Member Article

Cost-of-living crisis stopping West Midlands adults from engaging in retraining and upskilling

Childcare and other cost of living crisis issues have become barriers to adults retraining, according to a new poll by a major West Midlands college group.

BMet College, operator of three colleges across Birmingham, commissioned polling company Survation to poll 1,000 adults across the West Midlands on their attitudes towards education.

It found that nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of adults across Birmingham and the West Midlands would consider returning to education, but many are being held back by the cost of living.

The survey results will increase the attention on what Jeremy Hunt can deliver from the several initiatives he included in the Spring Budget to encourage older people to return to work.

Over a third say cost puts them off adult education

Ninety-two per cent of respondents said they left education before the age of 25, but sixty per cent would consider returning to education. However, just 13 per cent would consider returning full-time with the majority being open to returning part-time.

Of those who would not consider returning to education, over a third of adults cited cost as the reason while a similar proportion cited time constraints.

Other barriers cited by respondents include “childcare,” “my health,” and that they find it “hard to learn certain things”.

Respondents also said they were “too old” to take part in education and around a quarter of those polled believe the cut-off age for participating in formal education was 25. Adults can attend college or university and gain qualifications at any time.

Chancellor puts faith in new initiatives to re-engage adults

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced a range of programmes to support older people who have left the workforce to re-enter employment. This includes so-called ‘returnerships’ which will promote existing programmes such as skills bootcamps.

The government is also keen to encourage adults back into education through a new Lifelong Loan Entitlement, which will give adults access to a loan worth “four years’ post-18 study,” or £37,000. Legislation to roll out the policy in 2025 was put before Parliament last month.

Yet BMet’s polling found 60 per cent of Birmingham adults and 70 per cent of West Midlands adults are not aware of the entitlement. Just 13 per cent of respondents from across the region said they were ‘strongly aware’.

Adults can benefit from range of courses on their doorstep

These findings come as BMet is enrolling students from across the age range on its wide array of courses, including part-time study opportunities and degree-level courses.

BMet principal and chief executive Pat Carvalho commented: “While these survey findings demonstrate that there is a great enthusiasm in the West Midlands for adult education, we are also concerned by many of the findings.

“Many adults feel they are being held back from taking part in education by a lack of income and time. That a quarter think they are too old to take part in formal education is also a damning indictment of society’s attitudes towards adult education.

“We will be ramping up our efforts to communicate to our local community that further education is much more accessible and affordable than they might think. We also want to show potential learners how education and training can open many new doors for not just their career, but their social and family life.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Eleanor Thomas .