well, the budget announcement came out and there wasn't a lot of news for the adult learning sector

what we heard about, in summary, was the introduction of an employer's levy, a "youth obligation" which will cut benefits to those who "do not engage", and the news that cuts will continue, albeit at a slower rate than had originally been anticipated. In general its fair to say that the sector was underwhelmed! yes, apprenticeships are about skills but skills are a lot more than just apprenticeships – however edudo is not clear this is widely understood. The Government appears to have just realised that employers tend not to invest in skills - whoopee! How many years has the sector been saying that? The Government also appears to have woken up to the reality of the inadequate quality of education offered by some of our peers in the sector. When there is a failing shop on the high street it doesn't matter how it got to that stage: it simply closes!. edudo recognises that the adult learning sector is not as simplistic as that, but it needs to get a damn sight closer to it.

at edudo, learning is, first and always, about improving life-chances. it's what people do when they want to make sense of the world! 

CBI say UK “Skills Emergency” holding back economic growth

A new report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Pearson UK has found that over half of firms fear growth in key sectors is being impeded by a “skills emergency”, revealing that a growing number of employers are struggling to recruit staff with the required numeracy and STEM skills.

A survey of 310 companies, which together employ over a million people, found that 68% expect their need for highly skilled employees to grow in the next few years, but are not confident that they will be able to recruit employees with the necessary basic maths and science skills. Demand is particularly strong in sectors critical to economic growth, such as engineering, science, hi-tech and construction, where two-thirds of employers are already reporting skills shortages.
CBI deputy director general Katja Hall called for the Government to urgently tackle the issue, saying “Firms are facing a skills emergency now, threatening to starve economic growth. Worryingly, it’s those high-growth, high-value sectors with the most potential which are the ones under most pressure… We betray our young people if we fail to equip them with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to progress in work and life.”
These concerns are shared by National Numeracy and adds to increasing evidence that an overhaul of functional skills is essential to UK growth, with research from Pro Bono Economics last year finding poor numeracy is costing the UK economy an estimated £20 billion each year.
at edudo, learning is, first and always, about improving life-chances. it's what people do when they want to make sense of the world!

edudo awarded the matrix standard

edudo has, today, been accredited with the internationally-recognised, quality standard: matrix, following a robust external assessment, for the quality of advice, guidance, information and support it offers to individuals to make learning and work more accessible.

the matrix standard, owned by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, UK, is a UK Government accredited, quality framework for the effective delivery of information, advice and/or guidance on learning and work. It promotes the delivery of high quality information, advice and/or guidance by ensuring organisations review, evaluate and develop their service; encourage the take up of professionally recognised qualifications and the continuous professional development of their staff. It is the unique quality standard for education organisations to assess and measure their advice and support services, which ultimately supports individuals in their choice of career, learning, work and life goals.

ronan smith, managing partner at edudo, commented: “Achievement of the matrix standard by edudo is international verification of what more than 5000 edudo graduates already know; that edudo people are extremely effective in helping learners improve their life chances. It is great to be recognised for the commitment and hard work that the whole team puts into delivering the highest-quality service.”


the findings of the assessment included the following observations:

• across the whole Accreditation Assessment, feedback demonstrated the positive and inclusive culture of edudo service.
• the learner is at the centre of all aspects of edudo.
• edudo is very highly regarded by employers and learners recognising the emphasis placed on excellence in well delivered programmes of learning.
• leadership and management support is strong and focused, setting the tone for the culture of continuous improvement and the climate of success.
• edudo is highly regarded by learners, employers and partners, in particular the culture and ethos of the ‘learner at the centre’ of every part of the planning, delivery and forward direction.
• edudo is trusted to deliver and ‘do what is promised’.

at edudo, learning is, first and always, about improving life-chances. It's what people do when they want to make sense of the world!
for more (including the full matrix report) see documents/quality area of this website.

