Learning as a route to earning?

If we want to get serious about reducing poverty in Wales, it’s time to invest in adult learning. Victoria Winckler sets out the case.

Although reducing poverty in Wales appears to have fallen off the political agenda, that will not make the 1 in 4 people on a poverty-level income suddenly better off.  And while there’s talk in the Labour manifesto of ‘spreading prosperity’, without effective tools to increase prosperity and spread it about a bit, there’ll be no change.

There’s one thing that is proven to make a difference and that could be achieved quite easily – increase learning opportunities for adults.

The link between learning and earning is incredibly strong. Whether or not someone has a qualification and the level of that qualification affects the likelihood of having a job, the type of job, earnings and the risk of being in poverty. On top of that, children from low income households do much less well at school, creating a vicious cycle of low income – low attainment – poor job prospects.

Post-16 learning can break that cycle. It’s not only about statistics – every year the Adult Learning Inspire! Awards are full of people whose lives have been transformed by learning. It might be getting a better job, or feeling more confident about handling everyday paperwork, or supporting children or grandchildren through school. It’s hard to think of any disadvantages associated with learning.

And yet, the public spending axe has fallen heavily on opportunities for adults, with part-time further education and community learning all taking a big hit. The Learning and Work Institute Wales report that there are now 100,000 fewer adults participating in some sort of education than there were ten years ago.

The focus in recent public policy – and in all the party manifestos – was apprenticeships. Every party tried to outbid the others in an e-bay auction of who could offer the most places. Great though good quality apprenticeships are, they are not the panacea politicians would like us to think.  For a start, they don’t suit people who are not ready or able to start a full-time role. They aren’t flexible enough for many learners especially at an early stage of their learning. And they’re strongly work-oriented – there’s no chance of pursuing a dream to be, say, a counsellor or an artist through the apprenticeship route.

There is simply no substitute for a good range of quality learning available locally. So while it isn’t a priority in manifestos, adult learning is such an important part of making Wales a fair and prosperous country it should be.

Victoria Winckler is Director of the Bevan Foundation. She is speaking about The Role of Post-16 Education in Tackling Poverty at a seminar organised by Colegau Cymru, Learning & Work Institute and the National Training Federation for Wales at the National Assembly for Wales tonight.