Mapping investment in adult skills

Which individuals, in what learning and with what returns?

This research was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in order to acquire an up-to-date picture of how funding for adult learners in England is currently targeted, and the costs and benefits of different types of provision and for different types of learner.

The Department wanted to acquire an understanding of how the Adult Skills Budget compares with other funding streams for adult skills, such as investment by employers. They also wished to identify areas of overlap between these funding streams, as well as any gaps in funding.

This would assist BIS in considering where the ASB could be more effectively targeted in order to generate the greatest benefits to learners, society and the economy as a whole, and areas where further information and research was required.

The research incorporates two strands: desk-based research to map, using publically available evidence, current funding streams for adult skills, and a rapid evidence assessment (REA) of published literature relating to the benefits and outcomes of learning.

The scope of the research reflects the focus of the ASB and covers:

• Adult education and training for learners aged 19+
• Provision at Entry Level up to and including Level 4
• Apprenticeships, adult and community learning, employability skills, workplace learning, training provision for benefit claimants and Traineeships
• England