Reimagining Adult Education: A Decade of Transformation Ahead

Jon Adams, Executive Director (Business Development), Activate Learning

The coming years promise to be a pivotal period for lifelong learning and adult education. Reforms such as the lifelong learning entitlement, the devolution of adult skills funding, and anticipated flexibilities in the growth and skills levy offer real opportunities to expand access and tailor provision to meet evolving learner needs.

But alongside this promise lies a challenge. The pace of technological change, shifting learner motivations, and new patterns of engagement are reshaping demand. Learners increasingly look for flexible, bite-sized, and digitally accessible options that move away from traditional, classroom-based models. To remain relevant, the sector must adapt not only its delivery methods but also its mindset, embracing new forms of engagement while holding firm to the values that make lifelong learning transformative.

Learning without walls: embracing online and AI-driven education

One of the biggest changes underway is the transition from face-to-face, classroom-based learning to technology-driven, online and AI-supported education. This is driving a profound transformation in how adults engage with learning. Increasingly, learners expect education to be accessible on their terms: flexible, bite-sized, and available anytime, anywhere.

Recent research by the Learning and Work Institute shows that this shift is already underway. Their 2024 Adult Participation in Learning Survey found that 52% of adults had engaged in learning in the past three years, the highest rate since the survey began in 1996. Crucially, this increase has been driven by a rise in self-directed learning, particularly online. This suggests that adults are increasingly taking control of their learning journeys, using digital tools to access knowledge in ways that suit their lifestyles.

At Activate Learning, we have seen this transformation firsthand. Since the pandemic, we have invested significantly in online learning, growing our online learner base from just 30 to more than 3,000 each year. In 2021, we launched GCSE English and maths programmes for adult learners online with the explicit aims of increasing accessibility of provision to counteract declining participation and raising grade 9-4 achievement rates.

Feedback from our English and maths teachers told us that the limiting factors in learners’ achievements were the challenge of fitting studies around work commitments, maintaining motivation, and, for many, a lack of confidence and self-belief in their ability to succeed. In response, we developed a tutor-led model that combines live synchronous lessons, daily challenges and weekly assessments, access to online resources and learning platforms, and our in-house English and maths AI tutors. This model enables tutors to focus their time on supporting individual learners, helping them overcome barriers, build confidence, and stay motivated, while lesson resources are centrally prepared and AI tools reduce marking workload.

Since launching our online programmes in 2021, total enrolments across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Surrey have risen by 13%, compared with a 12% decline nationally. Many learners tell us they would have been unable to study without the flexibility of online delivery, particularly those balancing shift work or caring responsibilities. Further analysis shows that online learners are slightly more likely to come from disadvantaged areas and significantly more likely to be women.

The positive impact on accessibility is matched by results that are consistently higher than national averages. In 2024/25, 69% of English learners attained a grade 9-4 (national average 33.2%) and in maths this figure was 48% (national average 37.2%).

Overcoming cultural inertia

Despite the growth of our online programmes, we operate in a system that is built on the assumption that learning happens face-to-face on a campus. For example, while our delivery model embraces technology, examination practice does not. Due to regulatory rules, learners from as far away as Scotland and Cornwall have had to spend considerable sums on travel and accommodation to sit exams at one of our campuses in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Surrey. Furthermore, while the devolution of adult skills funding brings many benefits, each year we turn away several hundred learners as they live in areas with devolved budgets. Borders that have been dismantled by technology have been rebuilt by bureaucracy.

Learners want relevance, not just qualifications

Technology is not the only driver of change. The qualifications system often struggles to keep pace with evolving skills needs, especially in fast-moving fields like AI and digital. While qualifications will remain important for securing government funding, they can no longer be the sole basis for deciding what we offer.

Learners and employers increasingly value education that delivers immediate, practical outcomes. Adults want learning that fits into their lives and helps them progress quickly. Employers seek agility, adaptability, and specific competencies, qualities not always captured by traditional qualifications.

As education providers, we must move beyond the safety net of qualifications and design programmes that respond directly to learner and business needs. The quality of the learning experience and the clarity of its purpose are becoming more important than the credential itself.

The role of colleges and universities in a changing landscape

In this rapidly evolving environment, colleges and universities remain essential not just as providers of education, but as anchors of community, connection, and trust. In a world of digital and self-directed learning, the human element matters more than ever. We offer relationships, mentorship, and support that technology alone cannot replicate. We reach learners who might otherwise be left behind and help them take their first steps into education.

To stay relevant, we must continue to adapt by embracing flexible models, co-designing learning with employers, and investing in digital infrastructure. But we must also double down on what makes us unique: our ability to build relationships, foster belonging, and support learners and the communities we serve.