Education council pledges £60m to IT

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has pledged a £60m investment in technology for over-16s education during the coming year.

The non-departmental body in charge of funding and planning education outside of universities said this was an increase of £20m from the previous year.

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LSC director for adults and lifelong learning, Jon Gamble, said: "Our increased investment into technology will help us create a more dynamic and forward-looking further education system.

"Technology plays such an important part in learning and an understanding of the latest devices is also vital for many careers. Our programme of investment will ensure that more learners have access to the facilities they need to enrich their learning experience and their employability."

The investment will focus on a number of areas, including procurement in line with the organisation's Learning for Living and Work initiative for individuals with learning disabilities, upgrades to IT equipment in the offender learning sector and maintenance of the Janet network, which links up the UK's education and research organisations.