Lifelong Learning: Bridging the Gap between Higher Education and Employers' Needs

Abstract

Promoting the lifelong learning agenda is a clear aspiration within many higher education establishments. But can this aspiration be achieved without rethinking the way in which learning is approached and delivered? The UK government's agenda is targeted at increasing skill levels within business and industry through the delivery of lifelong learning activities, thus enhancing the competitiveness of UK companies. However, to encourage people to participate when they have not engaged in formal learning for some time may be problematic if the benefits of participation are not evidently relevant to them. This paper outlines an approach to lifelong learning that has provided a bridge between the needs of small and medium-sized firms in the North East of England and the University of Northumbria. The learners were Armed Forces personnel who had either left the services with no job to go to, or who were in the process of resettlement, with little idea of employment opportunities open to them in the future. Part of the challenge was to ‘match’ the existing skills of participants to the needs of local employers and to encourage new learning to help make the transition from service to civilian life as smooth as possible.