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Searching for a Goldilocks exit from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has saved millions of jobs and prevented an even more catastrophic rise in unemployment than we’ve already seen. The Chancellor is right to extend and reform the scheme to prevent more...Read more »
Online adult learning: new opportunities to understand what works
An unprecedented and wide-ranging economic downturn is on the horizon due to Covid-19. The full economic impact will not be known for some time but it has already had a serious negative impact on the labour...Read more »
Trouble ahead? Early warning signs for the labour market
Coronavirus is, first and foremost, a public health crisis. It is also having a profound impact on the labour market, both directly and also indirectly through the measures rightly being taken to protect health. The Government...Read more »
Disparities and devolution: how can the next government close divides in skills and employment?
Devolution hasn’t been a major theme in the election debate – and with Brexit dominating it’s unlikely to be. Yet against a backdrop of relatively high inequality, devolution needs to be a central part of the...Read more »
Beyond Brexit: five things the general election should focus on
Brexit will be central to the UK’s first December general election in almost a century. But there’s plenty more for all parties to focus on. The context is a relatively weak economy. Average earnings are almost...Read more »
The first point of contact
No matter how old we get, the role of teacher is perceived as one of authority. Authority can of course symbolise oppression, a dangerous imbalance of status, or the powerful versus the powerless. But authority isn’t...Read more »
The sobering reality and growing significance of low-paid and insecure work
Since our launch, the Better Work Network has grown rapidly to include over 260 members. The high levels of interest in our work reflect the sobering reality of the growing significance of the issues of low...Read more »
What’s in a name?
Does our job title determine our access to staff development? asks Mark Ravenhall Last week, a mini debate emerged on Twitter about how we refer to people working in adult education. ‘Staff and volunteers’, or just...Read more »
Bringing Europe together to better support the adult learning workforce
When it comes to adult learning, European nations have more in common than not. Right across the EU, and in Brussels, policymakers know adult education is a good thing, and that it needs supporting. They are...Read more »
‘New to ESOL’ resources can support learners progress and achieve their ambitions
The start of a new academic year seems a good time to reflect on our recent project ‘New to ESOL’ and the resources we developed. I was really happy to be involved with this project and...Read more »
Helping young adult carers on their pathway to independence
For young adult carers, the publication of the Carer’s Action Plan in June 2018 brought several things to celebrate. It was the first time that the needs of this group of young people had been addressed...Read more »
Supporting ESOL in prisons
For many people in the criminal justice system who do not have English as their first language, the experience of prison can be doubly debilitating. The Prison within a Prison report by The Bell Foundation concludes...Read more »
Our finance apprentice shares his story #FireItUp
I’m Mason and I am the new finance apprentice at Learning and Work Institute. I have only been at L&W a few weeks, but in my short time here, I am really enjoying gaining valuable skills...Read more »
E&S19: Inclusion, safety and equal work environments – collaborating on positive opportunities for all
What a great opportunity to hear from key note speakers Angela Rayner MP and Baroness Buscombe at Learning and Work Institute’s Employment and Skills Convention! I attended the breakout session ‘Tackling the Disability Employment Gap’ which...Read more »
E&S19: Why employers should care about the ageing workforce – and what they should do about it.
Robots and Brexit are the two phenomena most commonly talked about when people discuss the future of work and the workplace. But there is a third major change coming to the world of work, that everyone...Read more »
E&S19: The question remains: why care about prison education?
SkillHUBS is a three-year Erasmus + funded transnational project which aims to improve prison education across the EU through an innovative model for teaching and learning. This model is specifically designed for the prison environment and...Read more »
E&S19: the rising tide of poverty
We all know that work should be a reliable route out of poverty. It isn’t right that over 4 million workers have been caught up in the rising tide of poverty; but we can turn the...Read more »
E&S19: Where next for apprenticeships?
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) believes that apprenticeships can drive improvements in workforce productivity at all levels. The programme should also be a vehicle for social justice. Other key stakeholders feel the same,...Read more »
In-work support: A provider’s perspective
While successive governments have touted ‘work as the best route out of poverty’, the rising tide of working poor across the UK tells another story. The growth in high risk, low remuneration jobs – typified by...Read more »
The drive for better work: tackling the causes and consequences of in-work poverty
The UK is currently experiencing a sustained period of labour market success. Unemployment is at its lowest level in over 40 years at 3.8%, and employment is at a record high at 76.1%. Yet, the experience...Read more »
Does political uncertainty mean the Augar Review will be kicked into the long grass?
As featured on FE News. A lot of the headlines about the Augar Review foccused on higher education. Commissioned by Theresa May to look at post-18 education, the review confirmed its long-trailed recommendation that tuition fees...Read more »
SkillHUBS – pioneering in prison education reform
Over the last few years, much has been said about the need for reform in prison education (e.g., the Coates Review, 2016). The logic is that educated inmates are more likely to gain employment and lead...Read more »
Why we need to do more to support pre-Entry and Entry Level 1 ESOL
There’s nothing more likely to provoke debate amongst ESOL practitioners than ‘pre-Entry’ ESOL. It’s challenging even to agree what classes at the very beginning of learning English should be called. Some object that ‘pre-Entry’ refers to...Read more »
Carers Rights Day 2018: caring for the future of young adult carers
Today is Carers Rights Day, an important campaign which aims to raise awareness of the needs and rights of carers. This year’s theme, ‘caring for your future’, emphasises the difference that having the right information at...Read more »
While participation in adult learning is in decline, Festival of Learning aims to show that barriers can be overcome through its award winners’ stories
For the last twenty years, Learning and Work Institute (L&W) has run an annual survey to gauge the level of adult participation in learning. Year-on-year, roughly two fifths of adults say that they are participating in...Read more »
Celebrating great pre-apprenticeship programmes this EU Vocational Skills Week
It’s European Vocational Skills Week this week, a good time to reflect on our knowledge exchange event on Tuesday 30 October 2018. This event was a fundamental stage in a project we are delivering with the...Read more »
Learning, work and health: six big challenges for the next 70 years of the NHS
This year the National Health Service celebrated its 70th birthday. There is no question that the overall health of the population in England has improved greatly over the last 7 decades, but we must also recognise...Read more »
Stepping up: supporting individuals to progress out of low pay
The motivation behind Step Up was simple – to stay true to our charitable mission! Walcot Foundation has made grants for the relief of poverty in Lambeth for more than 350 years but Step Up is...Read more »
Bold steps are needed to ensure all apprenticeships are ladders of opportunity
The ‘package of reforms to boost apprenticeships’ announced at the Conservative party conference last week, was greeted by some as mere tinkering around the edges – offering little more than an extension to the proportion of...Read more »
Better Work Network: Working together to tackle low pay and in-work poverty
Data from the 2017 London Poverty Profile paints a mixed picture for Londoners. Whilst employment participation has steadily improved across the capital – 73% of the working-age population now in employment – other indicators tell a...Read more »