DfEE Logo The Learning Age
a renaissance for a new Britain
the consultation phase is over...

Please note that the consultation phase for the green paper ended on the 24th July 1998.

Details of the consultation process remain on this site for reference purposes only.

summary of responses now available...

The Learning Age -
The Response
The summary of responses to the Government's Green Paper, The Learning Age is now available.
purchasing the green paper...

Copies of the green paper are available as a priced publication from The Stationery Office and its agents.

downloading the summary of the green paper...

Click here to download the Portable Document Format (PDF) version of green paper summary.

Please note that you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print it. Click here to download.

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Foreword by the Secretary of State

"Learning is the key to prosperity - for each of us as individuals, as well as for the nation as a whole. Investment in human capital will be the foundation of success in the knowledge-based global economy of the twenty-first century. This is why the Government has put learning at the heart of its ambition. Our first policy paper addressed school standards. This Green Paper sets out for consultation how learning throughout life will build human capital by encouraging the acquisition of knowledge and skills and emphasising creativity and imagination. The fostering of an enquiring mind and the love of learning are essential to our future success..."

"This Green Paper is the start of a consultation process which will help shape the Learning Age. I invite you to offer your views and to make your contribution to ensuring that the United Kingdom is working, and is working for everyone, in the first crucial decade of a new millennium."


DAVID BLUNKETT
Secretary of State for Education and Employment

Contents

The Learning Age: Introduction
The Learning Age | Learning's potential | The purpose of this consultation paper | The scale of the challenge | Principles | Consultation process

Chapter 1: The Individual Learning Revolution
Putting learners first | Overcoming the obstacles | The University for Industry | Learning Direct | Technology and learning | Priorities for early action | On-line consultation

Chapter 2: Investing in Learning
Principles for public funding | Sharing investment with individuals | Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) | Support for students | Sharing investment with employers | Childcare | Priorities for early action | On-line consultation

Chapter 3: Learning at Work
Skills for the knowledge-based economy | The national framework | Supporting Learning Businesses | Helping small firms to learn | Investors in People | Better information | Developing skills | Support for skills | Priorities for early action | On-line consultation

Chapter 4: Realising the Learning Age
Opening up access | Supporting Young People | Further Education and the Kennedy Report | Learning at home and in the community | Higher Education and the Dearing Report | Opportunities for students with learning difficulties and disabilities | Making the most of libraries and the creative industries | Working Together | Priorities for early action | On-line consultation

Chapter 5: Ensuring Standards, Quality & Accountability
Raising standards | Further education | Quality in adult education | TECs and their providers | A Consistent Approach to Improving Quality | Higher education | Priorities for early action | On-line consultation

Chapter 6: Recognising Achievement
The value of qualifications | Coherence and quality | Qualifications for young people | Records of Achievement | Key skills | Qualifications for adult learners | Qualifications in higher education | Priorities for early action | On-line consultation

Chapter 7: Consultation: how to respond
Summary | On-line consultation | How to respond off-line

Appendix: Participation in Learning
Higher Education | Further Education | Adult Education | Training delivered by TECs | Employer-funded Training | The National Adult Learning Survey 1997

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Many of the issues covered in this White Paper are relevant across the UK. This paper covers specific proposals for England. The Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are responsible for education and training policy in these parts of the UK.

The Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales plan to issue their own documents on lifelong learning in these countries, including how the University for Industry will be taken forward. In Northern Ireland Ministers will undertake a consultative process on the issues raised.

Click here to go to the UKLL Homepage or
the DFEE World Wide Web site.

This page was last updated on the 26th July 1998.