Edited by Dr. Madhu Singh

FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ADULT EDUCATION

UNESCO INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION · Feldbrunnenstr. 58 · 20148 Hamburg
Tel.: (+49 40) 44 80 41-0 - Fax: (+49 40) 410 72 23 - e-mail: uie@unesco.org

June 1998

The Organisers of Theme V

The UNESCO Institute for Education Hamburg

The UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE) founded in 1951 is one of three educational institutes of UNESCO. It specialises in the education of adults in the perspective of lifelong education. As an international reference centre, the UIE has established a co-ordination unit for follow-up to the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education which collects information, disseminates, monitors and promotes the issues and policies framed within the two major documents of the conference - The Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning and The Agenda for the Future. The co-ordination unit functions as a focal point for adult learning follow-up, working closely with the different units and sectors at UNESCO Headquarters, and in the Regional Offices, with the major UN and other multilateral partners as well as with the NGO networks and the Member States.

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UNEVOC

The International Project on Technical and Vocational Education (UNEVOC) is a project of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Its purpose is to contribute to the development and improvement of technical and vocational education in Member States. Based on an agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on UNEVOC, an Implementation Unit has been established in Berlin. It assists the overall planning and networking of UNEVOC centres and is responsible for the implementation of certain activities specified in the UNEVOC programme.

FOREWORD



The Fifth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V) held in Hamburg Germany, from 14 to 18 July 1997, marked a turning point in the conception of adult learning. The Conference organised by UNESCO and in particular the UNESCO Institute for Education in Hamburg, mobilised the co-operation and support of Member States and of a wide range of partners, including UN organisations, governmental and non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

The Hamburg Conference attended by over 1500 participants from over 130 countries was preceded by months of preparation drawing upon the educational realities and aspirations in the different regions of the world. Based on the regional meetings, a consensus emerged which found expression in the two key Conference documents The Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning and The Agenda for the Future, which contain a series of more specific and detailed proposals with respect to each of the 10 themes of the Conference. In line with the follow-up to CONFINTEA V the UNESCO Institute for Education Hamburg has set up a co-ordination unit which collects information, disseminates, monitors and promotes the issues and policies framed within the documents.

This report presents the contributions to theme five “Adult learning and the Changing World of Work” dealing in the three sessions with the most significant changes taking place in the world of work, their implications for programmes of adult learning and for policy directions in adult learning. The thematic network on work was represented by a wide range of UN organisations (ILO, World Bank, UNDP), universities and research associations as well as governmental organisations.

The world of work is experiencing major changes in patterns of production as well as dramatic innovations in technologies in the context of a more competitive global economy. At the thematic workshops, participants drew attention to the major shortages of qualified workers for new industries, the displacement of labour, dislocation of peoples, reduced unionisation, unemployment, obsolescence of skills and production techniques, gender inequalities and precarious employment. An increasing proportion of the working population exists outside the range of mainstream labour market policies, and formal education is able to meet the demands of only a very small proportion of this population. All these changes confront us day after day and reinforce the tremendous importance of lifelong learning as well as explain the growing demand for adult and continuing learning.

Acknowledging the changing nature of work and the effects of policies to increase productivity, which result in considerable loss of jobs, the participants affirmed the importance of the right to work, as well as the role of adult learning which needs to be seen as an investment.

An awareness of the whole spectrum of work was enhanced by the presenters, who claimed that adult learning could no longer be conceptualised as a narrow educational effort focusing on technical skills required for performing a given job or paid employment. Nor could it be approached as a one-time event preparing the workforce to enter the labour market. Adult learning encompasses community work, private work and work in the informal sector of the economy. Adult learning is a continuous and recurrent learning process that takes place through the entire working life. Aspects of adult learning that emerged strongly included attitudes, values, behavioural patterns, in addition to technical skills, as well as core skills such as critical analysis and teamwork.

It was emphasised that although adult learning is becoming more and more an individual effort, this will have to be counterbalanced by provision, opportunities, information and guidance. Adult learning should be imparted in the context of clear regulatory frameworks set by governments, as well as in the context of strategic alliances between stakeholders. Governments were considered to have responsibility for setting parameters of the adult learning market in a demand-driven system, counteracting any market distortions and addressing equity issues.

Problems in adult learning in relation to the world of work were presented in diverse ways, within developed and developing countries. However, there were striking trends that emerged during the various workshop sessions, within certain regions, countries and economies. The most significant changes with respect to Africa were summed under the challenges Africa faces through globalization, rapid technological change, democratisation and socio-cultural transformation. Problems in adult learning in the context of developing societies stressed the centrality of adult learning in the struggle for self-sufficiency in the light of new dependencies being created through multinational companies, labour market and educational constraints to achieving these reforms were discussed. The major challenge for adult learning in transition societies is the issue of structural unemployment.

But what constitutes adult learning for those who neither have access to regular jobs at present, nor the promise of permanent jobs in future, and who need to secure their survival in the informal sector or popular economy? At workshop sessions it became clear that vocational competencies in the informal economy are acquired primarily through informal learning processes and closely related to economic survival in diverse social contexts - the family, household, community, organisations and social networks. Since having a regular job is only one component of sustainable livelihood, it was held necessary to design adult learning more thoughtfully in relation to “sustainable livelihood patterns”, giving greater relevance to diversity of experience, information on human rights, vulnerability of individuals to change, and technology spread to poorer communities. Drawing on the experiences of the popular economy in Mexico and Latin American it was pointed out that adult learning will need to concentrate on social organisation skills that promote solidarity and co-operation in the practice of economic activities.

The relationship between adult learning and vocational and continuing training was an important issue debated at the workshops. There were examples from Korea and Australia that outlined the reforms being introduced that took into account the role that adult and community learning plays in vocational education, and the role of the government in providing access to socially disadvantaged peoples and in maintaining skills of those out of employment.

The workshop stimulated discussion on the role of adult learning as a tool for empowerment, for promoting gender democracy, and for integrating populations unemployed and working in precarious occupations.

We hope that with the publication of this report, which has been compiled and edited by Ms Madhu Singh, Senior Programme Specialist, UIE is able to promote a broader dissemination of the issues raised during CONFINTEA. Special thanks are also due to Ms Cendrine Sebastiani of the Publications Unit for her untiring assistance.

Paul Bélanger
Director, UIE Hamburg
June 1998

I. INTRODUCTION TO CONFINTEA V

(1) Objectives

The general objective of the Conference was to highlight the importance of adult learning and to forge a worldwide commitment to adult and continuing education in the perspective of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is an approach to learning that involves people learning in many different environments - over large distances, in the workplace, or in non-formal settings - and throughout much of their lives. From learning basic numeracy or literacy to training on the latest software packages, people are using educational opportunities to take more control of their lives.

