Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning: why adult apprenticeships are more crucial than ever

But this week in particular is a reminder that young people are not the only ones with access to education. From 17^th – 23^rd October, Adult Learners’ Week encourages as many people as possible to discover their passion and continue their learning.

This time of year is synonymous with education and learning, with students across the UK only recently heading back to school, college, or university, perhaps even embarking on new courses and subjects.

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Making lifelong learning work for the regions

As part of the Queen’s Speech, the Government announced plans to introduce a Higher Education Bill. Part of its purpose is to enable the introduction of the lifelong loan entitlement (LLE), which will provide individuals with a loan entitlement equivalent to four years of post-18 education that can be used over a lifetime for flexible study at both further and higher education providers.

While the LLE is pitched as a means to improve the skills system by ensuring people get the skills that employers want, very little is known about how the LLE will work in practice. A consultation soliciting views on the scope and scale of the LLE closed on Friday 06 May.

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How do we create an education system with lifelong learning at its heart?

Lifelong learning and adult education has never been so important. It plays a critical role as the economy continues to recover and rebuild itself post pandemic, reshaped by the challenges of the past few years and the continuing evolution of the labour market thanks to disrupters such as AI and the race to Net Zero.

People entering the workforce today will most likely be working fifty years, and the skills they have at 18 or 21 will need a significant update throughout their careers. And with the UK Government on a mission to level up opportunity across the country, we need to ensure we have the mechanisms in place that allow people of all ages, in all regions of the country, to learn, train and remain employable throughout their lives.

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