Stephen Evans, Chief Executive at Learning and Work Institute, reflects on the role of colleges in providing adults with opportunity and agency throughout their lives.
Just over five years ago, the Independent Commission on the College of the Future published its final report. This sought to outline what was wanted and needed from colleges in ten years’ time, and identify the changes required in the meantime. As a member of a panel supporting the Commission’s work, I welcomed the rallying cry it offered on creating a more joined-up all-age education and skills system, giving people greater agency and opportunity right throughout their life.
Changes in our demography, climate, technology, society and labour market. All these reasons mean people need to be able to keep engaging with education and training to have good jobs and live well. The commission understood this then, and we know this now. But at the midpoint in our timetable for building the College of the Future, are people able to use colleges as a touchpoint throughout their lives in the midst of a changing world?
You have to be an optimist, so my glass is half full. More adults report learning over the last three years compared to when the commission started their work (42% in 2025 vs 33% in 2019) according to Learning and Work Institute’s long running adult participation in learning survey. An increase in independent learning is a key feature, but colleges have played their own part within this story. By innovating, embracing digital technologies, and making learning more flexible, barriers are being removed and learning experiences made richer. Overall, more adults report recent learning via a FE college than they did 5 years ago (11% in 2025 vs 9%) in 2021.
However, a number of challenges remain. Government investment in adult skills remains £1bn lower than in 2010, resulting in seven million fewer qualifications being earned by adults in the last decade, most notably in more deprived areas. And employers are spending 36% less on training on a per-worker basis than 20 years ago. That means too few people are able to access college courses to retrain and gain the skills they and our economy need. Career changers face a potential bill of £40,000, and our economy is stuck in a doom loop of low skills, low-productivity, and low pay.
Policy can be quick to change but slow to go in the right direction. And there seems little chance of substantial extra public investment any time soon. But we must continue to make the case. We also know there is so much brilliant work already going on across the country. We need to showcase this and scale it up. Where an employer is investing in their workforce, let’s praise that and ask others to follow their example. Where a community group is engaging people in learning, let’s celebrate that and help them get others doing the same.
It is for these reasons and others that Learning and Work Institute launched the Get the Nation Learning campaign last May. Growth, productivity, good work, resilient communities, fuller and richer lives. These are just some of the benefits lifelong learning can bring. That’s what we’re fighting for. Over 180 organisations have joined the movement, including Association of Colleges (AoC). L&W are also proud supporters of AoC’s Adult Learning Pays campaign, which has an important role shifting the dial amongst policymakers. If you’re yet to sign the Get the Nation Learning Charter, or sign up to updates on Adult Learning Pays, I would urge you to do so now. Together, we can build a future where everyone is able to learn throughout life. And together, we can still build the College of the Future.