Yet education is about more than the transfer of skills. Education is a key to survival and sustainable and equitable development, it develops creativity, it also disseminates cultural values, and plays a role in the creation and maintenance of national identity. Given sufficient political will, education can be a powerful tool to help to create a culture of peace based on freedom, justice and mutual respect.

The more specific objectives of the Conference were as follows:

· building a synergy between formal and non-formal education.

· to exchange experience on present provision and needed improvements;

· to recommend future policy and priorities and adopt a Declaration on Adult Learning and an Agenda for the Future;

· to promote international co-operation.

(2) Themes

In recognition of these and other issues UNESCO identified the following 10 themes as crucial to the definition of adult learning priorities for the twenty-first century:

Theme 1
Adult learning and democracy: the challenges of the twenty-first century

Theme 2
Improving the conditions and quality of adult learning

Theme 3
Ensuring the universal right to literacy and basic education

Theme 4
Adult learning, gender equality and equity, and the empowerment of women

Theme 5
Adult learning and the changing world of work

Theme 6
Adult learning in relation to environment, health and population

Theme 7
Adult learning, culture, media and new information technologies

Theme 8
Adult learning for all: the rights and aspirations of different groups

Theme 9
The economics of adult learning

Theme 10
Enhancing international co-operation and solidarity

Theme 5 Adult learning and the changing world of work World of work What are the changes in the world of work that must be addressed by adult education to ensure the genuine implementation of life-long learning, life-long career development and life-long employment? How can adult education co-operate with the world of employment and economic production to ensure the relevance, and employability, of human resources? How can adult education support the development of democracy in the workplace through the collectivisation of employees, the appropriate role of unions, and through the promotion of self-help organisations of micro-enterprises of the informal economy the development of participatory management? How can adult education encourage the assumption of responsibility by the various entities within the world of work for the protection of the environment? Education How should adult education articulate with general education, technical and vocational education, higher education, and with training within the workplace in order to support the maintenance of people as effective and efficient employees within the world of work? How should adult education support the initiatives of non-formal education, small business enterprise and the self-employed with respect to the employment of people and to the effective and efficient performance of employees within the productive process? What teaching/learning strategies need to be supported, or developed and implemented, by adult education to increase its contribution to the efficiency of the world of work and to the fair and just distribution of the wealth generated by the world of work? Politics What are the policies and legislation that need to be developed and implemented by governments to support the universal availability and effectiveness of adult and continuing technical and vocational education? How can adult education for the world of work be co-ordinated effectively among the various ministries within a government that have some responsibility for training and employment (such as ministries of education, vocational education, higher education, employment, rural industries and tourism) and with NGOs and other organisations that have political clout? What financial support needs to be given by governments, and other entities, to formal and informal adult and continuing education for the world of work? Society How can adult education contribute to the removing of disparities of economic return from employment - among countries and within countries - stemming from such factors as sex discrimination, exploitation of the disadvantaged, the internationalising of work, the restructuring of economies and migration. How can adult education for the world of work contribute significantly to the social effectiveness, social responsibility, personal fulfilment and the empowerment of people within the arena of work

(3) CONFINTEA’S Agenda for the Future for theme five

The changing world of work is a multifaceted issue of enormous concern and relevance to adult learning. Globalization and new technologies are having a powerful and growing impact on all dimensions of the individual and collective lives of women and men. There is increasing concern about the precariousness of employment and the rise of unemployment. In developing countries, the concern is not simply one of employment but also of ensuring secure livelihoods for all. The improvement needed in terms of production and distribution in industry, agriculture and services requires increased competencies, the development of new skills and the capacity to adapt productively to the continuously changing demands of employment throughout working life. The right to work, the opportunity for employment and the responsibility to contribute, at all ages of life, to the development and well-being of one’s society are issues which adult learning must address.

We commit ourselves to:

1. Promoting the right to work and the right to work-related adult learning:

(a) by recognising the right to work and to a sustainable livelihood for all and by fostering, through new solidarities, the diversification of models of employment and recognised productive activities;

(b) by ensuring that work-related adult education provides the specific competencies and skills for entry into the labour market and occupational mobility, and improves the ability of individuals to take part in diversified models of employment;

(c) by promoting partnerships between employers and employees;

(d) by ensuring that knowledge and skills informally acquired are fully recognised;

(e) by emphasising the powerful role of vocational adult education in the lifelong learning process;

(f) by integrating in informal and non-formal adult education processes an analytical and critical perspective in relation to the economic world and its functioning.

2. Ensuring access to work-related adult learning for different target groups:

(a) by encouraging employers to support and promote workplace literacy;

(b) by ensuring that work-related adult education policies address the needs of self-employed workers and workers in the informal economy and facilitate access for women and migrant workers to training in non-traditional jobs and sectors;

(c) by making sure that work-related adult education programmes consider gender equality, age, cultural differences, safety in the workplace and concerns for workers’ health, protection against unfair treatment and harassment, as well as the preservation of the environment and the proper management of natural resources;

(d) by enriching the learning environment at the workplace and offering flexible individual and collective learning activities and relevant services for workers.

3. Diversifying the contents of work-related adult learning:

(a) by addressing the issues inherent in agriculture, natural resource management and food security;

(b) by including elements relating to agricultural extension services, citizens’ rights, organisation-building, natural resource management, food security and reproductive health education;

(c) by stimulating entrepreneurship through adult education;

(d) by promoting gender-sensitive approaches within extension services, answering the needs of women in agriculture, industry and services, and enhancing their capacity to disseminate knowledge on all fields and issues.

II. DISCUSSION AND DEBATE ON THE ISSUES OF THEME FIVE

R. Barry Hobart

Introduction

Theme Five: Adult Learning and the Changing World of Work focussed on the most significant principles and practices that relate adult education to the world of work. In so doing, the specific realities of the world of work itself, the importance of the endeavours of education at all levels, the responsibilities of the political arena with respect to adult education, and specifically the broad social responsibility of adult education. The discussion and debate can be attached to twelve questions within the above four areas of principles and practices.

World of work

1. What are the changes in the world of work that must be addressed by adult education to ensure the genuine implementation of life-long learning, life-long career development and life-long employment?

We cannot deal adequately with the multitude of issues identified unless we come to grips with an acceptable meaning of the word “work”, and the phrases “world of work” and “market economy”. What human activities do these terms delineate? The various statements that addressed these issues revealed that, in essence, the participants were significantly divided among themselves in terms of their philosophy and value systems concerning genuine economic activity and concerning the human endeavours that should be classified in this arena. It was suggested that we need to “unpack” the concept of “work” and take a much broader view of what that term embraces.

