CHAPTER SIX MOTIVATIONS AND BARRIERS
6.1 This chapter looks at the reasons that respondents had for undertaking courses, as well as the reasons why some learners had not started any courses and others left a course before it had finished.
Motivation for undertaking ILA funded learning
6.2 Those who had undertaken or booked a course at the time of the wave 1 interview were asked to say spontaneously what had motivated them to do so. Chart 6.1 shows all responses mentioned by at least 5% of these respondents on ILA100 or ILA200.
Chart 6.1 Motivation for undertaking ILA
Base: All successful applicants who had undertaken or booked an ILA funded course at wave 1 interview ( ILA200: 587, ILA100: 541)
6.3 More than a third (35%) of respondents who had undertaken or booked ILA100 courses said they had done so to learn or improve their computer skills, although it should be noted that this was when respondents were interviewed in November-December 2006, when the scope of ILA100 had only recently been widened beyond ICT courses. When asked at the wave 2 interview why they were considering taking more courses in the next 12 months, only 8% of those on ILA100 said it was to learn or improve computer skills.
6.4 Sub-group analysis shows that older learners on both offers were more likely to say they wanted to learn or improve computer skills (reflecting the higher proportion of older people doing ICT courses). Learners aged 60 or over were less likely to be doing a course for reasons to do with work or career. On ILA100, there were differences by social grade: ABC1s were more likely than C2DEs to be doing a course to gain or update their qualifications, skills or knowledge (23% compared with 11%), while ABs were more likely than other learners to want to try something new or take on a personal challenge (13%); C2DEs were more likely than ABC1s to be doing a course to help find work or a change of carer (15% compared with 9%).
6.5 Many people took courses to help with employment. Among ILA100 learners, this was more likely to be to help their employment prospects in their current career (22%), but while 18% of ILA200 learners also said this, they were more likely to have booked or started the course to find a job or a change of career. The same work-related reasons were also prominent in the reasons why people were considering taking courses in the future.
Reasons for not undertaking ILA funded learning
6.6 Those who had not undertaken any ILA funded learning by the time they were interviewed at wave 1 were asked why they had not done so. Chart 6.2 shows reasons spontaneously mentioned by 5% or more of these respondents on either ILA100 or ILA200.
Chart 6.2 Reasons for not undertaking ILA funded learning at wave 1 interview
Base: All successful applicants who had not undertaken an ILA funded course at wave 1 interview ( ILA200L 413, ILA100: 523)
6.7 The two most common reasons for not undertaking any courses were that ILA funding was not accepted on the chosen course, and that respondents could not find the appropriate course; the former was mentioned more frequently by those on ILA100 than those on ILA200. Other reasons tended to relate to personal circumstances, including work commitments, personal and family commitments and being too busy generally.
6.8 On ILA100, those with higher qualifications were most likely to say that they couldn't find an appropriate course or that funding was not accepted on their chosen course. This issue is examined more directly in Chapter 8. There were no sub-group differences for ILA200.
6.9 The wave 2 interview also examined why people who were planning a course at wave 1 had not actually booked it by the time of the wave 2 interview. Responses are shown in chart 6.3 (the chart is limited to answers given by 4% of respondents or more on either offer).
Chart 6.3: Reasons for not booking a planned course
Base: All successful applicants who had not booked the course they were planning at wave 1 interview ( ILA200: 157, ILA100: 128)
6.10 Most of those who did not book the course they were planning gave reasons that were not related to the ILA scheme or the courses available: they were too busy, they had work commitments, or they had family or childcare commitments or other personal reasons for not booking the course. However, other respondents mentioned that ILA funding was not accepted on the required course, that they could not find the appropriate course, that the course was not available at the right location or that the course was not available. The small number of respondents answering this question prevents any sub-groups analysis.
Reasons for not completing a course
6.11 At both waves of interviewing, respondents who had failed to complete a course were asked for the reasons. The two most common reasons were work commitments and personal/family commitments, the former mentioned more frequently by ILA100 learners (reflecting the higher proportion of this group that were in work - see table 2.4).
6.12 In addition, some respondents gave reasons relating to the course itself, most commonly that the course was not suitable or what they had expected. Others said that there was confusion over the funding or that the course was not covered by ILA funding, that the course was stopped due to cancellations, or that there was a lack of support. The small numbers of respondents concerned make it difficult to make comparisons between the two offers, but in broad terms the answers were similar.