Last week was Get The Nation Learning Week. Read WEA CEO @simonparkinson.bsky.social blog reflecting on the week gone by: bit.ly/4nDfRCk #getthenationlearning

Genuinely delighted to get a question re lifelong learning on @polcurrency.bsky.social. Do have a listen to the full excellent podcast & hear Ed Balls & George Osborne’s thoughts on lifelong learning. Personal achievement: unlocked. #GetTheNationLearning

Read about our #GetTheNationLearning award winners in @feweek.bsky.social! 🏆 And discover their stories in full on our website: getthenationlearning.org.uk/award-winners/

*Have new WCA claims exploded in the last year?* My new blog post on (another) mess in DWP statistics... inequalities.substack.com/p/have-new-w...

We've joined the Get the Nation Learning campaign by @learnworkuk.bsky.social by signing their charter where we pledge to champion lifelong learning, lead by example, and open up access for everyone Learn more: https://bit.ly/4nKijY3 #Learning #FutureOfWork #Skills

📢 NEW: International case studies reveal how the UK can boost employer investment in skills. Funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org, our study identifying international practice among employers could help the UK increase employer investment in training which has fallen by 30% per employee since 2011.

@officialedballs.bsky.social won our #GetTheNationLearning Lifelong Learning Ambassador Award yesterday. ⭐ And this morning he discussed what the award means to him on Good Morning Britain. 📺 Watch the coverage (00:46:30): www.itv.com/watch/good-m...

⌛ College performance measures for English and maths will be changed so the government can monitor how much time students have in learning before they are entered for resit exams feweek.co.uk/francis-revi...

The #GetTheNationLearning Awards run by @learnworkuk.bsky.social have recognised Manchester City Council with the ‘Regional Growth Award’ for embedding lifelong learning in an economic and social development strategy. Congratulations Manchester! getthenationlearning.org.uk/manchester-c...

It's #GettheNationLearning Week! 🎉 Whatever stage of your career you're at, learning and development can bring lots of benefits - as Ray, one of our careers advisers, explains.

L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social responds to the final report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review published today. ⬇️💬 #lifelonglearning #furthereducation #adulteducation

"Employers need to do more to help people stay in work and return to work, and we know that when employers get it right, it benefits everybody." L&W Deputy Director @elizabethgerard.bsky.social responds to the Keep Britain Working Review. ✍️

Today, we’re at Portcullis House to discuss our #GetTheNationLearning campaign with parliamentarians! Thanks to our partners @ufitrust.bsky.social @citylit.bsky.social @aoc-info.bsky.social and Multiverse. Find out more and sign our charter: getthenationlearning.org.uk/get-the-nati...

"The Govt needs big ideas that can transform lives... A right to learn is one of those." In guest article 2️⃣ of #GetTheNationLearning Week, Graeme Atherton, Vice-Principal, Ruskin College, Oxford (one of our awards finalists) reflects on opportunities presented by the Post-16 Skills White Paper.

We've kicked off! Our chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social opens the awards and welcomes guests. Huge thanks to our sponsors NOCN Group, @et-foundation.bsky.social, @citylit.bsky.social and @ufitrust.bsky.social for making these awards possible. 💫 #GetTheNationLearning

Fantastic to have @officialedballs.bsky.social attend the awards as special guest and receive our Lifelong Learning Ambassador Award. 🏆 #GetTheNationLearning

Stage is set for our Get the Nation Learning awards.

A good summary of the new @learnworkuk.bsky.social adult participation in learning survey & its implications for HE on @wonkhe.bsky.social including ahead of the LLE. Big challenge to tackle the structural inequalities in learning participation. Big focus of our #getthenationlearning campaign.

"Learning gives you options. It builds confidence. It helps you spot opportunities before your competitors do." In guest article 1️⃣ for #GetTheNationLearning Week, Anthony Impey MBE, CEO at Be the Business, explores how thriving businesses are led by people that make workplace learning integral.

Get The Nation Learning Week is here, and WEA is proud to be an official supporter of this national celebration of adult education and lifelong learning. Our latest blog tells you all you need to know about this special week: bit.ly/4hujg4U#GetT...

Good news: more adults are still taking part in learning than pre-pandemic. Bad news: it’s fallen & unequal. Plus employer & govt cuts mean fewer formal opportunities. Matters because learning helps careers, health & life. #getthenationlearning

📉 A post-pandemic boom in adults learning appears to have ended with a sharp dip in the last year, according to a think tank’s annual survey feweek.co.uk/adult-learni...

Welcome to Get the Nation Learning Week. Most people agree we need to learn & update skills more often as working lives lengthen, population ages & life continues to change. But employers & governments are investing less, so participation is stalled & unequal. Join us in trying to change that.

