Memorandum 34
Submission from Age Concern
Age Concern is the UK's largest organisation
working with and for people over 50.
Four national Age Concerns in England, Northern
Ireland, Scotland and Wales and a federation of over 400 local
organisations work together to promote the well-being of all people
over 50. Our work ranges from providing vital services to influencing
public opinion and government. Every day we are in touch with
thousands of people aged over 50 from all kinds of backgrounds—enabling
them to make more of life. Age Concern is a provider of training
and welfare-to-work services through Age Concern Training and
through local initiatives in around 15 communities across England.
We also offer a national information and advice service for individuals
about their rights under the new age discrimination legislation.
The Age Concern England Policy Unit develops
public policy proposals on ageing and older people with respect
to England and UK-wide policy. We influence government, public
bodies and professional organisations by commissioning and undertaking
research, responding to consultations, liaising with decision
makers, holding policy events and developing partnerships with
other organisations.
Most of our policy responses and summaries are
available to download on our website: www.ageconcern.org.uk.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Age Concern welcomes the inquiry into how responses
to the agenda set out in the Leitch Report will affect the broader
structures of further education, higher education and lifelong
learning. Our response to the inquiry is split into four sections:
government policy and vocational learning, government policy and
non-vocational learning, older people's views about non-vocational
learning and practitioner perspectives on non-vocational learning.
In line with our remit, its primary focus is on the 50+ age group.
GOVERNMENT POLICY
AND VOCATIONAL
LEARNING:
— We calculate that to achieve the
government's overall aim of an 80% employment rate by 2015-2020,
an extra three million people will need to be in work. About 900,000
people over 50 who are not in work want to find jobs. If they
were all in work this would add around £30 billion to the
economy.
— The government's employment and skills
ambitions cannot be met unless more people over 50 are helped
to improve their skills: around a quarter of the 2020 workforce—and
an even higher proportion of those with low skills—are already
aged over 40. The government will miss its targets for Level 2
skills unless there is a step-change in the training of workers
over 40, who make up half the non-pensioner adults without these
skills.
— Workers over 50 are less likely to
participate in training than those under 50. The focus on achieving
a first full Level 2 qualification is not the best or most cost-effective
way of improving employability for all workers aged 50+. For example,
it precludes those who wish to make a career change.
GOVERNMENT POLICY
AND NON-VOCATIONAL
LEARNING:
— Non-vocational learning is proven
to maintain good health and well-being, which has knock-on benefits
for health and local government budgets.
— The government's focus on funding
basic skills, Level 2 qualifications, and Level 3s for under 25s
has left less money available for other forms of learning, including
many of the courses valued by people in retirement. As a result,
non-vocational learning providers are being forced to reduce costs,
including by limiting student places and removing concessionary
fees.
— Some local authorities and colleges
who are removing concessions for people over State Pension Age
are using the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 to justify
their actions.
— The number of people aged 60 and
over participating in Further Education halved between 2003 and
2006.
OLDER PEOPLE'S
VIEWS ABOUT
NON-VOCATIONAL
LEARNING
— Older people value non-vocational
learning for a range of reasons, including alleviating loneliness
and maintaining mental and physical health. It also enables them
to help others and give back to the communities they live in.
— The barriers older people face to
participating in non-vocational learning include cost, lack of
information provision, size and timings of classes, poor transport
and inaccessible buildings.
PRACTITIONER PERSPECTIVES
ON NON-VOCATIONAL
LEARNING:
— Non-vocational learning benefits
both the individual, for example in terms of better health and
well-being, and society, for example in terms of increased community
engagement.
— Learning provision can reinforce
structural inequalities. In particular, it tends to be harder
to attract people from black and minority ethnic communities to
non-vocational learning activities.
— There is a need for better information
and better communication about funding opportunities.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Age Concern welcomes the inquiry into
how responses to the agenda set out in the Leitch Report will
affect the broader structures of further education, higher education
and lifelong learning. Our response to the inquiry predominantly
focuses on the impact that responses to the Leitch Report have
had on students in the 50+ age group. Our response categorises
the impact on these students' learning activities in terms of
government policy and vocational learning, government policy and
non-vocational learning, older people's views about non-vocational
learning and practitioner perspectives on non-vocational learning.
