6th June 2023
The Festival of Learning will take place across the South Devon College campus in June giving adults the chance to try their hands at new skills or develop existing ones.
The event comes as The Learning and Work Institute’s long-running Adult Participation in Learning Survey highlights the stark inequalities in learning. Its research finds that younger people are three times more likely to participate in learning than older people and also invest three times as much per year (£3,900 v £1,300). The report also states that this lower investment by older people is a problem given longer working lives and economic change require people to update their skills more often through life.
52 year old former builder, Paul Delaney, decided to retrain after losing his business and getting into debt.
“It’s been the best thing I’ve ever done,” said Paul, who went back to adult learning to study a Barbering Level 2 at South Devon College.
“It seemed the right thing to do. I’m good with my hands, at chatting to people and I’m not getting any younger, carrying bags of sand and doing loft conversions and extensions is not easy.
“It’s been amazing. It’s never too late to retrain and if you want to change something you have to push on doors and look for the opportunities.” Paul is now studying hairdressing.
The Festival of Learning is not just for people who are interested in a career change. There are more than 100 free workshops to help people develop their skills in a whole range of areas, from new hobbies and crafts, like jewellery making, to professional skills and trades, like plastering or management skills.
Katy Joy, Head of Community Learning at South Devon College said: “We’re really excited to be offering this fantastic opportunity for adults in our community to come and see what’s on offer at our Paignton and Torquay campuses for people looking to try something new. South Devon College is committed to supporting lifelong learning and we hope this festival will inspire more people in our community to take those first steps back into learning, whether that’s through discovering a new hobby or learning a new skill that could lead to progression at work or a new job’. We can’t wait to welcome everyone next month.”
The Festival of Learning will take place across five days in June (Mon 26th – Fri 30th) offering more than 100 three-to-five hour workshops, developing skills in a whole range of areas, from new hobbies and crafts, to professional skills and trades; from jewellery making and plastering to developing management skills to improve people’s prospects at work.
There will also be the opportunity to find out about apprenticeships, higher education and short courses available at South Devon College.
For further information and to book a free workshop go to: Festival of Learning for Adults – South Devon College