The end of the rip-off economy economist.com/finance-and-...

The fun thing about having a small team working with you is you can say "hey you're spending this week digging for stolen mobile phones in London flowerbeds, I promise you it's a thing". www.londoncentric.media/p/london-pho...

Spotters badge to Paul, a treasure trove of data. I'll dig through more but for now mention these charts. Only c.1 in 10 Searching for Work claimants are still there after 12m. But build up over time (I think) means 40% of current claimants have been SfW for 12m+. Means different policy challenge.

New Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data out this morning (data collected from an employer survey in April 2025). www.ons.gov.uk/releases/emp... Quick thread on main things I have taken from the data

What does the 'post-16 education and skills white paper' mean for equality in education? Read @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social reflections – welcoming its focus on evidence & inequality, and urging that progress be measured by how far reforms close access & success gaps. taso.org.uk/news-blog/ev...

Check out L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social's comment on the Government's post-16 education and skills white paper in @fenews.bsky.social. ⬇️

I think the skills white paper is clear on setting on what the Government wants to focus on (e.g. young people, priority sectors). But is light on how we'll get employers to invest more in training & on wider non economic value of learning. So a good jigsaw (sorry, that's a stretched analogy).

Some good news/ Home Office evaluation of the Refugee Transitions Outcomes Fund - pilot schemes to help employment, housing and integration for newly recognised refugees. Substantially improved employment outcomes & had positive fiscal impacts. www.gov.uk/government/p...

"Lasting change is best delivered by asking employers to lead on how their sectors will invest more in training, reversing the 36 per cent decline since 2005." In @feweek.bsky.social, L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social comments on the Government's plans to get employers to hire within the UK.

A piece of myth-busting essential reading…. on.ft.com/48sdQoR No need for a moral panic about the welfare system

Read L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social's comment on today's labour market statistics from ONS in @personneltoday.bsky.social. 🗞️

Three weeks to go until Get the Nation Learning Week 🙌 Every year, our Strategic Partner @learnworkuk.bsky.social shines a light on making (and winning) the case for lifelong learning We're looking forward to this year's activities Learn more: https://bit.ly/4o9Emb7

"If the Government wants to grasp the opportunity, there’s a chance to take some genuine steps forward." What difference could moving skills to DWP make? 📝 L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social tackles this in @fenews.bsky.social, looking at six areas where a real difference can be made.

Skills have been in a lot of Departments over the years. But here's some things DWP could do including: 1. Devolving more & reducing the proliferation of plans 2. Simplifying & boosting provision esp for young people. 3. Greater focus on career change & essential skills 4. More evidence & open data

Falls in employment seem to be easing, but the labour market is flat. Employment falls, and perhaps not uncoincidentally wage rises (linked partly to NMW rises), largest in sectors like retail & hospitality. Reminder: we need 2m more people in work to hit the Government's 80% employment target.

Connect to Work is a genuinely good idea to join up work & health & help Universal Credit health claimants into work. Some good stuff already happening. But we just need to crack on at this stage. Reminder: this started life as Universal Support under last govt & is still being rolled out!

This was a great report by 5 News and fabulous to hear from adult learners about how low literacy was affecting their lives & how changing that was changing their lives. Adult learning is a good investment for people, the economy & society. #AmbitionSkills

New @learnworkuk.bsky.social report out today. Thanks @feweek.bsky.social for great article on it. Full thread from me tomorrow, delayed by today’s L&W away day (there was truffle making).

We think the V stands for Vocational - but we'll see what the nation's teenagers think... feweek.co.uk/revealed-v-l...

Thrilled to have @lincolnbishopuni.bsky.social join our #DrivingChangeHE project! In partnership with Carers Federation, and supported by @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk, Driving Change in Higher Education is working to improve the support young adult carers receive at university. 🎓

The lowest paid in Britain have enjoyed a 70% rise in the minimum wage over the last 25 years — in real terms. But stagnant median earnings have left the professional classes able neither to afford the lifestyles of the rich, nor to match the upward mobility of those below. My newsletter, out now.

New target for 2/3 young people to do HE or an apprenticeship is probably broadly sensible (abolishing 50% HE target that doesn’t exist is about headlines). But is it ambitious? 25% of YP already do apprenticeships. 50% do HE. Some overlap & likely app drop since this data. But just describing now?

In @feweek.bsky.social, L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social comments on the GLA's plans to introduce sector employer boards in London. 💬 Stephen said he hopes “the new boards will look at increasing employer investment in training, which has fallen 36 per cent in the last 20 years.”

Great to see L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social's comment on the Government's plans to tackle youth unemployment in @feweek.bsky.social. ⬇️📰