Shadow Minister for Further Education & Skills, Toby Perkins MP has met staff and learners at a local adult education programme in Rochdale.

Mr Perkins spoke to learners at the New Pioneers programme about their experiences of the course and their ambitions for the future.

Staff told Mr Perkins how the neighbourhood-based learning, skills, and employment programme, based in the Pioneers Museum Learning Loft, has been instrumental in radically changing the prospects of people who would otherwise end up in short term, low paid entry level work.

There was a certificate presentation during which Mr Perkins handed out certificates to those who had completed their courses.

During the visit, Toby also discussed the programme with Rochdale councillor Tom Besford, members of the Centenary Commission on Adult Learning and the Right to Learn campaign.

Toby stated “It was wonderful to come to Rochdale and see how the New Pioneers programme is transforming the lives of learners across Rochdale. This is exactly the kind of programme that Labour have in mind with our devolution agenda, ensuring that funds are transferred from central government to local people who understand the needs of their community best”.

John Holford, Joint Secretary to the Centenary Commission on Adult Education said: ‘Rochdale’s exciting work shows how important broad and inclusive programmes of adult education are in building strong and resilient communities. The Centenary Commission was delighted that Toby Perkins came to see it for himself. Too often, policymakers hide away and don’t see for themselves how learning doesn’t just help people in their jobs – it makes their lives, and their families’ and communities’ lives, much richer too.'”

Gordon Marsden and Professor Vicky Duckworth , two of the co- Founders of the Right to Learn campaign said: ‘ We warmly welcome Toby’s visit to Rochdale to listen to the case for lifelong learning – in all its aspects – as an essential way forward to skills and opportunities to regenerate employment and life chances , and especially Labour’s focus to the needs of many of the smaller towns and countryside around and across the North West , Yorkshire and Derbyshire.’

They added “Right to Learn has been watching the work Toby has been doing to develop Labour policy in this area and in particular the speech he gave earlier this week at the AELP conference , whose members account for around 70% of all apprenticeships in England. We welcome what he said about Labour’s proposed skills and growth levy needing to benefit the employability of learners in general not just to usefulness for their current employer. That has been a central tenet of Right to Learn’s objectives since its formation and repeated at our events.’