To ensure that the above question is addressed adequately it was asserted that we must increase the role of the social partners in training and link training to the labour market. In conjunction with this, it was recognised that learning takes place through active participation of the learner, and by genuine and relevant experiences. Thus, the availability and responsibility of enterprises to provide genuine and relevant experiences to the learner are vital. In this regard also, trade unions must assume a very significant role in ensuring that this occurs.

With some measure of scepticism it was asserted that there is little real interest in adult education.

2. How can adult education co-operate with the world of employment and economic production to ensure the relevance, and employ ability, of human resources?

In addressing this question it was clearly recognised that unemployment is the most serious consequence of the changing world of work. The changes in the world of work include the globalization of the economy, the increasing significance of the informal economy and small business, but also the neglect to address the needs of this sector. Efforts must be made to construct bridges between formal and non-formal education in an effort to ameliorate this neglect. This neglect often resulted from the fact that the informal sector does not have the political muscle to compete with large scale enterprise and multinational organisations. Other important changes include: the mobility of workers through migration, through displacement resulting from political and social upheaval creating large numbers of refugees; The changing philosophy and concerns of people with respect to the role of females within the workforce, of the disadvantaged, the handicapped; The speed of technological development, urbanisation, excessive population growth and even the rapid spread of corruption within the political and economic arenas; Also the particular situations of economies in transition. Each of these were associated with change.

The concept of change and its challenge to every area of life, pervaded the discussion and debate among the participants. Some voiced the need to address more positively the reality of change, and, in this respect, adult education ought to cultivate the attitudes and competencies needed to react positively to change and to benefit from it. Others questioned the value of some areas of change that seem to be accepted without question. It was generally agreed that education for the world of work has a vital role to play in assisting the progress of humanity in the face of these changes, and to adjust to the inevitability of them. Thus, considerable emphasis was placed on the need for quality assurance, for the developing of standards, for counselling and guidance, for relevance, for flexibility and for instructors and apprentices to be linked to specific projects to acquire valid work experience and, thus, increase the likelihood of relevance in their teaching and learning. With respect to guidance and counselling, it was suggested that vocational guidance needs to be a life-long process in the face of the considerable job change that persons can expect today. Further, in the light of the considerable dislocation that people experience through unemployment, underemployment, job change, and the need for developing different competencies to be employable, it was suggested that counselling be broadened to assist people to face the stresses and traumas that these realities produce.

3. How can adult education support the development of democracy in the workplace through the collectivisation of employees, the appropriate role of unions, and the development of participatory management?

In addressing this question it was recorded that trade unions are concerned with the root cause of poverty. They are concerned with unemployment as well as employment. They are concerned with the genuine development of democracy. It was questioned whether, in many parts of the world, trade unions and workers are genuinely involved in the restructuring of institutions in order to assist them to become more democratic. In this context also, the issue of gender democratisation was addressed. In many locations of the work force, women are underprivileged and do not enjoy the freedoms and democracy available to men.

4. How can adult education encourage the assumption of responsibility by the various entities within the world of work for the protection of the environment?

This question led to an assertion that core competencies that include literacy, team-building, understanding of work processes, essential attitudes for effective performance in the world of work, for cooperation with co-workers and colleagues, for an appreciation of the environment and support for strategies of government and enterprise that are designed to protect the environment, all these and more are essential elements in this area of education.

Education

5. How should adult education articulate with general education, technical and vocational education, higher education, and with training within the workplace in order to support the maintenance of people as effective and efficient employees within the world of work?

This question immediately led to concomitant questions: what sort of training is needed? what teaching/learning strategies are needed? how can people be prepared to maintain modern equipment, and the fast development and change in that equipment? how can we ensure genuine life-long learning for the world of work? how important are general education and core competencies?

Again, it was generally agreed that education and training must be more efficient, more accessible, more student-centred, more flexible, more relevant, recurrent, possibly modular and competency-based, available through distance education, with more effective teachers and trainers, and include significant on-the-job training. It was recognised that the supervisors of this on-the-job learning and experience be given appropriate pedagogical training in order for them to assume effectively this additional responsibility for training of their other employment responsibilities. There is an essential need for all providers of education and training for the world of work, including higher education, to articulate with each other in such a way as to provide genuine lifelong learning, and, as far as is possible, a seamless career path. This includes also a more genuine attempt to recognise international qualifications and experience and, as far as is possible, accept them as genuine qualifications for relevant employment.

The searching question was asked as to what elements in society are hindering training? It was felt by some that enterprise was frequently not enthusiastic, to say the least, and that sometimes formal education did not give the support to learning within the employing enterprise that is necessary. Many NGOs are not assuming their important role in education for the world of work. Unnecessary barriers exist to the opportunity for further education and career development. Prior learning and experience is not recognised in such a way as to encourage a seamless career path. Discriminatory factors such as sex, race, creed, class, or spurious and unreliable measures of academic ability and potential: all these contribute to the hindering of life-long learning and training, and of consequential human development.

6. How should adult education support the initiatives of non-formal education, small business enterprise and the self-employed with respect to the employment of people and to the effective and efficient performance of employees within the productive process?

It was agreed that the education and training system needs to be simplified and made more efficient. Further, for this question to be answered, it was felt that people must develop self-learning skills and assume responsibility for their own learning.

It was suggested that, while governments must assume a major responsibility in the area of the provision for education and training, nevertheless there is a valuable place for private providers. Some however, queried whether profit from private education was legitimate. The special needs of the rural sector were also acknowledged.

7. What teaching/learning strategies need to be supported, or developed and implemented, by adult education to increase its contribution to the efficiency of the world of work and to the fair and just distribution of the wealth generated by the world of work?

A complaint was voiced that training is often narrow and mechanistic. Emphasis was placed on the need for generic knowledge, skills and attitudes to be developed, for learning-to-learn competencies to result from general education, for a culture of learning to be established, for all players within the field, including private enterprise, to assume their appropriate responsibilities, and for early learning to be sufficiently challenging and enjoyable, with an appropriate degree of learner-autonomy, to motivate people to undertake life-long learning and to extend their personal knowledge and experiences.

Considerable discussion was given over to the need for teaching/learning strategies to be much more flexible and varied in terms of the needs of the learner. Also for curricula to be more relevant, more flexible, and developed and approved in the shortest possible time. Distance education was advocated, competency-based education, modular learning systems, computer assisted learning, on-the-job learning and supervised work experience, recurrent educational systems: all were seen to have potential value. It was agreed that specific target groups must be addressed and that existing competencies developed from prior learning and experience, must be acknowledged and harnessed in the learning process to avoid unnecessary repetition of learning.

