One in Three? The Incidence and Outcomes Associated with the Late Attainment of Qualifications in the United Kingdom

Successive governments in the United Kingdom have consistently attempted to increase the skills base by encouraging younger members of society to remain in education, increasing access to higher and further education and by removing barriers to learning later in life.

Although there are estimates of the incidence of educational participation² and the economic rewards achieved by those in possession of formally recognised qualifications, either in terms of labour market outcomes or earnings, little is known about the personal or family characteristics associated with those engaged in learning later in life. There is no formal definition of what exactly late learning refers to, insufficient quantitative information³ relating to the incidence of adult learning, the associated costs and benefits or even whether the type of qualification or the method by which the qualification is undertaken is important. This article makes a provisional attempt to answer some of these questions. The conclusions are not intended to be definitive, but should be seen as a basis for other possible research work. However, some conclusions are clear and unambiguous. Learning undertaken later in life is widespread. Approximately one in three of the hours of education and training received by working-age individuals in the United Kingdom are attributable to those above the age of 25.

This figure is substantially higher than the received wisdom in the academic arena. The costs and benefits associated with learning later in life remain difficult to compute due to the data limitations; however, it is illustrated that there is a sizeable penalty in terms of hourly wages and hours worked for late learners. Additional work must be undertaken as superior sources of data become available, as this area of work is currently under-researched. Rather than being at the periphery of education and training policy in the United Kingdom, late learning should continue to be seen as an important pillar within the general attempt to build the knowledge base within the United Kingdom.