In Adult Learners' Week last year there was a first-time national award, sponsored by Pearson, for the Adult Apprentice of the Year. There were 81 nominees from across the age range and from a multitude of jobs. Staff at NIACE were keen to find out more about their stories so they analysed their nominations, asked for more information and…

The author would like to think that, in twenty-first century Britain, the case for adult learning was firmly established and no-one was in any doubt of its value. Having spent nearly 20 years before he became an MP working as a part-time lecturer and tutor with the Open University, and seeing the transformation that it could bring to his students,…

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…

Government spending is declining, yet the need for jobs and training is higher than ever. The current supply of quality apprenticeships is clearly not sufficient to meet demand and that was highlighted this year when British Telecom received 24,000 applications for only 221 places on its apprenticeship programme. The main obstacle to increasing…

The Foundation Learning Tier (FLT) is a welcome initiative that aims to support the millions of people with few or no qualifications below level 2 (one GCSE A* to C--a full level 2 is equivalent to five GCSEs A* to C). It is an ambitious project with far reaching implications. It is work in hand and, as such, its central principles are being…

The spending review brought a promise to protect adult and community learning as well as swingeing cuts to further and higher education and local government. In this article, some of the key players--Lynne Sedgmore, Christopher Brooks, Graham Hoyle, Maggie Galliers, Louise Hazel, Richard Bolsin, Maggi Dawson, Ruth Bond, Stuart Etherington, Brendan…

There were a few raised eyebrows when the Association of Colleges (AoC) appointed Martin Doel, an Air Commodore with almost 30 year's service in the Royal Air Force (RAF) but little direct experience of college culture, as its new Chief Executive. As he prepares to take the helm next month, Doel, while acknowledging the challenges ahead, is…