Changes in our economy, society and population make it more important than ever to build a lifelong learning society. Achieving this will require a wider and deeper culture of learning, better communication of its lifetime benefits, and empowering people. Once a lack of skills locked people out of career progression, increasingly it will lock people out of the jobs market altogether.
Adult Learning Partnership Wales
On behalf of Welsh Government we manage and support a Wales wide partnership of adult community learning providers. This helps to bring managers and commissioners together to share resources and ideas, as well as to ensure effective communication between the government and the sector.
Recent work includes informing proposed reforms to the structure and funding of the sector in Wales. For more information on the work of the partnership please contact Kay Smith.
Learning, work and health
We set out the benefits of learning to work and health, increasing due to the combination of longer life expectancy, and rapid changes in our economy and society. We argued for learning, work and health services to work together, and for learning to be a golden thread running across a range of public services.
To support the development of a right to lifelong learning we have called for a new strategic partnership between the NHS and the post-16 education sector, as well as a new Welsh Work and Health Unit to help drive innovation and the scaling up of programmes to support the employment of disabled people and people with health conditions.
Adult learning in schools
Parental involvement in school is more than four times as important as socio-economic class in supporting early years development and influencing academic performance.
However, engaging parents in their children’s learning can be challenging, especially parents from hard to reach communities. In response, some schools have focused on offering adult education programmes to parents and local communities. Evidence from participating schools has shown not only a positive impact on parents but also on the attainment and attendance of children and young people.
