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Young Adults

Introduction: 

The Transformation Fund was able to fund learning opportunities for adults (defined as aged 19+).  A number of projects focused on young adults, normally aged 19-25, but sometimes extending up to age 30.

Key Projects: 

Most projects focused on young adults who were not engaged in employment, education or training (NEET). Some had a specific focus on young parents.  Projects were very creative in finding ways to successfully engage young adults with informal learning, using approaches such as:

A number of projects also took an intergenerational approach, bringing young people together with older learners; see the page about intergenerational learning.

Lessons Learned: 

Projects found it difficult to focus specifically on young people aged 19 and above for a number of reasons:

  • Several organisations were more used to working with young people aged 14-18, so working with the older age group involved a change in approach.
  • There are few referral organisations and networks working with aged 19+ so it was harder to make contact with the young adults they were hoping to recruit.
  • It was difficult to turn away younger applicants, particularly at a time of high unemployment when numbers of 16-18 NEETS were rising.

However, the projects discovered that there was a need for provision for this age group, particularly for young parents, as many learning programmes for young people have a cut-off age at 21 and do not offer childcare support: "At the point of joining Ripples, I was unemployed and fed up; most opportunities out there had barriers around child care support, therefore I couldn't access/participate on various schemes, especially as I am 22 years old and the Care to Learn scheme which has financial support is only for those parents aged 20 and under which ruled me out." (Participant in Youth A.I.D. Ripples Project)

Web 2 technologies which facilitate peer-to-peer communication proved particularly valuable, encouraging learners to develop the skills of reflecting on their learning through online forums, blogs etc. Projects reported that learners who would normally avoid writing would engage in this kind of communication.  The My Nav Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and electronic portfolio system developed through the Foyer Federation's Project enabled learners to use a range of virtual communication tools to plan, evidence and reflect on their own learning journey. The Ripples project posted evidence of what had been achieved online: come dine with me with fish.

Projects found that young people re-engaged with learning through these informal approaches, gained employability skills and progressed to further learning and employment. For instance:

  • 60% of the young learning advocates in the Ripples Project progressed to further learning and vocational training and 25% have moved into work.
  • Participants in the Crewe football and life skills project progressed into football coach training and volunteering at local sports events as well as further training and employment - 30% moved into work:
  • MyNav helped young people to see the value of learning in helping them to achieve their personal goals and supported them to continue learning when they moved on from living at the Foyer.

"I had to organise the budget. My organisational and planning skills improved. We did this through regular meetings, mapping out the day hour-by-hour, listing things to buy/spend and keeping good records. It went really well."   

Making it work: 

There are various ways to make informal learning for young adults successful:

  • Involve them in the design and development of the learning opportunities:"Even a small budget for learning can go a long way if young people get involved in how it is spent" (My Nav);
  • Take learning opportunities to places where young people feel comfortable: "YAL has an informal drop in, where learners can see a welcoming face, ........ young people can make it feel like their second home so they are keen to be there and to bring along their peers to access support, new learning and to forge new friendship groups." (Ripples)
  • Start with activities that young people are already interested in and that challenge them to move out of their comfort zone.
  • Provide support throughout this process, through mentors, peer learning advocates and other appropriate role models: " Young black men who are enthusiastic about learning, promote the project to their peers and... successfully engage other marginalised young adults who wouldn't normally access informal adult learning"(Ripples);
  • Provide opportunities for reflection on learning: "It is in this ability to achieve several objectives in the same activity where the real value of informal learning lies, and why it proved so important to provide individual space for reflection around these activities, so that the value of the learning for each individual could be made apparent." (My Nav)
  • Give recognition of what has been achieved, through showcasing outcomes or linking to other recognition schemes such as Vinspired.
  • Signpost participants to progression opportunities such as further learning, vocational training, volunteering or employment.
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