ASL0039

Written evidence submitted by the Department for Education

What are the benefits of adult skills and lifelong learning for productivity and upskilling the workforce?

1. Our adult skills system seeks to improve productivity, employment and social inclusion. It supports people who are starting out in their careers, those who want to upskill and those who want or need to change careers.

2. There are some adults who lack the basic skills they need for employment, or to progress in employment. We have provision available so that adults can gain the basic skills they need – such as in literacy and numeracy – to help them be active members of society and work ready; and securing English and maths qualifications correlates to marked gains in earnings and employment.[1] The Government currently funds basic skills provision through the Adult Education Budget and participation in the European Social Fund so that adults can access learning to gain basic skills.

3. People are working longer: the retirement age has gone up and the OECD reported that ‘the average age of exit from the labour market is at its highest since before 1970’ (OECD, Fuller Working Lives). Moreover, automation and technological change will increasingly change sectors and occupations. As people work longer and jobs change, they need to be able to adapt to changes in the labour market in order to stay and progress in employment.  This means that the adult skills and lifelong learning education or training that people undertake once they leave formal full-time education becomes more important.  The National Retraining Scheme will help prepare adults for the future changes to the economy, including those brought about by automation, and help them retrain into better jobs.

4. Skilled people can do tasks more quickly or to a higher quality, do more complex and demanding tasks, and they can help develop smarter ways of working and drive innovation.  Therefore adult skills and lifelong learning can also be an important driver of productivity.[2]  We have a range of provision available to help adults to increase their skills, including apprenticeships, further education and higher education. 

5. Adult skills and lifelong learning provision is education, advice and training for adults (19+) who want to upskill, reskill or move into employment. Adult skills and lifelong learning provision includes:

a)    Apprenticeships: Our reforms to apprenticeships are benefiting people of all ages and backgrounds, including adults developing their skills. We’ve given employers the flexibility to offer apprenticeships to both new recruits and existing staff, supporting the creation of quality workplace training opportunities and life-long learning.

b)    Adult Education Budget (AEB) funded provision:

• The AEB fully funds or co-funds (approximate 50% government contribution for co-funding) skills provision for eligible adults aged 19+ from pre-entry to level 3[3] (including traineeships), and includes funding to help learners to overcome barriers which prevent them from taking part in learning.  The provision engages adults, and provides the skills and training they need to equip them for work, as well as progression in work, and further learning.  It also enables more flexible tailored programmes of learning to be made available which do not need to include a qualification. The AEB supports three legal entitlements to full funding for eligible adult learners aged 19+ without the equivalent of a GCSE pass in English and/or maths and young people aged 19-23 without a first full Level 2 or first full Level 3.  A fourth legal entitlement enabling eligible learners to be fully funded for essential digital skills qualifications at Entry Level and Level 1 will come into effect from 1 August 2020. From the start of the 2019/20 academic year approximately half the AEB is devolved to 6 mayoral authorities[4] and the Mayor of London acting through the Greater London Authority (GLA). From that date those authorities will be responsible for commissioning and funding AEB provision for learners resident in their areas.  The mayoral authorities and GLA must ensure access and funding for the statutory entitlements described above, but will otherwise have the freedom and flexibility to shape education and skills provision in a way that best fits the needs of their residents, the local economy and their Local Industrial Strategies and strategic skills plans. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will be responsible for funding AEB learners resident in non-devolved areas. 

• Basic Skills: Funding for Basic Skills is a fundamental component of AEB provision.  Government recognises the importance of English, maths and digital skills, both in work and everyday life. In all areas, full funding is therefore available for learners aged 19 and over who need English and maths skills to undertake a range of courses in GCSEs, Functional Skills and stepping stone qualifications from entry level to level 2. From 2020, alongside the existing legal entitlements to English and maths, the Department for Education will introduce an entitlement to fully funded digital qualifications. This will allow adults with no or low digital skills to have the opportunity to undertake new improved digital qualifications free of charge.

