Adult training policy with respect to basic skills : economic and social issues. 'La política de formación de adultos con respecto a las competencias básicas : cuestiones económicas y sociales (original) (raw)

The new skills agenda: increased lifelong learning or new sites of inequality?

British Educational Research Journal, 2006

The last five years have seen a radical transformation in adult education in England with a concentrated emphasis on national basic skills provision. This was prompted initially by a government response to low levels of literacy in the British adult population, identified by an influential international survey, showing unfavourable comparisons with other European countries. The response to the disclosure that seven million adults in England were not functionally literate saw the creation in 2001 of a national basic skills strategy in England entitled Skills for Life. It is a far-reaching strategy creating a new infrastructure to support adult basic skills learning opportunities over a seven-year period. It also created the entitlement to free basic skills learning opportunities, as a cornerstone to creating national economic competitiveness and social cohesion. Such an entitlement could be interpreted as a commitment to providing wider access to foundation skills for adults who had previously missed out, as part of a lifelong learning agenda. However, a critical reading of the policy texts, and recent funding priorities, show the strategy rooted more in a response to what is perceived as the skills demands of a knowledge economy for global competitiveness than to issues of social inclusion and increased opportunities for lifelong learning. The result of this may well be the creation of new sites of inequality that affect older women and adult ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) learners disproportionately, the very people that are identified as being needed to fill skill gaps in the economy.

Britain's record on skills

2002

The aim of this paper is to document the international position of the UK in terms of the skills base of its employees, to explain how the documented situation arose, and to suggest changes that could be made. Various data sets are used to this end. The paper begins with the observation that wages (in a constant currency, taken as an indicator of productivity) at the top of the distribution are at a similar level in Germany and the UK. However, at the lower end of the wage distribution, wages in Germany are over half as large again as they are in the UK. It is therefore hypothesised that the overall 20% difference between productivity in Germany and the UK is due to higher productivity of the lower-skilled workers in Germany, compared to their equivalents in the UK.

Adult basic skills in England: why funding affects both participation and achievement

RaPAL, 2022

Nafisah is the National Co-Chair for NATECLA (National Association for Teaching English and Community Languages to Adults) and Head of Life Skills and Community at ELATT, an education charity in London. She has worked with the third sector, adult and community learning (ACL), the government and local authorities. Her doctoral research about the experiences of migrant women who are settling into UK society, focused on how social interactions in English affected their perception of their own belonging.

The Value of Basic Skills in the British Labour Market. CEE DP 77

2007

The estimates in this paper focus only on wage impacts from basic skills. All our estimates are therefore from a sample that is in work. Of course many people, particularly those with poor basic skills, are not in employment and the next phase of the research will investigate the relationship between basic skill levels and employability. 11 See also Ananiadou et al. 2004. 12 Only 10% of the sample undertook literacy and numeracy assessments so sample sizes are small. 13 The UK has a complex classification of literacy and numeracy, shown in Appendix A. Broadly Level 1 is the level expected of an eleven year old, Entry level is the level expected of a 7 year old.

Adult Learning and Qualifications in Britain

The importance of people gaining new, and high-level, qualifications in adulthood has been much emphasised in policy rhetoric. It is widely assumed that adults should engage in learning throughout their working life in order to adapt to changing conditions in the labour market and to ensure that national economies remain competitive in a global skills race. Educational researchers have frequently been rather sceptical about the numbers who actually achieve such upgrading in practice and have been critical of the feasibility and relevance of policies which attempt to address this issue. This paper provides empirical evidence on how many people acquire qualifications in adulthood, and whether they upgrade to higher levels of qualification than previously held, using British data from the 1958 National Child Development Study. Estimates are constructed of the volume of qualification acquisition and upgrading for this cohort through to age 50. On the basis of this new evidence it is argued that previous analyses by educational researchers may have been overly pessimistic about the extent to which individuals engage in accredited learning over the adult lifecourse. The implications for research and policy are discussed.

The skills paradox: confronting inequality in adult learning

2008

In 2008, Britain faces a vicious circle. High skills are worth more in labour markets than ever before. But millions still lack basic skills, and the people most likely to take part in formal learning are those who are already well qualified. Despite the progressive goals of adult learning the danger is that it leads to greater polarisation in skills, leaving Britain less productive and less equal. This [report] explores which policies can help reverse this trend. It argues that reform of the education and training system is important, but insufficient. People face everyday barriers to training - from busy personal lives to low-skilled jobs - that limit their access to training opportunities. A coherent skills strategy therefore needs to work on three fronts: the labour market, the training system and people's everyday lives. The time has come to do everything possible to meet the needs of those with low formal skills but bigger ambitions, who deserve better.

The UK’s skill system : training, employability and gaps in provision

2016

Examines current trends and challenges for policymakers in the UK skills system. Explains that this review was commissioned as part of Foresight's future of skills and lifelong learning project (see further reports at B47282-3 and B47825). Outlines the changing demand for skills. Considers gaps in provision, skills shortages, the skills equilibrium and geographical gaps. Looks at access by individuals to skills and training. Considers the role of migration in addressing skills shortfalls. Looks at the role of careers information and guidance in addressing skills gaps.

Skill mismatch in the labour market and adult learning

2011

Chapter 7 Skill Mismatch in the Labour Market and Adult Learning Summary This chapter explores the issue of skill mismatch in the labour market and its relationship to adult learning. The extent and distribution of mismatch between the day to day literacy related requirements of workers and the literacy skills they have obtained is an important issue that can be addressed with the ALL data. Understanding better the interaction of the supply of, and demand for, literacy skills can have important consequences for industrial policies and labour market structures that foster demand, on the one hand, and lifelong learning policies and education structures that shape supply, on the other. According to the methodology applied to conduct the data analyses, skill mismatch is found to be on the order of about 30 to 40 per cent in all countries surveyed. As defined for the purposes of this chapter, mismatch includes both skill deficits and skill surpluses. It is found that the distribution of ...

Skills in England 2003: Volume 1, key messages

2004

Skills in England 2003 is presented in four volumes this year. Volume 1 provides key messages and an overview of the research findings in the other three volumes. Volume 2 is the main research report. This year, as well as containing the same core of information as in previous years – separate chapters on skills supply, skills demand, mismatches between demand and supply, and future skill needs – it also contains other chapters that look at issues which are particularly topical this year. To this end, a chapter is contained on the latest developments in policy given the publication of several important policy documents since last year’s Skills in England report. Given the emphasis in policy on stimulating the demand for skills, a chapter is presented on the links between investments in skills and training and organisational performance. It is important to recognise that the benefits of economic growth and investments in training and skills do not affect everyone equally. There are g...