Agenda item

The Business Plan sets out a short-term and medium-term framework for Medway Adult Education, focusing on work outside of business as usual. It considers challenges and opportunities, both from a commercial and holistic perspective. It lays out the priorities and an action plan to deliver against.

Discussion:

Members considered a report regarding the Medway Adult Education (MAE) Business Plan which set out a short-term and medium-term framework for MAE, focusing on work outside of business as usual. The Plan considered challenges and opportunities, both from a commercial and holistic perspective as well as an action plan to deliver against priorities.

The following issues were discussed:

·       Developing IT Skills – reference was made to a number of organisations which the Council worked with where people with an illness or disability who were unable to work full time and had improved their IT skills during the pandemic to a degree but now needed to improve further. Whether adult education could help them to develop the IT skills needed to start a small business was queried as it was felt what was currently offered was not suitable. Members were advised that digital skills were a key area for the adult education service and digital courses had recently been expanded, although more were needed. Planning for the next academic year was due to begin and officers would look at whether the point raised about IT skills could be addressed.

·       Apprenticeships – whether the support for apprenticeships referred to in the Plan included people over 24 years old was questioned. Members were assured apprenticeships were for all ages, with good representation in the 24 plus age range and no upper age limit.

·       Accessibility of tablets and data – with regard to the provision of 50 tablets and data to enable learners to access learning from home, the importance of learners having the resources to get the data needed to use the equipment was emphasised.  Members were advised that data was critical and if a user who had a tablet but needed data then that would be looked at.

·       Kick Start Programme – how adult education could play a part in this programme was queried and Members were advised that the service had participated in this programme, which had worked well.

·       Social prescribing  - noting that this may be one of the motivations for accessing adult education, a suggestion that this should be strengthened in the Plan was agreed.

·       Decrease in foreign language courses – noting the decrease in the availability of these courses, whether the service could work with the pool of interpreters that the Council had access to was suggested.

·       Holistic education for adults -  the loss of academic qualifications was regretted, particularly routes to higher education, although it was acknowledged this was due to funding conditions. In response, Members were advised that the adult education service worked closely with Mid Kent College and universities to ensure there were progression routes and guidance was given on high to reach higher educational levels. 

·       Voluntary Sector - how the sector would be engaged through the Plan was queried as well as what could be done to help those volunteers would have given up lots of time (e.g., in vaccination centres) to get into employment. Reference was also made to the contributions of people in community payback projects, and it was suggested that the adult education service could recognise their work in order to help them find employment. Members were advised that volunteers played a key role in the service, which also worked closely with the voluntary sector. There were also good links with community partners and officers would look at how the participants in community payback schemes could be accredited or recognised.

·       Measuring of outcomes -  in terms of how outcomes were measured and what percentage progressed to employment or further education, Members were advised that work had started to try to capture this information, but this was challenging.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to note the Medway Adult Education Business Plan and forward its comments to Cabinet, as set out above.