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CHAPTER 7
Learning, work and later life in the UK: guidance needs of an ageing workforce 129

people in the second phase (25-50) in building and maintaining careers
while creating homes and raising families. After 50, they then find
themselves underemployed, rejected by the labour market when they
have the ability, willingness and time to contribute more;
(c) conceals imbalances in use of resources. Around 2000, the UK
government dramatically increased spending on education for adults, but
analysis of participation data shows that this was entirely concentrated on
adults aged 18-25, while spending on people over 25 actually fell;
(d) conceals significant economic activity. The dramatic increases in labour
market participation by people over 65 in recent years were sometimes
overlooked, because they were excluded from the definition of working
age.
The commission carried out a major analysis of available data to examine
participation and expenditure on learning from all sources (public, private and
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third sector). Table 7.2 shows participation ratios ( ) and expenditure figures
broken down by the four phases. Although it can be argued that young people
require more time and resources, the scale of imbalance shown suggests that
lifelong learning has yet to become a reality.

Table 7.2. Participation and resources across the four life stages

18-24 25-49 50-74 75+
Formal learning participation index 3250 225 27.0 5.5
Informal learning participation index 325 90 27.0 5.5

Percentage of total expenditure (%) 86 11 2.5 0.5
Expenditure per learner (GBP) 12 395 633 319.0 –

Source: Schuller and Watson, 2009.

7.4. Learning and work in later life

The learning and work in later life project was commissioned in 2006 by the
Nuffield Foundation, from the Centre for research into the older workforce at
the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. Its aim was to investigate
the relationship between age, labour-market participation and training for
people over 50, in the light of broad demographic change. The key question

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( ) Calculated from numbers participating multiplied by the average length of participation.