WEA Lecture

Last Thursday we had our first National Annual WEA Lecture.  It was delivered by Dame Jenni Murray, of Women’s Hour fame at University College London.  Professor Malcolm Grant, Provost and President hosted the event, and we had 270 guests, including current and past students, tutors, Trustees, partners, academics and members of the general public.

As Malcolm Grant said in his welcome speech the location for the lecture was particularly appropriate.  The UCL has a tradition of serving the community and traces its roots back to Jeremy Bentham and the Utilitarians.  However these days it is a truly global University second only to Cambridge in terms of its academic record and achievements.

Research is driven by individual curiosity or imagination and is central to UCL’s conception of excellence in leadership.  UCL is not an academic fortress but an open institution committed to working collaboratively with others.  In delivering what he calls a “culture of wisdom” Professor Grant has prioritised collaboration with non-commercial organisations working with business, industry and partners in London to deliver both social and economic value.

A culture of wisdom depends upon the application and sharing of knowledge, enabling cross disciplinary work and understanding the interconnections between academic disciplines.  It also respects non-academic contributions to our knowledge base.  UCL works closely with Westminster, Whitehall, hospitals, The City, the media, courts, galleries, museums and libraries and now with the WEA.  We hope the lecture will be the harbinger of a closer working relationship between HE and the WEA.

Turning to our lecturer, Dame Jenni Murray, Jenni is one of radio and television’s most respected broadcasters.  Her wide-ranging expertise in politics, business and the arts has led commentators to write admiringly of her “well-stocked mind”.  Her interviews with the powerful are described as “probing”, “steely” and “no-nonsense”, and her knowledge of the arts is matchless.  Jenni was made a Dame of the British Empire in 2011, in recognition of her stunning contribution to broadcasting for over 40 years.

Born and educated in Barnsley, Jenni has a degree in French and Drama from Hull University,  she also has Honorary Degrees from a number of universities including:  Bradford, Bristol, St Andrews and the Open University.

As the regular presenter of Radio 4’s Women’s Hour since 1987, she has daily demonstrated an incredible range and depth and a unique ability to understand the feelings and complexities of those she interviews, talents she has also brought to BBC TV’s Newsnight and Everyman and BBC Radio’s Today and Tuesday Call. 

Jenni is the author of:  My Boy Butch (2011); Memoirs of a Not So Dutiful Daughter (2008); The Women’s Hour:  A History of Women Since World War II and Is It Hot In Here:  A Modern Guide.

Dame Jenni managed to squeeze into her address a potted history of Women’s Hour and some of her varied experiences of growing up under the influence of BBC Radio, and the influential women she has interviewed.  We also heard a few personal insights into her role as a parent and some personal reflections on learning – a discontinuous process which goes on throughout life.  She was witty, self-deprecating, warm and engaged and she talked to me about her previous experience with the WEA, fully taking on board our important place in adult community learning.

For those who weren’t there, my enduring memories of the lecture will be

• Her interview with Barbara Castle who was less concerned with political correctness than the fact that had arrived.  She was not concerned about Chair, Chairman, Chairperson as long as she was the Chair.
• Her interview with Maggie Thatcher in which she was suitably shrivelled by the penetrating eyes.  She only realised halfway through her interview that Mrs Thatcher was unaware of criticisms of her from members of her Cabinet because she was exclusively reliant on Bernard Ingham, her press advisor.
• Her views on feminism and attempts to influence her teenage boys
• Her unwillingness to share household tips.  Like many of mine, they had a tendency to go wrong
• Her ability to “wing it” when under pressure.  Surely this is an under-rated management skill.
• Her message to modern women.  This is not the time to quit the fight for equality and an equal voice in politics, business and the home.

 

Although there has been a gender-quake the reality of too many women’s lives is of many unfulfilled dreams and ambitions.  We need to make sure that we pass on both the gritty determination and the aspirations of previous generations and share the “good stuff” as well as the heartaches.  We also need to influence men and boys, taking our responsibility for bringing them up differently, seriously.

All in all the lecture was a great start of the WEA series.  We are already canvassing ideas for next year.

If you have a contact / speaker who you think would be suitable let us know – and if you want to have your own Lecture regionally – contact your Regional Chair or REM.

Thanks for coming in such numbers and for being such an attentive audience.

