All adults will be able to access further education training courses for free if Labour wins the next general election, Jeremy Corbyn has promised.
The Labour leader had already promised to abolish university tuition fees but has now gone further and pledged to abolish fees for all further education courses and for technical and vocational training.
Although most young people can access further education courses for free, people aged over 24 and those with existing qualifications often have to pay for training.
Corbyn said rapid technological change means that in the future many adults will need to retrain in order to get a job – but it is unfair to make them pay for new further education qualifications and he wants a system that is "universal, free, and empowering".
"The tide of automation and technological change means training and management of the workforce must be centre stage in the coming years," the Labour leader will tell the party's annual conference in Brighton. "So Labour will build an education and training system from the cradle to the grave that empowers people not one that shackles them with debt.
"Lifelong learning for all is essential in the economy of the future. The huge shift of employment that will take place under the impact of automation must be planned and managed. It demands the reskilling of millions of people."
Corbyn's spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the policy would cost £2.5 billion a year by the fifth year of a Labour government, in addition to a further £1 billion in capital investment. The money would come from increased taxes on the top 5% of earners and from increasing the tax paid by corporations.
The Labour leader will also use his speech to praise an election result that "has put the Tories on notice and Labour on the threshold of power" and say his party is "ready for government".
He will add: "Ready to tackle inequality. Ready to rebuild our NHS. Ready to give opportunity to young people, dignity and security to older people. Ready to invest in our economy and meet the challenges of climate change and automation. Ready to put peace and justice at the heart of foreign policy. And ready to build a new and progressive relationship with Europe."