Teaching/learning strategies that address the pressing issues of different cultural traditions, of genuine female participation in the world of work, of language, of literacy, of concern and responsibility for the environment, of responsible behaviour, of democratic rights were advocated.

Teacher/trainer was continually addressed. It was acknowledged that this preparation was generally either very inadequate or non-existent, around the world. The following were seen to have vital significance to this subject: the problems of (a) selecting suitable people for technical and vocational teaching, (b) developing in them high standard pedagogical competencies, (c) maintaining these competencies at a high level of proficiency, (d) ensuring that their technical knowledge and skills are kept up to date, (e) holding them within the teaching profession in the face of poor salaries and status, and (f) providing genuine pedagogical competencies in those who are employed in industry but who must also assume some training and supervising of learning responsibilities in addition to their general employment responsibilities.

Political

8. What are the policies and legislation that need to be developed and implemented by governments to support the universal availability and effectiveness of adult and continuing technical and vocational education?

It could be expected that the area of politics produced some interesting differences of opinion. Much of this stemmed from the vast range of developments in the world political systems in terms of democracy and human rights. This reality was particularly recognised with respect to the transition countries. However, it was generally agreed that governments have a central role to play in ensuring the provision of education for the world of work, in providing adequate finance for it, in ensuring that other identities within a nation also assume responsibility for such financing, in addressing the issues of standards, access, life-long learning, and, some suggested, for innovation. But it was affirmed that each system must fit into the national and into the particular local context in which it operates. It was asserted that governments have a responsibility to ensure that the labour force can adapt to changing skill demands.

It was thought that appropriate planning and policy-making in this area of human endeavour was very frequently inadequate, and what planning did exist, was often not implemented consistently. However, it was felt that many governments do not have a real interest in adult education. It is therefore the responsibility of relevant parties in this area of education to create a climate of demand for it. It was also asserted that governments in developed countries have an international role to play in establishing the centrality of effective education for the world of work and its availability around the world.

9. How can adult education for the world of work be co-ordinated effectively among the various ministries within a government that have some responsibility for training and employment (such as ministries of education, vocational education, higher education, employment, rural industries, tourism, etc.) and with NGOs and other organisations that have political clout?

It was recognised that the responsibility for training tends to be fragmented among government ministries. This causes unnecessary duplication, unhealthy rivalry, gaps in the provision of training, and significant variation in standards and access. It was strongly advocated that education for the world of work must be co-ordinated in such a way as to remove the above weaknesses. This co-ordination would also include universities, NGOs and private providers. It was recognised that training is often confined to enterprises, and is not adequate, especially among small business enterprise. However, work includes peasants who do their own fishing, and other similar examples. Thus, the provision of training must be more effectively co-ordinated and far more co-operation among providers needs to be established.

An indication of the critical situation facing training was given by the disclosure that seventy percent of the workforce for the next twenty years are already adults - thus only thirty percent will be able to get new training. Even if enterprise provided for training adequately, there would still be a problem in terms of workers up-dating their skills and keeping abreast with changes in the global market.

10. What financial support needs to be given by governments, and other entities, to formal and non-formal adult and continuing education for the world of work?

There was some degree of sympathy expressed for the plight of governments with respect to finance. Unemployment is a very costly burden. Many countries are finding it difficult to compete on the global market and obtain sufficient finance from exports. However, it was also recognised that available finance can also be seriously affected by corruption, and lack of the political will to endorse the primary need for effective education and training for the world of work. Thus, it was agreed that it is a primary responsibility of governments to prioritise this area of human endeavour as a very significant requirement for funding. It was stressed that this funding must also give full support to the many different rural efforts. Some concern was expressed that fees charged in developing nations for training excluded many potential learners and exacerbated inequalities. This could be contradicting the responsibility of governments to ensure access and equal opportunity to all citizens for adult and continuing technical and vocational education and training.

Social

11 How can adult education contribute to the removing of the disparities of economic return from employment - among countries and within countries - stemming from such factors as sex discrimination, exploitation of the disadvantaged, the internationalising of work, the restructuring of economies, migration, etc.?

The discussion and debate addressed this important issue again and again. It was affirmed that every worker has the same rights and that all persons should have equal opportunities to advance their personal growth. Yet, it was also recognised that the informal sector is neglected and often exploited through low wages. A specific example of this was given in terms of the increasing number of young people in developing countries that are becoming hawkers of products from the developed world. Another example was given in terms of the tendency for enterprise to reduce the work force by half, pay twice as much for the those remaining in employment, and to expect three times as much from each worker. To ameliorate the consequences that the above question implies, it was stressed that we must aim for and emphasise employability, and not just employment as such. Further, it was continually stressed that education for the world of work must engender entrepreneurial competencies in the learner so that personal initiative and personal freedom may be supported and lead to successful enterprise.

In this context the question was asked as to what constitutes “livelihood”? An answer to this question will determine responses to many other questions related to the generation of wealth and its just distribution.

It was also emphasised that specific target groups must be addressed. For example, the question was posed as to how training is provided to a geographically dispersed and culturally diverse population in a cost effective way? An answer to that question is relevant to many areas around the globe.

With respect to the just inclusion of females within the world of work, an interesting perception was given that in many respects it is also men who need liberation. They tend to be under the pressure of expectations of the male role that lock them into a predetermined life-style and set of responsibilities and an excessive orientation to income earning. Changes in these expectations would not only liberate many men who feel uncomfortable on some of these alternative roles, and, consequently, frequently see themselves as failures, but also it would support the development of a more equal opportunity arena for females within the world of work.

12. How can adult education for the world of work contribute significantly to the social effectiveness, social responsibility, personal actualization and the empowerment of people within the arena of work?

It was clearly recognised that change is inevitable so we must all prepare for it. Sometimes we are dragged into change that we do not welcome. These changes not only relate to the world of work, but also to social, cultural and religious changes. In some countries they also stem from the shift from living and working in rural settings to necessary urban environments for employment.

For these changes to be addressed it was recognised that recurrent and life-long education must be fully developed. This is essential to the effective development of democracy. Further, that individuals must acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to assume responsibility for their own learning.

It was also generally agreed that all education for the world of work must be sufficiently comprehensive to contribute to the development of the learner as a mature, autonomous and socially responsible person, as well as assisting them to acquire relevant occupationally-specific competencies.

Conclusions

The above should impress upon us the wide spectrum of responsibilities involved, and the need to ensure that all those who are engaged in this area of human endeavour co-ordinate and co-operate in their individual efforts to work together as partners towards achieving the goal of providing for all people effective, efficient and continuing education for the world of work.

