Abstract
A number of recent policy reports have suggested that Canadian universities and community colleges should play a more significant role in response to the adult education and training needs of Canada’s workforce. This article discusses the results of a study that examined investment trends and the characteristics of non-formal adult learner programming at Canadian postsecondary institutions. Public universities and community colleges were surveyed, and a purposive sample of key informants, representing the broad spectrum of postsecondary education in Canada, was interviewed. The results indicated that institutional investments in non-formal programs for adult learners have trended upward over the past decade. Colleges reported larger average annual institutional expenditures on and larger enrolments in non-formal adult learner programs. However, adult learners comprise only a small minority of the overall student population at post-secondary institutions. Financial barriers at both the institutional and individual levels were identified as key barriers to increasing access and participation. Limited operational funding at the institutional level has influenced the nature and scope of offerings and, for many institutions, has resulted in program offerings that do not necessarily target the needs of nontraditional and disadvantaged adult learner groups. The study findings have important public-policy implications for improving access and participation in non-formal adult learning, including the need for greater incentives for individuals (e.g., tax incentives) and increased support for disadvantaged learners to enhance basic-skills training.
Highlights
Lifelong learning implies that people should continue to learn throughout their lives, not just in informal ways and through organized learning in formal and non-formal settings (Schuetze, 2005)
40% of institutional respondents indicated that less than 5% of their student population was enrolled in non-formal adult learning programs, but there were significant differences in the enrolment profiles of colleges and universities in this regard
Whereas 32% of colleges reported that over 40% of their student population was comprised of adult learners in non-formal programs, none of the university respondents indicated that their institution had levels of nonformal adult learner enrolment exceeding 40% of total enrolment
Summary
Lifelong learning implies that people should continue to learn throughout their lives, not just in informal ways and through organized learning in formal and non-formal settings (Schuetze, 2005). Rapid advances in new technologies and globalization have transformed the way we work and live, and lifelong learning is frequently cast as a means of meeting changing labour-market demands, by closing the gap between the skills of workers and the skills required by business and industry. To meet the demands of the rapidly changing, global knowledge-based economy and to maintain an international competitive advantage, we in Canada are compelled to invest in continuous training and skill-development programs that are necessary for a well-educated and adaptable workforce. The Government of Canada has highlighted the importance of continuous learning as both an individual and an economic imperative in the most recent 2009 federal budget: “To succeed in the economy of tomorrow, Canada must have the best-educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world” Beyond the need to ensure global competitiveness, it is suggested that the maintenance of our standard of living, quality of life, and the very survival of our society and culture is predicated on the nation’s capacity to foster a “culture of learning” whereby Canadians participate in learning throughout life
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