14.4 All funders and sponsors of lifelong learning should review the nature and relevance of programmes of study, learning outcomes and the qualifications offered to learners and would-be learners. Providers have to be stimulated to offer what individuals, employers community groups and others want, not merely what the provider has the current capacity to deliver, or what presents fewest difficulties. Funding regimes can be influential here, in the steer they give, but managers of learning provision will always have some room for manoeuvre and scope for focusing on priorities. They need to understand the needs of learners, through conducting systematic enquiry and analysis, and design programmes of study accordingly. Where they are given, as far as practicable qualifications should be portable, cumulative and transferable.

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