• Community learning: Community Learning is part of non-devolved AEB provision and its purpose is to develop the skills, confidence, motivation and resilience of adults of different ages and backgrounds in order to: progress towards formal learning or employment and/or improve their health and well-being, including mental health and/or develop stronger communities.  In devolved areas this is a matter for the MCAs and GLA.

• English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL): We know that language skills are crucial to help people integrate, as well as to break down barriers to work and career progression. This is why we support adults in England to secure the English language skills they need. In non-devolved areas, adults in England are eligible for fully-funded ESOL provision through the AEB if they are unemployed and looking for work or if they qualify for full funding through participation in the low wage trial.[5] All other AEB-eligible learners are co-funded with the Government contributing 50% of the course cost. In devolved areas, this is a matter for the mayoral combined authority.

c)     Higher Education provision: Flexible and part-time higher education has a key role in terms of widening choice and participation in higher education for adults. Flexible learning means allowing students a choice in when, how and where they study – including studying at a slower or faster pace than the traditional 3 year full-time degree, and providing different ways of delivering learning (including classroom-based, online and employer-based). Greater flexibility and choice helps to widen participation in higher education and allows more opportunities for life-long learning. The Government has introduced several changes to the funding system to support more flexible learning. These include:

• Part-time tuition fee loans to cover the upfront cost of part-time courses
• In the current academic year, introducing part-time maintenance loans for in-attendance, degree level course for the first time and making £72 million of funding for HE providers via the Office for Students (OfS), to recognise the additional costs of part-time study
• Legislation to increase the annual fee caps for accelerated degrees to make them more affordable for providers, meaning students can save on tuition and living costs, and are able to graduate one year faster than their peers.

d)    National Retraining Scheme: The National Retraining Scheme is a new programme which is currently being developed as part of Government’s answer to the transforming world of work. The National Retraining Scheme will help prepare adults for the future changes to the economy, including those brought about by automation, and help them retrain into better jobs.

e)    Advanced Learner Loans (ALLs): ALLs help fund Level 3 – 6 technical qualifications that support clear routes into and on in work, and progression to higher education, as well as access to HE diplomas to support progression to HE, and AS and A levels. Having access to multiple Advanced Learner Loans allows adults to study through a number of levels or choose to re-skill.

f)      European Social Fund (ESF) funded provision: The ESF is an EU programme that delivers £3bn (over 7 years) of employment/training provision to support those furthest from learning and the labour market. Provision is a mixture of regulated and unregulated employment and skills courses with a strong focus on additional and ‘wraparound’ support (for example, employability skills, confidence building, mentoring to overcome personal barriers to learning and/or employment).

6. Improvements in adult skills have positive productivity benefits for their employers. Estimates suggest that the productivity gains from training are around twice the size of the wage gains.[6]

7. Through the provision of all of these different initiatives, adult skills and lifelong learning also has significant positive labour market impacts for its learners. Estimates of the labour market impacts of different types of qualifications for adult learners are summarised below. [7][8][9]

8. Within these averages there is a significant variation, for example by subject of study (Construction typically results in higher wage returns than Hair and Beauty) and learner characteristics (men and younger learners tend to get higher wage returns than women and older learners). [10]

9. As well as the positive labour market impacts for learners, a high number also go on to progress to further learning. Of the 1.1 million learners that completed an eligible learning aim in academic year 2015/16, 23% were in sustained learning in the following year, of which 13% were also in sustained employment.[11]

10. We have recently published the Further Education (FE) Skills Index to show how the aggregate value of the skills supplied by the FE system each year has changed over time: [12]

11. The index, covering both apprenticeships and classroom-based learning, has decreased each year since 2012/13, before flattening out in 2017/18.  Within this:

1. The value-added for classroom-based training has decreased during this period, due to a large decrease in the number of achievements at Full Level 2 and Full Level 3. In the latest year, 2017/18, the value-added for classroom-based training decreased by a further 2%.

2. However, the value-added for apprenticeships has increased year-on-year since 2012/13 – driven by an increase in the number of apprenticeship achievements and a slow and steady shift towards Level 3 and Level 4+ apprenticeships and higher value sectors.  In the latest year, 2017/18, it increased by a further 2%. As full outcome data for apprentices achieving apprenticeship standards is not yet available, the 2% increase is likely to be a conservative estimate.

