Practical Learning

The Challenge

Education occurs throughout people’s lives yet despite the importance society places on education, many individuals in our society lack the skills required of the 21st century.
There is an ever expanding scope for people in the UK to acquire such further skills - benefiting society and themselves. Practical learning or ‘learning by doing’ is a vital approach in achieving this – connecting motivated learners with innovative approaches through which their skills can be enhanced.

Social innovation provides multiple opportunities to bring developments in this area: Further and Higher Education initiatives, workplace programmes, and the development of community ventures all provide distinct environments to innovate. Practical learning can also feature more extensively in the formal education sector raising its profile in the public’s consciousness and bringing further opportunities to all. Through this approach many needs can be addressed including: providing further learning opportunities for all members of the community; re-engaging disaffected learners in and out of formal education; updating groups on new skills for the 21st century; providing individuals with the skills through which their quality of life will be enhanced, and addressing the missing skills required for the workplace.