Lord Mandelson supports Learning Through Life Friday, October 23, 2009 - 12:12

Lord Mandelson has lent public support to key recommendations made in Learning Through Life - the main report of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning (IfLL) - in a letter of 14 October 2009. The letter has been warmly welcomed by IfLL and NIACE.

Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), said:

"As the Department responsible for adult skills, we have been following the progress of the Inquiry with keen interest. We place a very high value on adult education and training and would absolutely agree with the Inquiry's finding that adults will need a much wider repertoire of skills in order to be successful and fulfilled in the face of a volatile job market and more complex family arrangements."

"We also agree that our now much longer lives are certain to create new challenges and could, unless we take action, lead to an increase in the number of socially and economically excluded older people."

Sir David Watson, Independent Chair of the Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning, said:

"The Commissioners are delighted by the strength of the support for the Inquiry's main findings across and beyond the political spectrum. We are seeking a meeting with ministers in BIS to follow up the Secretary of State's ideas."

 Professor Tom Schuller, Director of the Inquiry and Associate Director of NIACE, said:

"We are very pleased that BIS agrees with the analysis in Learning Through Life that there is a need for a greater emphasis on our lifelong learning system. We need this in order to address the profound challenges of our ageing population and changes in employment patterns. Older people can be a source of innovation both in the workplace and their wider civic lives, empowered through a blend of formal and informal learning. We confidently expect that the forthcoming skills strategy will reflect this."

"We also agree with Lord Mandelson's comment (Times Higher Education 15/10) that both further and higher education, need to be flexible to respond to the demands of mature study. Learning Through Life recommends greater fairness and consistency in funding for further and higher education."