51³Ô¹Ï

¡°Serious investment¡± is needed in UK universities to help them adapt for lifelong learning, as new research shows half of employers plan to increase training budgets in the coming years ¨C but universities are ¡°not the first choice¡± for provision.

Institutions face competition not only from private providers and professional bodies ¨C seen as more flexible and able to meet specific needs ¨C but also universities overseas, with employers increasingly open to remote learning.

New research,?conducted by CarringtonCrisp in association with the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL), published on 2 June, shows 51 per cent of employers ¨C who came from 32 countries ¨C plan to increase their training budgets over the next two years, up from 38 per cent over the previous two years.

Of the 1,255 employers surveyed, 49 per cent say they would support staff taking online courses with a university in another country, with an additional 39 per cent open to the idea. A third would consider sending employees abroad to study face-to-face.

The risk for British institutions of ¡°losing out to universities based overseas is increasing¡±, said?Jonathan Michie, chair of the UALL. ¡°On the other hand, if they do respond, the potential benefit from getting students from overseas is also increasing.

¡°It does take investment to develop good quality online courses, but the fact that the UK higher education sector is high quality in international terms means that investment should generate commensurably greater returns,¡± he said.?

The research also finds universities are often ¡°not the first choice¡± for lifelong learning provision, ¡°with employers leaning towards private training firms and professional bodies that can tailor offerings to their needs¡± as well as online providers that can provide ¡°robust data¡± on learner progress and impact.?

While universities and colleges are the most popular choice for lifelong learning among individuals, some are discouraged by perceived high costs and the misconception that they only offer full degree programmes, researchers found.

¡°For universities, lifelong learning is not new, but the way it is being sought by individuals and employers and the way it is being delivered by competitors beyond higher education, means systems and strategies need to change,¡± the report states.?

It says government-level investment is needed to support universities to pivot away from traditional models focused on full-time, residential degree students and towards delivering short courses and new forms of learning.?

¡°While universities recognise the need to develop new provision, to do so in the current financial situation that many face will be difficult if not impossible,¡± the report says.

This government funding would not be used to ¡°bail out¡± the university sector, it notes, but would enable universities to ¡°change in the way that is required¡± to support the Labour government¡¯s five key missions, which include economic growth and creating opportunity.

The government is?set to begin rolling out the new lifelong learning entitlement?(LLE) in England from September 2026, which will allow learners to access more modular study via loans worth the equivalent of four years of post-18 education to use over their working lives.?

There have been questions about demand for the delayed scheme, with a trial run finding?student interest was limited.

The report adds that employers also need ¡°certainty¡± from the government and a clear national strategy.?

¡°Employers need to be able to plan the growth of their staff development knowing that frameworks and policies will be consistently delivered over extended periods,¡± it says.?

The research comes a week after the government?cut funding for most master¡¯s level apprenticeships, seen as a key way of training older adults in new high-level skills.

This will be a ¡°damaging¡± decision that ¡°needs to be rapidly offset by other ways of supporting level 7 university based courses that employers can access,¡± said Michie. ¡°Hence the need to make a clear commitment to supporting lifelong learning at a national level, delivered at a local level through partnerships between employers, universities and others.¡±

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com