ONS Local has been established by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to support evidence-based decision-making at the local level. We aim to host insightful events that connect our users with exciting developments happening in subnational statistics and analysis at the ONS and across other organisations. From 1 August 2019, the Secretary of State for Education delegated responsibility for the commissioning, delivery and management of London’s Adult Education Budget (AEB) to the Mayor of London. The AEB helps Londoners to get the skills they need to progress both in life and work. The overarching aim of London’s AEB is to make adult education in London even more accessible, impactful and locally relevant. In this presentation, the Greater London Authority will be going through the results of the pioneering 2021/22 London Learner Survey (LLS). The survey’s objective is to gain insight into the outcomes of learners to inform and improve policy. The LLS consists of two linked surveys of learners who participated in GLA-funded Adult Education Budget (AEB) learning in the academic year 2021/22. In the LLS, Learners are surveyed prior to and 5-7 months after completing their course to estimate the economic and social changes that learners experience following an AEB course. In particular, the presentation will show the economic impact broken down by: . Progression into employment . Progression within work . Progression into further learning. The social impact will be explored by looking at changes in: . Health and wellbeing . Improved self-efficacy . Improved social integration . Participation in volunteering The presentation will also cover how outcomes vary by funding type, breaking down the results by Community Learning and Adult Skills. This event is open to all; however, we anticipate it will be of most interest to anyone working at a local level on skills, education and employment. If you have any questions, please contact ons.local@ons.gov.uk.

1. 1
MAYOR OF LONDON
ONS Local
Adult Education outcomes in London
June 2023

2. 1. Introduction

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MAYOR OF LONDON
WHAT IS THE ADULT EDUCATION BUDGET?
The Adult Education Budget (AEB) in London funds education and training
• Since 1 August 2019, the Mayor of
London has been responsible for the
commissioning, delivery and
management of AEB.
• Since devolution, there have been just
under 800,000 learners funded by
London’s AEB enrolling in 1.6 million
courses.
• The overarching aim of the AEB is to
make adult education even more
accessible, impactful and locally
relevant.
790,390
1,586,880

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MAYOR OF LONDON
MAYOR’S SKILLS ROADMAP
An aim for the mayor is measuring the impact of AEB courses
Aim 4 of the Mayor’s skills roadmap is to measure the social and economic
benefits of adult education.
The key areas are:
Economic Outcomes:
• Progression into employment
• Progression within work
• Progression into further learning
Social Outcomes:
• Health and wellbeing
• Improved self-efficacy
• Improved social integration
• Participation in volunteering

5. London Learner Survey
Introduction

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MAYOR OF LONDON
CURRENT AVAILABLE EVIDENCE
Data held by DfE cannot fully measure the impact of the AEB
Research on outcomes of vocational education in England tends to use the Longitudinal Educational Outcome
dataset, but there are some key limitations:
 No hours worked data
 No information on why individuals are out of the labour market
 No measure of the quality of work, such as if someone is on a permanent or temporary contract
 Significant time lag in the data (3-4 years of data)
 Social outcomes are not captured

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MAYOR OF LONDON
THE LONDON LEARNER SURVEY
The London Learner Survey (LLS) data provides London with an unprecedented level
of insight into the economic and social outcomes achieved by AEB learners
• Due to the current data gap, the LLS was launched in 2021/22. It enables the GLA to:
• Successfully measure outcomes achieved by learners post AEB,
• Collate better information on learner outcomes to support future policy development, and to share with
local stakeholders and providers,
• The survey was run for the first time in academic year 2021/22, and the survey is currently underway for
academic year 2022/23.
• GLA commissioned research organisation IFF to conduct the survey.
The aim of this presentation is to explain how the survey was conducted as well as the main findings of the survey.

8. 8
MAYOR OF LONDON
THE LONDON LEARNER SURVEY
Survey Approach
The LLS consists of two linked surveys of people participating
in GLA-AEB learning:
• A baseline survey administered by learning providers when
the learner starts their course.
• A follow-up survey, administered by IFF Research from
approximately five to seven months after the end of
learning. This enables the LLS can measure outcomes
achieved by learners post AEB courses.
• In 2021/22 there were 201,000 Londoners enrolling in
430,000 aims through the AEB. The final data is based on
a sample of 6,720 learning aims undertaken by 6,297
learners.

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MAYOR OF LONDON
CAVEATS
• Outcomes may not have been achieved as a direct result of education
• Baseline and follow-up surveys are snapshots – it is possible that some learners went on to achieve outcomes
after completing the follow-up survey.
• Some of the sample sizes are too small for us to have confidence in the results. The GLA expect to achieve a
larger sample size in the second year of the survey (2022/23).

10. Headline Outcomes

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MAYOR OF LONDON
SUMMARY OUTCOME METRICS
Most learners achieve a positive economic or social change after learning
Note: Changes that occurred between the baseline and follow-up survey cannot be purely attributed to the course. Economic outcome excludes retired individuals
of respondents had a positive economic or
educational change…
…meaning one of the following is true:
• They moved into employment
• They moved from a temporary job to a permanent job
• Their pay increased
• They continued onto further training at a higher NVQ
level
• They moved from inactivity to unemployment
of respondents believed the course had led to a positive
social change…
…meaning one of the following is true:
• They reported the course had a positive impact on their
wellbeing
• They reported the course made them more confident;
or
• They reported that the course helped them to meet
new people

