The table shows the number of male and female adult learners that were participating in further education and skills funded by the Learning and Skills Council, between 2004/05 and 2007/08.
Full year (final) Full year (provisional) 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 Male 1,664,100 1,427,300 1,192,900 1,288,700 Female 2,855,700 2,428,000 1,984,400 1,989,600 Total learners 4,519,800 3,855,300 3,177,300 3,278,400 Notes: 1. Volumes are rounded to the nearest hundred, and may not sum to totals. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the academic year. 3. Learner volumes are used as a measure for comparative purposes. Full-year numbers are a count of the number of learners that participated at any point during the year. Learners are included only once for each programme they are involved in. For example, if a learner is undertaking two A-levels at an FE college, they will be counted only once. If a learner undertakes an apprenticeship and a Train to Gain qualification in the same year, then they will be counted twice in this table. Source: Further Education, Work Based Learning, Adult Community Learning, University for Industry, Train to Gain ILR
Over the past few years the Government have prioritised investment in adult skills towards those courses that best provide individuals with the skills to enter into sustained employment and progress into further learning. This strategy has paid dividends with record levels of adults participating in Skills for Life (Numeracy and Literacy), Full Level 2 and Full Level 3 qualifications.