One fifth of adults in 'education blackspots' have NO qualifications
One fifth of adults in the country’s ‘education blackspots’ have NO academic qualifications, figures reveal
- Over 20 per cent in Britain’s worst educational blackspots lack any qualifications
- Sandwell, West Mids, and Pendle, Lancs, worst in country, say official figures
- Across England as a whole, 7.5 per cent of adults lack academic qualifications
More than one in five adults in Britain’s worst educational blackspots lack any qualifications, official figures reveal.
In Sandwell, West Midlands, and Pendle, Lancashire, over twenty percent of over-16s have no GCSEs or A Levels to their name, according to local government figures.
The shocking statistics will add urgency to Boris Johnson’s campaign to ‘level up’ the nation, which must include putting adult education at the forefront of his plans, experts say.
More than 20 per cent of adults in Britain’s worst educational blackspots lack any qualifications, official figures say
Others areas that score poorly include Wolverhampton, where 17.3 per cent of the adult population up to 64 have no qualifications, Leicester (16.9 per cent), Dudley (16.4 per cent) and Burnley (15.1 per cent)
In contrast, just one in fifty (1.9 per cent) adults in Fareham, Hants or Harrogate in Yorkshire have not achieved any qualifications. Across England as a whole, 7.5 per cent lack qualifications.
The figures have been spotlighted by the Centenary Commission on Adult Education, which is campaigning for greater access to adult education, to boost the economic and mental health of the nation.
Dame Helen Ghosh, the Chair of the Commission and Master of Balliol College, Oxford, described the findings as ‘worrying’
Dame Helen Ghosh, the Chair of the Commission and Master of Balliol College, Oxford, said: ‘These worrying figures illustrate the extent of education inequalities in our country.
Highest proportions of population (16-64) with no qualifications by local authority
Sandwell 20.3
Pendle 20.1
Wolverhampton 17.3
Leicester 16.9
Dudley 16.4
Burnley 15.1
Middlesbrough 15.1
Knowsley 14.7
Broxboure 14.6
Barrow-in-Furness 14.3
‘As we emerge from the pandemic, our Commission is urging the Government to rebuild lifelong learning as a key part of their commitment to levelling up.
‘As so many jobs will disappear with the digital revolution, we urgently need to boost the skills of the workforce to manage the changes ahead.
‘It’s also vital to help people with broader life skills, to enhance their wellbeing and reconnect with others.’
The findings are taken from the latest Local Government Association figures, reflecting the situation at the end of 2019.
Professor Alan Smithers, Director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said: ‘It is surprising that so many adults have no qualifications at all, given the widespread provision through education, apprenticeships and work-place training.
‘Even more concerning is the gulf between the poorer and more prosperous areas, which is ever-widening.
‘Too many adults already are ill-equipped for a world of increasingly technical jobs and intense global competition.
‘Covid is adding to their number as young people emerge from school with less education than they should have had.
‘Adult education seems always to be last in the queue when it comes to government support.
It has a vital part to play in making good the Covid losses, closing the gap between the haves and have-nots, and readying the population for a post-Brexit and post pandemic Britain.
‘It is urgent that the government puts it much higher up the policy agenda and provides the funding to enable it to achieve the many things it can achieve.’
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