The Education Select Committee has called for an adult skills revolution to foster a new culture of lifelong learning, along with continued funding for the Union Learning Fund.

A community learning centre in every town, individual learning accounts and boosting part-time Higher Education and employer-led training should be at the centre of an adult education revolution to tackle social injustice and revitalise the country’s economy, the Education Committee has said.

The Committee report also called for the government to reverse its cut to the Union Learning Fund. The report said that the Union Learning Fund is a crucial programme for delivering workplace training.

The ULF has a strong track record of proven effectiveness and should be treated in line with other training providers in both the public and private spheres, and that:

We recommend that the Department reverse its decision to cease funding for the Union Learning Fund.”

The Committee's report, A Plan for an Adult Skills and Lifelong Learning Revolution, sets out the role an ambitious and long-term strategy should play in helping the nation meet the major employment challenges stemming from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, an ageing population and the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.

The Committee calls for an end to the model of education funding overwhelmingly focused on learning before the age of 25 and a move towards a system and culture of lifelong learning that encourages education at any age.

The report identifies four key pillars to revolutionise the adult education system.

• A community learning centre in every town
• Individual Learning accounts (ILAs)
• Nurse part-time Higher Education back to health#
• A skills tax credit to revitalise employer-led training

Alongside the four key pillars, the Committee identified other areas requiring urgent reform including:

• childcare for adult learners
• English provision for speakers of other languages
• modular learning, local skills offers
• information, advice and guidance
• adult learning for those with SEND

Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee, said:

“Poor access to lifelong learning is one of the great social injustices of our time.

Despite the overwhelming benefits for both the economy and individuals, participation is at its lowest level in 23 years, funding has fallen by nearly 50% in a decade and around half of adults from the most disadvantaged background have received no training since leaving school.

Despite well intentioned reforms in recent years, the Government’s approach to adult education has too often suffered from ‘initiativitis’, lurching from one policy priority to the next.

A holistic approach is required, that provides consistent opportunities for adults to access learning and reskilling opportunities wherever they live and whatever their background. This is essential not just for people’s personal development, but for our country to fill the skills gaps in our ever-changing economy.

The four policy pillars that we have set out of would lay the foundation for a coherent long-term adult education strategy that goes some way to fostering a national culture of lifelong learning and allowing everyone the chance to climb the ladder of opportunity.”

Read the report: A Plan for an Adult Skills and Lifelong Learning Revolution