Youth unemployment has become one of the most popular educational research areas, at global, national and local levels. In the international development agenda, lifelong learning (LLL) and vocational education and training (VET) have been linked to youth employment and labour market policies, making education a potential universal solution to…

In recent years, the proportion of the active population over 55 years of age has increased and, with it, early retirement, unemployment of older workers and senior "push" entrepreneurs. Given the repercussions at a social and economic level, the debate about the need to recover and keep seniors in the labour market is becoming…

Purpose: Since new digital micro-credential technologies emerged a decade ago, there has been a rapid rise in micro-credentials in the education landscape. Much has been promised about these educational technologies, yet there is much confusion by key stakeholders in the digital micro-credential ecosystem. This confusion has led to significant…

Gathering evidence on what works best is key to designing holistic guidance services for individuals and the labour market. Traditional learning and career pathways are being replaced by more dynamic, 'patchier' routes and shorter job tenures. Fast-changing and more complex learning and working contexts draw more attention to continuous learning…

This report presents a comprehensive review of the key policy initiatives that have fostered transparency and transferability of learning outcomes over the past two decades (2000-20) to promote mobility and lifelong learning. It concentrates on European-level initiatives, while also considering national developments, offering an in-depth analysis…

This open access book challenges international policy 'groupthink' about lifelong learning. Adult learning -- too long a servant of business competitiveness -- should be reimagined as central to democratic society. Young adults, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, engage more in education and training, and learn more day-to-day at work, if…

This study examines the perspectives and experiences of older lifelong participants in outdoor education/recreation. 32 participants, women (11) and men (21), aged 60-84 provided narratives of their lifelong engagements in the outdoors in nature-based activities. They were invited to write freely on their early experiences and their current…

This report presents an overview of policies and actions in support of lifelong learning in the ETF's partner countries in South Eastern Europe and Turkey, Central Asia, the Eastern Partnership region, and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. Our analysis explores the extent to which the creation of lifelong learning opportunities is a priority…

In the framework of European countries' cooperation on VET and lifelong learning, Cedefop monitors, analyses and reports on countries' priorities and activities. Cedefop's role in the process is pivotal: it gathers the necessary national information through its network of expertise spanning all EU Member States, Iceland and Norway, ReferNet, and…

Microcredentials hold promise for connecting people's skillsets with labour market demand in a rapidly changing world of work. They have proliferated in recent years across economic sectors and education levels, reinforcing European and national efforts to understand and develop them better. They can increase the provision of…

There has been a lot of interest to competence-based education in research and scholarship. How competence-based education has been developed and implemented varies across education systems in Europe. The European Commission defines digital competence as one of the eight key competence standards for lifelong learning. The European digital…

This open access book explores different landscapes of Lifelong Learning policies (LLP), producing case-based examinations of their institutional, discursive, and relational dimensions. Across Europe, young people develop their life courses amidst diverse living conditions and are confronted with a variety of institutional and structural…

This study compares the way IVET and CVET sub-systems interact to support the learning of adults, and thus facilitate lifelong and life-wide learning. By comparing the interaction between IVET and CVET sub-systems in the countries covered, the study analyses the extent to which IVET systems are opening up to adults, and questions whether national…

This chapter examines three distinct approaches to lifelong learning to illustrate workforce and societal development efforts in Europe, Singapore, and the United States. The case studies bring to the fore various complex issues, including, in the case of Europe, ensuring more equitable access to workforce development initiatives for all.…

It is Europe's ambition to be a strong knowledge based economy. The European Commission recognises the role of lifelong learning in achieving this aim. However, exploring participation rates in post-compulsory learning, it is clear that access to education and training is unequally distributed in society. We know that participation rates vary by…