The Future of Education

Recent reports in the field of Adult Learning has raised the need of quality provision of adult learning opportunities, the need to upgrade Adult Educators skills and competences in order to be adequate equipped to respond to the emerging demands of adult learners and the need to utilize the potential that the digital revolution can have on all aspects of adult learning: outreach of neglected groups, improve quality, digitalise learning material, innovative and open training etc.

The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth acknowledges lifelong learning and skills development as key elements in response to the current economic crisis, to demographic ageing and to the broader economic and social strategy of the EU. Yet, there is a growing consensus that adult learning is currently the weakest link in developing national LLL systems. Participation in adult learning has raised, from 9,8% of the 25-64 year-old population in 2005 to only 10,7 in 2014, thus making the increased ‘ET2020’ target of 15 % by 2020 an even greater challenge (EUROSTAT 2015). The EU’s benchmark for lifelong learning indicates that adult learning is failing to become more attractive.

Incorporating ICT in all forms of learning, formal and non-formal learning is a key priority in several flagship initiatives of the EU2020 strategy in particular Agenda for New Skills and New Jobs and Digital Agenda for Europe. All the above focus on the importance of all professionals in E & T to gain appropriate ICT skills to anticipate the needs and promote a better matching between labour market requirements and skills, and at the same time overcome the skills mismatches in the ICT sector and the learning of digital literacy by all citizens for employability and active citizenship.
In the above context the project targets adult educators/trainers and addresses the need for high quality educators able to innovate using ICT and for improved data on their digital competences. It also tackles the need to enhance the uptake of ICT in teaching and learning, to promote stronger coherence between different EU and national transparency and recognition tools, and strengthen the professional profile of the adult educators.