College group’s survey reveals vast appetite for learning is being stifled by cost of living

Nearly sixty per cent of adults across Birmingham and the West Midlands would consider returning to education, but many feel held back by cost-of-living issues, a new survey has found.

BMet College, which runs three colleges across Birmingham, commissioned polling company Survation to poll 1,000 adults across the West Midlands on their attitudes towards education.

The results reveal a great appetite for education but also that many adults feel issues such as childcare and a lack of free time are stopping them from re-engaging with education.

Over a third say cost puts them off adult education

Ninety-two per cent of respondents said they left education before the age of 25, but sixty per cent would consider returning to education.

Just 13 per cent would consider returning full-time with the majority being open to returning part-time.

Over a third of adults who would not consider returning to education blamed their reluctance on the imagined cost, while a similar proportion blamed time constraints.

Other respondents highlighted issues such as childcare, “my health,” and that they find it “hard to learn certain things”.

Another respondent said they were “too old” to take part in education and around a quarter of those polled believe the cut-off age for participating in formal education was 25. Adults can attend college or university and gain qualifications at any time.

Government rolling out new adult education initiatives

As part of his Spring Budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced several programmes to support older people who have left the workforce to re-enter employment. This includes ‘returnerships’ which will promote training programmes such as skills bootcamps and Sector-based Work Academy Programmes.

The Department for Education is also rolling out, in 2025, a new Lifelong Loan Entitlement, which will give adults access to a loan worth “four years’ post-18 study,” or £37,000.

However, BMet’s polling also asked respondents whether they were aware of the entitlement, which is one of the government’s flagship education policies.

60 per cent of Birmingham adults and 70 per cent of West Midlands adults were not aware of the entitlement. Just 13 per cent of respondents said they were ‘strongly aware’.

BMet offering a range of courses for those in- and out-of-work

BMet is enrolling students from across the age range on a wide array of courses, including part-time study opportunities and degree-level courses.

BMet principal and chief executive Pat Carvalho said about the research: “While these survey findings demonstrate that there is a great enthusiasm in the West Midlands for adult education, we are also concerned by many of the findings.

“Many adults feel they are being held back from taking part in education by a lack of income and time. That a quarter think they are too old to take part in formal education is also a damning indictment of society’s attitudes towards adult education.

“We will be ramping up our efforts to communicate to our local community that further education is much more accessible and affordable than they might think. We also want to show potential learners how education and training can open many new doors for not just their career, but their social and family life.”