UK faces a shrinking pool of skills

A major international comparison of adult literacy and numeracy skills by the OECD shows the UK (England and Northern Ireland) performing significantly below average in numeracy – with particular problems among the 16-24 age group where the UK came 21st out of 24 industrialised countries.

the Survey of Adult Skills was carried out as part of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). OECD says the survey measures the key cognitive and workplace skills needed for individuals to participate in society and for economies to prosper.
the survey showed that almost one in four adults in England and Northern Ireland scored at the very lowest level, compared with the OECD average of fewer than one in five.
the OECD says that the UK faces a shrinking pool of skills, with England the only country where the skills of young people are below those of older people.
the UK’s poor results show the urgency of the need to improve everyday english and maths skills in this country.
the last time Britain took part in an OECD survey of adult skills – the International Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Survey published in 1997 – it came 11th out of 13 developed countries for both numeracy and literacy.
at edudo, learning is, first and always, about improving life-chances. It's what people do when they want to make sense of the world!

2015 adult skills budget cut

The adult skills budget will be cut by 11 per cent in the next financial year, it was revealed this morning.

in a letter, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), said funding through the Skills Funding Agency for adult skills in 2015-16 will be reduced by more than £249 million, an 11 per cent cut on 2014-15.
the total budget from BIS for adult FE and skills funding will fall by 5 per cent to £3.91 billion.
however, the SFA has set an apprenticeships budget of £770 million, and in its own letter published this morning, has estimated that funds available for other non-apprenticeship adult skills will be reduced by almost a quarter (24 per cent) as a result.
by 2020, if the next government continue to cut at this rate, adult further education will be effectively a thing of the past. The situation is now urgent. This could be the end of adult education in every city, town and community in England and the consequences will be felt by individuals and the UK economy for years to come.
at edudo, learning is, first and always, about improving life-chances. It's what people do when they want to make sense of the world!

is cutting adult skills budgets the right move for uk plc?

The answer to that question has to be a resounding no! 

indeed it should be a resounding no at any time of year and especially before an election. Certainly the sector as a whole has not adopted its usual tone of phlegmatic resignation. There is an active backlash going on and Nick Boles, our skills minister, is doing quite a bit of meeting local MPs on the subject. The budget this year may contain a surprise in this area. Then again it may not.
of course the government claim it is a modest cut given that apprenticeships, English and maths, traineeships and other elements of the adult skills budget are protected from the cut. But this only means a more swingeing cut for the rest of the budget. On some estimates by over 30% - or 24% if you take the Association of Colleges figures.
the result of the cut means there is now a lacuna in funding for many 19-23-year-olds. Treated differently from their university colleagues, who can access loans, this group can either compete for the dwindling state funding available to pursue the vocational qualification they want to, or cough up themselves. Which is the whole point of the exercise. For the government does not believe the public purse should really be supporting a whole range of courses that it believes either employers or individuals should be paying for. Austerity means you can drive through a neat argument. 'We cannot afford it' masks the argument that 'we really do not believe we should be paying for it'.
at edudo, learning is, first and always, about improving life-chances. It's what people do when they want to make sense of the world!

give young people the opportunity to decide their own futures

if our young people are to make the right choices about their future careers then they must be given the options. They need to be told not just about 'A' levels and university entrance, but also about apprenticeships and technical training.

but the fact is that they are not! There is a statutory duty on schools and colleges to provide access to impartial careers advice for young people aged 13 to 18, but this is simply not happening. Part of the problem is that these institutions tend to push their students towards conventional academic achievement. Perhaps this is not surprising given the background of most teachers and lecturers, and the natural desire to maintain the viability of sixth forms, but it is not helpful to most students.
young people speak readily about the pressure they are under to stay on at school, or move to sixth form college, and take A-levels, rather than starting apprenticeships. In fact, many young people simply don't know that they exist as a careers option. According to a recent University and Colleges Union perception study, 'numerous young people felt informed about UCAS applications....fewer felt they knew anything about apprenticeships.
this is why we need to take responsibility for the delivery of careers advice out of the schools and colleges themselves and into local 'hubs' like edudo, which will bring together relevant interested parties in an area – businesses and service providers – fully accredited and operating under a national standard.
at edudo, learning is, first and always, about improving life-chances. It's what people do when they want to make sense of the world!