very successful business, had four children but now needed to do something that would challenge me mentally.   I have previously had bad experiences learning languages at school but thought I would give it another go as an adult.  I chose Italian as I had visited Italy on a couple of occasions with Italian friends and found it very frustrating not being able to understand anything that was being said in every day conversation.

 “Unfortunately I do suffer from extreme nerves when talking in public so this was something that I knew I would have to overcome. I had also started to feel very low now that my youngest child was sixteen and in need of something else in my life.  I work part-time but even that didn’t seem to make me feel totally happy.

 “I have been learning Italian for only a term now but already I feel so much happier in myself.  I am overcoming my nerves of speaking in front of a group of people as we often have to do paired work to an audience.  It has given me a something to strive towards and I feel quite excited that I will be able to converse with friends.  My family seem proud of me, which of course is very rewarding.   I feel less stressed and have also found that by using my brain again to learn a language I can do so many other things such as crosswords, brain testers in the newspapers etc so much quicker now.

 “This course has given me something to work towards, confidence to speak in front of others, and above all belief in myself that at 49  can learn a new language and anything else that is put in front of me.

 “In summary, I feel that lifelong learning has brought me personal satisfaction through creativity and new friends, has enabled me to switch to a career I enjoy, and has helped me resolve severe mental stress. When I write or paint, the mental monkeys in my busy head stop chattering, I relax, and I feel worthwhile.”

“Learning got me outside those four walls of my home when I was at the worst point of my depression as the computer centre felt like a small, safe space. I knew I could be with other people but just get on with my own things and no one would bother me or talk to me if I didn’t feel like talking, but if I did, people were friendly and helpful.

“Gradually I’ve got my confidence back. I’m communicating more again and have started to go out with friends occasionally, too. I feel a lot more confident about using IT, too, and this has been good for my self-esteem and will hopefully help me in my job search as I have new skills and have updated my previous knowledge of Spreadsheets which I used to use a lot at work. Returning to learn as an adult is not something I thought I would ever do, but it’s unlocking my brain, I have less bad days and I’ve surprised myself by what I’ve achieved within the last six months. I’m now hoping to progress on to the NVQ Level 2 Computer and Office Skills course in March, that’s if I’ve not found a job by then.”