Older people gain enormously from informal adult learning. It is not only fun but keeps minds active, reduces isolation and provides health benefits.

Courses such as IT, finance and citizenship, and programmes on managing care and staying healthy, can have a significant, positive impact on older people's quality of life.

However, older people can be excluded from informal adult learning because their needs are not always considered.

Help the Aged is calling for:

• the Government to recognise the value of learning for quality of life and the need for different courses to achieve this
• learning content to be accessible to all, and not just moved online or on to digital television
• a central information point for older learners
• older people to be involved in the planning and development of informal adult learning
• the Government to ensure its emphasis on providing workers with skills does not limit the funding of informal adult learning or increase its cost to users

Learning for Life: the issues
Discover more about the background to this campaign.

What you can do
Take action and make your voice heard.