The People and Work Unit

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The People and Work Unit

• Reaching the Hardest to Reach
• Uned Pobl a Gwaith

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Structure

• The Research
• What do we know about learning?
• What do potential learners know about learning?
• Expectations
• Conclusions

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The Research

• The Community University of the Valleys
  Partnership
• Bridgend Association of Voluntary Organisations
  Bridgend CCET
• 176 Learners non-learners
• 36 Key Informants

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Engaging the Hard to reach

• Community Brokers
• Community Groups
• At the bus stop.

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Barriers to learning

• Situational
• Institutional
• Informational
• Dispositional

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What do we know about learning?
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The Learning County

• Education and training are of the first
  importance for Wales - they liberate talent,
  extend opportunity, empower communities and help
  create wealth.
• Jayne Davidson AM,
• Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning

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Education liberates talent and extends
opportunity?

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• There are Factories, but its just manual
  labourdead end jobs. Theres nothing to learn
  new skills sic, just manual labour.
• nothing that stops me, just working at the
  moment so dont botherIf I fall out of work,
  probably finish something or othersomething to
  earn me a bit more money

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Empower Communities?

•  

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• dont think Im educated enough
• Im always very apprehensivebetter at talking
  than writingIm not an academicI havent
  got confidence
• thing that frightens me is leaving the house
  empty been burgled twicehard enough just going
  to the shopI dont come out of my shell often
  

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Expectations (or is Learning for you?)
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1. How much do you know?

• I dont know were lost

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2. Personal Experience
thought itd be like school you know. I know
it sounds stupid
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3. StoriesMy sisters doing an open access
course shes finding is really difficult

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Changing Expectations
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1. Life Changes

• I used to hide from education.dont draw
  attention to yourself, hide be the quiet
  one.ButYoull do anything for your kids, no
  matter how humiliating.

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2. Personal Experiences Change

• At the start of this course, I felt petrified,
  thought Id just do a couple of days and give
  up. Thats who I am

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3. Stories Change

• heard about it a friend who said how
  brilliant it was. Made me comfortable and I
  decided if the project came here, I would
  come.

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Conclusions
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1. Its not just about free courses and free
childcare..

• Situational barriers matter
• but so do informational and dispositional
  barriers.

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2. Addressing dispositional and informational
barriers

• Right message, delivered by credible messengers

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• They did tell you at the meeting that it was
  laid back, funnothing like schoolbut you dont
  take that in you think theyre just telling
  you to get you to come along.
• Going to see someone at the college to see if
  they can set me some direction

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and changing institutions.

• lot of fun thats what keeps us coming back

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3. Even with credible messages, not everyone is
ready or able to learn

• Providers need a long term strategy.