2. GOVERNMENT
POLICY AND
VOCATIONAL LEARNING
2.1 We calculate that to achieve the government's
overall aim of an 80 per cent employment rate by 2015-2020, an
extra three million people will need to be in work, a significant
proportion of which could be over 50. About 900,000 people over
50 are not in work and want to find jobs. If they were all in
work this would add around £30 billion to the economy.[98]
2.2 However, government support overwhelmingly
prioritises young adults preparing to enter the labour market
for the first time. At present, most education and training policies
do not distinguish between a person of 26 and a person of 36,
46, 56 or 66. Such an approach presents a real challenge to government
if it is to meet its employment and skills ambitions.
2.3 For example, around a quarter of the
2020 workforce are already aged over 40 and about a third of this
group are without Level 2 skills. On current trends few will reach
Level 2 standard over the next 15 years and their employment prospects
will reduce in that time as employers expect employees to have
progressively higher skills. If action is not taken today to address
the skills of people over 40, employers will be unable to meet
their workforce needs in 2020—in terms of either overall
headcount or skills requirements. The government will also miss
its targets for Level 2 skills unless there is a step-change in
the training of workers over 40, who make up half the non-pensioner
adults without these skills.[99]
2.4 Workers over 50 are less likely to participate
in training than those under 50. But a range of evidence suggests
this pattern is not inevitable in the future, not least because
of evidence from the pilots which preceded the Train to Gain initiative.
Workers over 50 who do participate in training are just as likely
to succeed as younger adults. The attitudes of employers, and
individuals themselves, still remains a significant barrier.[100]
2.5 The training and qualifications the
government is currently promoting are not always appropriate for
many adults over 50, for whom achieving a full Level 2 qualification
is not the best or most cost-effective way of improving employability.
Instead, these workers may need accreditation of existing skills,
together with support to plug specific skills gaps with bite-sized
training. The focus on first full Level 2 qualifications also
precludes those with historic qualifications who wish to make
a career change or those who may have been away from work for
some time, for example raising children.[101]
3. GOVERNMENT
POLICY AND
NON-VOCATIONAL
LEARNING
3.1 Non-vocational learning is proven to
maintain good health and well-being, which has knock-on benefits
for health and local government budgets. Moreover, it is an issue
that older people themselves care greatly about. Age Concern is
concerned about the impact that the government's skills strategy
is having on non-vocational learning.
3.2 The government's strategic focus on
up-skilling workers has had a significant impact on the funding
and provision of non-vocational learning provided by both the
further education sector and community education institutions.
The government's focus on funding basic skills, Level 2 qualifications,
and Level 3s for under 25s has left less money available for other
forms of learning, including many of the courses valued by people
in retirement. As a result, non-vocational learning providers
are being required to reduce costs, including by limiting student
places and removing concessionary fees.
3.3 Some local authorities and colleges
who are removing concessions for people over State Pension Age
are using the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 to justify
their actions. However, as there have not been any test cases
under the new legislation, it is not possible to say when or if
concessions are unlawful. We believe that many education providers
will be able to rely on the argument that the concessions are
justified, or that some non-vocational learning could be covered
by an exemption in the Regulations allowing positive action to
address disadvantage or under-representation of particular age
groups. It will then be for a court or tribunal to decide whether
or not this is justified. However, for risk-averse providers facing
mounting financial difficulties, removing concessions for retired
people has seemed to be the easiest solution.
3.4 The number of people aged 60 and over
participating in Further Education halved between 2003 and 2006.
The number of people aged 60 and over participating in Adult Community
Learning decreased by 12% between 2005 and 2006. This shift is
set against the backdrop of a rapidly ageing population. The number
of people aged 50 and over is set to rise even faster than was
previously expected: in 10 years time there will be an extra 4.5
million, which is up 1.9 million from the previous estimate. Given
rises in life expectancy, this means that an increasing number
of people will be spending longer periods of time in active retirement
than ever before.[102]
4. OLDER PEOPLE'S
VIEWS ABOUT
NON-VOCATIONAL
LEARNING
4.1 The evidence in this section is based
on two unpublished deliberative workshops with people aged 50+
in April 2008. The workshops were held in London and Exeter.