III. POSITION PAPER ON THE GALAXY OF ISSUES RELATING TO THEME FIVE

R. Barry Hobart

Introduction

Encompassing the broad sphere of concerns with respect to education for the world of work is a galaxy of issues. These can be best analysed by focusing on five principal entities which are: the learner, the teaching/training provider, the employer, the unions and the government. These five entities constitute the partners within this area of human endeavour. Thus, it is a shared responsibility. The following is an analysis of the relationship and responsibilities of each of these partners to education for the world of work.

The learner

It is not often that consideration of this area of education starts with the learner. That is unfortunate for it is the nature and needs of the learner, and the competencies that the learner must possess for effective and efficient performance within an occupation, that principally determine the content of the learning programmes and the strategies needed to deliver them.

Learners within adult education programmes designed for the world of work must be thoroughly prepared for them. Much of this preparation occurs within the sphere of general education. Fundamentally, it must:

· Provide for the personal development of the learner,

· Develop self-learning skills,

· Engender generic knowledge, skills and attitudes,

· Assist the learner to make a wise and satisfying career choice through such programmes as career education, and

· Ensure that the early learning experiences are sufficiently self-fulfilling that the person becomes committed to life-long learning.

Education is the process of personal development through the harnessing of cognitive competencies. All learning, whether of a general nature or more specifically focussed on clearly defined tasks (sometimes called training) should lead to a greater realisation of a person’s potential. Adult education will fail to meet its objectives if the early learning experiences of a person are not self-fulfilling. This is a major responsibility of general education. An essential outcome of such education is the commitment of a person to life-long learning. Without such a commitment adult education programmes will be offered in vain. Curiosity demonstrates that learning is an intrinsic enjoyment of human beings. Early learning needs to foster and reward that curiosity. To be efficient in doing so, that learning must develop self-learning skills that enable a person to pursue lifelong learning.

Life-long learning

The world of work is in a constant state of flux. Technological development is introducing new skills and making others redundant, the high rate of unemployment is demanding new training and retraining, the shift from rural to urban employment requires a change in competencies and lifestyle, migration and the displacement of peoples around the globe require a reorientation of these people to a different sphere of the world of work. All these, and other factors, demand commitment to and provision for life-long learning. In technical and vocational education this is often called “recurrent education”. In a holistic concept it is termed “Adult and Continuing Technical and Vocational Education”. Whatever the terminology, the goal is essentially the same. The world of work requires that its participants must be given the opportunity for constant personal and vocational development if we are to avoid unnecessary unemployment and the redundancy of workers. But life-long learning requires personal commitment and motivation, which is generated in a person when such learning is personally fulfilling.

All efforts to make adult and continuing technical and vocational education a reality in our societies will fail unless people develop the attitudes and values that encourage them to make the commitments necessary to engage in this area of education. Along with such attitudes must be developed the self-directed learning skills necessary. However, attitude formation is a slow process. Thus, the whole of the preparatory educational process must assume the responsibility to develop such attitudes and the self-learning skills needed. This presents a considerable challenge to general education - especially in the early years. Unfortunately, experience of general education in the early years may be neither satisfying nor rewarding. Also it may be so authoritarian and teacher-centred that it does not develop in the students attitudes of personal commitment to self-directed learning and the skills to fulfil that commitment.

Effective vocational guidance

The means of support for the adult learner is becoming more imperative as the range and choice of jobs increase and the maintaining of relevant occupational skills more demanding. Orientation to the world of work that includes effective vocational guidance, needs to begin at the very early stages of general education and proceed throughout it. But it must also be available within adult education where vocational choice is increasingly part of the whole of a person’s career.

This indicates the need for a person to be oriented to the world of work, and prepared for it, well before entering it. Such an orientation is a gradual process and requires much more than the development of specific skills, and the specific knowledge and attitudes that relate to those skills. It requires the development of appropriate attitudes, of expectations that are realistic, of a career choice that is in harmony with the person’s potential, personal desires and characteristics, and of self-directed learning skills that enable the person to engage in life-long learning. An important strategy for attaining these ends is that of K-12 career education. This is the education that introduces the child to the world of work, in a gradual way from Kindergarten, and increases that exposure throughout the general schooling years. Programmes of this type of career education need to be implemented the world over.

Employment status

The nature of the learner’s employment determines a number of other factors relevant to effective programmes of adult education for the world of work.

If the person is unemployed, then the type of education that the person will be seeking is likely to be that of “employment survival skills”. These will probably be basic skills needed for an occupation which has some employment potential attached to it. The person’s unemployed situation may allow all-day attendance at intensive courses. On the other hand, availability of the learner to the teaching/training provisions, may be unpredictable because of job seeking requirements and attending interviews. Again, such a person may have minimal background experience or knowledge for the training course and may need bridging courses and remedial courses. If the person is a migrant or displaced person, language help may need to be given, both in terms of needs for learning within the teaching/learning course, and for competence within the targeted occupation. Teaching/learning strategies must be developed and offered that accommodate the differences among these variables.

If the person is precariously employed, such as a person in casual and, possibly, part-time employment, or a person with imminent redundancy through job restructuring etc., she/he may be less available for regular attendance at a learning course because of the uncertainty of employment. Thus, the teaching/learning strategies that need to be applied in courses for such people have to provide for individual differences and flexible learning strategies. Self-directed learning may well be the most suitable. However, it is likely that such people do not have self-directed learning skills. Modular learning systems and competency-based vocational education may be effective teaching/learning strategies to meet the needs of these learners. But the capacity to develop such systems, and the resources available for such development within specific contexts, are limited.

If the person is within secure employment she/he may be seeking further learning opportunities in order to upgrade skills with a view to obtaining promotion within his/her present occupation, or in order to develop a different set of knowledge and skills so as to change occupations. Significantly different learning programmes will need to be offered for such persons and be delivered through a variety of different teaching/learning systems to meet the individual needs and differences that characterise them.

If the person is self-employed, she/he will need far more attention with respect to the provision for learning and personal development. By far the majority of people around the world are in self-employed situations or small business enterprises. Further, the informal sector of the economy is a major focus of work activity and casual employment. Emphasis is being placed on the development of entrepreneurial skills and on the market economies that give scope for the application of such skills. Adult education has a major responsibility to attend to the learning needs of this group of people. But the logistics of providing such training are difficult to establish and maintain. Flexibility in the training systems, and the individualising of such systems are essential. The informal sector needs substantive government support for its training needs. There is also the need to assist supervisors in this sector who have responsibilities for training to develop the training skills that will make their efforts effective and efficient.

Career status

Job change is becoming essential for most people and the prospect of working in five or more different occupations in a life time is becoming the norm. This has significant implications for the establishing of satisfying career paths and for the obtaining of sufficient experience within an occupation to be able to move into senior management positions.

