NIACE

The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) aims to encourage all adults to engage in learning of all kinds. As such their remit is adult learning across all sectors.

In an interview in May's Adults Learning, the Prime Minister, David Cameron MP, considers adult learning to be crucial, saying:

"Learning isn't about consuming chunks of knowledge in order to be able to do a job. It's broadening the mind, giving people self-belief, strengthening the bonds of community.

"Over the past 13 years so many learning places have been lost because they haven't been deemed useful. And simply focusing on workplace training...often means funding something that employers would be willing to pay for anyway. The National Audit Office has said that Train to Gain represents poor value for money so we will refocus it, committing an extra £100 million to learning chosen by people themselves.

"Adult learning has a really important role to play in encouraging active citizenship. I'm not just talking about what people learn about specifically, but how that learning makes them feel. Going along to college means meeting people, discussing what's going on in the worls boosting your belief in what you can do. It's that self-belief that leads people to get involved in their communities and become more active citizens.

"Giventhat my vision for this country is for all of us to get involved and play our part in national renewal, I believe adult learning, and the way it inspires people, is crucially important."