To be prepared for the work of today and tomorrow, more than just the right skills are needed. There needs to be an infrastructure that supports continuous and transformative learning throughout a lifetime. This market scan takes a deep dive into the complex and evolving alternative education and training market, focusing on high-quality solutions…

We study the relationship between adult education and training (AET) and employment in Sweden. Exploiting rich data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, and using an inverse-probability weighted regression-adjustment estimator, we find that AET is positively related to the probability of doing paid work. This…

Purpose: This paper reviews changing government policy on adult education in England over the past 20 years and the funding regimes affecting adult and community learning and union-led learning, which play a major role in learning opportunities for socially excluded adults. Design/methodology/approach: A review and analysis of extant literature,…

Lifelong learning is especially important for immigrants, who are often at a disadvantage in terms of the languages and skills that are valued in the labour market of their host country. Yet foreign-born adults are less likely to participate in training than native-born ones, and face higher financial and non-financial barriers to training. Policy…

People invest £7.3 billion a year and £55 billion worth of time in learning. This is more than the Government and employers invest in learning and skills, but there are stark inequalities between groups. This report provides the most detailed snapshot seen of which groups of adults are investing in learning, and how much, and lays bare stark…

Formal vocational education and training (VET) in Slovenia starts at upper secondary level and is provided mainly by public schools that are founded and financed by the State. The education and labour ministries share responsibility for preparing legislation, financing, and adopting VET programmes and qualifications. While the education ministry…

The current vocational education and training (VET) system in Portugal is the result of a 2007 large-scale reform, which reorganised VET into a single system (Sistema Nacional de Qualificações, SNQ). The main objectives of the SNQ are to ensure that VET qualifications better match labour market needs, promoting the competitiveness of enterprises,…

This paper explores whether training programs were effective in improving labor market performance of individuals, in particular wages and employment probability, in South Korea. The regression analyses using the data from Korean respondents in the Program for the International Assessment of Adults Competencies (PIAAC) survey show the strong…

One of the most often repeated goals in modern society is making education available to all on equal terms, regardless of social origin, culture or individual characteristics such as age, gender or the socio-economic status of an individual. However, in relation to gender inequality within learning environments, in the Czech Republic the…

Concise, clear and comprehensive snapshots of vocational education and training systems in EU, Iceland and Norway: this is what the Cedefop Spotlight on VET series offers. Building on individual country Spotlights, this publication provides an overview of VET systems with their distinctive qualities, such as main accession and progression routes…

This short description contributes to better understanding vocational education and training (VET) in Croatia by providing insights into its main features and highlighting system developments and current challenges in recent years. In Croatia, vocational education and training (VET) is offered in the form of initial VET (IVET) and adult education.…

This study explored drivers of participation in job-related lifelong learning (LLL) among low-educated mature-aged employees and compared them across four Nordic countries. Workplaces can be low-threshold, effective arenas for development of their skills in work and learning. The paper builds on the Bounded Agency Model and theories of learning…

Ageing populations and accelerating economic change make it increasingly important to update the skill levels of populations over the whole life course. Adult education is believed to allow adults' skills to adapt continuously to constantly changing economic requirements. Both research into adult education, and discussions on lifelong learning…

Adult community Education (ACE) is a recognisable education sector that offers accessible lifelong learning opportunities that are learner-centred and needs based. The Australian ACE scan profiles the sector in terms of its programs, features and provider types. The scan outlines ACE program participants, outcomes and the policy areas they…

This research paper is one in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of how CVET is conceptualised in various international level policy documents and how it is referred to across countries. It discusses national conceptions of CVET, the…