The globalization of work, the continual restructuring of economies, the greater mobility of workers, the urbanisation of societies, and other such factors, also impact upon career prospects. These make recurrent education for the world of work, and life-long learning, essential. Yet, the curriculum content and teaching/learning systems essential for this area of education, in many parts of the world, are not well developed.

Personal issues

The following points suggest the many personal issues that impact on the adult’s ability to learn, and on their availability to teaching/learning programmes that may be provided for them.

The social responsibilities of people engaged in adult learning vary considerably. Some will be deeply engaged in socio-political activities, and in leadership roles within the community. Such responsibilities will limit their availability for teaching/learning programmes. Thus, strategies for self-directed learning and flexibility within the programmes are essential for such learners.

Obviously the family responsibilities among adult learners also vary considerably. But they are important determinants of the time and attention that a learner can give to a learning programme. If adult and continuing technical and vocational education is to be a reality, then teaching/learning programmes that are sufficiently flexible to accommodate these differences must be developed and offered.

The time needed for learners to achieve success in learning programmes also varies significantly. Unfortunately, teaching/learning programmes, the world over, tend to be time-based. That is, they require a prescribed amount of time, whether it is needed or not, or whether it is sufficient or not. Competency-based programmes focus on the demonstration of prescribed competencies through measurable objectives, to a certain standard and in nominated conditions. Within certain limits, the time needed to develop these competencies is not prescribed, for it is appreciated that learners will require different amounts of time to attain the competencies, and will have varying amounts of time available to them for attention to the learning programme. Thus, competency-based programmes may be a valuable means of accommodating the wide range of individual differences, especially in terms of time requirements, in learners.

Although technological developments have resulted in learning programmes being more available to potential learners, this issues of availability to the learning programme must be carefully attended to when designing and implementing teaching/learning strategies. There are many potentially competent learners in more remote geographical areas that limit their availability to teaching/learning programmes. Learners in rural areas, in island areas, and frequently in non-urban areas, may not be close enough to draw on available teaching/learning programmes.

Distance education has become a valuable means of meeting the needs of such learners. Indeed, this strategy may be also a valuable means of meeting the needs of persons close to teaching/learning facilities, but whose potential to draw on such facilities are limited by work or other commitments. Investment in the research and development needed for effective distance learning programmes could be thoroughly recommended.

It would appear from relevant research that excessive emphasis has been placed on academic competence as the most significant variable determining success in learning. Research has shown that motivation to learn, and time for learning, are equally important. Thus, teaching/learning programmes should be as flexible as is realistically possible in terms of time demands. They also need to provide for a sense of achievement by the learners through continuous feedback, and for a perception by the learners of the relevance of their learning to their motivations and felt needs.

The traditional perceptions of appropriate roles for females in the world of work, and, consequently, of appropriate teaching/learning programmes in technical and vocational education for females, are being vigorously challenged, the world over, and are gradually changing. The content of learning programmes, the strategies for delivery of such programmes, and the teaching/training personnel involved, all need to be brought into scrutiny by this challenge, and appropriately changed.

With the globalization of the workplace, cultural realities among the workers need to be accommodated in ways that minimise hostility and conflict and that encourage appreciation and respect for cultural differences. This respect for cultural differences must also characterise the teaching/learning programmes. The increasing mobility of workers in the world today requires adult and continuing technical and vocational education to assume a high degree of responsibility for engendering appreciation of and respect for the different cultures among its learners.

Economic, political and social factors are causing increasing migration of workers around the world. The flow-on of this phenomenon to adult and continuing technical and vocational education is considerable. Language programmes must be offered. Programmes leading to the understanding of the culture and customs of a particular community, need to be available to migrants. The need to measure prior learning and experiences and to accredit them, is increasing. Bridging courses, and skill-upgrading courses need to be developed in order that communities gain a maximum of benefit from migration and that migrants are able to prosper in their new environments.

The physically handicapped, the elderly, the infirm, the mentally retarded, people that are disadvantaged with respect to learning, must command our attention. Sensitivity to the particular needs of these people, rather than the neglect of them, is increasing in most societies. As we make progress in this area of human concern, adult and continuing technical and vocational education must develop teaching/learning programmes and strategies that enable such potential learners to broaden and deepen their aspirations and achievements within their social and economic contexts.

The tragedy of human conflict has always lead to the displacement of people from the security of their social and physical environments. This tragedy has not decreased in the latter half of this century. Thus, the significant needs that such persons have for the education and training that allows them to be socially, economically and politically effective in their new environments, will not decrease. Further, the learning programmes that support such people need to include provisions for psychological support to enable them to adjust as effectively as possible to their changed, and often, tragic conditions.

In a significant number of work environments, the potential of some workers to progress in their work contexts is inhibited by their being locked into a low social status. The slow but perceptible change in this reality demands that adult and continuing education for the world of work develop programmes that allow such people to realise a greater part of their potential than hitherto.

The teaching/training providers

This focal point embraces formal technical and vocational education institutions, private technical and vocational education providers, training units within government and non-government organisations, community education centres, and supervisors and others who must assume some training responsibilities as a part of their occupational profile. The success of teaching/learning activities is highly dependent upon the effectiveness of teachers and trainers. Thus, there is a great need for the provision of effective teacher training and trainer-training programmes. For those whose primary occupational responsibilities are not training, but who, nevertheless, have some involvement in training, programmes to assist them with these training responsibilities need to be delivered through strategies that accommodate the other demands and commitments that such people have. Competency-based vocational teacher education and trainer-training delivered through a modular system offers potential in this area.

Technical and vocational education institutions

There is a universal need to lift the status of these institutions within the educational arena. This is directly dependent upon the status and value of technical and vocational education itself being lifted within societies as a whole. A significant factor in achieving this goal is to establish a much closer articulation between technical and vocational education and university education than exists in most countries at present. Coupled with this is the need to establish better economic rewards for undertaking technical and vocational education programmes. Again, the teaching personnel within these institutions need to be well qualified and have had significant and relevant work experience. Also, they need to keep their knowledge and skills up to date by periods of further learning and experience within the world of work. Many technical and vocational education institutions suffer from insufficient resources to purchase the complex and expensive equipment needed for their workshops and laboratories. Thus, a close liaison with employing institutions in the work of work needs to be established so that effective on-the-job experience programmes for students may be worked out co-operatively between the education institution and the employing enterprise.

Industry training institutions

A closer partnership between industry training endeavours and formal technical and vocational education institutions needs to be established. This would allow trainers within industry to draw upon the pedagogical knowledge and experience of technical and vocational education teachers. At the same time formal technical and vocational education institutions may draw upon the machinery and equipment within the enterprise organisations as appropriate. Also it would allow the co-ordination of on-the-job experience programmes for technical and vocational education students. The training personnel within industry frequently lack sufficient pedagogical knowledge and experience for designing and applying the essential principles of effective and stimulating teaching/learning programmes. Thus, the need for better trainer-training programmes in most countries is patent.

