That Adult and Community Education is in crisis, is no surprise to anybody. So, how do we go about making it sustainable, providing it with the platform and importance it requires?

I recently attended the Reimagining and Reclaiming Adult and Further Education Congress held at the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences in Birmingham City University. Ahead of the government white paper on adult and community education to be published over the summer, the timing of this congress was if nothing else, opportune. A fore warning of further cuts and a rallying cry for digging deep and developing sustainable practices.

With one foot in corporate education and the other in adult and community, I see sustainability as key to maintaining a vital provision for our society, culture and economic viability, as a way to be truly independent of an often ignorant government policy and to provide provision that truly meets local and national community needs. I realise this is not going to be a popular post so bear in mind this is my own personal view, and was my view from before I attended the congress, and indeed has been my personal view for a number of years…

We can protest that education should be free, but the simple fact is that that is now an unsustainable practice. Whether paid for by the government, the individual or through corporate sponsorship, someone will have to pay, and someone can only pay for so long… So how do we provide education for people who are unable to afford it and desperately need and want it? Through taking some of the pressure off the government, asking those who can afford to pay to do so and encourage a pay forward scheme, and to get more investment from business who, although they seem on the whole to forget this aspect, rely on educated people to work for them!

We need to work with the government to push through policy that forces change in business to invest more in education locally and nationally through action, sponsorship, corporate partnerships and create more graduate, work experience, mentoring and apprenticeship schemes. As a business myself, I appreciate the additional request the places upon me, but equally I see the advantages within my local area and with the very people I currently work with.

The argument has been made that businesses are going to want their contributions to work directly to their advantage, which doesn’t make any space for courses that encourage wellbeing, are for general interest, parenting or basic literacy. To which I would say… a certain percentage only, should be earmarked for skills based education for if businesses have more pressure upon them to support people into employment through the above avenues I mentioned above, then we should have more funds available for the education and support those needing wellbeing, parenting or basic literacy. You will notice I have not included general interest? In my mind, these should be paid for by those who can afford it, and if you are unable to , they should come under wellbeing as general interest courses provide social interaction, reduce loneliness, and keep minds active. This is not a perfect theory, by no means. I make no claim for it to be so, it requires discussion with all parties and collaboration.

What the congress taught me, was the importance of making every step we take sustainable. Asking ourselves not only, what does this enable, who does this benefit, what are the outcomes… but also, can I afford to take this step, am I risking not paying myself enough to continue to enable others? If so, how can I work around this? How can I build in an economic advantage that makes this sustainable? How does this impact cultural, economic and environmental sustainability?

As the world speeds up and becomes less predictable, the need for education will grow as people work to keep up with it. Without embedding sustainability into our practices now, we are risking our provision becoming unsustainable. This is only food for thought, and one way in which we could address the issues education for adults and communities face in the current climate. I would love all education to be free. But if it is free, does that mean educators should be volunteering their time at the expense of their own financial sustainability? That venues should be provided for free with the owners paying for electricity etc at the expense of their own financial sustainability? Who foots the bill for insurance? It’s just not possible.

How are you managing your sustainability?

©Fiona Doney 2025