Just because you’re over the age of 21 doesn’t mean that you cannot continue to study in the UK. There are courses available that anyone of any age can take.

Continuing to learn throughout life can not only improve your skills and knowledge, but also be an enjoyable way to vary your everyday life and meet new people. You could do anything from improving simple maths skills, to learning for leisure by taking up a new hobby.

Adult learning

There are some 900,000 courses you can do as an adult in the UK. Some are for complete beginners, and others can help you progress to an advanced level.

You can do courses at a college or learning centre, in the day or the evening, or you can learn in front of your computer without even having to go out of the house. These E-courses are becoming increasingly popular as better technology means a virtual classroom can be created through web-cams. Courses last anything from a few hours to a few years, and can easily be fitted around your job.

The list really is never-ending – you can find courses on some weird and wonderful topics from Feng-Shui to Yoga! Just browse through subjects until you find something that really interests you.

With nearly a million different courses to choose from, you might struggle deciding which course you really want, or really need to do. But don’t worry – help is at hand, there are organisations in the UK that will provide you with the advice and support that you need to make the right choice. Visit our “Find a…” section to find out more.

Learning at Work

Most modern employers understand the need to have a skilled and educated workforce. And today, they can get help to pay for their employees to learn while they are working.

These courses can take various forms, including NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) in the workplace, and day release schemes where employees have time out from work to go to college.

This means you can improve your skills and knowledge to do your current job better, at the same time as improving your chances of promotion.

Ask your employer if the company runs any training schemes. If not, you could ask them to set one up.

Government Support

The British Government runs programmes that help people who haven’t got many qualifications to learn skills which can help improve their career prospects. There are thousands of these courses available all around the country, which help adults with basic maths and English skills.

Many people want to do this purely so they can help their children with their homework. But others want to learn skills that can help them get the career they want rather than just doing a job which pays the bills.

You can find out more about these courses in our “Find a…” section.


By Matt Taylor

 

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USEFUL WORDS

evening / night classes = lessons take place in the evening
distance learning = study at home with the help of Internet sites, television and radio programmes, plus sending or emailing work to a teacher
e-learning = learning via the Internet and email
home schooling = learning from home rather than at school
continuing education = learning throughout your life
correspondence course = study at home, using books and exercises sent to you by post or by email
Open University (OU) = a well-known British distance learning university
University of the Third Age (U3A) = education for retired people
retrain for a new line of work = learn the new skills you need to work in a different job to your current one
internal corporate training = work-related education provided in the workplace by your employer

GRAMMAR SPOT

A/an or one?

A/an and one both refer to a single thing, but one puts more emphasis on the number:

I've joined a distance learning programme (one of perhaps several)
The college offers one distance learning programme (there is only one, no other choice)

Use one when you mean a single one among a larger number. One often contrasts with (an)other:

One course was distance learning, the other was e-learning
One school offers one type of course, and another offers something completely different

In the of-structure, we use one, not a/an:

One of the programmes was a correspondence course

Use one in phrases of time with nouns such as morning, afternoon, evening, night, day and weekend:

One evening I couldn't make my class
One day I'll finish my degree!