Is there an optimum age to be an apprentice? For most people, their image of an apprentice would be a teenage school leaver. Yet, in England, the majority of apprentices are over the age of 19 when they start their apprenticeship, and 40 per cent are 25 or over. This would be very unusual in other European countries. In this article, the authors…

Britain is in the longest recession since the Second World War. Mass unemployment is back. The road to recovery could be long and bumpy. On the fiscal front, the deficit could be higher than the 175 billion British Pounds forecast for 2009-10. Bringing the deficit under control will require higher taxes and lower public spending. In an effort to…

In March 2007, Dave Thompson, who was undertaking an advanced apprenticeship in customer service, set up the Humber Apprentice Panel (HAP), which, until recently, was the only forum exclusively for apprentices in the UK (the Young Apprentice Ambassador Network was launched last year). By creating this unique panel, Thompson and his fellow…

The rapidly changing picture on localism and the government's focus on local economic growth have significant implications for adult learning and skills providers in England. Government now sees a sense of place as key to economic growth and recognises the need for a renewed debate on how business and state interact with localities. There is a…

There is much to welcome in Doug Richard's independent report on the future of apprenticeships. The Richard review offers proposals for redefining and improving the quality of apprenticeships, and for focusing them more on the needs of employers. But will the proposals work, if adopted, and what will be the impact on adults? For this article, the…

In 2007, the Workers' Educational Association's (WEA) Yorkshire and Humber region was funded by the Academy for Community Leadership to deliver a programme of active citizenship learning in South Yorkshire. The programme was expected to: equip potential and existing community leaders with the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to address…

This article discusses three innovative projects with a focus on education for sustainable development which were kick-started by the previous government's Transformation Fund for informal adult learning. The projects each illustrate how powerful and transformational sustainability education can be when it uses people's lived experience as a basis…

The health and wellbeing agenda is gaining momentum. Most recently, a major review of the curriculum for England's primary schools suggested that "wellbeing, happiness and healthy living" could be one of six broad areas of learning to replace individual subjects. Health literacy is one component of the health and wellbeing agenda and…

Recent policy reports by Lord Leitch and Sir Michael Lyons on educational skills and corresponding government spending raise the question of how a demand-led system for adult skills led by employers can operate concurrent with intertwined policies driven by different factors. There is also the need to integrate with regional policy and policies…

On 11 November the Government published its third skills strategy for England in six years (quite apart from Lord Leitch's "Review of Skills" commissioned by the Treasury). Entitled "Skills for Growth: the national skills strategy," this White Paper, together with a separate analytical paper and a "Skills Investment…

"Learning Through Life," the main report from the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning, is the culmination of a two-year process of consultation, analysis and reflection. The report sets out bold proposals which go well beyond the boundaries of adult education and training. Several key weaknesses in the current system were…

In England more is spent on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) for adults than is spent on literacy and numeracy put together, an estimated 323 million pounds for 2007-2008. This may well be the biggest investment in Europe for national language learning for adults. It is argued that ESOL is central to several social policy streams.…

Back in November, voters in the North East of England overwhelmingly rejected the move towards an elected regional assembly. The scale of the defeat (three to one) of a Government-backed scheme was a rude awakening for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the range of regional agencies created since 1997. After all, it was felt that the…

In contrast to traditional public administration in which public managers were responsible for meeting service targets set by politicians (e.g. a top-down, bureaucratic approach) and new public management (a more market-driven approach to public service provision that aimed to reduce the reach of government), public value aims to put the…

The author talks about a vision of a "learning community" that is currently being trialled in 26 testbeds in England. As the first learning community testbeds develop across England, the author looks at some of the early issues that are emerging from the first few months of activity. The issues identified have emerged from early…