The recent confirmation of more than £1 billion investment in tertiary education and research in Wales is an important moment for learners, providers and communities across the country. As Wales continues to develop a more connected tertiary education system through Medr, it is also an opportunity to reflect on the role lifelong learning plays in the future of Wales.

Too often, adult learning is viewed only through the lens of qualifications or employment. Those things matter, but the impact of learning reaches much further. Across Wales, adult learning helps people rebuild confidence, improve wellbeing, develop new skills and feel more connected to their communities.

At Adult Learning Wales, we see every day how community-based learning creates opportunity in practical and unexpected ways. Through a wide range of learning opportunities and professional qualifications, learners develop essential skills in literacy and numeracy, improve digital confidence, learn English or Welsh, explore creative interests and progress into areas such as counselling, childcare, youth work and community leadership.

For many learners, the first step back into learning is also a step towards greater confidence and connection.

At a time of rapid social, economic and technological change, lifelong learning has never mattered more. Adult learning supports workforce development, digital inclusion, wellbeing and community participation, while providing flexible, learner-centred opportunities that meet people where they are in life.

As Wales’s tertiary education system evolves, it is important that lifelong and community learning remain central to that vision. Adult learning changes lives in a positive way every day across Wales, and its impact reaches far beyond the classroom.

If we want confident communities, inclusive growth and opportunities that reach every part of society, adult learning must continue to be part of Wales’s future.

Kathryn Robson, Chief Executive