The rapid pace of technological change is revolutionizing every sector of the economy, transforming how value is created and delivered to consumers through technologies like robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. This transformation underscores the need for a diverse workforce as the new skills valued and…

Apprenticeship is engrained in America's history -- three of the Founding Fathers started their careers as apprentices. Apprenticeship is a model employers can trust, helping to ensure talent is prepared for in-demand opportunities while also providing a quality postsecondary path for young Americans who are questioning the traditional four-year…

During CONFINTEA VII's Panel 4: "Preparing adults for the future of work" and throughout the conference, participants grappled with crafting a "transformative agenda," where adult learning and education (ALE) prepares adults for future workplaces, education is viewed as an individual right and a common good, and sustainable…

The North Carolina General Assembly allocated funding for the expansion of adult learner initiatives. The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) distributed $50,000 to each of the ten schools in FY 2022 which was from the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE), other partners, and the state. The colleges were given until June 30, 2023 to spend the…

Recruiting in today's higher education landscape is not without challenges. Prospective students have options which means the market is saturated with advertisements and messages from postsecondary institutions of all types. And when you add the layer of recruiting students who are no longer in high school and often have competing demands, the…

In 2021, the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE) launched NC Reconnect -- an initiative aimed at re-engaging adult learners in North Carolina. The goal of the program is to ensure adult learners across North Carolina have maximum opportunity to pursue a degree or credential at one of the state's 58 community colleges. Starting with five community…

NC Reconnect's goal is to ensure adult learners across North Carolina have maximum opportunity to pursue training at one of the state's 58 community colleges. NC Reconnect consists of two outreach components, re-engage adult students who previously earned some college credit but left without a credential, and deliver targeted communication to…

"Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: The Impact of Adult Learning across the UK" identifies a range of economic and social policy challenges confronting the four nations today and argues that adult learning can make an important contribution to addressing these and promoting a fairer and more inclusive society. Published in 2017, the report draws…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new urgency to chronic and interrelated educational challenges: the need to expand and equalize postsecondary access, reduce the sector's reliance on costly in-person instruction, and develop a cumulative science of adult learning. Current federal government college funding programs do not encourage schools to be…

Competency-based education (CBE) is a rapidly growing movement of postsecondary and K-12 programs that allow learners to move ahead based on what they know and can do, rather than time spent in class. At the postsecondary level, CBE could be a pathway that helps many thousands of learners move from poverty to prosperity. This paper considers how…

Adult educators often struggle with finding creative ways to help students understand adult learning theories and applications of those theories in professional practice. Media analysis of popular culture can uncomplicate this task by engaging learners in understanding concepts, principles or theories (Baumgartner & Merriam, 1999). The purpose of…

The Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has come to stay as an alternative mode to meet the higher educational requirements of diverse groups. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), a system leader in India, plays a major role in giving access and equity, besides maintaining and coordinating standards of distance education in the country.…

Co-investment between the state, employer, and employee is an intrinsic feature of most vocational and education training systems. The government's strategy is to "profoundly" shift responsibility for funding learning and skills from the state to individuals and businesses. At a time of stringent cuts in publicly-funded further education…

Many adult learners have employment goals, from preparing to enter the workforce to improving skills that can lead to a better job. Resources in the Workforce Competitiveness Collection--research-based products and materials, and research papers--can help readers expand and improve work-based basic skills classes offered to adults. This paper…

Increasingly, staff members in community and public health programs and projects are required to undertake evaluation activities. There is, however, limited capacity for, and understanding of, evaluation within this workforce. Building the capability of individual workers and thereby contributing to the overall capacity among the community and…