Removing barriers to adult education: supporting the recovery of our workforce and increasing personal development

“Education is seen as the key to boosting social mobility, but there are still persistent attainment gaps between those from disadvantaged and better-off backgrounds at all stages of schooling.” (Social Mobility Commission, 2020).  

We are all having to adapt the way they work. 

For educators, now is the time to increase opportunities to a wider cohort of adult learners and close the attainment gap. Adult participation in learning has seen a year-on-year decline, and the current pandemic has only intensified the need for change in the education sector.  

Increasing the skills and training qualifications of our workforce will be key to our recovery. 

But we can’t leave behind adult learners who may struggle to re-enter education.  

Driving innovative change

To make learning more inclusive, we need to focus on building flexible learning environments and supporting the individual needs of learners. There is a global effort to drive inclusivity and access to education for adults of all backgrounds and abilities.   

We know the life-changing opportunities that education can provide. 

Cognassist has released a thematic white paper, which identifies some of the prominent national and large-scale research surrounding adult education. We examine the decisions of adult learners and the barriers that prevent disadvantaged adults from engaging in learning and self-development.  

This guide will provide information on best practices and highlight the significant statistics and observations from the scientific community and our own data sets. 

We examine the finding from authorities such as:  

• The Learning & Work Institute, 
• Office for National Statistics,  
• Mencap,  
• OECD,  
• Centre for Ageing Better,  
• among others…  

We aim to provide educators with the knowledge to make evidence-based decisions on how to improve the quality and scalability of their adult education courses. 

“Amid global concern for lives, livelihoods and the planet, leaders find themselves at a historic crossroads for shaping the recovery, and have a window of opportunity to reset economies on a new trajectory of more inclusive and sustainable growth.” (The World Economic Forum, 2020). 

As we face rising unemployment, we must ensure that more working-age adults feel that their learning and career goals are achievable. Supporting these adults effectively through data-driven cognition technology can break down the barriers to learning and increase achievement rates.  

Download the white paper to discover the practical steps you can take to remove barriers to learning and help adults in education to thrive in a changing world.