Adult Learning and Participation

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Adult Learning and Participation

• Simon Beer
• Programme Director
• June 2009

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This Presentation

• The UK background
• The recession
• Participation the evidence
• Implications

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THE UK

• Background

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National, Regional and Local Landscape National
priorities reflected in regional and local
strategies with customised local delivery
Defining Demand
Supply Response
UKCES State of the nation defines national
needs, progress, gaps
SFA Funding is learner and employer driven
SFA Skills Co-ordinators Within business
support match demand supply and take up in line
with needs
RDAs/SFA/DWP Identify skills demands to meet
regional economic needs
SFA Fixers Ensure strategic skills needs
addressed eg responding to inward investment,
redundancies etc.
MAAs with ESBs Identify skills demands to meet
city / regional economic needs
Local self-organised networks Networks of
providers work with local partners to align local
demand and supply
LAAs with LSPs Identify skills demands to meet
local community needs
Define funded qualification of QCF and sector
compacts Define priorities for broker / providers
in delivering Train to Gain
SCCs Identify sector skills needs
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Context and Challenge MOG
The change will affect learners and employers
Streamlined and integrated service for employers
Funding in the hands of learners and
employers (demand led system)
Integrated advice and guidance services for
learners
More young people and adults with the skills
employers need
Coherent offer for all young people
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Further Education and Skills Model A new
landscape to support a demand led
systemOpportunity to clarifyand confirm new
roles and responsibilities
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Further Education and Skills Landscape
New Roles and Responsibilities

• Leading the system
• Determining Overall Investment and Priorities
• Determining Performance System (Framework for
  Excellence)
• Responsible for meeting the Skills PSA
• Responsible for the Further Education Sponsorship
  and colleges and learning providers
  contribution to DCSF targets
• Responsible for Advising DIUS on the Skills needs
  of the Country, including regional strategic
  needs
• Monitor and challenge performance of employment
  and skills system
• Managing the FE and Skills Research Function
• Managing the SSCs and ensuring their
  effectiveness
• Advising on re-licensing
• Determining the Skills offer for their vocational
  area
• With the SFA raise employer demand for Skills
• With SFA raise employer demand for skills

DIUS
UKCES
SSCs
RDAs
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Further Education and Skills Landscape
New Roles and Responsibilities (2)

• Lead and provide the four client gateways (Train
  to Gain, Apprenticeship, Advancement Service and
  the direct learner responsive service) and
  underpinning systems
• Fund colleges and learning providers
• Co-ordinate action on strategic skills regionally
  and sub regionally
• Work with LAs on MAAs/ESBs
• Colleges and Learning Providers meeting student
  and employers learning and skills requirements
• Cooperate with LAs, ES Boards and each other to
  respond to demand
• Collaborating with each other to provide a range
  of support services of their choice which could
  include peer assessment, staff development
  programmes, shared service and procurement
• Regulate the qualifications offer

SFA
Colleges/ Providers
Ofqual
LSIS
Ofsted
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Objectives for a demand-led
market
Supply Market Management
Demand
Target Outcomes
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• The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and
  Learning Bill
• Introduced in Feb 2009
• As part of this Bill, it is proposed to create a
  new statutory office holder, the Chief Executive
  of Skills Funding, who will have specific powers
  and duties including responsibility for the SFA.
  
• The Skills Funding Agency will be agency of DBIS,
  with staff provided by the Secretary of State.
• The aim is to ensure the autonomy and academic
  freedom of colleges and providers and in line
  with best practice in the public sector, ensure
  decisions are taken as close to the frontline as
  possible.
• To ensure this a duty to collaborate will be
  placed on colleges and learning providers.

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UK position
Current international position
Productivity 11th
Employment 10th

Equality (gap between richest and poorest paid) 23rd

Companies priority for employee training 35th
Skilled labour available 32nd
Source Ambition 2020 World Class Skills and
Jobs for the UK, UKCES, 2009
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United Kingdom Human Development Index 1992
2008
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Human Development Index 2008
1. Iceland 16. Spain
2. Norway 17. Belgium
3. Canada 18. Greece
4. Australia 19. Italy
5. Ireland 20. New Zealand
6. Netherlands 21. United Kingdom
7. Sweden 22. Hong Kong
8. Japan 23. Germany
9. Luxembourg 24. Israel
10. Switzerland 25. Korea
11. France 26. Slovenia
12. Finland 27. Brunei Darussalam
13. Denmark 28. Singapore
14. Austria 29. Kuwait
15. United States 30. Cyprus
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How much richer are the richest 20 than the
poorest 20 in each country
Income gap
The Spirit Level, (2009) Penguin
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Age demography
Thousands of people
Population Index (2006100)

• Increases in life expectancy will also mean that
  the number of people aged 85 and over will
  increase particularly rapidly

• This increase in the number of over 65s is set to
  be more rapid than the increase in the rest of
  the population

1) GAD Demography Database downloaded 5th
December 2007
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Recession

• - Immediate context

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Headlines - this recession

• Media talks about.
• Quarters of negative growth
• The past (1980s and 1990s)
• Unemployment
• Structural change

• This time
• Mortgages down
• Savings are down
• We have less savings (12 less)
• Dip could be sharper
• no one really knows

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New context this time

• Unemployment change sharper
• Worklessness is localised
• Demography particularly age
• Debt there is no safety net
• And in learning, employment and skills
• Different provider infrastructure

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Unemployment is up (ILO)
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Vacancies are down
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Longer-term unemployment is up
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The low skills issue is highly localised

