MAKE SURE YOU READ THE CITIES OF LEARNING REPORT!

More and more of us are living in cities and an interesting RSA report has just been published. It argues that Cities of Learning has the potential to unlock significant benefits for cities, learners, and employers...
For places and learning organisations this includes:
• Providing support in widening participation and inclusion in learning.
• Providing an effective platform to forge networks, increase collaboration and achieve collective impact.
• Creating stronger and more coherent links between formal, non-formal and informal learning.
• Tangibly linking learning to wider priorities such as economic development, civic engagement and health and wellbeing.
• Enhancing the visibility and accessibility of existing programmes.
• Potentially reducing duplication and silo working, making programmes more coherent, holistic and complementary.
• Simulating learner motivation and participation through new learning and ‘credentialisation’ models.
• Harnessing the tech platform as an effective careers advice and guidance tool, influencing the choices and progression routes of leaners.
• Generating new insight through rich data generated by the platform.
• Developing connections to national and global networks on city-led Learning, allowing a community of cities to work and learn together.

For learners:
• Significantly increasing access to a wide range of opportunities. Previous RSA research has found that more the half of 18-24 year olds wanted more opportunities to access education and support, or lacked the motivation to engage with learning opportunities.
• Getting recognition for skills and capabilities that aren’t recognised by formal assessment.
• Exploring new learning and life experiences and increase opportunities to pursue passions.
• Getting the support, guidance and skills needed to progress through education and work.
• Unlocking tangible opportunities through personalised pathways, with links to networks, mentors and peers.

For employers:
• Benefiting from greater work readiness and employability.
• Accessing opportunities to better define local skills and learning pathways.
• Possibilities to think innovatively about recruitment, progression and workforce development.
• Building talent pipelines by using digital badges to define skills and attributes that they need and and offering opportunities to learners from schools, colleges and universities that are part of the CofL platform.
• Enabling an earlier and more effective engagement with schools and young people.

You can download the report at the rsa.org.