Retired nurse Gillian Evans has relished the opportunity to keep learning onZoom during the pandemic.
The WEA allows me to catch up on areas of history and culture that I neglected during my working life. When I saw the course on the History of Drag with Caroline Baylis-Green, I quickly signed up. I’ve always been intrigued by drag. My father was into amateur dramatics and I wanted to know what makes these performers tick.
The Zoom sessions allowed us to interact with some drag artists, which was very exciting. I was nervous about joining. Would I be accepted in the group? What would they think of me wanting to find out more about them? Happily, everybody was extremely welcoming. Drag artists are quite self-opinionated people who care a lot about how they are seen. Besides, Zoom brings a degree of distance and protection – in the same way that a uniform gives you more confidence to ask questions you might not ask as ‘yourself’.
Caroline was excellent. She didn’t push anything very hard
at first, but made us think a lot about what we were looking at. I previously
thought drag was about men dressing up as women, like they did in Shakespeare’s
day. But that was more necessity, as men had to play the female part. Today, drag
has evolved into a real art form. It’s highly skilled, and it’s quite an
expensive interest too. The makeup is absolutely exquisite. Their clothes and physiques
are immaculate. The whole ethos of drag is a wonderful way of expressing how
they’re feeling, which comes very much from within. You can’t make yourself do
this unless it comes right from inside you.
Queens use drag as a leisure part of their normal lives –
they are delightful folk spending a considerable amount of money on their
clothes, make up, wigs and general presentation to bring the very best to their
audiences.
I’ve always been interested in computers and tried to keep
up to date, so the transition to Zoom was straightforward. I was able to
continue to volunteer at a local hospice, which got me out the front door and
gave me a link to my past career. But as lockdown has continued, so the
incarceration has become more of a dirge for me and my friends. The physical
interaction of a coffee morning is hard to replace.
The WEA has helped enormously. They really pulled their finger out, right at the start, and put on a mass of courses across the board, which has given us something to hold onto. I’ve appreciated their support immensely.
Following Monday’s Guardian editorial, today it carries letters on the importance of adult education from Richard Taylor, Donald Hawthorn, Professor David Latchman, Dee Thomas, Lesli Wilson, Kevin Ward, Eva Tutchell, John Boaler, and Rose Harvie.
There have also been hundreds of responses to the editorial. You can read them here.
In this blog, Julie Nugent and Clare Hatton explain the West Midlands Combined Authority’s skills and adult learning response to the pandemic.
When
Coronavirus hit in March 2020 it presented our region, like others across the
country, with new social and economic challenges. Research suggested that the
West Midlands could be the hardest-hit region – and indeed we have seen levels
of unemployment spike.
Disadvantaged
residents, young people and BAME communities have suffered the most. We have
also seen an unprecedented surge in the number of adults requiring retraining
and upskilling as they navigate a new job market during, and post
Covid-19.
A solid
foundation
Yet we feel
we were well prepared to respond to the crisis. At the start of the 2019/20
academic year, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) took ownership of
the £126 million Adult Education Budget (AEB) for the West Midlands. This was
in an effort to align skills delivery with the wider economic strategy for the
region, ensuring more people were able to get into jobs, had accessible
opportunities to build skills, and could develop career opportunities through
strong and inclusive further education (FE) and skills provision.
While the
impact of the pandemic is far from over, we have been able to adapt swiftly to
become flexible and receptive to the challenges we face. Our recovery plans
involved working closely with employers, businesses, governmental bodies,
charities, and educators to monitor the landscape and stay ahead of the curve.
Doing this has allowed us to create and tailor programmes that provide the
right level of training, across key sectors, to help get people back into
employment as quickly as possible.
Challenges
The West
Midlands is the largest regional economy in the UK, with a labour market of
national significance. Yet as a region, it faces challenges in relation to high
levels of unemployment, low productivity, a shortage of skills and limited
social mobility. However, recognising the need for greater insight to identify
the causes and address these issues, at the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA),
we set out in 2019 to deliver a better match between the skills of the people
in the region and the current and future needs of businesses, to accelerate
productivity and deliver economic growth.