What are the benefits of adult skills and lifelong learning for social justice, health and well-being? 

12. Adult skills and lifelong learning is an important opportunity for learners to build character and resilience, improve well-being, and for some, to engage with education and training for the first time after school. There is good evidence of wider benefits of adult skills and lifelong learning (health, employment, social life, community), some of which support significant fiscal savings across Government.

13. A BIS review and update of research into the wider benefits of adult learning[13] found that adult learning has its greatest impacts in the domain of health and wellbeing, while the impacts on civic participation and attitudes are less pronounced.  Some of the findings of the review included that there were:

• Improvements in reported life satisfaction and happiness
• Improvements in self-confidence (especially for formal learning) - this was more than twice the impact of being employed
• Reductions in self-reported depression
• Reductions in the number of visits to a GP – this was about one-seventh of the impact of being employed
• Improvements in self-reported health satisfaction – this was about half the impact of being employed
• Greater involvement in voluntary work (for formal learning only)
• Greater desire to find a better job (especially for informal learning)

14. Econometric analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing[14] estimated that informal learning or gaining a qualification had an equivalent impact on wellbeing as moving from the bottom to the middle quintile of the wealth distribution.

15. Another study[15] estimated that the life satisfaction increase from taking one work related part-time course was equivalent to an increase in income of £754 per year.

16. The Learning & Work Institute’s survey of adult learners[16] (2018) surveyed over 5,000 adult learners across the UK. Some of the most common benefits of learning reported by respondents included improved skills needed to do job (31%), improved confidence at work (23%), improved self-confidence (24%), and increased productivity at work (17%).

17. Community Learning is part of AEB provision and its purpose is to develop the skills, confidence, motivation and resilience of adults of different ages and backgrounds in order to: progress towards formal learning or employment and/or improve their health and well-being, including mental health and/or develop stronger communities.

18. Community learning can play a significant role in health and wellbeing.  For example, a WEA survey (2018)[17] of over 4000 adult learners showed 82% of learners with mental health issues reported improvements in their condition as a result of participation in Community Learning.

19. The Community Learning Mental Health project[18] tested whether non-formal adult learning can support people to manage mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Adult learning providers across England were selected to develop and deliver short, part-time courses for adults experiencing mild to moderate mental health problems. Independent evaluation showed:

• Positive mental health outcomes for a significant minority of learners in the target group. 29% of learners showed significant improvement in their symptoms of depression and 4/10 (39%) showed significant improvement in their symptoms of anxiety.
• Indications of recovery for over half of learners with clinically significant symptoms.

Who currently participates in and benefits from lifelong learning? 

21. Data on participation in any adult learning from the Adult Participation in Learning Survey

22. For over 20 years, Learning and Work Institute (L&W) has undertaken an annual survey of adult participation in learning. The Adult Participation in Learning Survey 2017[19] found that 19% of adults were currently participating in some learning activity and a further 17% had done some learning in the last three years. However, the proportion of respondents who had engaged in learning in the last three years (37%) was the lowest since the survey began.  36% of adults who took part in the survey said that they had not engaged in learning since they left full time education. These can be broken down into the following demographics:

1. Women (39%) were more likely to have participated in learning in the previous three years than men (35%).
2. Social grade is a key predictor of participation. People in the AB grade are more than twice as likely to participate as people in the DE grade (51% compared with 23%). In addition, more than twice as many adults in the DE grade have not participated in learning since leaving full-time education as those in AB (53% compared with 22%).
3. Full and part-time workers are equally likely to participate in learning, with over two-fifths of each group (43%) so doing. This figure drops significantly to 37 per cent of unemployed respondents, with a further significant drop to respondents who are out of work but not seeking it (22%) or are retired (15%).
4. Younger adults are more likely to engage in learning than older adults. 65% of adults aged 20-24 had engaged in learning in the previous three years compared to 10% of those 75+.
5. Adults from BAME backgrounds were more likely to have engaged in learning in the last three years than white adults (48% compared to 35%) and less likely than white adults to have not engaged in any learning since leaving full time education (30% compared to 37%).

