Continuing education and the American workforce - report of the National Advisory Council on Continuing Education

The National Advisory Council on Continuing Education reports that over twenty-three million adults participate in continuing education annually. Their reasons for participation are diverse, but the greatest common denominator shared by these individuals is the link that continuing education provides to their jobs, their career ambitions, or the enrichment of their lives.

While these twenty-three million Americans represent the core of an emerging learning society, many others may be excluded from learning experiences for reasons of cost, of time, or for personal reasons.

In th past decade, the number of adults continuing their education has increased dramatically. Today, neary thirteen percent of all adults participate in part-time instruction, and the numbers have been increasing at the rate of over one million adults annually.

The majority of these learners is employed; many others are seeking employment. The work-oriented ambitions of these individuals complement the existing strong link between postsecondary continuing education and the workplace and between learning resources and the needs of an expanding economy.

These developments are encouraging. There are, however, several issues which are of concern to the Council and which the Council seeks to address in this report:

* The role and commitment of postsecondary institutions to worker education and training and the adoption of policies and allocation of resources spicifically designed to serve adults;

* The involvement of employers in campus-based education and training programs of adults seeking entry level jobs, skill improvement, and career advancement;

* Increased collaboration by educators and employers in determining the needs of the labor market and the preparation of workers to fill those needs; and

* The articulation of more precise national policies for human resources development and the application of those policies in ways that will enhance the Nation's economic development, by improving industrial and worker productivity and strengthening the Nation's ability to compete internationally in a global market.

As strictly educational phenomenon, continuing education has often been misunderstood and misintepreted. As a key element in matters of broader and national importance, however, continuing education is increasingly perceived as a necessary adjunct to sound capital investment and the creation and commercialization of new technologies as a way to improve America's effectiveness in a global economy.

In the past year, the National Advisory Council on Continuing Education has listened to testimony from scores of organizations and individuals throughout the country on issues affecting the retraining of the American workforce--the theme of its deliberations during the year. Thes testimony validated the inclination of the Council to believe that much is happening at state and local levels in collaborative efforts among employers, educators, and employee representatives, often with the support of state governments.

It is the sense of the Council, however, that one important element is missing. In its deliberations, the Council has repeatedly examined, for purposes of clarification, what the federal role ought to be in the evolution of a learning society and the relationship that ought to exist between the learning aspirations of adults and their corollary interest in job searches, career advancement, and professional security.

The determination of a federal role--and any federal policies that may result--can be achieved through a careful review of the role and responsibilities of others. State and local governments, private enterprises, labor unions, community agencies like libraries and museums and, of course, educational institutions are directly involved in educational services to adults and in spicific responses to work-oriented needs. It is the parameters of their activities that help outline the complementary dimensions of federal responsibilities.

Questions of policy and the clarification of federal responsibilities in the area of adult learning lie at the core of the Council's function. The Council's task is to advise the President, the Congress and the Secretary of Education on federal policies relating to the education and training of adults at the postsecondary level of instruction.

This responsibility is broad. There is considerable legislation already in existence that addresses these issues, and during the past year both the Administration and Congress have supported greater efforts to relate job training to the needs of the unemployed and the underemployed, most specifically through the Job Training Partnership Act. This legislation, like others, depends ultimately on the cooperation of state and local governments for its success.

Federal students assistance programs, federal participation in state-based unemployment insurance programs, support for Employment Service offices throughout the country, and other programs provide a base for support. However, the Council believes that the solution also depends on the degree to which employers, educators, and employee representatives are more directly involved in these efforts.