Helping adults and business reach their full potential

Adult participation in further education and skills has declined considerably in the last decade. In 2021/22 more than 1.7 million adults were involved in further education compared to nearly 3.3 million at the peak in 2012/13 – a fall of nearly a half.

The government understands the role that adult learning can play in closing the skills gap and is looking to address the issue by making financial support more easily available. Further Education colleges are also embracing the challenge by working with employers to ensure that the skills being taught match the commercial requirements.

Here Karen Roberts, Assistant Principal – Apprenticeships and Employer Engagement, from Cheshire CollegeSouth & West, Cheshire’s largest provider of post-16 education, outlines some of the initiatives the College is taking to attract adult students across the region by providing hands-on learning opportunities in partnership with business.

To plug the skills gap and encourage adult students, Cheshire College - South & West has launched a range of new parttime courses for adults to upskill, retrain and futureproof their careers in a range of industries.

The courses are designed specifically to be relevant in the workplace and aim to update students’ knowledge and skills to ensure they reach their full career potential. The College is also aware that the courses need to be flexible so individuals can reach their goals with study that fits around their lifestyle.

The College has also introduced blended delivery models for adult students to choose a study style that suits them, including face-to-face learning, remote learning or a mixture of both. There is also a broad range of courses offered by the various departments including, Business, Construction, Engineering, IT, Fitness, Health and Beauty.

In addition to traditional teaching, the College is going out into the community to support the learning needs of businesses. One such example is the work they have done with Likewize, a tech protection and support company based in Crewe.

Cheshire College provided bespoke on-site training to 67 staff members. The College team spent three months on-site upskilling staff with Functional Skills in English (levels 1 and 2), IT (level 1) and Bespoke IT (basics, intermediate and advanced).

The training was aimed at Likewize’s warehousing team, where for many English was not their native language. The business invested in their staff development by onboarding the skilled adult learning team at Cheshire College who in turn created bespoke learning courses for the employees - providing them with the opportunity to develop skills, improve in their roles, and open future career opportunities.

The secret to success was to ensure that the learning was flexible and able to fit around the person’s lifestyle, but to also offer nationally recognised qualifications that support both the business in improved productivity and student with future opportunities.

Cheryl Jackson, Learning and Development Manager at Likewize said: “We are focussed on providing the opportunity for colleagues to learn and develop at all levels of the organisation.

“We approached Cheshire College to help us deliver this learning and were able to develop close working relationships with the staff and tutors. With a small investment in time, it was great to see colleagues develop skills, become more confident and improve their effectiveness. As well as gaining important skills, we’ve found that by investing in our colleague’s development, there are greater levels of engagement which also helps to improve overall performance.

“English and IT skills are fundamental in business, so by partnering with Cheshire College we’ve been able to support our colleagues both in their current roles and their longer-term futures.”

To support adult students there is also a wide range of financial support, whether in the form of an Advanced Student Loan Bursary or an Adult Education Budget. Applications for financial support can be made through the College where there is a team dedicated to making it as simple as possible.

By providing flexible learning opportunities and a wide range of courses, both directly or through private sector partnerships, Cheshire College - South & West hopes that adults will be encouraged back to learning so they can advance their careers or retrain and or make a childhood passion a reality.