 

 

The decline in adult participation in part-time education

The decline in adult participation in part-time education is a worrying consequence of changes in HE policy since the coalition government came to power.  Since 2010-11, part-time undergraduate entrants have fallen by 40% and part time post graduates by 27%.  NIACE, Birkbeck, The Open University and the WEA are seeking to raise the profile of this issue with government, emphasising the role which adult education plays in the UK and the ‘false economy’ of making the journey more difficult.

Part-time study has traditionally been a strength of the UK economy and the benefits of part-time study have been well documented.  A third of the total student population studies part-time and 61% of them are female.  Two thirds have family commitments and 2 in 5 have children.  The benefits are experienced by employers with 83% of part-time graduates saying they are better able to do their jobs because of their course.

In the WEA we know of many examples, past and present of students who have taken a WEA course, developed their confidence and skills, and who have then embarked on a university degree, achieving far more than they did whilst in full time education.

Distance learning has increased the range of part-time options that are available and the combination of tutor hours, tutor support, and colleagues and friends with whom to share the learning has meant a rich variety of learning styles and preferences can be accommodated.

Levels of employment stability are particularly high for part-time students with 81% working before, during and after their course.  These figures speak for themselves.

What can we do to counter the decline in part-time students?  The first thing to say is that we need to identify the cause of the decline.  If education has the power to transform lives and livelihoods, we need to get that message over.  All we hear through the media is about students who are in full-time study, their loans and their debts, and high levels of graduate unemployment.  We need to get the good news out about earning while you learn thus escaping from the low wage, low productivity trap in which too many of our citizens are caught.

Staying in employment means learning new skills.  All of us can benefit from access to educational resources, whether through a university degree, or through vocational studies or through improving our numeracy, literacy or critical thinking abilities.  These are vitally needed in our society.  We are therefore campaigning with others on reversing the decline in adult student numbers through;

·         Better information, advice and guidance (IAG) and communication to potential part-time students.

·         Reinstatement of the part-time premium.

·         A review of Equivalent or Lower Qualification (ELQ) policy.

·         Sharing the stories of success so that other part-time students are inspired.

·         Using the events and celebrations of Adult Learners Week to get our message out into communities and into the media – profiling the very big difference that access to part-time education can make.

·         Recruiting new ambassadors to our cause.

·         Developing links with the National Careers Service.

·         Developing links with the Women’s Business Council.

We also need to communicate the fact that part-time undergraduates can apply for an up-front loan, which could help reverse the decline in participation.  However at the moment too few are taking advantage of the loans, and we need to do more to make loans attractive for part-time study.

We also need to encourage a love of learning and develop a learning culture for adults.  Many of our WEA learners are hungry for challenges and opportunities.  This is why some who were students are now tutors and many of our alumni become volunteers.  Learning is not a problem to overcome but ignorance is and will impede economic recovery and growth.  Finding cost effective ways to get adults back into learning should be a top priority for the coalition government and for the UK.  Adult part-timers have been the biggest casualty of the 2012 changes and we cannot allow that to continue.

The view from the top

I attended the launch of the Female FTSE Report at the CBI on Wednesday 10^th April, along with a distinguished audience of businessmen and women, speakers including ministers Vince Cable and Maria Miller along with Lord Davies and Cranfield University who presented their research.

The audience also included quite a few voluntary sector leaders and I took the opportunity to raise the point that there are great leadership skills in the public and voluntary sector which would benefit many company boards, grow the talent pool and bring new insights and perspectives to senior management decisions.

The key issue the latest findings show is that there has been a decline in the numbers of top female executives on company boards, whilst the number of non-executives has increased and is broadly on target. No-one appears to have a convincing explanation as to why this should be, although it was hinted that the chairs of companies can exert more pressure on non-executive appointments, whilst executive women don’t rise to the top unless the company culture facilitates their development and promotion.

The research found some progress in areas but not in others:

The last year has seen changes in the position of women on boards. The number of women holding FTSE 100 board seats is 169, an increase of 28 on the 2012 figures. The overall percentage of female-held board directorships is 17.3%, an uplift of 2.3% on last year’s figure. The number of FTSE 100 companies with all-male boards has dropped to seven and two thirds (67%) of the FTSE 100 have more than one woman on their board.

