27. The creation of the Learning Age is a challenging and ambitious programme. It will require great effort but we have no doubt about the capacity or willingness of the nation to respond. We recognise that the uncertainty of change means that we cannot set out an unchanging blueprint in advance. One of the main areas for consultation concerns how the decisions and choices of individual learners and firms will require existing education and training institutions to transform themselves. The university, college or learning centre of the next century will look very different to that of the last. One of the aims of this paper, therefore, is to ask what shape these institutions will need to take in the years ahead in order to deliver our aims.

28. The Government has declared its commitment to the Learning Age. We will be judged on our success in creating a culture of self-improvement for the many and not the few. The main steps we are proposing are set out below. Further details on these and on the issues on which we are seeking views can be found in the main chapters.

29. Alongside this consultation paper - which sets out our vision - we will also be publishing a series of papers during the spring and summer on specific issues including:

Learning Age Papers

Higher Education for the 21st Century (our response to the Dearing Report)
Further Education for the new Millennium (our response to the Kennedy Report)
Further education governance
16-19 planning
University for Industry Pathfinder Prospectus
The Careers Service
16-19 Qualifications
Individual learning accounts development guide
National Targets

Both Higher Education for the 21st Century and Further Education for the new Millennium are publsihed alongside this Green Paper.