ABSTRACT
Two separate initiatives in the UK are starting to come together. The first is the Open Tech programme, which started as a project-based initiative with particular emphasis on technicians and supervisors and with the ethos of removing barriers for adults who wanted to enter, return to, or continue their education or training. As time went on however the burden of producing learning material came to dominate the Open Tech programme and the number of modules produced were used as a measure of its success. No national system was created, and once pump-priming finance is removed the viability of many of the projects is doubtful.
The PICKUP (Professional, Industrial and Commercial Updating) programme of the Department of Education and Science (DES) has been a systematic attempt to persuade institutions to design short updating courses specifically for industrial needs, to market the courses, to ensure that teaching staff are sufficiently expert and to charge a realistic price. Experiments with inter-institutional collaboration have taken place, one of the most successful being the Coventry Consortium, which comprises Warwick University, Coventry Polytechnic and three vocational education colleges.
Users need to be able to choose whether they want a face-to-face course or self-study. For such choice to be exercisable there has to be comprehensive availability of courses or self-study materials, a network of support and advice, and accurate and up-to-date information. The TAP (Training Access Points) initiative announced in 1986 should provide the latter by bringing information on training opportunities to places where people naturally go. The Open College of the Air initiative (also announced in 1986) may well provide an opportunity to bring together the various elements and create a comprehensive national system.
