The lead-up to this spending review started with hope. For once, it seemed we had won the argument. It was fantastic to see that the importance of adult reskilling was recognised across government.
Strategies like the industry strategy, the Department for Work and Pension’s connect to work, migration plan and initiatives from departments responsible for health and defence, all highlighted skills as key to their goals.
However, this recognition hasn’t translated into investment from the Department for Education or in the spending review itself.
Despite a modest 2.3 per cent real-terms increase in departmental budgets and £1.3 billion pledged for young people and apprenticeships, this still leaves the DfE short.
Children’s services are the clear winners, and while few would argue against investing in children, adult skills have once again been left behind.
This is not just short-sighted, it is reckless. At a time when skills are vital for economic recovery, growth, and national resilience, neglecting adult learners means ignoring those who will help deliver national renewal.
The DfE still has no adult skills strategy. How could chancellor Rachel Reeves agree on new investment without one?
Although the funding to DWP for employment support is welcomed, the spending review settlement is likely to continue weakening a fragile adult skills system. The UK faces pressing shortages in sectors such as construction, health, digital, and green energy, yet instead of preparing the workforce, current policy choices risk long-term damage.
Once the adult education infrastructure is dismantled and staff made redundant, it’s slow, costly and often impossible to rebuild.
Instead of fixing failing schemes or learning from what works, the DfE continues to back underperforming legacy programmes. Short-term politics are being prioritised over long-term reform. This leaves behind 30 per cent of adults with low qualifications, nine million people lacking basic literacy and numeracy, and many who are economically inactive but ready to re-engage if only they had the support.
The result is a fragmented, exclusionary system. It benefits those already doing well and neglects those in greatest need. Adults with low skills are offered piecemeal, bolt-on training that provides little chance for real progression, while young people access structured pathways to meaningful qualifications. A two-tier system is emerging – one that risks widening inequality.
Case for investment
To return adult learning participation to 2010 levels, at least £5 billion additional investment is needed. This still wouldn’t close the full gap identified by Skills England.
Instead, funding is being channelled into costly legacy technical programmes that do not meet the outcomes they promised. These are often rigid, costly and poor at helping adults progress into sustained employment.
What works is flexible, local, community-based learning that meets adults where they are both geographically and in terms of their life circumstances.
This kind of provision is accessible, responsive and rooted in trust. It helps people who have been excluded from the education system, those with low prior attainment, caring responsibilities, insecure work or health challenges to re-engage, build confidence and gain the skills needed to progress. It supports social inclusion, wellbeing and economic participation.
Yet despite strong evidence of its impact, resources are instead being diverted to more rigid, centralised schemes that often fail to reach those most in need. This risks widening the gap between the education system and the communities it should serve.
Reframing adult education
This spending review misses the bigger picture. Instead of positioning adult skills as a driver of growth and opportunity, it reduces skills to short-term programmes scattered across different government departments which fail to build long-term capability, stronger communities or individual self-reliance.
We must reframe adult education as a long-term investment in people – the people who will build homes, deliver green jobs, and reduce NHS backlogs.
Sweden, Singapore and China are all increasing their investment in adult learning because they know it drives both national progress and individual hope.
The statement promises further details of government plans in a strategy for post-16 education and skills later this year.
Let’s hope this is a bold adult skills strategy with clear roles for employers, the state and individuals. This isn’t a luxury, it is an economic necessity.
If the UK wants to build 1.5 million homes, decarbonise the economy and reduce waiting lists, it must start with the adults who will do the work.
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