In the first six months the pace of change was extremely encouraging. There was a sharp increase in the percentage of new appointments going to women on both FTSE 100 and 250 boards, peaking at 44% and 36% respectively. However, those high levels were short-lived and over the past six months they have dropped to 26% and 29% respectively, showing a considerable gap from the 33% required to reach Lord Davies’ target of 25% women on boards by 2015. That target for the FTSE 100 companies is still in sight but only if the rate of new appointments going to women regains momentum promptly and there is concern that complacency may be setting in, which the UK economy cannot afford.

Cranfield have updated the forecast for the numbers of women on boards in future years with the latest data. On the assumption that FTSE 100 firms can regain the one third/two third ratio of female to male appointments, the target of 25% female FTSE 100 board directors should be met in 2015.

As far as FTSE 100 is concerned the figures show a drop in the percentage of women on executive committees from 18.1% to 15.3% since 2009. It is therefore not surprising that headway is not being made in the numbers of women holding Executive Directorships. Out of 96 companies, 79 had women on their executive committees.

Despite women dominating Human Resources, Law and Marketing in general, this is not reflected at Executive Director level. Further, in terms of paths to executive roles, whilst 48% female Executive Directors were internally promoted the equivalent percentage for men was 62%. Women find it harder to get promoted than men.”

We need a more holistic and schematic approach if we are to give women and minorities access and opportunity to top positions as well as encouraging fresh talent rather than stereotypical appointments to board level positions.

My agenda for change in the light of the research would be as follows:

• To implement a proactive, positive action strategy in companies if the statutory quota is to be avoided.
• To introduce a widely based mentoring programme, which focuses on women in mid-career and those starting out, as well as women at or near the top.
• To develop role models and mentors amongst current CEO’s and board directors, who can talk honestly about difficulties and barriers.
• To encourage further transparency in data sharing and recording. E.g. how many senior men or women access flexible patterns of working and or career breaks for children?
• To evaluate more systematically the data on the benefits to companies, the not for profit organisations, and public sector employers from diversity at the top. Let’s publish data on profitability and long-term growth created by the wider talent pool.
• An engagement / education programme for organisations who are committed to addressing their issues but don’t know how.
• Low cost high quality educational opportunities and return to learn opportunities for women and minorities in disadvantaged areas, potentially delivered through LEP’s or other local bodies.
• A strategy for re-engaging older workers and for keeping them on as mentors for the younger workforce.
• Research to establish barriers for disabled people reaching the top.
• Government to recognise that the boards of public bodies should represent the communities they serve and have an aspiration that 50% of all new appointments to those boards are filled by women (by May 2015)
• The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) should amend the UK Corporate Governance Code to require listed companies to establish a policy concerning boardroom diversity, and to monitor progress in developing the diversity of the executive pipeline.

One of the key issues which is not covered in the report is the retention of women or minorities at the top of the organisation. In view of recent board room departures, and the way attrition affects the talent pipeline as we get nearer to the top of organisations, perhaps this would be a suitable area for future research.

The declining numbers of adult and part-time students

The declining numbers of adult and part time students is a stark reminder of the economic facts of life in many of our communities. 

In June 2011, the government produced a white paper entitled “Higher Education:  students at the heart of the system” which extended eligibility for tuition fee loans to part time students for the first time.  They thought this would enable part-timers to enjoy the same access to higher education as full timers. 

The Higher Education Funding Council for England has just issued a report which shows an overall drop in part-time undergraduate students of 40 per cent since 2010.

Despite the many benefits which adult learners derive from further and higher education, large swathes of older learners are no longer making it through the university door.  The reasons are more complicated than changes in the fees regime and student loans. However, the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL ) says it does boil down to economics in that the cost of part-time study hits disadvantaged groups more than others. 

Part-time higher education is now unaffordable for many who have other economic constraints such as supporting a family, paying the mortgage and declining household incomes. And for those in work, many are getting less support from their employers.

Professor Michael Gunn, Vice – Chancellor of Staffordshire University says: “For part-time students, employer support has often been the key …and there is some evidence that this is not as readily available in the current climate”

Clair Callender of the Institute of Education agrees:  “People are feeling it is too much of a financial risk.  There is no guarantee of a higher income after re-training”. 

The NUS, which held a conference on championing mature students last week, claims that many universities aren’t thinking hard enough about the needs of workers.

Our experience at the WEA shows us that it is difficult to provide support for learners at all stages of their journey – and to overcome barriers to learning.  Universities are often seen as the preserve of the young, despite the fact that the WEA was very much the pioneer of educational aspiration for everyone.