23. Participation in government funded adult Further Education (FE) and Skills

24. Government funded adult Further Education and Skills provision supports learners of all ages to engage in learning through both accredited and unaccredited learning.  Whilst those from higher socio-economic groups are more likely to engage in adult learning in general, those engaging in government funded adult Further Education and Skills provision are more likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds. 31.8% of learners engaged in government funded adult Further Education and Skills provision were from the 20% most deprived local areas.[20] Learners are also more likely than the general population to have an ethnic minority background and 16.3% had disabilities or learning difficulties.

25. In 2017/18, 2,179,100 adults aged 19+ engaged in Further Education and Skills provision.[21] Of these: [22]

• Demographics
• 58.1% were female and 41.9% were male.
• 16.3% had a learning difficulty/disability, 78.9% did not and for 4.7% it is unknown whether they had a learning difficulty/disability.
• 75.8% of learners were white, 9.2% were Asian/Asian British, 7.2% were Black/African/Caribbean/Black British, 2.8% were Mixed/Multiple ethnic group, 2.9% were from another ethnic background and 2.2% did not provide data on their ethnic background.
• 24.4% were 19-24, 26.8% were 25-34, 20.2% were 35-44, 20.5% were 45-59 and 7.9% were 60+.

26. Type of learning

• 638,200 participated in apprenticeships
• 1,131,700 participated in education and training, [23] of whom 78,000 participated in Offender Learning
• 500,950 learners participated in Community Learning[24]

• Levels
• 439,200 participated in learning at below level 2 (excluding English and Maths)
• 664,200 participated in English and Maths
• 773,800 participated in level 2 learning
• 286,100 participated in full level 2 learning[25]
• 445,500 participated in level 3 learning
• 373,500 participated in full level 3 learning
• 96,400 participated in level 4+ learning
• 494,400 engaged in learning that was not assigned a level[26]

27. In 2017/18, there were 269,200 apprenticeship starts by apprentices aged 19+.[27] A larger proportion of all apprentices continue to come from more disadvantaged areas – in 2017/18, 24.0 per cent of participating apprentices came from the most disadvantaged fifth of areas.[28]

28. Higher education

1. In 2017/18, 88% of entrants to part-time undergraduate study in England were mature students (defined as 21 or over) compared to just 23% of those entering full-time undergraduate study[29]. The Office for Students (OfS) targets an element of the Teaching Grant to recognise the additional costs of part-time study.  £72m was made available in 2018/19 for this purpose.
2. HESA data shows that part-time students are more likely to be female – in 2017/18, women comprised 65% of undergraduate part-time entrants in England as opposed to 56% of full-time entrants.[30]
3. The number of adults participating in part-time higher education has decreased in recent years. In 2017/18, there were 89,245 new entrants into part-time undergraduate higher education in England. New entrants participating in undergraduate part-time higher education in England has decreased by 63% between 2010/11 and 2017/18.
4. Using HESA data from 2010/11 to 2017/18, it can be seen that 86% of the decline in part-time undergraduate entrants has been in courses other than first degrees.

29. Government have made a number of changes to support part-time and mature learners. These include:

1. fees loans to cover the upfront cost of part-time courses.
2. this academic year, part-time students – are for the first time ever – able to access full-time equivalent maintenance loans.
3. removing the ‘equivalent or lower qualification’ restrictions, the so-called ELQ restrictions, for all science, technology engineering and mathematics part-time degree courses. Students starting these courses who already hold a degree can now access support through student loans.  
4. the OfS, targets an element of the Teaching Grant to recognise the additional costs of part-time study. In 2018/19, £72 million was made available for this purpose. 
5. within the Secretary of State’s guidance, we have asked the OfS and the Director for Fair Access and Participation to encourage providers to consider the different barriers that mature learners can face in their Access and Participation Plans. This covers access to, success in, as well as progress from HE. 

