Aled Roberts, Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales and the party’s spokesperson for Education and Older People, is calling on the Welsh Government to develop a strategy which targets the improvement of skills and employability prospects of over-50s in Wales.
Commenting prior to this afternoon’s debate on Further Education, he said: “It is a sad fact that opportunities for older adult learners to attend courses at further education institutions have been steadily decreasing.
“Figures from the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise in Wales (Prime Cymru) show that, in Wales, the number of adults participating in part-time courses has dropped by 47%, from 90,000 to 48,000.
“This situation is leaving the large numbers of older adults in Wales who have no formal qualifications with no means of improving their skills if they want to get a job.
“The Welsh Labour Government should devise a scheme to assist adults who want to work and give them the skills they need. FE colleges are ideally placed to deliver that scheme and I believe the Government needs to put this in place as a matter of urgency.
“Welsh Liberal Democrats have already committed to establishing a cross-party commission to examine adult education and skills in Wales."
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