A time for change Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 18:23

A joint NIACE, UKCES and unionlearn forum to explore how the inequalities in adult learning and training can be tackled was held in London on Thursday 29 November.

Time for change: tackling inequalities in learning and training looked at the findings of NIACE’s 2012 Adult Participation in Learning Survey, which shows that active participation in learning remains a minority activity among adults in the UK. Of particular interest are the inequalities in who participates and who does not. The survey shows that you are much less likely to take part in learning if you are retired, or outside of the labour market, if you are in a low skilled job, or if you did not do well in school.

A similar pattern to this is reflected in the UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey which finds there are significant variations in the level of training businesses carried out by size and sector. Training is not offered to all staff and nearly half miss out depending on occupation.

Dr Fiona Aldridge, Head of Learning for Work at NIACE, said:

“There is a growing body of evidence that shows how taking part in learning makes a difference to the economic and social well-being of individuals, families, communities and nations. Learning helps people not only get jobs but also stay and flourish in their careers. It helps them keep healthy and play a positive role in their community. The children of parents who are active learners do better in their own education and improve their life chances. The economic prosperity of the UK also depends on people becoming more skilled and innovative through continuing to learn.”

“Despite much effort and investment, we have not seen significant inroads made into addressing inequalities in learning and training. If we continue as we are the situation is unlikely to change. These inequalities do matter and that is why we are working with UKCES and unionlearn and other key decision makers and influencers in the adult learning and training arena to help shape the future. A key outcome of today’s event will be to identify actions we can all take to ensure that those people who could most benefit from learning will no longer miss out.”