30. Postgraduate study benefits individuals and the UK as a whole. In addition to the personal, social and cultural benefits of a postgraduate degree, this level of education boosts earnings, contributes to higher employment, provides a well-educated and highly-skilled labour force that attracts employers, and increases tax revenues for the Exchequer.

31. The Government has a long term commitment to enhance support for postgraduate study and have recently introduced loans for postgraduate masters and doctoral degrees for students under the age of 60.

32. From summer 2016 we introduced postgraduate master’s degree loans for both taught and research-based courses.  Figures from HESA’s official student enrolment data for 2016/17 show that in the first year the loan was available there was a 15% increase in full-time postgraduate entrants in taught masters in England.

33. In 2017/18, around 82,000 students on master’s courses were paid £617 million in postgraduate loans.

34. Building on the success of the postgraduate Master’s loans, from 2018/19 the Government introduced loans for students studying doctoral degrees.

35. The new doctoral loan has the potential to reach a wide range of students with doctoral potential, and support new research areas and activities. The loan will also help Higher Education Institutions who currently benefit less from Research Council funding to expand their research programmes. 

36. The postgraduate loan schemes were introduced to help remove the financial barrier often faced by those wishing to step up to achieving a postgraduate level qualification. 

37. The loans are not based on income and are intended as a contribution to the cost of study that can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover tuition fees and/or living costs. 

What role can local authorities/combined authority areas play in adult skills and lifelong learning provision?

39. Local authorities can play a key role in delivering adult skills provision and received a significant proportion of community learning funding in the 2018/19 academic year.[31] 

40. From academic year 2019 to 2020, the 7 mayoral authorities, to whom AEB is being devolved, will need to ensure that learners aged 19 and over in their area who are eligible for funding have access to appropriate education and training.

41. Government is committed to ensuring local areas have an active role in shaping the skills provision that is available in their area in order to meet their specific local economic challenges.

42. Local and combined authorities have a significant role in the provision of adult skills and lifelong learning due to their ability to have a greater understanding of local needs. As such, devolution of certain adult education functions to Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) is part of government’s wider devolution agenda and reform efforts in the further education and skills training sector.  We are working closely with the combined authorities to ensure that the devolved budget is delivered effectively and efficiently. 

43. In particular, departments from across government, including DfE, are working together with the MCAs and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), covering England to help them develop their Local Industrial Strategies. This has allowed us to prioritise the support required in their local economies – including adult skills and lifelong learning. 

44. These strategies are expected to set out evidence-based skill needs and plans to address them. In particular the Secretary of State has asked that all Local Industrial Strategies should:

• Reflect extensive stakeholder engagement with local authorities, schools, further education providers, universities, employers, independent training providers, voluntary community sector etc.  Doing this early on will help to gather strong evidence on current local skills needs and secure partners’ commitment to delivery.
• Include a robust evidence base on skills needs, including from the local Skills Advisory Panel.
• Set out how the MCA/LEP will help deliver nationwide skills priorities, including: employers making use of their levy to offer more apprenticeships; employers committing to provide high quality industry placements as T-Levels are rolled out; sharing local examples of best practice to deliver improved teacher recruitment and retention; and strengthening collaboration between employers and colleges.
• Make links to any Opportunity Areas (OA) within the area.

45. DfE has aligned Skills Advisory Panels (SAPs) behind Local Industrial Strategies, to ensure they are informed by robust skills needs analysis. SAPs aim to bring together local employers and skills providers, including colleges, independent training providers and universities, to influence local skills provision by providing high quality analysis of local labour markets.  This analysis will support the People chapter of every Local Industrial Strategy and will ensure these strategies reflect the skills needs of their area and promote interventions to provide the skilled labour force local employers need.

46. SAPs will address both immediate needs and challenges and look at what is required to help local areas adapt to future labour market changes and to grasp future opportunities. This will help colleges, other providers and universities deliver the skills required by employers, now and in the future. Each SAP has been allocated £75,000 to build their analytical capability.

To what extent is the range, balance and quality of formal and informal adult skills and lifelong learning education adequate?

