Series 3, Episode 5 of the Let’s Go Further Podcast

Uniting the education sectors – adult, further and higher – behind the common purpose of improving the mental and social health of society should be a priority for policymakers, according to guests on the Let’s Go Further podcast.

In episode five of this series, The Rt Hon. the Lord Blunkett, a former Secretary of State for Education, and Emma Beal, Principal and Chief Executive of Northern College, discussed the role of adult education in accessing higher education.

Lord Blunkett argued that education is key to tackling the biggest health problems in the country:

Similarly, Emma Beal said that investing in adult education will benefit all parts of society:

Both guests said that our current adult education system needs to change if we are to help learners reach their full potential.

Lord Blunkett said there is “an obsession with pushing people down tramlines” and that funding cuts have reduced the options available to learners. Learning provision needs to be more diverse to meet the needs of all individuals:

Furthermore, Emma said there are not enough former adult learners involved in policymaking, leading to adult education being treated as an afterthought:

Echoing points made in previous episodes of this series, Lord Blunkett and Emma say that we need to support learners to overcome the practical challenges of returning to education as adults. This means they can access the numerous benefits of lifelong learning – as Lord Blunkett says, “Education is for life not just for jobs.”

You can listen to this episode of Let’s Go Further here. It is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you receive your podcasts.

This third series of Let’s Go Further is focusing on adult education and is asking whether, as a nation, we are still committed to the century-old vision of adult education as being both universal and lifelong.

Let’s Go Further is a podcast that aims to challenge the way we think about skills and education. It was first launched in the autumn of 2022 with a series focused on social mobility. The second series was published in the spring of 2023 and looked at issues around equity, diversity and inclusion. To date, the podcast has had approximately 2,500 downloads.

Listen to the Let’s Go Further back catalogue here.