Latest News: January 2007

NIACE partners Open College Network in silver jubilee celebrations

The success of nearly half a million learners in the East Midlands will be marked later this month at the silver jubilee celebrations of the Open College Network (OCN). The event will take place at Beaumanor Hall, Leicestershire on Wednesday 24th January 2007.

The OCN was set up 25 years ago to create new opportunities for local people whose skills might otherwise not be recognised. Learners receive a nationally recognised certificate which many of them use to go on to college, university or to get a new job.

The OCN East Midlands’ celebration event is being held in partnership with the NIACE. Learners who have won Adult Learners' Week Awards through the OCN include:

OCN East Midlands Chief Executive, Linda Wyatt, says that Paulette is one of many learners whose experience with OCN has changed the course of their lives.

 “It is an amazing fact that nearly half a million people in this region have gained qualifications with the OCN since we launched 25 years ago.

“A silver jubilee is a huge achievement by any standard and I am proud to lead an organisation that has remained true to its original values of always putting the needs of the learner first.”

Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE, said:

“Adults learn in all sorts of ways. They find time in lives crowded by work, family, friends and other commitments. Overwhelmingly they study part-time. Over the past 25 years the Open College Network has helped many hundreds of thousands of adults through the creation of robust progression routes based on credit. This has offered learners new routes to further learning, it’s built confidence and led, for many, to richer lives. NIACE is delighted to congratulate the Open College Network on its achievements over its first 25 years and looks forward to the contribution it will continue to make to people’s lives over the next 25.”

The celebration event - to be held on Wednesday 24 January 2007 at Beaumanor Hall, Leicestershire - is open to everyone who has been involved with OCN East Midlands over the last 25 years, and also to people who would like to find out more. An expert panel of speakers will hold a Question Time style debate and OCN learners will be on hand to share their experiences.

Now covering Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, and Rutland, OCN East Midlands is part of the National Open College Network which is the UK’s leading awarding body, accrediting the learning of 800,000 people every year.

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Life after Leitch

As the dust settles around Lord Leitch’s final report on Britain’s long-term skills needs, some of the leading players and commentators share their reactions and expectations with Adults Learning readers.

The January 2007 issue features reaction from across the varied terrain of adult learning and education.

For some contributors, there is little doubt that Leitch has delivered – the main questions concern implementation: how much of what he proposes and at what cost? For others, there is an inescapable feeling of déjà vu – and a sense that, once again, adult learning for purposes other than economic competitiveness has been sorely neglected.

Bill Rammell, Minister for Further and Higher Education, agrees with Leitch that we need to develop a ‘world-class’ skills base by 2020. But the ‘adult skills revolution’ this demands cannot be delivered by government alone – employers and individuals must work in partnership with government to fund, shape and deliver change.

John Hayes, the Conservative’s Shadow Minister for Vocational Education, also endorses Leitch’s call for a system driven by the choices of employers and learners, but questions his near-exclusive focus on economic objectives. Adult education also provides skills which help ‘build social mobility, social justice and social cohesion’. Leitch, unhappily, has little to say about ‘how we can engage more people in adult education’, particularly the hardest-to-reach groups.

The promise of Leitch is recognised by the Liberal Democrat’s Shadow Education Secretary, Sarah Teather, but her concern is with the report’s prospects. Mike Tomlinson’s report on reform of 14-19 curriculum and qualifications, she writes, provided answers to many of the questions Leitch poses, ‘yet, tragically for the teens entering Key Stage 4 this autumn, it sits gathering dust on a shelf in the DfES’.
Ewart Keep is one of a number of contributors who feel we have been here before, and often. As many have before him, Keep writes, ‘Leitch overloads expectations onto skills, and ignores the need for skills policies to be delivered within wider economic development and employee relations strategies’.

Colin Flint and Lorna Unwin share Keep’s impression that, once again, deeper, underlying problems are being ignored. In treating skills as something produced solely through qualifications, Unwin writes, Leitch ignores a wealth of research ‘that shows how skills are created, shared and applied in a complex daily cycle in the workplace’. The problem is that, often, this cycle is restricted by employers content to produce low-quality goods and services.

For Flint, the problems Leitch writes about have been staring us in the face for decades. Leitch is obviously right to say that we must increase the appetite and opportunity for learning, ‘but currently much opportunity is being lost’. With a 13.6 per cent decrease in learner numbers in further education between 2004/5 and 2005/6, and a 786,000 drop in numbers in adult and community learning over the same period, we are clearly ‘at some risk of dysfunction’.