It wasn’t long
before our strategy was showing real promise. By the end of 2019, the
employment rate in the region was at a record high, with 75.5 per cent (2.82
million) of people in work. Productivity was improving at a faster rate than
the national average, and the working age population was more qualified than
ever before. The training funded through the WMCA was delivering even more
economic impact for the region with provision increasingly focused on getting
people into jobs, on delivering higher level skills and developing our pilot
programmes alongside employers, providers and job centres to ensure courses
equipped people with the skills they needed to fill their recruitment gaps.
Our WMCA
regional skills plan has been central to this success; understanding the needs
of the region, forming partnerships and adding value were central to driving this
meaningful and lasting change. As part of this, we have worked closely
alongside various key stakeholders including Local Authorities, Local
Enterprise Partnerships, TUC, Colleges, Universities, training providers, Adult
and Community Learning organisations and the voluntary sector, to build on the
work they are already undertaking and create robust, and high-quality education
and training for the diverse communities we serve. We have also forged strong
employer relationships to identify the skills needed to help them grow and
thrive both now and, in the future, and ensure we have provision that is fit
for purpose and gets people into jobs.
Dealing
with the pandemic
For example,
we know there are recruitment and skills shortages in construction, advanced
manufacturing and engineering, business, and professional services as well as
digital skills. Therefore, we have been focusing on these areas to match the
demand with the newly acquired skills gained by those seeking employment and
retraining.
The WMCA
currently spends around 72 per cent of its adult education budget on unemployed
adults, with a large portion of this attributed to basic level English and
maths training. However, assessing recent events and the needs emerging from
this crisis, we now have a mixed pool of adults and skilled professionals
looking for new jobs or wanting to start their own businesses. Therefore, in
the absence of any additional funding, we have adapted our FE provision needs to
meet these new demands and provide accessible, engaging and skill-appropriate
content.
When
allocating the AEB, we need to be fluid with our funding to meet the demands of
the local economy and react accordingly to the ever-changing landscape. For us,
this has meant working closely with colleges and businesses to identify the
provision needed and provide the most suitable training to fill the employment
gaps. This doesn’t just span sector-based skills either, but also includes accessible
training for workplace wellbeing, in order to support the wider employee health
and wellbeing agenda and help employers with productivity and engagement
levels.
Covid-19 has
also impacted the way training is delivered, and we have seen a greater shift
to online delivery and blended learning options to provide a greater access to
skills. We have also created new training opportunities through our free sector
work-based programmes which provide a clear roadmap to help people get back on
track, particularly if they are unemployed, have been furloughed or are worried
about their current employment prospects.
Our Construction
Gateway programme provides formal, job entry construction training through
both online provision and practical onsite experience with Tier 1 employers and
their supply chain. It has so far helped over 2,000 residents over two years,
with over 50 per cent of those securing skilled career opportunities within a
matter of weeks of completion. Since Covid-19, we have had to adapt the
programme and shift to online training which has not only provided a bridge for people to build skills and
experience without having to physically be on-site or in the classroom, but
also presented a timely opportunity for the construction workforce to continue
adapting to new ways of working. For example, new technological developments,
such as GPS machine controls, are entering the construction industry –
demonstrating a need for workers to continually evolve with the sector
regardless of Covid-19.
Our community learning
providers have risen to the challenge of supporting people with the skills they
need to prepare them for work but also for life – digital skills so they can
access services and support children with home schooling and wrap around
support to ensure people remain connected to support their mental health.
Keeping communities and residents engaged in learning through the pandemic is
critical to ensure they are supported with their goals.
Looking
ahead
Further
education is critical in safeguarding the region’s employment opportunities and
supporting our economic recovery, providing people with the training and skills
required to thrive in the workplace. Crucial to this success has been our investment
and commitment into a place-based approach to FE and skills, working closely
alongside employers to deliver exactly what they need, while adapting to the
changing landscape.
By
working together and reacting swiftly and effectively to regional demands and a
diverse audience, we believe we have a clear roadmap to navigate the pandemic,
reboot our economy and accelerate growth in key sectors.