It is also the case that the UK economy is beleaguered at present by too many workers who are in a low skill, low pay trap and still dependant on benefits.  As Richard Godwin wrote in the Evening Standard on 3 April: “The largest part of the welfare budget actually goes to pensioners – around 47%.  The next largest portion goes on in-work benefits for low-paid workers. The £29.91 billion spent on tax credits dwarfs the £4.9 billion spent on Job Seeker’s Allowance.  In effect this means taxpayers are subsidising companies to pay their workers less than is required to live – which in turn limits demand in the economy”. 

This is what is known as in-work poverty and will not be addressed even when the economy picks up without better access to skills and learning.

We need to ensure that access is not an issue and that there is affordable and available adult education in all our communities.  This is why the WEA is working with NIACE, The Open University and Birkbeck to establish the facts about declining participation in adult education – and the economic benefits.  We are also working with the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to measure the wider impact of the WEA work, particularly focusing on disadvantaged groups and communities. 

It’s only when we understand the realities of people’s lives, that we can make our own distinctive contribution.

With university lifelong learning in decline, we need to think about what we offer to higher education institutions. 

Universities are increasingly expected to demonstrate the impact of their work in their communities.  Many will see their “widening access” funding as threatened if they fail to demonstrate results in attracting students from all backgrounds.  Some will already be developing proactive links with local bodies engaged with adult learning, while others may be further behind. 

In this context the WEA needs to revive its historic mission to raise aspiration for all and this must include access to higher education.

 It is an economic and social imperative.

Adult education in Tower Hamlets

I spent a very enjoyable day in the London region last Friday visiting the Mulberry and Bigland Schools, the Burdett Neighbourhood Centre and the Poplar HARCA. 

These partnerships have been developed in Tower Hamlets. Despite the towers of Canary Wharf, much of the borough still suffers from severe deprivation and it remains one of the most deprived areas in the country.

In this community the WEA has managed to create, with its partners, some inspirational examples of adult and community learning which are boosting skills and confidence. 

I sat in on a session which was all about community interpreting.

All the ladies taking part were learning how to be an interpreter through role playing and giving constructive feedback to each other.  The session was particularly instructive because the interpreter was engaging with an issue of bullying in a school. Parents were asked to play a proactive role in overcoming the bullying, and by the end of the session they were able and willing to do this.

Everyone was learning from the session, not only in terms of English Language, but how to stand up for yourself, protect your children and ensure they can attend school. 

Later on in the day I met Josephine Adu, who runs the Poplar HARCA, and she showed me with great pride the centre she is running which has state of the art equipment. Numerous unemployed adults are gaining computer literacy skills and help in applying for jobs – facilities which are simply not available anywhere else. They are also given one to one counselling which is essential for them to make progress. 

Finally I visited a dress making class in the Burdett Neighbourhood centre, run by Mona Nashed, an Egyptian lady who was coaching mainly Muslim women in the arts and crafts of dressmaking.

Some of the ladies were there primarily to develop professional and personal relationships outside their home environment and to use their interests and skills to make clothes for their children.  It clearly gave them a valuable lifeline through which they are achieving great satisfaction for themselves and a benefit to their families. 

This visit on its own was a really good example of the multiple benefits which a WEA adult learning class can deliver and I was left with an abiding impression that both the partnerships, the staff, the tutors and the students were reinforcing each other’s achievement at every level, focussing on progression, support, evaluation and personal resilience as well as the more obvious outcomes.

As London develops to include these communities in regeneration schemes it appears to me obvious that the WEA has an important role to play – connected as it is to a myriad of voluntary sector organisations and delivering a broad range of skills and resources which are badly needed.  I would like to include some of these projects in our return on investment studies and when I left the Mulberry Centre we agreed that the next step would be to invite the local MP to come and visit these projects.

As I was visiting the projects I was thinking aloud about the number of businesses in the area who might be willing to sponsor our projects or otherwise get involved.  In the next few months HARCA will be launching various fundraising appeals and already has great contacts in the employer community. I was asking myself how can we work with HARCA to get our message across about the value of adult learning and how can we equip our students to face this very challenging labour market in London? 

Anyone who has any ideas, please respond to this blog.

I’d like to thank Audrey Stewart and Nita Karia for organising my day and for making sure that I was able to be part of a learning experience I shall never forget it.

