Evaluation of Individual Learning Accounts

TrainingZone

Evaluation of Individual Learning Accounts

By TrainingZone

An initial evaluation report into the views of both users and providers regarding the flagship Individual Learning Accounts has been published this month by the Department for Education and Skills.

The survey involved telephone interviews with over 1,000 ILA learners and 33 providers in England. Several people with unused ILA accounts were also included.

The full report is available online and the following are some of the summary findings:

From the sample, a wide range of learners took up ILAs. 59% were women, over half were aged 31-50. 43% were in managerial or professional occupations.

84% of respondents already had a qualification and 39% held a qualification at NVQ Level 4 (equivalent) or above.

Users were satisfied with the work of the ILA Centre; providers were more critical of slowness in the website and delays in account administration.

ILAs supported courses over a range of NVQ levels and a wide range of delivery methods.

The marketing of ILAs has not been particularly focused on the DfES target groups. Providers have tended to advertise ILAs to people enquiring about their training provision.

There is some confusion in the responses as to whether respondents would have undertaken the training without ILA support; around two-fifths may have been able to pay for, or undertake anyway, their ILA supported course of training.