Dr Julie Nugent is Director of Skills and Productivity at the West Midlands Combined Authority. She has held a range of senior roles across government and further education, with particular expertise in financing further education, having developed new funding systems for the Skills Funding Agency and the Learning and Skills Council. Julie has worked in the Black Country and in Birmingham – strengthening her understanding of skills in improving economic competitiveness and people’s life chances. Recently Julie led on the West Midlands negotiations with Government securing the first Skills Deal in the country with additional investment of £100 million to develop the region’s skills.
Clare Hatton is Head of Skills Delivery at the West Midlands Combined Authority, leading on the delivery of the WMCA’s skills portfolio. This includes the recently-devolved £130m Adult Education Budget and a range of pilot initiatives including digital retraining, and employment support pilots. She works with regional partners to shape support for skills and employment aligned to priority growth sectors, particularly those targeted through the Local Industrial Strategy, driving up skill levels to secure sustainable employment, enhance skills and improve productivity. Previously, Clare worked for the Learning and Skills Council in senior policy roles, for PWC in their public sector practice supporting a range of national and government clients, and spent four years working in the senior leadership team at City College Coventry.
Today, The Guardian‘s editorial argues for bringing back adult education. It refers to and draws on the Centenary Commission’s report. You can read the editorial online here.
On 13th March 2021, The Economist published a letter from Professor Jonathan Michie, Centenary Commission joint secretary, in response to its leader (‘How to make sparks fly’, 27th February 27th – published online as ‘Lessons from Britain’s pandemic on promoting innovation‘). The Economist‘s content is behind a paywall. This is the text of Jonathan’s letter:
Your ingredients for innovation include “good education” (“How to make sparks fly”, February 27th). Quite so. “Good” should mean broad based, crossing disciplinary ranges, and lifelong. This needs stressing, as governments too often take a narrow view, emphasising skills training, STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and education ending at age 18 or 21. When Britain faced its ultimate STEM-based challenge, breaking the Nazi codes at Bletchley, which included developing the world’s first digital programmable computer, researchers were recruited from across the disciplinary spectrum.
In 1919 the British Ministry of Reconstruction’s report on adult educationurged “good education” so that the newly extended electorate could think critically and weigh evidence. It also had the foresight to warn that unknown industries and technologies were on the horizon, so it was no use just training workers for today’s skills. A workforce had to have the capabilities to make the most of new technologies as they emerged.
The Bank of England’s chief economist argued 100 years later, in a centenary report on adult education, that “the education system of tomorrow needs to span the generational spectrum—young to old—and the skills spectrum—cognitive to vocational to interpersonal.”
JONATHAN MICHIE Professor of innovation and knowledge exchange University of Oxford
Calls for a new movement to persuade Government to put adult education at the heart of its plans to rebuild were heard last night at the second of the Centenary Commission’s ‘Build Back Bolder’ campaign launch gatherings.
The gathering was chaired by the former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow and the panellists were Lord (Karan) Bilimoria, President of the Confederation of British Industry, Robert Halfon, MP, Chair of the House of Commons Education Committee, Sir Alan Tuckett, Vice Chair of the Centenary Commission on Adult Education and former Chief Executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, and Baroness (Alison) Wolf, Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management, Kings College, London and advisor to the Prime Minister on Further Education policy.
Baroness Wolf said there had been a ‘disappearance’ of broad adult education under successive Governments:
“I have to say it’s not just this Government,” she said. But all governments needed to address the need for lifelong learning as opposed to training: “It’s all very well to get rich, what are you getting rich for? So you train in order to get rich, in order to pay more taxes, to train to get richer. At what point do you actually use any of this to do stuff that makes you into a better and more rounded human being?
“Obviously people have to have good jobs. We have to make the economy prosperous. But what about education? Should we be thinking about it more specifically?” she asked.
Long-term decline
Robert Halfon said participation in adult education had fallen to its lowest level in 23 years, with 38 per cent of adults not participating in any learning since leaving full-time education. That rose to almost half of the poorest in society, he said.
“The fourth Industrial Revolution may represent opportunities, but only if people are trained and reskilled now,” he said. “Of course the Government is doing some good things -the Skills for Jobs White Paper, the Lifetime Skills guarantee. But what we do need is an ambitious long-term funding settlement for adult education, and what I’d like to see and am passionate about is a Community Learning Centre in every town.”
