Higher education for older adults is “seriously at risk” in England as fewer people chose to invest in learning due to the rising cost of living, university leaders have warned.
In an attempt to raise national skills levels, the Conservative government has committed to boosting training throughout a person’s lifetime following years of falling participation.
Central to its plan is a life-long loan entitlement, which will allow universal access to loan funding for short courses post-18 from 2025. A bill legislating for the change was introduced in parliament last week.
But the heads of England’s leading universities for adult learners fear the reforms do not go far enough. They are braced for mid-career learning to decline further as more people stay in work rather than take on debt to finance training.
“Life-long adult education provision is seriously at risk,” said David Latchman, vice-chancellor of Birkbeck, University of London, one of the UK’s largest adult learning institutions.