Community education institutions

These institutions, where they exist, are an essential part of effective adult education. They need to be extensively developed as a means of supporting the adjustment of new-comers into a community. These people include migrants and displaced persons and their families, as well as rural groups shifting into an urban community. The programmes these institutions offer can be extensive, and the delivery of them can often be more flexible than that of the programmes in formal educational institutions. Frequently the teaching/training personnel within these institutions are part-time, possibly unpaid volunteers. Thus, they need assistance in developing effective pedagogical skills if they are to fulfil their mandates effectively.

Private education/training providers

These providers have a valuable role to play. However, they need sufficient supervision by the appropriate authorities to ensure that their standards meet the needs of the employing world. Again, it is essential that the teaching/training personnel within them are adequately trained in both the necessary pedagogical knowledge and skills, and in the occupational skills relevant to the teaching/training programmes offered.

Articulation of general education with technical and vocational education

The constant change in the knowledge and skills required for a particular occupation, and the need for frequent changes in employment, make it imperative that a person has the basis for developing further knowledge and skills as quickly and effectively as possible. This requires a sufficient knowledge base for developing an understanding of other related areas of knowledge, that is, “generic knowledge” which includes, among other things, basic scientific, mathematics, and technological principles. This makes articulation between general education and technical and vocational education of utmost importance. However, the challenge to the training and education world is to present this knowledge with relevance in order to motivate the learner to absorb and retain it and to maximise its transferability.

With the phenomenon of job change and the restructuring of economies, a greater emphasis is being placed on the need for generic knowledge, skills and attitudes that are essential to the transfer of learning and that must be developed in the general education process. Again, as mentioned above, orientation to the world of work through career education programmes needs to be established within the general education context. Many countries have seen the need to develop vocational education programmes within the general education arena in order to equip people more effectively for the world of work. These developments require a close articulation between general education and technical and vocational education.

Articulation of technical and vocational education with higher education

For genuine career paths to be established, and for the developing to a maximum of the potential of individuals, higher education around the world must become more open in its recognition of prior learning and in its accrediting of learning gained from programmes offered in other institutions that are not part of the higher education arena. This presents the challenge of developing instruments for the valid and reliable assessment of experiential learning. The resistance of higher education in many countries to this greater degree of articulation with other educational institutions stems frequently from tradition, conservatism and the desire to preserve status, rather than from genuine educational concerns. That resistance needs to be removed if genuine life-long learning is to be established around the world.

Small business enterprise supervisors/employers

The informal sector is a very significant employing sector within most economies. Consequently, it must be supported by both governments and the educational entities within a country. The educational programmes developed for this sector must be characterised by relevance to the sector and must be offered through teaching/learning strategies that accommodate the problems and difficulties encountered by potential learners within it. Flexibility and self-paced learning should characterise these programmes.

Flexible learning systems

If we are to apply credit for prior learning; if we are to allow for open entry and increased access to learning; if we are to encourage life-long learning and recurrent education; if we are to support a career path that is supported by both horizontal and vertical occupational development and change; then the curricula needs to be modular in such a way as to allow recurrent entrance to and exit from the learning process. This principle can only be variously applied to curricula in the light of the essential requirement to preserve the logic of areas of inter-related learning. However, it could be applied much more extensively than it is at present. The time and energy needed to restructure curricula in this way are often lacking; and also the skills to do so.

Distance education

Although the word “distance” is used, in essence this is a strategy of learning that is not really determined by geographical location. Persons may learn through distance education even though they live across the road from the educational institution in which they are enrolled. They may choose to do this because their work or life commitments prevent them from attending a regular class within the educational institution. They may have to travel extensively for their job. The class times scheduled for a particular subject may be prohibitive because of their own personal or occupational commitments. For many reasons a person may need to study by distance education - especially in the area of continuing education.

Distance education needs the fullest co-operation of teaching/learning institutions. Not all such institutions, by any means, can offer distance education programmes. They are costly to develop, and require considerable skills in both their development, application, and administration. Therefore, institutions that do not offer distance education must be willing to credit the learning undertaken by students through the distance education mode if students are to be motivated to use this strategy of learning, and, in so doing, further their careers.

Open learning institutions are developing around the world. They have considerable potential; but only if their work is recognised and credited by other teaching institutions. For this to occur, the distance education institution must present programmes of the highest standards and demonstrate clearly that they apply rigorous and reliable evaluation procedures.

We should not re-invent the wheel in distance education. There is much material around the world that is valuable. Many institutions have considerable experience in this area. Much expertise and many resources are available. However, we must also be very careful to adapt existing resources and strategies to the particular context in which they are to be applied. Nothing is more frustrating and destructive to distance education than the use of programmes that do not fit the particular situation in which they are being applied. Examples used in the material may be irrelevant to a particular situation. This can be true even within the boundaries of a particular country. The learner in a rural context will need different examples from those relevant to an urban context. Assignments and projects need to be realistic within a particular situation. The resources for undertaking such projects must be available to the learner.

Competency-based education

This is a means of education and training that places emphasis on measurable outcomes and allows for considerable flexibility in the methods used to attain those outcomes. It stresses the need for mastery, and the public disclosure of the intended outcomes, before the student engages in the learning process. While this method of learning for the development of vocational competencies is by no means the panacea to all human ills in the area of learning, it does have great potential, if used well, for promoting self-directed learning and providing for such learning from a distance. Around the world, competency-based education is coming to the fore. It can be a valuable tool for distance education and provide for an extensive use of technology and local resources. It is far less teacher-dependent than many other systems of learning. In this respect, it encourages the development of self learning and study skills. The two main criticisms that have been made of this system of learning are: first, that the teacher does not feel comfortable with the new role of a resource person, and secondly, that it is too behaviourist and does not provide for the holistic development of a person. The first problem is of little consequence if we move away in teacher preparation from the traditional model of a teacher - the authoritarian provider of information. The second criticism need not be a reality, but it must be thoroughly taken into account. It seems to be true that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. All teaching/learning needs to take that into account. The Humanist School of psychology, stemming from the work of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, places considerable emphasis on this point. So also does adult education in the writings of such authorities as Malcolm Knowles.

