Developing Essential Skills for Further Education or Employment: A Case from Perth, Western Australia

Abstract

Lifelong learning is part of important educational policies, which are generally developed to ensure that adults are provided with opportunities to either further their education or to complete their education process, which could have been interrupted for various reasons. It also provides learners with training opportunities, particularly a certain group who is seeking employment. However, there is more to the concept of lifelong learning than just this traditional definition. Nowadays, the lifelong learning concept applies to learning that occurs throughout ones’ life and it involves various social groups; it also takes place at either a formal, non-formal or informal learning setting. The paper intends to provide an overview of how the concept of lifelong learning is applied by a training organization in Perth, Western Australia, known as Centacare Employment and Training. It will provide an overview of its main programs and how they are delivered to the target groups. The objective of this paper is to identify some of main characteristics of adult learning and how they can be used to inform higher education teaching methodologies and policies, so that they have a positive effect on this group of the society and on the society in general. In addition, the methodology that will be used for the paper is based on observations and hands on teaching experience within this setting, as well as supported by the examination of the literature available for this topic. Finally, the results of this paper will be delivered as recommendations, which can be adopted by HE institutions or relevant actors responsible for the drafting of educational policies. Received: 12 April 2022 / Accepted: 29 June 2022 / Published: 1 July 2022