Changes in employment patterns have had an enormous impact on learning. The traditional ‘state education, followed by a job-for-life’ has meant that many people are ill-prepared to take responsibility for their own learning.
The following article is based on my experiences in the UK, but the concepts are the same for all learners. I am sure that professional educators will be able to find similar resources in their countries.
As companies continue to ‘downsize', the number of permanent employees has decreased. This means that many people have to work in a ‘consultancy’ or ‘portfolio’ style, which creates different types of employees with varying relationships with the parent company.
In addition to consultants, who have only a loose connection with the company, we are also seeing the emergence of ‘associate employees’ whose relationship with the company is somewhere between the consultant and the permanent employee. Not only does this impact the way people work and are paid, but it also raises serious questions about the funding and the responsibility for learning.
The learning targets are limited because they refer mainly to qualifications. Much learning occurs as part of ‘Continuing Professional Development’ and company training programmes.
It isn’t necessary to become Investors in People for employers to invest in their workforce, but it is an excellent catalyst, and many large firms choose to become Investors in People because it attracts favourable publicity as well as being the right thing to do. Given diminishing resources, it is unlikely that many large companies would assist smaller firms unless they are its suppliers. Some companies like to deal with suppliers who have Investors in People status in the way that ISO 9000 is a condition of doing business with them.
Employees can facilitate greater individual responsibility through their employee development processes, but these processes must communicate and model the individuals’ responsibility for their own development and learning. Competency-based reward systems encourage individual learning. Company schemes can provide learning opportunities and encourage individuals to take a broader view of learning. Learning Clubs, where employees exchange learning on specific topics, are liked by people who are not used to formal learning. Quality Circles in Japan were essentially learning clubs dedicated to learning more about quality.
One problem with learning is that it is perceived as different from ‘real life’.
Why not bring programme makers and educators together and interweave learning, work, leisure, and entertainment? Horizon, Gardeners’ World, and soap operas could all be integral parts of science, biology and sociology courses. The idea of accreditation of learning would also help here.
Local Colleges of Further Education already play a significant role in providing information and guidance, but the availability of this service needs to be more widely publicised. This service ought to be self-funding because it could be seen as part of the college’s marketing effort. In addition to the traditional sources, a National Training Network (as described below) could provide digital, interactive sources of information. Again, this could be funded by the training providers.
Individuals will be encouraged to invest in their own learning if they see employers, family and government taking an equal interest. One way to do this might be to have a lifelong learning account, which is set up at birth with a set number of ‘learning credits’. Individuals would be able to buy or use these credits at any time in their life. Employer donations to the account could be part of the remuneration package. Part of the employee’s tax could be diverted into the account. Relatives would also be encouraged to invest in their family’s education. Contributions to the learning accounts
would qualify for tax relief.
Institutes of Technology could take a facilitation role in creating networks of training materials and opportunities. For example, would it be possible to form a consortium of local companies and Institutes of Technology to provide guidance, a wide range of learning opportunities and the accompanying publicity?
As mentioned earlier, the ‘separateness’ of learning from everyday life is one of the main barriers. In addition to my other ideas, training suppliers should make their offerings available through outlets where people live their lives, such as newspapers, books, videos, computer games, cinemas, garages, the home, supermarkets, leisure centres and holidays. Colleges could provide creches, and there could be a tutors-on-wheels service. The Institutes of Technology could take a role in quality assurance of learning and providing accreditation of prior learning (APL).
Individuals need to have a good grasp of the basic skills very early on in their lifetime of learning. Whilst adult numeracy and literacy programmes are to be applauded and supported by employers, it is really too late for the individual’s employability and continual learning ability. There is a view that the National Curriculum is extended too far into the early years of education. The main purpose of primary education is to develop the basic skills — subject knowledge is secondary and should be used as a vehicle for developing the basic skills.
Core skills should be developed soon after the attainment of the basic skills. Should core skills be part of the National Curriculum as well as National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs)? Core skills can be learned throughout an individual’s lifetime — in fact, many employers have been teaching these since the 1950s.
The main issues for adult learning are accessibility and cost. We could say that lifetime learning has been around for centuries through the medium of books — both paper and digital.
Multimedia has enabled a more flexible and exciting approach to learning. Many companies have created open learning centres to give their employees access to learning technology that would be too expensive for them to buy. Yet many Open Learning Centres remain underutilised—could the reason be that these are not the preferred environments for adults?
I believe the emphasis should be on Distance Learning (as with the
Open University). A way forward would be to have a National Learning
Network in which learning programs could be bought or borrowed online. Employers could have similar Company Learning Networks.
Originally published on LearningPages.org
