Adult and continuing education in Europe. Using public policy to secure a growth in skills

Adult and continuing education has the dual function of contributing to employability and economic growth, on the one hand, and responding to broader societal challenges, in particular promoting social cohesion, on the other. Companies and families support important investments that have, to date, ensured important growth in both skills and the ability of the European population to innovate. Thanks to this commitment, Europe today has a wealth of organisations specialising in adult and continuing education. The sector has grown in importance, both as a increasingly significant player in the economy and in view of its capacity to respond to the demand for learning by the knowledge economy. As this book shows, adult and continuing education has a critical role to play in ensuring Europe copes with the phenomenon of education exclusion, which, repeated year after year, generation after generation, undermines social cohesion and the growth of employment. Public policies must respond to two strategic challenges: to encourage the propensity to invest in adult and continuing education and to guarantee the reduction of educational exclusion.