As LSC Chairman Chris Banks writes, resources aren’t available to fund everything policymakers would like to do, but, as Deian Hopkin suggests, echoing recent calls from NIACE Director Alan Tuckett, it would be timely for government to consider a major review of support for all adult education, including education which, while not directly contributing to the economy, is nevertheless essential to the development of a civilised, inclusive society.

> More information on this issue of Adults Learning.

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BBC ran day of broadcasts on current state of adult education

The BBC ran full day of reports into the current state of adult education on Friday 12th January 2007.

BBC News 24 was based at the North London College of Further Education in Tottenham and ran features every hour at about 30 minutes past each hour.

These features included a pre-recorded package including an interview with Alastair Thomson, NIACE Senior Policy Officer.

Sue Meyer, NIACE Director for Policy and Programmes was interviewed live.

Other live interviewees during the day included the Association of Colleges, The Age and Employment Network and a number of students/learners.

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Learning gets your life on the right course

At the start of every new year people across the country make resolutions to lead better and more fulfilling lives. As part of its national Sign Up Now campaign, NIACE says that learning is one of the best ways to transform your life in many positive ways.

Sign Up Now - which runs from 8th – 14th January 2007 – encourages adults to consider the positive influence learning can have on their lives. Details about a whole range of different courses – anything from archaeology to zoology - will be available at local colleges and adult education centres, or by calling the free learning advice line, learndirect, on 0800 100 900.

Adults who know the positive influence learning has include Adult Learners’ Week Award winners from 2006 -

Pam Haywood-Reed, from Sheffield, said that learning as an adult has meant that “after all these years I have achieved something worthwhile. I want to carry on teaching computing to older people.”

Anna Kennett, from Stockton-on-Tees, said, “Learning never stops over a lifetime. It’s not just about school and GCSEs and core skills. It’s about continuing to broaden your horizons.”

Yasmin Miller, from Wokingham, said that by, “continually improving skills or knowledge to enhance one’s life [leads to] improved job prospects, access to new opportunities, new hobbies or interests or simply increased self-esteem and personal satisfaction.”

Harjit Singh, from Surrey, said that learning, “has opened lots of doors for me. It has made me confident and given me high self-esteem. I have changed for better. I am not shy and quiet anymore.”

David Woods, from Corby, said, “This may sound dramatic but learning was a big part in saving my life.”

Bill Rammell, Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, said:

“Learning changes people’s lives. Our recent national adult learning survey shows that more adults than ever are participating in some form of learning and across all age groups. There have been considerable increases in the amount of learning done by people on low incomes, and by people who live in deprived areas. But we know more must be done to engage adults who do not participate in learning. Through our sweeping reforms to FE, we are giving adults the skills they need for employability and opportunities to improve their lives both at work and at home.”

Rachel Thomson, Senior Campaigns Officer at NIACE, said:

“Research shows that, amongst other things, learning increases self-confidence; improves both mental and physical health; reduces stress and isolation; helps people give up smoking; encourages community participation; and can lead to a new career and a more positive outlook on life. And this month you can start on a remarkable life-journey by signing up to learning.”

She continued, “Perhaps this is the year you research your family history, earn a qualification that will lead to a promotion or new job, paint your first watercolour, learn to speak Spanish or another language, read your first book or even learn to dance a tango. Whatever it is you want to study and whatever age or life-stage you’re at there’s a new, invigorating chapter of your life waiting to start. To find out what's on offer where you are, call learndirect free on 0800 100 900.”

Source: NIACE Press Release: "Learning gets your life on the right course" Released On 05/01/2007

See also:

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Government responds to NIACE report

The Government has responded to NIACE's report - The case for adult learning: access all areas. In a letter from Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, he states that the report 'has been a useful and positive contribution. It has helped raise the profile of adult learning, both for skills and for its own intrinsic value.'

The full letter can be downloaded below:

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ALW Awards - online nominations system launched

NIACE is pleased to announce that we are now able to accept nominations for the Adult Learners' Week 2007 Awards online as well as in the traditional paper formats. We want to hear about learners whose stories are motivating and inspirational.  Use the link below to access the online system and please read the instructions carefully.

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