Lord Bilimoria said the CBI had welcomed the Prime Minister’s initiatives to solve urgent skills challenges which had arisen in the pandemic, but more needed to be done.
“Nine out of ten employees will need to reskill by 2030 at an additional cost of £13 billion, and Covid of course is accelerating the change in the way we work. We must use this momentum to drive a national rescaling effort,” he said.
Sir Alan Tuckett said a major issue was the top-down approach of Governments to adult education:
“Why does the Government want to limit it to those courses if approves?” he asked. “People need to do that for themselves. Time after time we are told employers should be at the heart of the new strategy – my feeling is we’ve done that year after year. So what I want to see is a national strategy, locally determined,” he said.
John Bercow said all the speakers had displayed a passion for the topic, and that should be harnessed.
“I have felt that these webinars this week have been infused with a passion for an adult education and lifelong learning renaissance in this country. Transforming the immediate sense of excitement into something that is durable, tangible and effective requires statecraft, allocation of resources and considerable persistence, so there is a long way to go. But I hope that people who have taken part have felt genuinely energized by the experience.
“In the name both of upskilling and more importantly of human enrichment it is something that should endure and be a resonant feature of our lives, from cradle to grave,” he said.
Adult education must be pushed up the political agenda so it cannot be ignored, the former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said last night at the launch event of the Centenary Commission’s Build Back Bolder campaign.
Chairing a webinar with the Commission’s chair Dame Helen Ghosh, former Secretary of State for Education David Blunkett, Oxford historian Professor Selina Todd and Helen Chicot, who spearheaded innovative approaches to lifelong learning in Rochdale, Mr Bercow said the panel had displayed a shared sense of passion on the issue.
“Whatever your politics I get a sense that there is a
very proper impatience to better; a
mission to ensure a kind of crystallization of ideas about where we go
next,” he said.
“I
think we all feel very strongly about it.
I always think that you have to catapult a thing from the back of a
decision-makers mind to the front of her or his mind and keep it there, “ he
said.
Dame Helen Ghosh said there was great resonance between today’s issues and those facing the original Commission on Adult Education in 1919.
“ The
1919 report was a wonderful thing: It had in it the words we used for our
title: that adult education was a
‘permanent national necessity and an essential aspect of citizenship -universal
and lifelong. Both the Brexit debate and now the pandemic have shown we live in
a society sadly full of inequalities, and people who have been left behind. So
every citizen needs to be engaged,” she said.
Taking
control of lives
Lord Blunkett said that for many people lifelong learning was not a second chance, but a first chance: “Being able to take control of their own lives when technological change has overcome them, the ability to cope with rapid social and cultural change, makes adult learning absolutely crucial.
“ I’m
afraid adult learning has taken a hell of a hit – between 2001 and 2011, 14
million people took up life skills or basic skills, often just learning to read
and to write and to add up: the literacy part of that was the most successful.
It dropped by a half from 2016 to last year with the pandemic,” he said. “We’ve
never needed as we need it today the ability of people to be able to adapt to
new circumstances to find that they have talent; the ability of people to be
able to see that they have new opportunities as old ones disappear,” he said.
Professor Todd said that on International Women’s Day the need to make women’s education a priority should be a focus.
“In the
early 1960s the Robbins report pointed out that in an advanced society we
should want everyone to have an advanced education,” she said. “That’s never
been truer than today: to get through this crisis, to get through the climate
emergency, to work out how we negotiate with automation, we need new solutions
and new people at the top,” she said.
Learning
to trust
Helen Chicot said Rochdale’s experience in the last year had been instructive:
“We’ve
had more time in lockdown than anywhere else, and the relationship between
communities and institutions has changed for the better,” she said. “Complete clarity of purpose in our
communities has meant that we’ve learned to trust each other. Learning is such
an important part of cohesion and reducing inequality, and clearly that’s a complex
issue.
