This month, Adult Learning Wales Chief Executive, Kathryn Robson, participated in the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Further Education and Lifelong Learning Inquiry on adult education. Chaired by Baroness Smith of Llanfaes, Plaid Cymru Member of the House of Lords, the session heard contributions from across the UK and internationally, including representatives from the OECD, Switzerland, the European Association for the Education of Adults, Australia, Singapore, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Here, Kathryn Robson shares her reflections on the session.
Adult education is fundamental to tackling intergenerational inequality and poverty. Despite the many benefits of adult education being well-established, it has suffered from decades of underinvestment and underappreciation. This inquiry is most welcome in shining a spotlight on an all-important, but often underappreciated part of the sector. Several themes emerged consistently throughout the discussion.
Firstly, participation in adult learning remains closely linked to investment. Switzerland provided an interesting example. Despite a decade of targeted action to increase participation amongst adults with low essential skills, including support for regional delivery structures, expanded provision, integration programmes and stronger links with labour market policy, participation amongst low-qualified adults remains relatively low and inequalities in participation remain amongst the highest in Europe. Their conclusion was straightforward: efforts have been positive, but investment has not yet been sufficient to achieve the scale of change required.
Ireland was repeatedly highlighted as a strong example of a supportive lifelong learning environment. Contributors pointed to sustained policy focus, investment in adult education, free training opportunities for adults in employment and the National Training Fund, which is supported through a 1% employer payroll contribution and helps fund adult learning and apprenticeships. Ireland was viewed by several contributors as demonstrating the value of a coherent policy framework, sustained investment and a strong enabling environment for lifelong learning.
Scotland offered some useful insights into participation. Only 40% of college learners are aged 16–19, with 60% being adults and participation spread relatively evenly across age groups up to age 50. Colleges also play a significant role in delivering higher education, with around 20% of higher education provision delivered through colleges, often at significantly lower cost than university-based provision. Free bus travel for under-21s was also highlighted as a practical intervention that has improved access to education and employment whilst reducing administrative burdens associated with learner support.
A recurring concern was the decline in employer investment in workforce training. Reference was made to recent Skills England analysis showing a 19% reduction in employer training investment between 2011 and 2019, at a time when demand for skills in sectors such as clean energy, construction and other growth sectors is expected to increase significantly. There was broad agreement that adult upskilling and reskilling will be essential to meeting future workforce needs, particularly given lower migration levels and a declining cohort of young people entering the labour market.
Discussion also explored policy mechanisms to encourage lifelong learning, including OECD work on Individual Learning Accounts and the French Compte Personnel de Formation (CPF). Positive examples of participation growth and policy innovation were also cited from Austria, Slovenia, Singapore and Australia. Australia was also highlighted for providing financial support to learners undertaking clinical placements, helping to remove barriers to participation.
There was discussion about barriers to participation and concerns that skills policy, particularly in England, can be overly focused on apprenticeships. Whilst apprenticeships have an important role, contributors noted that many employers do not engage with them and many adults require shorter, more flexible learning opportunities. Concerns were also raised about the complexity and cost of apprenticeship systems and the extent to which they can crowd out wider lifelong learning policy.
During the session, I highlighted the significant policy and funding challenges facing adult learning in Wales. Reflecting the acute budgetary pressure in the sector, I shared examples of colleges having to make difficult choices about using part-time funding allocations to support pressures within full-time 16–19 provision and ever-growing waiting lists, creating further pressure on opportunities for adult learners if replacement funds from other sources can't be found. Over the past decade in Wales, there has been a 71% reduction in adult learning funding, and yet the benefits are clear. The ColegauCymru commissioned report, Demonstrating the Social Value of Further Education in Wales, demonstrates the significant economic, social and community benefits generated through investment in adult learning.
The APPG session provided an opportunity to outline a range of priorities in Wales, including all important employability skills, net zero and green skills, construction, engineering, health and social care, ESOL, essential skills, digital skills and Welsh language provision. It was also a chance to highlight the importance of partnership approaches in Wales, including the Wales Union Learning Fund (WULF), apprenticeships, Regional Skills Partnerships, Personal Learning Accounts and Levelling Up funding. It was noted that priority curriculum areas attract greater funding weighting in order to support key economic and workforce priorities.
The discussion reinforced the value of strong employer relationships and partnership working in increasing participation. There was also recognition that participation is often highest amongst adults already in employment, underlining the importance of outreach and widening participation activity if systems are to engage those furthest from learning.
Perhaps the strongest collective message was that successful adult learning systems are not built around a single policy intervention. Contributors repeatedly pointed to the need for a holistic and integrated approach, ensuring that adult learning is connected to wider economic, employment, health and social policy objectives. There was a strong view that learners should be at the centre of policy design and that adult education delivers benefits well beyond employment, including social inclusion, social cohesion, wellbeing, community resilience and improved life chances.
One of the participants reflected:
"If we could demonstrate tangible outcomes - for example, that every £1 invested in adult learning generates £3 of savings or benefits elsewhere in the public system, such as criminal justice - it would provide a compelling case for investment. The challenge is that much of the evidence for these wider benefits remains difficult to quantify. Those of us working in the sector see the impact every day; proving it in a way that satisfies policymakers and funders is often the harder task."
Some of the more interesting policy reflections included giving colleges greater autonomy over funding and curriculum decisions, developing more integrated lifelong learning systems, strengthening employer investment in workforce development, and ensuring that outreach and widening participation are given equal priority alongside skills and productivity objectives.
With a new Welsh Government settling into Cardiff Bay, it is time to redouble our efforts on boosting adult learning. Unlocking long-term growth, improving living standards and tackling intergenerational poverty rests on people being able to access opportunities to learn in their communities, to reskill and upskill for the jobs of the future and access learning for health and wellbeing. The path to a fairer and more prosperous Wales lies in colleges being funded and supported to deliver the flexible learning opportunities that adults need at the different stages in their lives.
The APPG inquiry report will be published later in the year, and we look forward to further discussions, in Wales and Westminster, about the future of lifelong learning across the UK.
Kathryn Robson
Kathryn Robson is Chief Executive of Adult Learning Wales, where she leads the organisation’s national work to expand access to lifelong learning and strengthen adult community learning across Wales. Her focus is on ensuring high-quality, learner-centred opportunities reach people in their communities, supporting skills, confidence and active participation in society.
Further Information
ColegauCymru Manifesto
Growth, Opportunity and Fairness
ColegauCymru Report
Demonstrating the Social Value of Further Education Colleges in Wales
2024
