• Home
• Changing Career
• Retraining
• Distance Learning
• New Job
• Work And Learning
• Career Training
• Adult Learning

Adult Learning

Information on adult learning is plentiful and it’s all about getting new skills and abilities.

It is not about learning for learnings sake, which for many adults was the very thing that made the school system hard to accept. Adult learning is about learning for a reason; an attempt to improve their job, or career, by picking up skills and qualifications. And depending on the job, this might mean a vocational based scheme, or a more academic based course.

Indeed for some, adult learning might mean acquiring the basics that maybe they missed at school. A number of employers, and indeed educational establishments, have begun to complain more openly about the poor standards of many people leaving school.

So, it might well be that help with the basics – English, maths and say IT – is necessary first, before any other training is considered. But for those that didn’t take full advantage of what school might have to offer, to be able to fully maximise their potential with adult learning courses in the basic disciplines, would be a great opportunity.

Now, you can either get help and advice from a number of sources, or you can help yourself initially by putting together a plan of action which, even if you intend to talk to a careers adviser/counsellor, will at least give you a sound basis on which to base your discussions.

So, before you seek advice, do your soul searching and prepare some lists. Adult learning is about facing up to certain issues.

Firstly, identify your goals, namely want you want out of your job, or career, and what you want out of life generally.

Then prepare your CV; no matter how rusty it might look, this is always a great starting point, as it starts you thinking in the right direction. For example, if you haven’t got much to put down in the qualifications section, then it may be a sign to address that situation, also to accentuate some of the work experience you have enjoyed.

Once you have identified your goals and ambitions, and then prepared your CV, you can then think about a plan of action: looking for jobs, thinking about possible interviews and then, considering any training that will improve the chance of getting that job.

Adult learning is a vast area of opportunity that you should exploit, as soon as a you can.