Value of non-vocational learning
4.2 Participants cited a range of reasons
for getting involved in non-vocational learning. These reasons
ranged from improving mental and physical agility to tackling
feelings of isolation and loneliness. A significant finding was
that some participants also undertake non-vocational learning
courses so that they can help and contribute to others and give
back to the communities that they live in.
Barriers to getting involved in non-vocational
learning opportunities
4.3 Participants also cited a range of barriers
which prevented them from undertaking non-vocational learning.
A key barrier was fees, particularly with the removal of adult
education concessions following the introduction of the Employment
Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (see section on government policy
and non-vocational learning for more details). Other barriers
include, the timing of classes, class sizes, the accessibility
of buildings, the locality of learning centres, poor transport
and poor information provision.
5. PRACTITIONER
PERSPECTIVES ON
NON-VOCATIONAL
LEARNING
5.1 The evidence in this section is based
on unpublished interviews with eight local Age concerns between
February and March 2008. The organisations that we interviewed
are:
— Age Concern Bath and North East Somerset
— Age Concern Brighton, Hove and Portslade
— Age Concern Hertfordshire
The value of non-vocational for the 50+ population
5.2 Non-vocational learning benefits both
the individual, for example in terms of better health and well-being,
and society, for example in terms of increased community engagement.
5.3 Older people participate in non-vocational
learning for a variety of reasons. Some want to learn new skills
or develop their skills further. While others learn for social
reasons: that is, to meet new people, get themselves out of the
house and/or to help them add structure to their days. Learning
has numerous individual benefits. It can foster mental and physical
health and can help break patterns of depression, isolation and
social exclusion. A number of local Age Concerns commented that
people over 50 are much more specific about their learning needs
or requirements than they were five years ago and that they expect
more from their retirement than previous generations.
5.4 Ensuring the 50+ population has up-to-date
ICT skills has particularly important benefits. It enables individuals
to more effectively communicate with their relatives, including
grandchildren, and more effectively use ICT in their everyday
lives, for example to take up cheaper internet deals.
5.5 Learning can also engender a sense of
belonging to the community and to the wider society, which can
foster social cohesion. Individual benefits, such as improved
mental and physical health, also have knock-on benefits for health
and local government budgets.
Equality of access
5.6 The interviews with local Age Concerns
suggest that lifelong learning provision can reinforce structural
inequalities. Those who participate in learning activities tend
to be aware of the value and benefits of learning and want a healthy
and active lifestyle, which corresponds to those of higher socio-economic
status. Generally, it tends to be harder to attract people from
manual occupational backgrounds and people from black and minority
ethnic communities. These groups have been most successfully engaged
where outreach work has been undertaken in local community centres
and taster sessions have been offered. Overall, improving equality
of access to non-vocational learning tends to be about being proactive
and imaginative.
5.7 Initial drop-out rates have increased
for organisations that have recently increased the fees they charge
for learning activities. Although many people who dropped-out
of courses after the fee increase subsequently returned, others
have not had the means to.
Funding
5.8 Since there are many funding streams
through many government departments, it can be difficult to identify
those responsible for lifelong learning. There is a general feeling
among the local Age Concerns interviewed that in order to access
funding, particularly in relation to self-organised learning,
individuals have to be very proactive and resourceful.
5.9 This suggests that there is a need for
better information and better communication about funding opportunities.
One way of achieving this could be through an information portal,
where people could go and access all different funding opportunities
provided by government as well as private businesses. It is important
that the funding system is flexible enough to cater for differing
local needs.
April 2008
98 Age Agenda 2008 Report. Age Concern, 2008. Back
99
Age Agenda 2008 Report. Age Concern, 2008. Back
100
Learning in Later Life: A public spending challenge. NIACE,
Age Concern England and the Centre for Research into the Older
Workforce, 2006. Back
101
Learning in Later Life: A public spending challenge. NIACE,
Age Concern England and the Centre for Research into the Older
Workforce, 2006. Back
102
Age Agenda 2008 Report. Age Concern, 2008. For more information
see: http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/FCDAC740D6034C12A01334ED4E597059.asp
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