What plans does the Government have to address the disparity between full-time and part-time further education students?
The new Commission for Tertiary Education and Research will be tasked to ensure a culture of lifelong learning Wales. The Act sets out the strategic duties of the Commission, and top of the list is a duty on the Commission to promote lifelong learning – that is, to promote opportunities for people to participate in tertiary education throughout their lives from the age of 16, at every level, in a variety of settings and providers, and in a way that meets their diverse needs.
Officials are currently working with sector representatives and our adult learning External Reference Group (ERG) to understand how the regulations made under section 94 can have the widest impact on learners in Wales, and particularly for those who may prefer to learn part-time.
Whilst that sets out the vision for the near future, it should be noted that I have already made significant investment in adult learning to encourage the system wide response to the new legislation.
Our revised adult community learning funding formula has redistributed adult education funding more fairly across Wales, and over the last two years we have allocated just over £11.5 million for adult community learning. A further £4m has also been allocated to local authority adult learning, and also to further education colleges to re-engage the hardest to reach learners in our society.
In addition, our personal learning account programmes give workers the opportunity to gain the skills, knowledge, and qualifications they need to make progress in their career at a time convenient to them. Over 27,000 people have benefited from these new courses since their introduction in 2019, and we have invested over £55 million to build provision. Over the next three years we are allocating a further £52 million in the programme to help employed people upskill and reskill into priority areas.