Why is adult learning important?

Adult training needs in the countries arise from the ongoing changes in the economy and the more volatile labour markets, but also the fact that the education of many adults in the past had remained incomplete. New skills demanded by employers include foreign language, computer and entrepreneurial skills, as well as specific technical or business skills – skills that adults who have long left school often do not possess. Ex-Yugoslav societies used to attach a high social value to education and had a relatively well developed adult learning infrastructure with companies investing in the training of their staff. This system was, however, dismantled and investments considerably reduced in the period of economic and social transition. Adult training today is highly underfunded and participation very low, which contrasts with the growing demand for training by individuals who seek to upgrade their skills, as well as high numbers of low-skilled unemployed or inactive people. Several countries have recently taken initiatives to design new adult learning policies and legislation. Financing has been provided by education ministries primarily for second-chance education of low-qualified adults and by labour ministries for training unemployed people, albeit on very small scales. Good examples of training practice exist within bigger companies and among smaller companies, for example, through cluster approaches and donor-financed training funds. In addition, individuals who can afford it invest in their own skills upgrading.

New approaches are required to stimulate training for the numerous small and micro businesses with a view to help them become less vulnerable and eventually grow. Special measures are needed to activate and train the many economically inactive or unemployed people, in particular women. Employment or self-employment-oriented adult training in tandem with micro-credit schemes could be an efficient means to help people (re-)integrate into the labour market and, thus, reduce poverty and social exclusion. In addition, adult training schemes have to be improved through changed contents and pedagogies with a view to develop adults’ functional literacy, key competences, vocational and basic business skills. Overall, adult training could become an important lever to assist the countries’ development towards economically, environmentally and socially sustainable societies.

The EU, through its IPA programme, is the biggest donor in the field of adult learning in the countries. IPA requires local actors to analyse their systems and design their own strategies and measures. Exchanges of experience among policy-makers and experts as to what works in similar country contexts, including countries that have recently joined the EU, are useful to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of interventions. The EU traditionally puts a high emphasis on adult learning in its European Employment Strategy and guidelines, and has recently given adult learning a new impetus by publishing in 2007 and 2008, respectively, its Action Plan on Adult learning and the “New Skills for New Jobs” Communication.


What is the aim of this project?

This project aims to enhance mutual learning among experts and policy-makers from partner countries and develop solutions fit-to-context around the following sub-themes, which were identified by partner country stakeholders:

• motivating and activating unemployed jobseekers and effective labour market training schemes, and
• adults’ functional literacy and vocational qualifications - models and modules.