A new skill is high on new year wish list

18 Jan 2008

From an LSC press release A New Year, A New Skill (17 Jan 2008).

A new study commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and conducted by ICM Omnibus has revealed that over half (53%) of the English population who have started a new job in recent years claim that this is the way to improve health, increase self confidence, reduce stress and achieve the new, improved you!

With January a key time to start thinking about the future and planning ahead, this nationwide study shows that nearly a quarter of Britain’s adults state that learning a new skill is high on their wish list of achievements this year, but that the fear of being too old to learn and money worries are holding them back.

The LSC offers an Adult Learning Grant of up to £30 per week to Adult Learners to help overcome these fears. With a third of the population questioned in the study claiming that money is a limiting factor when thinking about going back to college, the Adult Learning Grant (ALG) is designed to
help eligible learners with the extra costs that learning can bring.

ALG is available to adults in England aged 19 or over who are studying full time for a first full level 2 (5 GCSEs at grades A* to C or an NVQ2 or its equivalent) or a first full level 3 (2 A levels or an NVQ3 or its equivalent) qualification.