Toby Perkins MP, the Shadow Minister for Further Education and Skills, visited the Open University’s campus in Milton Keynes on Tuesday 25 April to celebrate the role the university plays in skills development and lifelong learning across the UK.
The Labour MP for Chesterfield met with the Open University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Blackman, and other senior staff to hear more about the OU’s essential role in addressing skills needs across the UK, and the importance of the partnerships it holds with Further Education Colleges to help deliver this.
A highlight of the visit included a roundtable discussion with some OU students and graduates in the Milton Keynes area. They talked about their personal learning journeys, study motivations, and what lifelong learning means to them across a range of subjects from social sciences, engineering, digital and tech solutions, and computer software. Some came to the OU straight from school, whereas others took up their studies later in life. Another student also came to the OU via their employer on one of our degree apprenticeship programmes.
Toby Perkins MP said:
“It’s wonderful to visit the Open University hub and meet staff and learners. There are 205* students currently taking Open University courses in Chesterfield and the OU is an excellent way to learn around work, childcare and caring commitments.
“In my role as Shadow Minister for FE and Skills, it was particularly useful to find out more about their partnerships with colleges and their apprenticeship programme.
“It was great to take part in the roundtable and hear from students themselves about their experiences and their ambitions for the future”.
Professor Tim Blackman, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, said:
“It was a pleasure to welcome the Shadow Minister to The Open University campus in Milton Keynes and discuss our lifelong learning mission.
“Over the last decade, there has been a sharp decline in undergraduate part-time study in England, particularly among those aged 21 and over. Lifelong learning matters now more than ever, supporting people to gain new skills and increasing productivity, as well as benefits for health and mental wellbeing.
“At the OU, we provide a wide range of certificates, diplomas, higher technical qualifications, foundation degrees, honours degrees, apprenticeships and short courses, helping people achieve the right learning goals for them by studying flexibly.”
* Source: HESA Student Record 2020/21. This analysis classifies student domicile on the basis of where someone lived immediately prior to commencing their studies. All data has been rounded and used in accordance with HESA’s standard rounding methodology.
