A Labour of Lifelong Learning?

In contrast to last year, the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool was blessed with sunshine and fair weather –  an apt metaphor for the generally upbeat mood amongst Party members and supporters. Perhaps determination is a better word to capture the Conference zeitgeist; in the face of attacks from all sides there was a thinly concealed sense of celebration at finally being in power again and a vigorous digging in around traditional Labour values and principles, something reflected in both the tone and content of Kier Starmer’s speech, and in the new policies unveiled.

There were several headline policy announcements on education and skills, two of which were noticeable in coming directly from the Prime Minister himself. All are generally very welcome, even if each one raises as many questions as answers. Addressing the growing cost of living crisis by restoring maintenance grants for higher education learners is a huge step forward, but to fund it from a levy on international students is going to blow yet another hole in university finances and intensify the debate about how one of the UK’s most successful export industries – higher education – is going to be sustained. Similarly, while urgent action is needed to tackle the rapid increase in 16-24 year old NEETs, it’s not clear how the large number who are unable to work due to health issues or caring responsibilities are going to be engaged through the newly beefed up Youth Guarantee, and as many commentators have pointed out, previous attempts at this kind of policy have not had a great impact.

The Prime Minister’s positive words about the FE sector – backed up by the promise of extra funding for 16-19 year old FE students – and the plan to further extend Technical Excellence Colleges, will be music to the ears of College leaders after such a long period of (in the words of the recent Education Select Committee report), “running on fumes”. It’s now beyond doubt that our network of FE Colleges, operating in many of the most economically depressed areas of the country and engaging with some of the most disadvantaged students, is seen as pivotal to delivering on the Labour opportunity mission. Here again, there are questions: in this case around the decision to channel extra funding to young people, which risks leaving those colleges which deliver opportunities mostly to adults running on empty.

But the most striking announcement was the move away from the Tony Blair target of 50% participation in university education to two-thirds gaining higher skills through either traditional degrees, Higher Technical Qualifications, or higher apprenticeships. For too long higher education has been seen as synonymous with “going to uni” and the prospect of a much-enhanced role for FE and Independent Training Providers will mobilise the education system to deliver in ways much more suited to students from low-income backgrounds and working adults. Great news, but where is the funding for extra apprenticeships going to come from, with the budget already stretched to the limit?

Many of these questions will be answered in the November budget. In the meantime, at least the Government agenda is becoming clear; a classic socialist redistribution of resources for education and skills away from the richer towards the poorer. The immediate priority is to create opportunities for the disadvantaged communities trapped in low skill/low earnings local economies, leaving it unclear what will be left to invest in the skills dimension of the Industrial Strategy which is far more focused on higher-level skills for working adults.

It’s also not clear how the upskilling and reskilling needs of working adults, particularly those who are not ready for higher education and those over the age of 25, are going to be met. This will require stronger policies to boost lifelong learning, beyond the important but limited scope of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.

Which is why it’s puzzling that lifelong learning isn’t being placed at the heart of Labour’s narrative. It was central to the findings of the  2019 Lifelong Learning Commission set up under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and to David Blunkett’s Council of Skills Advisers report in 2022 commissioned by Kier Starmer. But since then, despite the decision to press on with launching the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, the phrase lifelong learning has been strangely absent from Government communications. Is it seen as too Corbynite? Too close to the Conservative’s skills agenda? Associated too closely with the adult education sector at a time of continued cuts? Or simply judged as tired and overused?

Whatever the reason, its absence leaves the Government without a compelling narrative to drive forward its education reform agenda, and without a clear vision of what a new, fairer and more accessible education system will look like. Lifelong Education is not only a vital part of any meaningful response to the nation’s economic growth and productivity challenge, but the answer to the access and opportunity challenge for the economically inactive, and the answer to the existential threat to jobs posed by developments such as AI.

Lifelong Education should not be conflated with adult education; it should be a key design principle for the whole education system. We need schools that prepare children to be lifetime learners, an 18-25 education system built around more flexible, step by step pathways to qualifications and skills, and effective adult skills provision that reaches those in the workplace.  As Labour pulls the jigsaw pieces of its education policy together, we must therefore hope that a coherent and ambitious Lifelong Education strategy emerges.