Бересток  О. В.

Кобжев О. М.

Сумський національний аграрний університет

Programmes to Support Adult Learning and Education in        England

Want to get on? Whatever a person wants to do job-wise, having the right qualifications can give a real head start. If an adult missed out on getting qualifications at school, why not go back to college? It’s never too late to learn new skills. People who go back to college later in life often find that they’re more focused and determined that they were first time around, and tend to have a clearer idea of that they want to study. Options include courses related to:

All sorts of people are doing all sorts of courses with the Adult Learning Grant   – but there are some conditions needed to meet in order to qualify. Whether a person qualify for ALG (the Adult Learning Grant)  depends on: his/her age, where he/she lives and where he/she studies, what type of course he/she’s  doing,

his/her income and whether he/she’s getting certain types of benefit.

To get ALG, a person needs to: be 19 or over (though he/she can apply one month before his/her 19th birthday); be living and studying in England, and meet the residency criteria.

To apply for ALG, he/she needs: a bank account which accepts electronic payments through the BACS system, a copy of birth certificate, driving licence or current passport, evidence of total taxable income and taxable benefits for the previous tax year – and that of partner, if he/she lives with them.

Getting training at work .Learning at work is a great way to fit learning into life, and could help improve career prospects. An employer may already provide learning opportunities.

Developing new skills at work. An adult person may be able to get free basic skills training, additional skills to improve the performance at work, or even a qualification that could help open up doors to higher education. Some employers run ‘mentoring’ schemes to help in getting on at work.

What’s in it for an employer. Many employers are happy to support their workers’ learning: having a skilled workforce can help boost productivity, there are training schemes which can be designed to suit the needs of employers and their workers, any employer may get help with the costs.

Training opportunities.

Train to Gain. This new service is aimed at helping adults and young people in England to get the best possible training in the workplace. It offers businesses:

free and impartial advice on their training needs, help in finding the right training - at a time and place which suits them and their employees, in some cases, help sourcing funding, help reviewing progress in developing the skills of their workforce.

Learning through Work Scheme.

Learning Through Work lets any person study a university-level course without taking time off work. An adult can work towards an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification, or just do one or two modules of a course - depending on what suits better. The scheme is run by direct learning and a number of partner universities and colleges. If a student takes part, his tutor will work with him to make sure what he learns is relevant to his job. He’ll plan what areas to cover together, and where possible he’ll get credit for projects he works on as part of his job. He may also be able to get credit for work he’s already done. It may be worth talking to employers to see if they can support while a learner’s on the scheme - financially or otherwise. And if they want to get more involved, employers can use the scheme to set up a programme that meets their specific needs.

Apprenticeships. If an adult got a good idea of where he wants to go with the career and likes the idea of earning while learning, an Apprenticeship could be for him. It guarantees top quality training, but lets him develop skills and gain qualifications on the job. An Apprenticeship gives the chance to work towards a qualification while earning. Many employers choose to provide training through an Apprenticeship programme - they are designed by businesses within a particular sector, with that sector’s training needs in mind.

Investors in People status. If employers have Investors in People status, it means that they are committed to improving the organisation’s performance by developing its staff. As part of this they assess learning needs within the organisation, and make plans to meet them.

Benefits might include: access to good quality training, improved job satisfaction, more career opportunities.

If employers can’t help. If a person can’t get training through the employers, there’s nothing to stop arranging it himself.

Apprenticeships - earn while learning. To give the best chance of success in career, it is necessary to carry on developing skills throughout working life. Apprenticeships give the chance to learn - and gain nationally recognised qualifications - while getting a weekly wage. There are more than 180 Apprenticeships available across more than 80 industry sectors. They include accountancy, business administration, construction, engineering, manufacturing and many more. First it is necessary to decide which career suits the best. Next, it is important to judge whether to commit to the demands of an Apprenticeship. This means juggling work and study long-term - a period of one to five years.

How long does an Apprenticeship last? It varies. Most last between one and two years, though some take up to five. How long it takes will depend on the profession to choose, the level of ability and employer’s needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Відомості про авторів.

 

 

 

 

 

Бересток Ольга Володимирівна,

старший викладач кафедри іноземних мов Сумського національного      аграрного університету

Адреса: 40035      м. Суми , в. Черепіна, 46 «Б», кв.39

 

 

 

 

 

Кобжев Олександр Миколайович,

кандидат філологічних наук , доцент, завідувач кафедри іноземних мов Сумського національного аграрного університету

Адреса: 40011      м. Суми , в. Петропавловська, 127, кв.54

         Т. 622757