RPL and Older Adults: A case study analysis

1. RPL and Older Adults: A case study analysis Graham Smith & Alice Morton Centre for Lifelong Learning University of Strathclyde

2. Centre for Lifelong Learning Located in the City Centre of Glasgow, the Senior Studies Institute, University of Strathclyde was formalised in 1991 as a European centre of excellence for lifelong learning for people over 50. Today, located within the Centre for Lifelong Learning, the Institute has 4 Key areas: • Learning in Later Life • Useful Learning • Widening Access • Employability

3. 50+ Employability • Extensive experience and understanding of the diverse range of issues facing adults in later life. • Widely respected across Scotland, the UK, Europe and North America in relation to lifelong learning. • Sound knowledge of age management and the associated business impact of an ageing workforce.

4. Transitions in later life • A range of factors influence capacity for working in later life • Capacity to deal with change and uncertainty varies significantly from person to person • Phillipson, 2002

5. Encouraging lifelong learning • One of the greatest predictors of participation in learning at a later stage in life is the amount of initial education. • Older adults less likely to participate in lifelong learning activity, particularly those with poor educational backgrounds. • Even less likely to work towards formal qualifications.

6. Realising Your Potential project Key objectives of the project are to assist older workers aged 50+ to: • Re-engage with learning • Update their existing skills and develop new skills • Assess current work ability and explore work potential • Enhance their future employability • Consider working longer and/or postpone retirement

7. Double Loop learning model Stage 5 Progress onto new learning opportunities • Based on Argyris & Schön, 1978

8. Emerging issues • Appropriate advice and guidance provision for older adults • Influencing Scottish Government policy on Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG), taking into account the differing needs of older adults • Increasing number of older adults “encouraged” to consider early retirement/redundancy • Individual capacity for dealing with change (transitions) beyond the age of 50 challenging • Potential value of recognition of prior learning

9. Centre for Lifelong Learning SCQF Partnership RPL Network Event 18th November 2010 Recognition of Prior Learning and Realising Your Potential www.strath.ac.uk/cll

10. 50+ Employability – Realising Your Potential • An extrapolation of similarities between Realising Your Potential and Recognition of Prior Learning • Skills - centre stage for older workers - analysing and profiling tools • Demystifying the SCQF framework for older learners

11. Similar Characteristics • Characteristics • Learner’s potential • Interested in re-entering • learning • Contribute towards a programme of learning • People who have been out of education • Adults returning to education • Wanting to re-train or change careers • Volunteering, community activities/projects • Characteristics • Learning potential of 50+ • Interested in learning and personal development • May envisage barriers to learning • Working life may have been for the most part in the same job • Interested in education to plan employability/retirement • Employment awareness • Planning for change/ career • Open to volunteering and local opportunities Learning Employment Qualifications Career Pathways Recognition of Prior Learning Realising Your Potential

12. Skills Analysis and Profiling • Experience and Processing • Family life (home- • making,caring, domestic • organisation) • Work (paid or unpaid) • Community, voluntary or • leisure activities • Key experiences and • events in life • Confidence building • Goals and what is • needed to achieve them • Lifelong learning • Reflective log / evidence • Experience and Processing • Learning (adult • learner/learning contexts) • Skills profiling • Reflection • Work • Family • Community, voluntary, • hobbies and interests • (unstructured learning) • Key experiences and events • in life (unstructured learning) • Confidence building • Future planning • Reflective log / evidence Reflection Confidence Goals Skills Profiling Realising Your Potential Recognition of Prior Learning

13. Recognition of Prior Learning: Toolkit RPL toolkit is a resource which can be adapted to support the personal development of older learners when analysing and profiling their skills

14. Where to Start? – an ‘objective experience’ • Step 1- Analyse a job experience • Reflect on a well known job • Identify skills in use or essential to job • Record these at random • Categorise under headings • Step 2 - Reflect • Additional skills • Transferrable skills • Step 3 - Profile • Organise a personal skills profile for a barperson Skills ? Skills ? Skills ? Skills ?

15. Where to Start? – a ‘subjective experience’ • Personal experience ( job or life) • Describe the experience – what happened? • Knowledge gained – what do you know now? • Skills- what skills have been developed? • Reflections- what skills are in deficit? • Application – think of a new job/form of engagement in which you could apply these skills

16. Skills – centre stage • A personal skills profile • Transferrable skills awareness • New learning/career pathways • Signature strengths • A ‘sparkling’ CV • A volunteering CV

17. SCQF Framework Older learners Indicated no knowledge of the framework Pilot - found it useful Greater understanding of qualifications and progression routes

18. Observations • What are the benefits to the older learner? • What difficulties/challenges were experienced? • What successes have there been?

19. Thank You Contact details: Graham Smith graham.smith@strath.ac.uk

20. Thank You Contact details: Graham Smith graham.smith@strath.ac.uk Alice Morton alice.morton@strath.ac.uk Website: www.strath.ac.uk/cll