Promoting learning and skills
Everyone should have the same opportunity to learn and achieve their ambitions in life, in their communities and at work. But we know, through our annual adult participation in learning survey, that fewer adults are learning. In fact, the number of adults engaging in learning is at its lowest for 20 years.
That’s why, as well as delivering Festival of Learning we campaign, lobby and advocate on behalf of learners of all kinds, especially those at most disadvantage.
In the recent years, we have campaigned to:
- Highlight the unintended impact of 24+ Advanced Learning Loans for apprenticeships
- Gain support for an Apprentice Charter that would benefit apprentices and employers
- Support people in low pay to progress in their careers
- Help marginalised learners to access better opportunities through the Equality, Diversity and Innovation Fund
- Help adults improve their literacy and discover a love of reading, through our continued support for Quick Reads
- Help adults improve their numeracy with the Maths Everywhere App
- Deliver Community Learning Champions – supporting volunteers who help adults to learn
- Help people plan for a longer working life through our Mid-life Career Review
- Reach deprived and marginalised learners, through our management of the Community Learning Innovation Fund
- Encourage schools to use the Pupil Premium for family learning – something we know has a dramatic impact on children’s and parents’ learning
- Ensure Traineeships are available to older learners
- Raise awareness of the needs of both young adult carers and care leavers
As the UK National Coordinator for the European Agenda for Adult Learning 2017 19, we have built on the work undertaken in 2012-14, 2014-15, and 2015-17 and continue to contribute to the European Commission’s strategic priorities.
We want to work with anyone who is as passionate about learning and addressing disadvantage as we are.
If you develop policy, inform opinion or develop learning and skills practice, or if you just care about learning, we want to challenge your thinking, engage you in debate, and encourage you to advocate alongside us, so that everyone can benefit from lifelong learning.
Join the debate on our blogs, follow us on Twitter, join us as a supporter or come along to our events.