Segmentation of adults by attitudes and barriers to learning
Posted: 11 September 2008
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) has published research that divides the adult population according to their attitudes towards learning and their barriers to learning. They hope that this make it easier to understand what are the best communication and service development strategies for each segment in order to encourage people to improve their level of qualifications.
One of the findings of the research was that the majority of those who are low skilled (i.e. not qualified to level 2) are negative about learning and are likely to be hard to reach. There was also evidence to suggest that financial incentives can have only a limited impact as those with limited means often have multiple barriers. It is hoped that strategies such as providing training while at work through Train to Gain or marketing skills to improve attitudes to learning will help people in some segments, but it is suggested that other segments will require different forms of assistance.