47. As detailed in earlier questions, there is a good range of adult skills and lifelong learning education available to adults. However we recognise that adult participation has decreased in recent years as funding pressures have increased on the AEB and on wider FE funding.  There are also some differences within particular groups: for example, younger adults are more likely to engage in learning than older adults; women are more likely than men to have participated in learning in the previous three years; and white adults are more likely to have not engaged in any learning since leaving full-time education.[32]

48. We want to make certain that the funding system supports providers to deliver excellent provision for people of all ages.  We are reviewing the range of adult skills provision, including how these are best funded. 

49. We are also working to address this by developing initiatives such as the AEB low wage trial, the National Retraining Scheme and expanding entitlements to cover basic skills.

50. Low wage trial
51. For the 2019/20 academic year, we are continuing to support those in work on low incomes to access the AEB through a trial, which allows providers to fund fully eligible learners on low wages.  The trial will apply to those learners who are resident outside devolved areas. We understand that some devolved areas are planning to maintain (and in some cases improve – by raising the wage limit below which the trial operates) this trial.  This directly supports social mobility by enabling those that have been motivated to move out of unemployment and are low paid/skilled, to further progress.

52. National Retraining Scheme
53. We know that the labour market is changing rapidly. These changes present opportunities as well as some challenges. While predictions on the speed and intensity of change vary, it is vital we provide support to those who need it and build a resilient and adaptable workforce for the future. The National Retraining Scheme is the Government’s new programme to prepare adults for future changes to the economy, including those brought about by automation. It will help them to retrain and secure better jobs whilst supporting employers to get the skilled workers they need.

54. The scheme was a manifesto commitment and was announced at the Autumn 2017 budget. It is a key part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy for building a Britain fit for the future. We are fully aware of the size of the challenge of delivering a scheme that really works and know that this is not something that the government can deliver on its own. That is why the National Retraining Scheme is being developed through a historic partnership between the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Trades Union Congress (TUC), and the Government.

55. A key feature of the development of the scheme has been to start small, test, evaluate and scale-up. We are putting the needs of individuals and employers at the heart of the development of the scheme, conducting extensive user research to understand what they need from a National Retraining Scheme.

56. The first part of the National Retraining Scheme, ‘Get Help to Retrain’, has been released to a small number of eligible adults in the Liverpool City Region. This digital service will help adults to understand their existing skills, explore alternative roles or occupations and find relevant training to unlock opportunities for a broad range of good jobs that could be within their reach. Get Help to Retrain will be rapidly expanded to more people and more areas throughout the testing phase before being made available to all eligible adults in England in 2020.

57. This is the first of a series of products that will make up the complete National Retraining Scheme. The design of the scheme recognises the high quality of provision that is already being delivered and will build on this offer to support those adults that are at risk of future changes to the economy. In addition to Get Help to Retrain we are also looking to include tailored advice and guidance, functional skills provision, online and blended learning and technical training as part of the service.

58. Basic Skills Entitlement
59. The Government provides full funding for specified qualifications in a range of English and maths courses up to GCSE level through the Adult Education Budget. In 2017/18 the Government provided full funding for 445,800 adults to participate in English courses up to Level 2, and for 441,500 to participate in maths courses up to Level 2. We are improving our qualifications offer through Functional Skills reform in English and maths. This will ensure these qualifications are more rigorous and better recognised by employers.

60. We are also looking to expand some provision, for example the new digital skills entitlement. Digital skills are as important to employability and participation in society as English and maths, yet an estimated one in five adults lack essential digital skills. Lloyds Banking Group UK Consumer Digital Index 2019 estimates that 11.9 million adults (22%) do not have the essential digital skills they need for life, and 17.3 million (53%) of working age adults do not have the essential digital skills they need for work.[33]

61. To address this, from 2020, alongside the existing legal entitlements to English and maths, the Department for Education will introduce an entitlement to fully funded digital qualifications. Adults with no or low digital skills will have the opportunity to undertake new improved digital qualifications free of charge. The digital offer will comprise new essential digital skills qualifications, available from 2020, and new digital Functional Skills qualifications, available from 2021.