 

A job, a vocation or a career?

One of the many issues the Coalition government is struggling with is how to deliver a National all-age Careers Service which is high quality. 

There is concern that all of us require career guidance - particularly at transition points in our lives. Many of us will require access to education and training to both secure a job and sustain employment. This is a much bigger issue than subject choice in schools. It is about raising aspirations and making the best use of human potential. 

As we contemplate longer working lives from choice or necessity, the displacement of blue-collar unskilled jobs, and the need for knowledge workers in every sector of our economy, it is clear that interventions are needed for both young people and adults who lack the means to earn a decent living.

The problem of our age is not that technology will fail to deliver – we already have the technology to feed the world – but that we human beings will not adapt at the pace and scale required.

As a result of the above, the new National Careers Service has a steep hill to climb. It must be credible and business-like if it is to serve the business community, it must be sensitive to the needs of individuals who will resist standardisation and it needs to inspire, enthuse and inform young people about the choices they have in life and their best prospects to succeed.

We need to do the same thing for soldiers returning from Afghanistan, mothers who want to return to work and utilise their skills and experience and the many people who are trapped in work poverty in the UK today.

For too many we are achieving a low skills, low wage equilibrium to use economic jargon.

As the budget draws nearer I would like the Chancellor to think about investing in the many who have the potential to contribute to the UK economy and will address and diminish our long-term issues of “private affluence and public squalor” to quote from JK Galbraith.

The social dividend from continuing to provide access to education and training throughout working lives is considerable. This year, the WEA is looking at evidence to show the return on investment to confirm what we already know – it is essential to any long-term recovery.

I was moved to read the story of Robert Peston in the Evening Standard this week. He has started a charity which brings businesses and women into schools to challenge and inspire young people. We can all get involved and make a difference.

Women at the top

It was International Women’s Day last Friday and I was privileged to give a speech to the Welsh WEA on women at the top. 

When the WEA was first established in 1903, it was only going to be for working men. But women made a contribution from the start and was soon very supportive of the suffragette movement and the campaigned for equal rights for women. 

Although much has been achieved over the last 110 years, it is also shocking how much further we need to go.

There is still a massive pay gap between men and women – 19.5% in the UK according to the European Commission, which is even worse than the European average of 16% lower. Research by the Chartered Management Institute shows at current rates of progress it will take another 57 years to close the gap.

Meanwhile, female unemployment recently reached its highest for 23 years and is now at over a million. 

While the government has set up initiatives like the Women’s Business Council, these predominately focus on top earners without addressing the need for a pipeline of future managers and workers.  

So what is to be done?

One of the key factors which may limit career aspirations of women is the desire to have a work/life balance and a preference for less extreme jobs that can be combined with the caring and nurturing roles adopted by women and respected within their communities. 

This is not just about child-bearing.  

Women also are connected with their communities – they prize relationships, they enjoy volunteering and caring roles many coping with both ends of the age spectrum.

So where do we go from here? 

Should we accept that the best ways for senior managers and leaders to behave is to embrace longer and longer hours, more stress, less collaborative working and less and less time for study and reflection? 

Is this the recipe for a healthier/happier Britain and a more resilient economy?  

I sincerely doubt it. 

Women, in my opinion, get this.  

They are naturally more collaborative. They attribute value to their family lives and, as employers, we need their skills and their differences. 

Perish the thought that in 2013 it is time to adjust the workloads for both men and women so that we make better decisions and work fewer hours.

Perhaps we need to take advantage of technology rather than let it take advantage of us. 

Put limits on the use of email/internet at weekends – reinstating the right to clock off.

Bring in fairer co-division of work for parents.

It’s not just about allowing both sexes to have family and caring leave.

It is about lowering our expectations so there is an acceptance about shorter working hours.

Increasing our creativity.

Creating space for people to think.

Think longer term. 

Let me leave you with some good news.

Recent research by the Sunday Times based on the Office of National Statistics data shows that women are working for longer and many more are starting up businesses. Since 2008 employment amongst older women over 50 has risen faster than any other group. Women also accounted for 80% of the 147,000 rise in self-employment between 2008 and 2011.

Whilst economic pressures are continuing this pattern, the majority of these women say they are returning to work because they need a challenge. These women are bringing valuable expertise back to work and can create many more jobs for the UK as a whole.

Let’s focus on how we can help these small businesses thrive and prosper.