Photography and dance top hobbies leisure sector workers want to learn
Wednesday, 19 Mar, 2010
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More than a quarter of people working in the hospitality, tourism and leisure sector have not learnt a new activity or hobby in the past year.
Research by the Department For Business, Innovation and Skills found that just under one in ten (8%) have not read a book for pleasure during the past 12 months.
Workers in the sector were enthusiastic about learning something new, with almost half (46 %) saying they felt that learning a new skill or hobby would make them more confident at work.
The thing they would most like to learn is photography (19%), followed by dance (21%), according to the study of 2,282 adults.
A BIS consultation last year found that people were keen to take up learning opportunities if they were made available and easy to find.
The Government then committed an additional £30 million during 2009/10 to support informal adult learning under the banner of The Learning Revolution.
Further education and skills minister Kevin Brennan said:“Informal learning keeps people mentally and physically active, and is also great for meeting others and making friends.
“Craft classes, knitting circles and family history projects are all looking for places to meet, so it’s good to see more and more organisations providing space for them to do this. But there’s so much more that can be done.
"Offices, libraries, pubs and galleries could all provide free or low cost meeting places either occasionally or on a regular basis. We want to see even more spaces opened up to help create an ‘open space’ movement that can benefit everyone."
Ben Fletcher, occupational and health psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, said: “Just under a third of those working in the sector say they aren’t interested in learning a new skill, so the big barriers are likely to be around access.
“As such, new learning opportunities are great news for the millions of people who want to broaden their horizons.
“People really grow from informal learning, both personally and professionally. This research reveals that we now need to take the next step – do something different and break the habit of inertia that prevents us from getting more from our lives and gives something back to society too.”
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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