A paper examined the impact of lifelong learning on poverty reduction. It investigated whether increasing participation in adult education, and an improvement in skills over more than a decade, had been accompanied by reductions in poverty for the population. The overall conclusion was that participating in adult learning could help substantially to reduce poverty.
Source: Ricardo Sabates, The Impact of Lifelong Learning on Poverty Reduction, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (0116 204 4200)
Links: Paper
Date: 2008-Nov
A study of the economic impact of further education colleges in England found that the contribution of past and present learners who had studied at the colleges over the previous 15 years was approximately £28 billion in added income to the national economy in 2006-07. For every £1 invested by government in colleges, the taxpayer saw a return on investment of £1.70.
Source: EMSI, The Economic Contribution of England's Further Education Colleges, Association of Colleges (020 7827 4600)
Links: Summary | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Nov
A report examined the extent and source of variation in the graduate earnings premium. There were substantial variations in earnings according to: gender, the degree subject studied, the region of employment, and the occupation and industry of employment. Compared to an otherwise identical female graduate, male graduates earned, on average, 3.8 per cent more.
Source: Alan Ramsey, Graduate Earnings: An Econometric Analysis of Returns, Inequality and Deprivation across the UK, Department for Employment and Learning/Northern Ireland Executive (028 9025 7777)
Links: Report | Summary | NIE press release
Date: 2008-Nov
Researchers examined the extent to which qualifications, when acquired in a person's late twenties and early thirties, led to beneficial changes in a person's wages or employment prospects; and/or encouraged progression to other learning. Acquiring an NVQ2 qualification between the ages of 26 and 34 was found to have, on average, a strong, positive effect on wages of around 20 per cent.
Source: Augustin De Coulon and Anna Vignoles, An Analysis of the Benefit of NVQ2 Qualifications Acquired at Age 26-34, Research Brief CEE-08-02, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 5555)
Links: Brief
Date: 2008-Oct
A report examined the benefits to be expected from learning as a lifetime experience. It said that 70-90 per cent of young people who would go on to experience serious deprivation in their adult years could be identified while still in primary school from what was known about their personal and family circumstances.
Source: Leon Feinstein, David Budge, John Vorhaus and Kathryn Duckworth (eds.), The Social and Personal Benefits of Learning: A summary of key research findings, Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning/University of London (020 7612 6291)
Links: Report | IOE press release
Date: 2008-Oct
A study examined the economic value of basic skills in the labour market. Literacy and numeracy skills were found to have retained their high value in the labour market over the period 1995 to 2004, despite numerous policy attempts to increase the supply of these skills during this period.
Source: Anna Vignoles, Augustin de Coulon and Oscar Marcenaro-Gutierrez, The Value of Basic Skills in the British Labour Market, National Research Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy/Institute of Education (020 7612 6476)
Date: 2008-Oct
A think-tank report said that the government had 'ludicrously over-estimated' the benefits of raising the education and training leaving age to 18, and massively under-estimated the costs. The policy would almost certainly have a serious, negative impact on the job market for young people.
Source: Alison Wolf, Diminished Returns: How raising the leaving age will harm young people and the economy, Policy Exchange (020 7340 2650)
Date: 2008-Jan
A survey examined the impact of further education on employability, for learners aged 20-55 who had had fee remission because they were receiving out-of-work benefits. The findings showed statistically significant positive effects from learning for welfare benefit recipients, in terms both of moving into work and of improving employability.
Source: Impact of Learning on Employability, Learning and Skills Council (0870 900 6800)
Date: 2008-Jan
