Over the past 20 years in Adult Learning, I have seen firsthand how a short course can change the passage of someone’s life. These aren’t just classes — they are spaces of transformation, belonging, and inspiration.  

Adult Learn and Train operates within the Cambridge Cluster of United Learning. This post-19 education service provides a range of courses across various curriculum areas. It offers a significant number of full-cost recovery courses, along with a smaller selection of funded courses aimed at promoting career enhancement. 

I’ve assessed learners at the beginning of the academic year for English and Maths classes and have been there on the day they collect their certificates, sharing their joy and even tears. The small Adult Learn and Train team of administrators have followed learners beyond this when they send us updates about their next step into further education or better career options.  

Our tutors also often share remarkable accounts of their learners. Some describe individuals who, while grieving, found comfort and healing through the routine of a regular course. Others tell of the shyest learners blossoming into accomplished artists who eventually go on to teach themselves. Many learners even credit their tutor as the person who changed their lives for the better. These tutors don’t just pass on skills—they reach deeper; offering wisdom, values, and encouragement that inspire learners to become more than they ever imagined. As Teachers of Tomorrow put it, ‘Teachers significantly impact the lives of their learners—not just through what they teach, but through who they are.’” 

Our tutors are extraordinary. They don’t teach for the money—the hours are part-time, and the pay is modest. They teach because it is who they are. Some people are simply born to pass on their wisdom, to guide, and to light the way for others. In every class, they give more than knowledge: they give encouragement, belief, and hope. They create safe spaces where learners feel seen, where creativity can flourish, and where growth becomes possible. 

In Adult Learn and Train (United Learning), Cambridge, we have a plethora of awe-inspiring tutors, from Artists who exhibit their work across the world, to senior expert surgeons who teach their native language to learners for pennies, as this is their happy place.  

Adult learning isn’t just about subjects; it’s about people; it’s a community service, and along the way, many learners will meet inspirational tutors and fellow learners who become catalysts for change. Sometimes it’s a teacher who sees potential no one else has noticed. Sometimes it’s a fellow learner who shares their journey and inspires you to take your own leap. These connections can shift someone’s path forever.  

Services like Adult Learn and Train don’t just appear overnight. They are built over decades of passion, expertise, and community trust. We have witnessed many Adult Learning services disappear over the last decade and once they disappear, they cannot simply be replaced; the tutors move on, the skills are lost, and the safe spaces we’ve built for learners are gone forever. Innovation and change are important, but we must never forget that people’s wellbeing, confidence, and human connection matter more than profit margins. 

Innovation and change will always have their place, but at Adult Learn and Train we never lose sight of what matters most: people’s wellbeing, confidence, and human connection. We cannot promise cheaper courses than our competition, nor can we predict how long the service will continue in its current form—but what we can promise is this: while we are here, we will give everything we can to create life-changing learning experiences. Every class, every tutor, every learner matters. And that is what we will continue to strive for, for as long as we are able. 

#LifeLongLearning