Great write-up of our "No train, no gain" report.

Training pushes up those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder further and faster than anyone else. But investment - from Gvt and employers - are way down.

"Barmy at the best of times" indeed. www.ft.com/content/460b...

The way that peri/menopause is getting talked about in some places is way too normative ('menopause is like this and impacts people this way') and scarily blasé about the pitfalls of 'biology as destiny'.

We all have hormones that impact us in different ways at different times.

That extends not just to the most mercenary policy impact - I felt like my training also made it harder for me to see a way to 'political' change in a grander sense.

My PhD gave me an arsenal of tools of political critique, but none for political action. It took a while to untangle that confusion.

There is my snap take: keep eyes peeled for more considered views from @learnworkuk.bsky.social colleagues later today!

www.gov.uk/government/p...

To succeed, his proposals rely on politicians having more courage in the run-up to the next SR to deliver major change than they have now. I don’t see anything here that will hold their feet to the fire on that.

What this report misses is that the goodwill and legitimacy generated by Sir Charlie was not “business as usual”, & will be very difficult to sustain without him.

He is confident about employers staying the course and jumping on Board - but he was the one bringing them to the table.

It’s hard not to be disappointed. Essentially, this review asks for an extension of the existing review - a longer-term programme of evidence- and coalition-building.

The Work and Health unit in DWP/DHSC has existed for many years - how would this new unit truly be different?

Beyond that, the reccs are tentative.

There are hints at employer incentives, fit note reforms, a new market-led support intervention - but these are all to come only after the “Intelligence Unit” has worked them up and delivered the case.

The core recommendation here is to create a “Work and Health Intelligence Unit”

This would aim to generate an evidence base: building the case for the *actual* change that the report suggests is necessary, working alongside a coalition of willing “Vanguard employers” initially to test things out.

Read more from our Adult Participation in Learning survey, and find out more about how to get involved in the movement, here:

getthenationlearning.org.uk