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MAYOR OF LONDON
The results are positive overall and highlight the broad range of outcomes delivered
through the AEB
52%
Learners reporting a
positive economic
outcome
96%
Learners felt their
course had led to
positive social change
29% Learners out of
employment moved into
employment
68% Learners started or
going to start new training
10% Increase in mean
income for employed
learners
84% Learners
experienced an increase
in wellbeing
90% Learners felt more
confident due to their
course
79% Learners met
different people due to
their course
40% Learners
participated in
volunteering
Notes: The percentage of learners (52%) reporting a positive economic outcomes is equivalent to around 100,000 learners; and 96% of learners reporting a positive social
change is equivalent to around 180,000 Londoners. The change in income is statistically significant at 1%. For more information and interpretation of the data please see the
accompanying report.
SUMMARY OF OUTCOMES

13. Economic outcomes

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MAYOR OF LONDON
ECONOMIC OUTCOMES – MOVEMENT INTO WORK
The percentage in employment increased from 33% to 42%
Change in economic activity between baseline and follow-up survey
Learner weight applied, sample size 6,126 and 6,109 in baseline and follow-up respectively.
The figure above excludes ‘Don’t know’, ‘Prefer not to say’ and ‘Other’ categories.
In the baseline survey, 51% of learners
cited getting the job they wanted as a
reason for doing their course. The
percentage of learners in employment
(employed or self-employed) increased
from 33% to 42% in the follow-up.
For those that did move into
employment, 27% said the course
helped a lot in them getting their
current paid work, with a further 25%
saying it helped a little.

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MAYOR OF LONDON
ECONOMIC OUTCOMES – MOVEMENT INTO WORK
The majority of learner’s activity status has not changed...
Change in economic activity between baseline and follow-up survey
Learner weight applied, Sample size = 5,849 Total learners (excluding those whose economic activity is not listed).
The figure above excludes ‘Don’t know’, ‘Prefer not to say’ and ‘Other’ categories.
...for those whose status
changed, the main reason is
due to moving into
employment.
29% of learners out of
employment moved into
employment

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MAYOR OF LONDON
ECONOMIC OUTCOMES – PROGRESSION IN WORK
Employed learners worked more hours after completing their course
Average hours worked at the
follow up
30.4
Average hours worked at the
baseline
28.8
Increase in average hours
worked (baseline v follow-up)
5.3%***
Learner weight applied, Unweighted sample size = 1,633 learners employed at baseline and follow-up.
*** Statistically significant at 1% significance level
Hours worked per week for learners in employment

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MAYOR OF LONDON
ECONOMIC OUTCOMES – PROGRESSION IN WORK
Employed learners had a higher income after completing their course
Learner weight applied, Unweighted sample size = 1,065 (Those in employment who reported their earnings).
*** Statistically significant at 1% significance level
Mean annual income at the
follow up
£23,700 - £25,100
Mean annual income at the
baseline
£21,600 - £22,900
Increase in mean annual
income (baseline v follow-up)
10%***
Earning distribution of respondents in baseline and follow-up surveys

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MAYOR OF LONDON
ECONOMIC OUTCOMES - PROGRESSION IN EDUCATION
Learners progressing into further learning often do so at a higher level
Learner weight applied, Unweighted sample = 4,479
68.4% of
learners had
started or were
going to start
more study or
training
Level of further study / training

19. Social outcomes

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MAYOR OF LONDON
SOCIAL OUTCOMES – HEALTH AND WELLBEING
84% of learners report that the course has positively impacted their wellbeing
Learner weight applied, sample size = 6,776. *** Statistically significant at 1% significance level
How do you rate the impact of the course on your wellbeing?
Wellbeing metric Mean baseline
score (0 to 10)
Mean follow-up
score (0 to 10)
Percentage
change***
Life satisfaction 6.9 7.3 6%
Feeling things in
life are worthwhile
7.5 7.8 4%
Happiness 7.1 7.4 3.8%
Anxiety 4.0 3.8 -4.9%
84%

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MAYOR OF LONDON
SOCIAL OUTCOMES – SELF-EFFICACY
Nine in ten learners report an increase in their confidence as a result of the course
of respondents reported an
increase in their confidence
as a result of the course
90%
Learner weight applied, sample size = 6,720
Has the course improved your confidence?

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MAYOR OF LONDON
SOCIAL OUTCOMES – SELF-EFFICACY
Clear increase in proportion of people agreeing with 'self-efficacy' statements
Across all six self-
efficacy sub-questions
there has been an
increase in the share of
learners reporting the
answer is “somewhat
true”
Learner weight applied, sample size = 6,361
Percentage of learners who said “at least somewhat true” to the following questions

23. 23
MAYOR OF LONDON
SOCIAL OUTCOMES – SOCIAL INTEGRATION
79% of learners felt the course helped them to meet lots of different people
Learner weight applied, unweighted sample size = 6,720
of respondents reported
that the course helped
them to meet lots of
different people
79%
The course has helped me to meet lots of different people?

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MAYOR OF LONDON
SOCIAL OUTCOMES – VOLUNTEERING
There has been no change in the proportion of people engaging in volunteering
There has been no change in the
proportion of people volunteering.
However, amongst those who do
volunteer there has been a small
increase in the proportion taking up
formal volunteering and the share
volunteering at least once a week.
Learner weight applied, sample size = 6,361
Volunteering participation

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MAYOR OF LONDON
1. Headline findings report:
Covering the social and economic outcomes of Londoners participating in the AEB. The report includes results for
all learners funded by the AEB and to subsections which divide learners based on fundings model (Adult Skills and
Community Learning).
2. Dashboard:
Outlining the key statistics from the research report and allow users to view and interact with the results by funding
model.
3. IFF technical report:
Provided by IFF Research (commissioned partner that conducted the survey), outlining how the survey was
conducted, the statistical approach taken to weighting and the full questionnaire.
For enquiries / feedback, please contact us at: aeb@london.gov.uk
THE LONDON LEARNER SURVEY
Further Information at London Learner Survey - London Datastore