Celebrate Adult Learners Week by Upskilling

Adult Learners Week is celebrating the achievements of adult learners in transforming their lives through learning, and is encouraging others to take the plunge. Never before has education and learning been so imperative for the individual, and the economy. Unskilled jobs no longer exist and the era has gone where one skill would prepare you for a working lifetime. Economies face serious skills shortages, thus, continuous learning is essential for the economy.

The recession is encouraging young people to remain in education, and older individuals to pursue retraining. There has been a surge in numbers enrolling for courses to gain new skills and develop their interests. And rightly so, as adult education generates an enhanced quality of life and minimizes people's dependence on the state.

As for the workplace, employer's reports highlight the need for a more socially and technically skilled workforce as the challenges of technological innovation and globalisation continue to grow.

Yet ironically, one consequence of the recession is that employers worldwide are training and up-skilling fewer people. In the UK, figures suggest investment is down from £14 million in 2007 to £12.8 million today. Government subsidies for adult learning, too has stagnated with concentration in work-related learning paid for with reductions in spending on community-based learning.

Alan Truckett, director of the UK National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) says, "There is a serious risk that pressures on public finance will limit the scope for adult learning to promote economic competitiveness and community cohesion." The economic restraints results in the issue; how limited resources are best deployed to reach the social and economic goals.

As funding from both the public and private sector continues to contract, the free learning provider, ALISON.com provides a solution to this cyclical quandary.

ALISON provides free self- paced, multimedia courses with opportunities for certification. These courses are ideal for those who want to familiarise themselves with the likes of Microsoft Office Excel, Corporate Management or even Health and Safety in the workplace.. Learners can chose from a wide variety of certifiable subjects in categories including Digital Literacy, Business and Enterprise Skills, Financial and Economic Literacy, Health and Safety Compliance, English Language Skills, Soft Skills and Personal Development and a range of School's Curriculum courses.