“Trust
– being able to go to a class, to a safe space where we can become confident in
what we know and share that with others – that’s why learning is important now
for adults. if we’re lucky we can be confident
that we can start to take those steps, and we know who we can ask for
help. if we’re really lucky someone helps us to take action to find out how to
do those things – because as things currently stand it’s only if we’re lucky
that we can learn,” she said.
On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2021, former Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow chaired a fascinating discussion on Why do we need adult education now? with Lord (David) Blunkett, former Secretary of State for Education & Home Secretary, Helen Chicot, Place Integration Lead at Rochdale Borough Council, Dame Helen Ghosh, Chair of the Centenary Commission on Adult Education and Master of Balliol College, Oxford, and Professor Selina Todd, Professor of Modern History at Oxford University and author of Snakes and Ladders: The great British social mobility myth. You can watch and listen to a recording here.
In the Mail Online, Dame Helen Ghosh comments on what she calls ‘worrying figures’ which show ‘the extent of education inequalities in our country’. ‘As we emerge from the pandemic,’ she urged government ‘to rebuild lifelong learning as a key part of their commitment to levelling up’.
Read ‘One fifth of adults in the country’s ‘education blackspots’ have NO academic qualifications, figures reveal’ (8 March 2021) here.
On 8 March 2021 The Daily Telegraph publishes a letter from leading figures in public life, culture and education on the importance of adult and lifelong learning. Signatories include former cabinet ministers and ministers of education, university vice chancellors, leaders of adult and further education, heads of Oxford and Cambridge colleges, most university professors who research adult learning, and leading trade unionists. For reasons of space The Daily Telegraph could not print all the 137 signatories; they are listed below.
As schools and colleges return, we must not neglect the millions of adults whose lives have been upended by the pandemic. The government’s ‘skills revolution’ is valuable, but only a start. We need skills for life, not just ‘skills for jobs’. Broad and flexible adult education builds community, strengthens mental health, and helps people lead fulfilling lives. Nine million adults in England still struggle even with the essential skills of reading, writing, and computing. We urgently call for: a properly funded national strategy led by a dedicated lifelong learning minister; a community learning centre in every town; money for individuals and groups to shape their own learning; new regional partnerships between local and regional authorities, voluntary groups, universities and FE colleges; restoration of the Union Learning Fund; and requiring universities to provide adult education in their communities. Post-pandemic investment in wider adult education will pay real dividends. No-one must be left behind.
Dame Helen Ghosh, Chair of the Centenary Commission on Adult Education; Master of Balliol College, Oxford Sir Alan Tuckett, Vice-Chair of the Centenary Commission; former Chief Executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education
Other signatories are:
Former Members of the Cabinet and Education ministers: Lord (David) Blunkett, former Secretary of State for Education & Employment Lord Boswell of Aynho, former Conservative MP and Education Minister; Baroness (Virginia) Bottomley, Chancellor University of Hull; former Secretary of State for Health and for National Heritage; Sir Vince Cable, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills; Lord (Jim) Knight of Weymouth, former Minister of State for Education and Skills; Baroness (Estelle) Morris, former Secretary of State for Education; Lord (Chris) Smith, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge and former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; Baroness (Ann) Taylor, former Leader of the House of Commons and Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee.
Other leading politicians: Lord (Neil) Kinnock, former WEA Tutor/Organiser, Leader of the Opposition and European Commissioner John Bercow, former Speaker of the House of Commons Daisy Cooper, MP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Education Baroness (Sue) Garden of Frognal, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Further & Higher Education, House of Lords Margaret Greenwood, MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central Ian Mearns, MP for Gateshead, member of House of Commons Education Select Committee Baroness (Julie) Smith of Newnham, Fellow of Robinson College, Cambridge Lord (Mike) Storey, Liberal Democrat House of Lords spokesperson on Education Gordon Marsden, former Shadow Minister for Higher & Further Education and Skills
Former leading civil servants: Lord (Bob) Kerslake, former Head of the Home Civil Service Dame Helen Ghosh, former Permanent Secretary at the Home Office
Mayors and officials of regional Combined Authorities: Dan Jarvis, MP, Mayor of Sheffield City Region; Jamie Driscoll, Mayor, North of Tyne Combined Authority; Julie Nugent, Director of Productivity and Skills, West Midlands Combined Authority.