• The quantity and quality of jobs available
  locally is of particular importance to them
  geography matters most to those with poor
  skills.
• (The Geography of Poor Skills and Access to Work,
  Green Owen, JRF, 2006)

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Unemployment rates by age
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Policy responses pre-recession

• Centralised skills forecasting
• Social market model
• Market stimulation
• Market segmentation
• Market regulation
• Capacity building
• Advancement to 80 employment

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Participation

• The facts

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Current or recent participation in learning by
nation of the UK, 1996-2009 compared
1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2009
Total sample 40 40 42 42 38 39
England 42 41 42 42 39 39
Wales 37 43 39 42 38 41
Scotland 38 33 44 36 31 33
Northern Ireland 28 32 40 37 40 42
Weighted base 4,755 5,205 5.885 5,053 4,932 4,917
Base all respondents
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Participation in learning 2009, by socio-economic
class
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Current or recent learning by employment status,
1996 2009 compared
1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2009
Total sample 40 40 42 42 38 39
Full-time employment 49 51 52 52 45 47
Part-time employment 42 50 51 53 48 49
Unemployed 40 41 46 40 43 40
Retired 20 16 19 17 17 16
Weighted base 4,755 5,025 5,885 5,053 4,932 4,917
Base all respondents
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Current or recent participation in learning by
age, 2009
Percentage of respondents
Base all respondents
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How adults are learning 2009, by socio-economic
class
Total AB C1 C2 DE
Through a publicly funded institution 42 39 43 36 52
Through work 32 36 34 37 18
Informally though a voluntary organisation or community facilities 8 7 7 9 12
Independently on my own 16 18 15 15 16
Independently with others 6 10 5 4 5
Online 4 6 4 3 2
Weighted base 4,917 962 1,472 1,022 1,461
Base all learners. Totals may exceed 100 as
respondents were allowed to make multiple
responses
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UK projected change in age groups, 2006 to 2020
(000s)
Source ONS, Population projects, 2006 based
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Implications

• For those seeking to widen participation

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Advancement

• 2004 model is about reform of three things
• The individual
• The system
• The workplace

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Recession affects these in different ways for
example

• Individuals
• Less people in work
• Further marginalises the most marginalised
• Greater levels of personal debt
• The system
• Danger to flagship programmes (TTG Apships)
• Drift towards greater localism
• Workplaces
• Less viable workplaces, short-termism
• Unionssome harder hit than others

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Opportunities and Questions

• Fees issues not tackled?
• Vocational/non-vocational divide maintained
• Local authorities role in adult learning could
  develop across range of agendas
• Support for connecting self organised learning
  and technology
• A return to creative widening participation ?

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Opportunities and Questions 2

• Is there a connect between key parts of the FE
  and HE system?
• Lack of sustainable budgets for actual WP related
  provision?
• Lack of recognition of non-educational barriers
  to participation?
• Does system enable empowerment and collective
  approaches?

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Lifelong Learning
Tangibles
Structural
Formal
Targets Priorities

• Leitch agenda
• Evidence basis for service delivery
• Impact assessment
• fit for purpose infrastructure and systems

Procedures Skills Qualifications
Outcomes
Networks/Alliances
Informal
Values Belief
Conflict/ risk
History

• Building Partnerships

Politics

• Barrier mapping

Relationships

• Soft intelligence
• Communication strategy

Personalities
Power
Intangibles
Cultural
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Adult learning some Key Characteristics of the
Terrain

• Time, place, pace, form purposes of learners
  choice
• Life-long life-wide linked to key moments in
  the lifecourse
• Informal, non-formal even tacit
• Learning to learn - meta-competence
• Critical skills, curiosity challenge
• Flexibility, adaptability responsiveness of
  both learning learners
• Confidence autonomy capability competence
• Motivation, commitment progression
• Co-produced between learners and teachers
  amongst learners
• Capacity for independent interdependent,
  functioning individuals , families, groups,
  organisations communities

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Personal Domain Public Domain Social Community Economic
Emotional and physical wellbeing Spiritual peace Maturity Sense of belonging Cognitive development Communication skills Enhanced personal relationships Creative ability Literacy and language Personal choices Recreation Cross-cultural knowledge Organisational capacity Community service Employability skills Self-sufficiency Expanded pathways Income generation Professional development Social connections Community building Active citizenship Activisim Cultural expression Sharing resources New community Groups Community identity Empowerment Appreciation and respect for diversity Productive enterprises Increased small business capacity Employment advocacy Micro-economic development Creation of goods and services Savings in personal and organisational costs due to greater efficiency
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Challenges

• Equalities differential effects of recession
• Where will the demand be?
• Do we really want to be where we were?
• New ways of working for government
• tight values, flexible systems
• no new systems, just flex the existing ones
• let go to the local
• Where has advancement gone?

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Groups at risk

• working class adults
• part-time and temporary workers
• older workers
• migrants
• women outside the labour force especially from
  ethnic minority groups
• people on welfare benefits - especially
  incapacity benefit
• ex-offenders
• adults with literacy and numeracy skills below
  entry level 2

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The Year Ahead

• Agenda 2010
• New government wanting quick wins
• Enhanced role for localities
• Community Cohesion
• Well-being
• Volunteering
• all slightly different where you are

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Participation Questions for providers

• We should be asking the following questions

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Provision in the right places?
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Are we giving the right signals?
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Removing barriers or just working around them?
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Is there a high trust relationship?