Lifelong Learning in the UK – Pre-Conference Forum at Online Educa Berlin
The United Kingdom has taken a leading role in promoting lifelong-learning opportunities to its citizens, resulting in a range of policies, experiences, and an infrastructure from which valuable lessons can be learned. In the following interview, Brian Merison, General Manager of the British Learning Association (BLA), explains some of the reasons and motivations behind British lifelong-learning policies. He also comments on recent projects and provides some interesting insights about the co-operation of institutions and governmental authorities in this matter. Additionally he gives his perspective on future developments.
What are the main reasons for governments to promote LLL initiatives? What is the motivation behind it?
LLL supports a number of national policies generally considered in terms of economic and social issues.
For the economy, one of the strengths of a country is the level of skills, knowledge, and expertise across the workforce, which will impact on productivity and output. Present-day economies are subject to profound changes both in technology and through competitive pressures brought on by globalisation. The resulting impact on organisations and the workforce means continuous updating of skills and expertise. Much has also been said about the ‘knowledge economy’, which means more emphasis on having access to up-to-date information and understanding and applying that knowledge in innovative ways. LLL is a vital component in the process of keeping the workforce up to date.
For social policy, while LLL can help sections of society to adjust to new demands and opportunities, there is a danger that other groups in society will be left behind, opening up what is often called ‘the digital divide’, referring of course to one aspect of technology. In this case, LLL - when applied sensitively - can reach out to those sections of society whose members may have finished their full-time education at an early stage in life. It can offer new opportunities to those who would otherwise be excluded from the jobs that are only available to those with higher levels of skill and expertise.
Can you give us a few examples of how LLL is promoted through policies in the UK or how it is implemented in national education strategies?
UK policy has supported LLL at a number of levels and in a variety of ways.
One of the best known is learndirect, a major government initiative that offers hundreds of online courses in the use of computers, office skills, self-development, and the improvement of basic numeracy and literacy. The courses are available through the learndirect network of over 1,350 centres, which assist with local learning needs. learndirect also provides information on over 900,000 courses from UK providers, while learndirect ‘Advice’ now offers a free careers and guidance service.
learndirect Business offers a wide range of courses and services that help companies and their staffs find appropriate resources to train and develop.
A complementary activity to that of learndirect is the network of ‘UK online’ centres that provides access to a range of digital services to groups in society that might otherwise be excluded. ‘UK online’ centres are often situated in community centres that provide a range of other services, frequently in deprived areas. The concept is to create a non-threatening environment to encourage the participation of people who might otherwise feel it was inappropriate to engage in any sort of learning activity. ‘UK online’ centres tailor their programmes to provide very relevant programmes suited to local needs.
Within the national education system, universities are increasingly reviewing their programmes to encourage participation by mature students. Recognising difficulties in engaging mature students in traditional forms of higher education, universities such as Middlesex have implemented programmes of work-based learning; Middlesex University in fact hosts the UK’s National Centre for Work Based Learning Partnerships.
What are the main challenges concerning the implementation of LLL policies?
Governments can recognise the issues and the rationale for LLL; however they have to lead a national agenda that persuades employers, staff, and citizens in general of the value and need to engage in LLL. Individuals in society might recognise that their opportunities for employment depend on a continuous updating of their skills ad expertise. Employers, on the other hand, frequently have to be persuaded of the need to train. This is particularly true with SMEs and micro–businesses, where tight budgets and rigid timetables don’t offer many opportunities for employees to train in the traditional way.
The challenge in these circumstances is to offer learning opportunities that are highly relevant to the needs of the business and provided in a very flexible way so as not to detract from or interfere with usual patterns of work.
Learning providers need to be aware of how to design flexible programmes of learning, and individuals need to be encouraged to take up the opportunities. In the UK, learndirect has supported a major programme of awareness through various channels such as TV advertising and the press.
How does the education industry in the UK support LLL? How do they co-operate with institutions and governmental authorities?
The national infrastructure of education and training provision in the UK is made up of a mixture of public and private institutions. Whereas full-time further and higher education are predominantly publicly funded, training and learning opportunities for people over sixteen years of age involve a significant proportion of private organisations. This has been stimulated over a number of years by various grant-aided programmes that have encouraged flexibility and innovation in provision, often taken forward by smaller private providers.
Increasingly, the publicly funded Further Education Colleges are being encouraged to engage with local employers by providing very flexible programmes involving a mixture of face-to-face and distance/online learning. The Colleges often set up ‘separate’ internal units to offer this provision. Employers in turn are being offered free advice through programmes such as ‘Train to Gain’ to help them consider the benefits of training for their businesses and get information about where to go to find appropriate courses.
A network of publicly funded Learning & Skills Councils helps to review regional and local needs for training and engages with learning providers to secure appropriate provision from both private and public sources.
learndirect sets parameters and introduces programmes of provision based on a competitive process through which education and training providers bid for involvement in the programme.
What are the future plans concerning LLL policy and practice in the UK? Can you give us the outlook?
A new push is underway to encourage employers to engage in LLL by raising awareness of the benefits and what it can mean for their business – ‘Train to Gain’. At the same time, Further Education Colleges in particular are being encouraged to make sure they have suitably flexible facilities to offer relevant courses to local employers.
A new agency, the Quality Improvement Agency, has recently been set up to monitor and encourage good practice across all sectors.
There is a new emphasis on learning design to make sure that a relevant mix of techniques and media is delivered in an appropriate way. Furthermore, with the need for much LLL to take place in the work environment, there is a renewed emphasis on work-based learning that has links to accreditation bodies such as universities.
Given the large amount of publicly funded resource for LLL that has been made available in recent years, there is a certain ‘taking stock’ to consider what has worked well and what needs a different approach.
Mr. Merison, thank you very much for your time.
For more information about the Pre-Conference Forum “Lifelong Learning – Policy and Practice in the UK” please got to 
http://www.online-educa.com/?a=1&b=4&c=7.
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