Vice Chancellors and former vice chancellors: Professor Tim Blackman, Vice-Chancellor, The Open University Professor ProfessorJackie Dunne, Vice-Chancellor, Newman University, Birmingham Professor David Latchman, Vice Chancellor, Birkbeck University of London Professor Geoff Layer, Vice-Chancellor, University of Wolverhampton Rev. Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice-Chancellor, Bishop Grossteste University, Lincoln Professor Sir Rick Trainor, Rector, Exeter College, Oxford; former President of King’s College London and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University Professor RamaThirunamachandran, Vice-Chancellor & Principal, Canterbury Christ Church University; Sir Peter Scott, former Vice-Chancellor, Kingston University and Editor, The Times Higher Education Supplement Sir Anthony Seldon, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Buckingham Mary Stuart, Vice-Chancellor, University of Lincoln
Heads and former heads of Oxford and Cambridge colleges: Dame Helen Ghosh, Master of Balliol College, Oxford and Chair of the Centenary Commission on Adult Education Will Hutton, journalist; former Principal, Hertford College, Oxford Baroness (Helena) Kennedy, QC, author of seminal report on Further Education, Learning Works, former Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford ProfessorJonathan Michie, President of Kellogg College, Oxford and Chair, Universities Association for Lifelong Learning Dr Alice Prochaska, former Principal, Somerville College Oxford Professor Sir Rick Trainor, Rector, Exeter College, Oxford Baroness (Jan) Royall, PC, Principal of Somerville College, Oxford Lord (Chris) Smith, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge and former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Other Higher Education leaders: Baroness (Joan) Bakewell, DBE, President, Birkbeck University of London Mary Curnock Cook, CBE, former Chief Executive of UCAS TimMelville-Ross, CBE, former Chair, Higher Education Funding Council for England Paul Manners, Director, National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement Professor Graeme Atherton, Director, National Education Opportunities Network (NEON)
Leaders of Adult and Further Education: David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges Simon Parkinson, CEO and General Secretary, WEA Dr Susan Pember, CBE, Director of Policy, Holex, the professional body for Adult Community Education and Learning Dame Ruth Silver, President, Further Education Trust for Leadership, former Principal of Lewisham College Stephen Evans, Chief Executive, Learning & Work Institute Liz Bromley, Chief Executive, NCG, one of UK’s largest FE college groups Kirstie Donnelly, MBE, Chief Executive, City & Guilds Group Mark Malcomson, CBE, Principal and Chief Executive, The City Lit, London Yultan Mellor, Principal, Northern College of Adult Education, Barnsley Mel Lenehan, Principal, Fircroft College of Adult Education, Birmingham Ros Morpeth, OBE, Chief Executive, National Extension College Dr Cilla Ross, Principal, Co-operative College Andrew Cropley, Principal and Chief Executive, Vision West Nottinghamshire College Helen Hammond, Principal, Working Men’s College, London Paul di Felice, Principal, Ruskin College, Oxford Gabrielle Flint, Principal, Richmond & Hillcroft Adult & Community College Dr Andrew Gower, Principal & Chief Executive, Morley College, London Dr Rob Hindle, Senior Area Education Manager, Yorkshire and Humberside Region WEA Suzanna Jackson, Warden, Mary Ward Settlement, London Dame Moira Gibb, Chair of Governors, The City Lit. Jol Miskin, adult educator; former Regional Education Manager, WEA Ruth Spellman, OBE, former General Secretary, WEA Nigel Todd, Chair of Trustees, The Co-operative College Professor Sir Alan Tuckett, Vice-Chair of the Centenary Commission, former CEO of NIACE Matt Waddup, Co-founder, Right2Learn campaign Jill Westerman, CBE, Vice Chair, Further Education Trust for Leadership, former Principal of Northern College, Governor of the City Lit.
