2017 Festival of Learning AWARD Nominations NOW OPEN

With the recent launch of the Government’s Industrial Strategy placing significant emphasis on lifelong education and training, it has never been more important to raise the profile of adult learning and celebrate the positive difference it makes to communities, families, workplaces and people’s lives.

Award nominations open today for Festival of Learning 2017 – the largest celebration of lifelong learning in England – in search of the individuals, tutors, employers and projects that have used learning to transform their lives and the lives of others. The Awards aim to inspire others to discover the power of learning for themselves. 

Funded by the Department for Education, supported by Learning and Work Institute’s Patron Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, and coordinated by Learning and Work Institute, the awards are presented across four categories:

• individuals – who, through learning, have transformed their own lives and the lives of their families, friends, their communities, and the places they work
• tutors – whose valuable contribution to adult learning and the impact they have had on their learners deserves recognition
• innovative learning projects or provision – that could be replicated or adapted by other learning providers
• employers – that have used learning to develop and utilise the skills of their workforce to improve productivity, raise morale, increase staff retention and enhance their business performance.

Nominations for this year’s Festival of Learning Awards are open from 1 February until 31 March, building on a 25-year history of adult learning awards which began in 1992. Last year’s awards celebrated 29 national and regional winners and their stories are set to inspire the nominations for 2017. Winners will be notified mid-June, and announced at an award ceremony held in London this September.

Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of Learning and Work Institute, said: “Adult learning has a positive and dynamic impact on people, the economy and society, and it’s important to promote and recognise that contribution. The Festival of Learning is the best way to do this. We showcase the improvements made and the benefits reaped on all levels, but we need your inspirational stories to achieve this.

“Learning is so often associated with schools and universities, but it happens at all stages of adult life and at all ages, through classes, courses and day to day at work. Just look at Jim Smith, who last year won the Outstanding Individual Learner Award for his efforts at night-school to earn the GCSEs he needed to change his career from market-trader to train to become a paramedic. It’s those stories we value and want to celebrate.”

For more information and to nominate visit www.festivaloflearning.org.uk