The Government are committed to ensuring that learning serves the needs of the whole community, including older people both within and outside the work force. Our strategy for World Class Skills and our reforms of wider adult learning are designed to ensure that everyone, whatever their age or background, has the opportunity to improve their skills, prospects and quality of life.
We recognise how much older people value and enjoy their courses and the many wider benefits that taking part in learning can bring. There is good evidence that older people benefit substantially from participating in learning and acquiring new skills as part of a fulfilling and active retirement. As we set out in ‘Opportunity Age’, 80 per cent. of learners aged 50 to 71 reported a positive impact from learning in areas such as their enjoyment of life, self-confidence, and their ability to cope with events like divorce and bereavement, while 28 per cent. reported increased involvement in social, community and voluntary activities. For many older people, learning represents an important social activity, not only providing valuable opportunities for social interaction with their peers and members of other generations, but also offering valuable opportunities to share their own knowledge and skills through community volunteering activities.
Our recent consultation on informal adult learning has shown just how passionate people are about learning in later life and many older respondents have told us that the opportunities to engage in social activities and share experiences are as important as the learning itself. We are determined to identify and tackle the real and perceived barriers that face older learners and to ensure that the most marginalised and isolated older people are able to participate. We will continue the consultation dialogue with partners and stakeholders to develop a strategic and durable vision, with policy proposals that work for all older learners and potential learners.
The Government are committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all learners, and that learning serves the needs of the whole community, including older people both within and outside the workforce. Our aim is to ensure that everyone in every community can lead healthy and fulfilling lives by participating fully in work, education and society as a whole.
The exact balance and mix of adult learning provision at local level is for the Learning and Skills Councils to determine in collaboration with colleges, private and third sector providers, learner representatives and other local partners, according to their assessment of the needs and priorities of their communities.
We recognise that ICT skills are an essential tool for everyday life, for work and for leisure, and that adults of all ages are seriously disadvantaged without ICT skills, especially those in marginalised groups and deprived communities. Over the last six years, £22 million has been invested to bring the benefits of technology to adults in personal and community development learning settings, supporting innovation projects and in establishing learning platforms in over 50 per cent. of local authorities. Around half of all learners over 60 are studying ICT. Some 1,700 people have been trained as e-guides, learning champions who work with more than 10,000 other tutors. 6,000 UK online centres—about half in public libraries, one third in the voluntary and community sector and the rest in FE colleges and other organisations—are enabling people to access ICT, the internet and e-learning.
The contribution of new technology and broadcasting is a specific strand of our recent consultation on informal adult learning. We want to know how ICT might support new ways of learning and to work with partners, interest groups and networks to identify barriers and obstacles to making ICT learning resources more widely available. We are also working to bridge the digital divide by making new technologies accessible and helping people develop the skills they need to use them effectively. We are currently assessing the many good ideas and proposals we have received in response to the consultation, as part of a process that will lead to a major policy paper later in the year.
The Government are committed to ensuring that older people in every community, both within and outside the workforce, have access to suitable high quality learning opportunities. Our strategy for world class skills and our recent wide-ranging consultation on informal adult learning have been designed to ensure that adults everywhere, whatever their age or background, have the opportunity to improve their skills, prospects, quality of life and personal wellbeing.
Increasing financial literacy and helping older people to make informed decisions about working longer and saving for retirement are key aims of “Opportunity Age”, but the Government have also set out a wider, long-term strategy for improving the personal financial capability of people from all sections of the UK population. This is our response to the Thoresen Review, published in March 2008, which reports that large numbers of people from all sections of society are not taking basic steps to plan ahead, such as saving sufficiently for their retirement or putting money aside for when unexpected expenses occur. Many are unwittingly taking on significant financial risks because they struggle to choose products that truly meet their needs. Adults without basic literacy and numeracy are highly likely to struggle with their personal finances.
Since its launch in 2001, the “Skills for Life” strategy has provided in excess of £3 million to fund numeracy and financial capability. This has been embedded into the wider national strategy to improve adult literacy, language and numeracy. The programme is run on behalf of my Department by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE). Its aim is to address the needs of basic literacy, language and numeracy learners through financial literacy, and in so doing to develop their capability to make effective decisions about the use and management of money. In developing the programme NIACE have resources and pilots in several areas. These projects are testing effective ways of engaging adults of all ages and delivering financial literacy in community settings.