It also focuses on provision which is partly or fully publicly subsidised, and covers aspects of both vocational education for the workplace and second chance education to enable individuals to gain the fundamental skills required for life and work.

The article on the ‘Distribution of Responsibilities’ covers the main stakeholder organisations and representative bodies, as well as government departments. Some of these cover Wales only, while others have a remit for other parts of the UK.

The article on ‘Developments and Current Policy Priorities’ covers the main policy and strategy documents on adult education and training to show how policy making in this area has evolved in recent years. The section on current policy priorities focuses on the Programme for Government 2016-21 and linked policies introduced from 2016/17.

Further education (FE) colleges are the focus of the article on the ‘Main Providers’ of adult education and training, which also covers adult and community learning providers; private and voluntary (third) sector training providers; and distance learning providers.

The article on ‘Main Types of Provision’ provides an overview of how qualification frameworks apply to adult education Its subsections cover: 

• provision to raise achievement in basic skills, which focuses mainly on English and maths qualifications for adults
• provision to achieve a recognised qualification during adulthood, which covers general qualifications including GCSEs and A Levels and the Access to Higher Education Diploma. It also provides a brief overview of vocational qualifications. (For further information on vocational education, readers are advised to consult the website for UK ReferNet)
• provision targeting the transition to the labour market, that is, programmes which aim to encourage the hardest-to-reach adults back into the world of learning
• provision of liberal (popular) adult education, which focuses on community learning although this is not an area of strategic importance in Wales
• other types of publicly subsidised provision for adult learners, which focuses on apprenticeships.

The article on ‘Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning’ describes Wales’ approach to accrediting non-formal learning through the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW). Informal learning (learning by experience) is not recognised in the CQFW.

Article last reviewed October 2019.