The views represented here are those of the author and not necessarily
those of the Commission
Work and Learning by
Jenny Williams and Tom Wilson
The workplace is both a platform and a site for lifelong learning.
As a result it has been present through the whole Inquiry into the
Future for Lifelong Learning. This paper looks specifically at
learning at or for work and relates it to the Inquiry’s
theme of prosperity, employment and work. It has been written
during the economic crisis at a time of rapid change in the economy,
which has had profound implications for work and learning. The 2006
Leitch Review of Skills is our starting point.1 We broadly agree
with the ambitions it sets out for the UK to become a world leader
in skills by 2020: the UK’s success and future prosperity will
depend on more of us having higher skills and the capability to put
them to good use in an increasingly complex world. But we do not
believe that an exclusive focus on improving the supply of skills is
sufficient: more needs to be done to raise demand from employers for
skills development, and to promote skills utilisation. We should
re-focus the collective investment we currently make in learning for
work to secure greater value from it, and over time, we will need
stronger measures to increase that investment, if we are to make
best use of all our talents.
Workplace Learning: a summary of discussions at the expert seminar
and Commissioner's meeting
This paper is a summary of the key issues raised during rich and
wide ranging discussions at the Workplace Learning Expert Seminar on
21 November and the Commissioners’ meeting on 27 November. It is
inevitably selective, but seeks to identify some of the main
messages and challenges from the discussion and to highlight
pointers for further research.
Adult
Learning and Unions
The TUC’s submission to the NIACE inquiry focuses on the role of
learning and skills at work and how developments in this area can
best lead to an adult learning strategy that supports economic
success, social justice and personal fulfilment.
Adult Learning in the
Workplace - explaining current patterns and their outcomes
This submission argues that the ‘skills crisis’ that the Skills
Strategy and the Leitch Review aim to resolve in reality does not
exist (at least in the terms that public policy currently describes
it). Despite this, or perhaps because of it, there is very little
sign from the government that either the policy or the analysis that
supports it is open for discussion and amendment.
Learning at work:
towards more 'expansive' opportunities
Workplaces have always been sites of learning and every workplace
creates its own unique version of a learning environment. In these
environments, learning takes place in a range of different ways
along a continuum that stretches from formalised activity at one
end, through to a group of employees discovering the answer to a
problem by informal discussion round the water cooler. This paper
discusses the ways in which learning at work might be better
organised and facilitated for the benefit of individuals and
organisations, and as a contribution to lifelong learning.
Learning,
Communities and Performance
This Report presents the main results to emerge from an innovative
survey of the social context in which learning takes place and its
impact on performance (known as the Communities of Practice Survey,
CoPS). It is based on a survey of 1,899 employees interviewed about
their relationships at work, their learning experiences and how they
rate their own work performance.
Skills in Context (opens a new window)
The paper reviews the importance of skills in terms of explaining
the moderate productivity performance of the UK.
Written Evidence Submitted
Follow the links below to read a selection of the written evidence submitted to the Inquiry in response to the call for evidence for this theme.
The
Inquiry into the Future
for Lifelong Learning 
Prosperity,
Employment and Work
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