62. These will be based on new national standards, published in April 2019, which set out the digital skills people need to get on in life and work. The standards are based on the Essential Digital Skills Framework and were subject to extensive consultation and input from a wide range of education, industry and digital inclusion stakeholders. Examples of new topics include using different devices, navigating the internet and protecting privacy online.

63. Post-18 review

64. More generally, the Government has looked into how we can enable adults to develop skills throughout their lives, which has been a key theme of the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding. The Independent Panel supporting the Review have made recommendations for more flexibility in the funding system aimed at boosting opportunities for lifelong learning.   We support the Independent Panel’s aims on flexible learning, including how we can encourage more flexibility (for example, part-time and commuter students) across our Post-18 system to support people to access the right education for them throughout their lives.  We will consider the panel’s recommendations carefully as we conclude the Review.

What lessons can the UK learn from abroad?

66. Empowering people with the skills they need for the changing world of work is a global challenge. There are disparities between how the wider skills systems work in different countries and no country has entirely solved the best approach to lifelong learning.

67. However, we have sought to understand how other countries are addressing this challenge, and where there has been any evidence of success. Although this is not an exhaustive list, these are some examples of different approaches from abroad:

68. Online and blended learning: France, Singapore and Ireland have government led online adult learning initiatives, which include supported learning (e.g. e-tutors or e-mentors, video conferencing, discussion forums). Some of these include blended, practical or work-place learning; human interaction in some form seems to be a critical element of effective online provision. We can learn how to promote the value of online learning to the public, for instance from Singapore’s month-long roadshow programme. We can learn how to best ensure workers make informed choices to find courses which will help them to develop skills which are in demand, for instance Singapore’s learner feedback ratings on course quality and outcomes. 

69. Contextualising learning: There is evidence that contextualising basic skills learning can increase engagement – for example, the US programme Acceleration Opportunities combined basic skills training with career and technical training; and the Family Literacy Project in Hamburg, Germany, aimed to support parents to increase literacy activities at home and enable them to help with their children’s schoolwork.

70. Engaging employers at a national and local level: We can learn how to galvanise employers to invest in their workforce, create a culture of education and re-training in the workplace and ensure that retraining provides the skills which are required to meet the needs of the future economy. Singapore supports employers through subsidies, which is enhanced for workers over 40 and SMEs. Future Ready and the National Workforce Strategy in the USA are examples of employers committing to the skills development of their workforce. Providers in Denmark set up local education boards directed at specific local job sectors. In Norway, people receive basic skills training in the workplace; and Norway also has a ‘kitemark’ system through which employers can advertise the fact that they have an apprentice.

71. Data: The OECD has praised the departments’ knowledge and evidence base on adult skills.  We could learn from advanced statistical modelling and use of labour market data, for instance the O*NET system in the USA. 

72. Incentives and credits: The generous unemployment benefits system is integral to re-training in Denmark; for instance re-training in some form is obligatory for those accessing benefits. Canada, Singapore and France subsidise credit systems, to allow individuals direct access to the training market.

73. Flexible in-work training programmes: We can learn lessons from flexible in-work training programmes. For instance in Denmark a programme can be reduced in duration for adults with relevant work experience or prior training. 

74. Competency frameworks/common skills language: The Denmark, Singapore and Skillful (USA) models are shifting away from traditional recruitment practices that focus on specific education or experience requirements, to a skills-based model that is driven by employer needs. 

75. As part of the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, the department commissioned a research report comparing different systems of international post-compulsory education.[34] The report evaluated provision of post-compulsory education in ten countries, synthesising and critically evaluating information on topics including the educational choices offered to individuals after they complete compulsory education, how these are funded, the financial support systems available to students, student satisfaction, institutional performance, adult learning, and others. The independent panel drew on this research and other international comparators in preparing their report. For example, the panel’s report makes references to the flexible lifetime loan entitlements in Australia and New Zealand and the ‘skills account’ offered to adults in Singapore; the system of FE college funding in Ontario, Canada; international approaches to maintenance support; and differences in drop-out rates in England compared to other countries.[35]  The panel’s recommendations were informed by these international comparisons.         

August 2019