Welcome to the Next Steps South West adult learners support page. Here you will find specific tools and resources designed to help you as an adult learner as you embark on your Higher Education journey. You can also sign up to the new adult learner newsletter here.
Want access to specific information?
Have questions or looking for further details on career changes, re-training or going back to work after childcare or unemployment? Discover Lifepilot – an online resource helping adults progress to higher level study.
Looking for more personalised advice?
If you are aged 19+ and already enrolled on a NSSW Partner College course, book a 1:1 Advice Session with a qualified Careers Advisor and discuss your individual learning needs. Register here for your session.
Need to chat to like-minded people?
The student ambassador chat system Unibuddy offers you the chance to speak to other students and adult learners to help you connect with those already on their study journey. You can also chat to our qualified Careers Advisor Ruth who can answer specific question.
Adult Learner Newsletter
NSSW, your local Uni Connect programme is embarking on extending our outreach programme to adult learners. Our collaborative approach, that brings together higher and further education provider partners, and local industry and third sector partnerships, plus being part of a national Uni Connect network, and funded by the Office for Students means that we are impartial. You can find out more about our work here: About Us.
Why return to study?
We’re working longer, and the world is changing faster, with recent events accelerating this, so changing whole careers, not just jobs, has become the new normal. Most of us will likely change industry once — perhaps multiple times — throughout our lifetimes. This can be both daunting and exhilarating. Making the decision to retrain can be about igniting new or dormant interests and unlocking your potential.
Sign-up to our dedicated Adult Learner Newsletter to receive the latest information and resources relevant to you.
This House of Commons briefing paper provides information and statistics on mature students and discusses the decline in mature student numbers and highlights policy issues affecting these students.
An overview of the National Skills Fund which aims to help adults to train and gain the valuable skills they need to improve their job prospects and support the economy.
As an adult learner your personal circumstances may be different from those of average undergraduates - UCAS have put together a compressive guide to help adult learner complete the application process.
Read our Student Finance Page to get up-to-date with all the latest information about student funding, from loans and applications to repayment considerations.
Resources by NSSW - covering everything from, level 3 options and different types of qualifications, to applicant and student finance guides.
Compiled by Humber Outreach Programme (HOP) during National Careers Week 2021 these resources are particularly relevant for adult learners looking at changing career pathways, what it is like to be an adult student and issues around financial constraints.
Our podcast explores all aspects of HE, we speak to experts and get answers to crucial questions, plus hear from recent graduates about the obstacles they had to overcome to study at HE level.