Public figures and opinion leaders: Baroness (Joan) Bakewell, DBE, President, Birkbeck University of London Helen Barnard, Director, Joseph Rowntree Foundation Dr Sharon Clancy, Chair, Raymond Williams Foundation Rod Clark, Chief Executive, Prisoners’ Education Trust Sir Jon Coles, Group Chief Executive,United Learning Trust Uzo Iwobi, OBE, Chief Executive, Race Council Cymru Judith Judd, Former Editor, The Times Educational Supplement Grayson Perry, CBE, RA, artist HisHonour John Samuels, QC, President, Prisoners’ Education Trust Philippa Perry, psychotherapist and author Professor Anna Vignoles, CBE, FBA, Director, Leverhulme Trust (in a personal capacity).
Trade Union leaders: Frances O’Grady, General Secretary, Trades Union Congress Lord (John) Monks, former General Secretary, Trades Union Congress Roz Foyer, General Secretary, Scottish Trades Union Congress Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary, National Education Union Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary, National Education Union DrJo Grady, General Secretary, University and College Union Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, General Federation of Trade Unions Dave Ward, General Secretary, Communication Workers’ Union Sarah Woolley, General Secretary, Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union Kate Dearden, Head of Research, Policy & External Relations, Community the Union Kate Hudson, Head of Equality, Education & Development, Communication Workers Union DeborahLawson, Assistant General Secretary, Community union Roger McKenzie, Assistant General Secretary, Unison Jim Mowatt, Director of Education, Unite the union Tom Wilson, former Director of Unionlearn
Leading academics and researchers on adult learning: Ann-Marie Bathmaker, Professor of Vocational & Higher Education, University of Birmingham David Barton, Emeritus Professor of Language and Literacy, Lancaster University Greg Brooks, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Sheffield Ellen Boeren, Professor of Adult Education, University of Glasgow Lalage Bown, OBE, Emeritus Professor of Adult Education, University of Glasgow John Bynner, Emeritus Professor of Social Sciences in Education, UCL Claire Callender, OBE, Professor of Higher Education, Birkbeck & UCL Frank Coffield, Emeritus Professor of Education, UCL Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford; Vicky Duckworth, Professor of Education, Edge Hill University; Karen Evans, Emeritus Professor of Education, UCL John Field, Professor Emeritus of Lifelong Learning, University of Stirling Alan Felstead, Research Professor, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University Alison Fuller, Professor of Vocational Education and Work, UCL Andy Green, Professor of Comparative Social Science, UCL Francis Green, Professor of Work and Education Economics, UCL Mary Hamilton, Professor Emerita of Adult Learning and Literacy, Lancaster University John Holford, Robert Peers Professor of Adult Education, University of Nottingham David James, Professor of Sociology of Education, University of Cardiff Hugh Lauder, Professor of Education and Political Economy, University of Bath Professor Ewart Keep, Emeritus Professor of Education, Training and Skills, University of Oxford Lorna Unwin, OBE, Professor Emerita of Vocational Education, UCL Dr Melissa Highton, Assistant Principal for Online Learning, University of Edinburgh Simon McGrath, UNESCO Professor of International Education & Development, University of Nottingham Michael Osborne, Professor of Adult and Lifelong Learning, University of Glasgow Gemma Moss, Professor of Literacy, UCL Diane Reay, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Cambridge Sheila Riddell, Professor of Inclusion and Diversity, University of Edinburgh Susan Robertson, Professor of Education, University of Cambridge ProfessorTom Schuller, formerly Head of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, OECD and Director, National Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning (2008-2010) Rob Smith, Professor of Education, Birmingham City University Linden West, Professor of Education, Canterbury Christ Church University Tom Sperlinger, Professor of Literature and Academic Lead for Engagement for the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, University of Bristol Howard Stevenson, Professor of Education, University of Nottingham Richard Taylor, former Professor and Director of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning at Cambridge and Leeds Universities Lyn Tett, Professor Emerita of Community Education, University of Huddersfield Professor Maria Slowey, Director, Higher Education Research Centre, Dublin City University Selina Todd, Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford ProfessorSue Webb, former Director of Lifelong Learning, University of Sheffield Volker Wedekind, Professor of Vocational Education, University of Nottingham Miriam Zukas, Professor Emerita and former Executive Dean, Birkbeck, University of London
