Lifelong learning essential for life’s transitions Monday, July 2, 2012 - 11:16

Responding to the publication of the Life transitions and retirement in 21st century report, NIACE's Chief Executive, David Hughes, said:

"NIACE supports the central tenet of this report, that life transitions present both challenges and opportunities for all of us. For many people having a positive attitude to, and experiences of, learning means that they have the ability to adapt and cope better with transitions."

Life transitions and retirement in 21st century - a report by Lord Wei of Shoreditch and supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation - finds that there has been limited systematic focus in policy-making on supporting life transitions holistically; and that there is scope to use National Service Programmes as a tool to address the most common ones, particularly those faced by young people, new employees, new parents and retirees.

Given the impact of the millions due to retire in the coming years, the report highlights the potential to create a National Retirement Service, led by retirees, for retirees - a service designed to assist those entering retirement with the support of their employers and the state, to plan for the future, build self-help networks and engender trust across generations.

David Hughes continued:

"It's vital that more and more adults are supported through lifelong learning to develop those skills and attributes so that they see retirement as a positive transition. Lifelong learning can have a central role in empowering adults to better manage the transitions of later life and retirement. We are excited by the ideas in this report and look forward to helping to take them forward."