The Adult Education Budget (AEB) plays a key role in the provision of skills programmes for Londoners. Since the delegation of the AEB to the Mayor of London in August 2019, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has been granted some flexibility to align AEB policy and commissioning with local priorities. Some of these changes have been designed to…

The future of work is changing, providing opportunities for new careers and novel ways of working. Changes to the world of work will be driven by long-term trends such as technological and demographic change as well as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future skills requirements will increasingly emphasise interpersonal, higher-order…

People invest £7.3 billion a year and £55 billion worth of time in learning. This is more than the Government and employers invest in learning and skills, but there are stark inequalities between groups. This report provides the most detailed snapshot seen of which groups of adults are investing in learning, and how much, and lays bare stark…

Learning and skills contribute to economic growth both directly, by improving the skills base available to employers, and indirectly, by underpinning the five foundations of productivity identified by the government: ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment, and places. This is the case for all levels of learning from basic skills to…

Since Autumn 2021, the United Kingdom has experienced high rates of inflation and stagnant wages. Londoners that have been most affected by this include those not in work, those without qualifications and those in insecure or low-income work. This research, commissioned by the Greater London Authority (GLA), explored the views of Londoners most…

Adult education, learning and skills providers are familiar with the longstanding national challenge of poor adult basic skills, and many providers use their Adult Education Budget funding to offer English and math classes for adults. In recent years, there has been a focus on supporting unemployed adults to achieve the good literacy and numeracy…

The UK entered the deepest recession in history in 2020, following a decade of sluggish growth. Coronavirus restrictions led to a sharp rise in unemployment, vacancies plummeted, and millions were furloughed. The pandemic has also accelerated technological change, with increased digitalisation and firms discovering new ways to harness emerging…

Since 2015, as part of our work for the European Agenda for Adult Learning, L&W and its partners across the UK have been researching and discussing the impact of adult learning. We have done this through the Impact Forums established in 2014 which meet in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales every quarter. For these meetings we…

The European Agenda for Adult Learning defines the focus for European cooperation in adult education policies for 2012-2020. The Agenda highlights the need to increase participation in adult learning of all kinds (formal, non-formal and informal) either to acquire new work skills, or for active citizenship, or for personal development and…

Learning and Work Institute is an independent policy and research organisation dedicated to promoting lifelong learning, full employment and inclusion. This report sets out the findings of research and consultation carried out by Learning and Work Institute (L&W) for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on learning…