Educational use of the media

The potential of the media for education and human development is enormous. Tragically, it is often used to incite hatred, play on prejudice, and propagate inaccuracies or deceptions. It tends to be dominated by the need for sensational presentations; and it is not hard to understand why. However, it has considerable potential for use in informal education. It can assist in the learning of a language; in demonstrating skills; in bringing the whole world into a small arena. With satellite television, the potential of the media for supporting the development of the world of work is of primary significance. But the media must be encouraged, in one way or another, to undertake this responsibility with full commitment. In order to support true human freedom, one must resist coercion by politics and governments with respect to the media. On the other hand, the developed world clearly indicates that much more should be done to assume the responsibility for the positive and constructive development of human understanding and thinking, whether this relates to the world of work, or to more general social and personal development. The great advantage of television is that it is one of our modern technologies that is available to many people, in developing and developed countries.

Radio has also considerable potential for the undertaking of informal education. Especially is this so in such areas as foreign language development, and the imparting of information that does not require visual support. It also has the advantage of being available to a large majority of the world’s population.

The employer

It would seem unnecessary to emphasise the role of the employer in helping to meet the need for effective adult and continuing education for the world of work. Yet, in many parts of the world there is a traditional concept that such education is the responsibility of educational institutions, and of the government. However, it is being increasingly realised that such a narrow concept of those responsible for this area of education does not meet its needs. The employer has a very significant part to play. After all it is the world of work that determines the competencies and standards needed to perform effectively within employment. Such competencies consist of the knowledge, skills and attitudes. Employers must be encouraged to provide effective work experience for learners within educational institutions if that learning is to be relevant. Also, employers need to be encouraged to provide on-going work experience for technical and vocational education teachers and trainers in order to keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date. They need to invest significant resources in education and training in order to maintain a highly skilled and competent work. They need to co-operate with governments so as to support national plans for economic development, one component of which is a well educated work force. They must co-operate with unions in order to ensure that the social and economic principles espoused by the nation are implemented. They must support, to the extent possible, their employees in their pursuit of further knowledge and skills for their personal fulfilment and for their securement of satisfying employment. Thus, the employing world is a primary partner in the endeavour to deliver effective and efficient adult and continuing technical and vocational education.

Multi-national enterprises

These enterprises are frequently large-scale employers. Increasingly they are producers of various parts of a product that is assembled and sold on the international market. Thus, they are trading on a highly competitive market. They, therefore, require high standards of performance by their employees and an efficiency that gives high productivity. As a consequence, the training they require for their employees must be thorough and of a high standard. This must be available to the local population so that such enterprises can make a maximum contribution to employment. This vocational training must also support satisfying career paths for the local people. It is unfortunate when people who assume senior positions within the enterprise must be “imported”. Multi-national enterprises can support local technical and vocational education institutions and learning programmes, so that they develop the sophisticated knowledge and skills required for assuming the roles of senior management positions. They can offer excellent in-house training that, through negotiation, could be used to up-grade the knowledge and skills of the teaching and training personnel in the local technical and vocational education institutions. They may also be the repositories of expensive and sophisticated equipment that is not available to the local productive process. Again, through negotiation, adult and continuing technical and vocational education needs to target such sources for use in its own programmes.

Large-scale employers

The partnership needed between technical and vocational education institutions and government and non-government enterprise is being pursued more vigorously around the world. This partnership is especially important with large-scale employers where places for technical and vocational education students to gain work experience may be more readily available than in small-scale enterprises, and where that work experience may be more diverse. For such partnerships to be established, technical and vocational education institutions need to include personnel from the world of work in as many of their activities as possible. Such activities will include curriculum development, evaluation programmes, and possibly the governing board of the institution itself.

Small-scale employers

These are still the main sources of employment around the world. Thus, education for employment within such enterprises is of the utmost importance. The programmes of learning that suit the personnel within these enterprises must be flexible both in terms of availability and in terms of modes of delivery. This area of enterprise is frequently found in the non-formal sector of the economy. It needs to be supported by governments. In some countries, these employers are able to draw on the training programmes of the large-scale employers. This can be helpful in terms of extending the availability of learning programmes for the world of work.

Self-employment

Considerable emphasis is being placed on entrepreneurial skills and the need to develop these, in programmes of education for the world of work, today. This is particularly so in the programmes of the developing world. However, for such an emphasis to be realistic, appropriate education must be offered. With nations around the world adopting market economy strategies, there is considerable need to offer effective continuous education courses in entrepreneurial skills and small business management. I believe that this is a very significant area of responsibility for adult education to address in the light of such an emphasis being developed, not only in the developing world, but also within the economies in transition.

Rural employment

In many contexts, rural industries are subject to the application of traditional farming methods. However, these methods are being shown to be inadequate in terms of the considerable increase in demand for rural products as a result of the sharply rising world population. Further, scientific processes have significant potential for application to the rural economy. Continuing adult education has, therefore, a significant responsibility to address the particular needs and contexts of rural education. Its modes of delivery must be tailored to the conditions that operate in the varying contexts of rural industry. The type of education that will meet the needs of this area of human endeavour will vary greatly around the world. Flexible delivery systems, such as distance education, will need to be employed.

The unions

Unions have traditionally been concerned for the well-being of their members. As part of this concern they have recognised the primary place of initial and continuing technical and vocational education for the world of work. However, in some parts of the world, elements of the role of unions have been assumed by governments and the society as a whole. This has, in some cases, tended to make them appear redundant. In other parts of the world their existence has appeared to threaten the power of the ruling body. Thus, their presence has either not been permitted within the work-place, or their leadership has been significantly inhibited in their efforts to fulfil their goals. However, they are an essential partner in fulfilling the economic and social responsibility of providing effective and efficient education for the world of work. Thus, their role in this sphere must be recognised and strengthened The following are elements of the role of unions that are pivotal to their fulfilling this role.

Their national status

Unions need to be involved in formulating national policies relating to education for the world of work. They need to be included as partners with management and governments in ensuring that effective continuing education is available to employees. They need to be acknowledged as the means of empowering employees in their efforts to obtain effective and efficient initial and continuing technical and vocational education and industry training. The pursuit of effective education for the world of work must be one of their primary goals. Their role in this sphere needs to be acknowledged by the nation as a whole, and by governments and enterprise in particular.

Their political freedom

Unions must have the autonomy and freedom to pursue their legitimate goals, especially in the area of education for the world of work. However, for them to be effective, they must themselves empower their membership as a whole, and not just a small cadre of leaders. They are a principal broker between the whole of their membership, enterprise and the government. It is patent that the world of work is strengthened by effective and efficient unions that have a genuine commitment to the well-being of their members; but further, to the well-being of the society as a whole, of the economy, and of the nation. This concern must include a primary concern for and engagement in effective and efficient education for the world of work.

The process of collectivisation and unionism

The individual, as a whole, tends to be powerless in a society. The process of collectivisation seems to be essential for most individuals to feel that they have a genuine contribution to make in the decision-making of a nation. Collectivisation results in not only unions but many other social units having a greater influence on the decision-making and planning of the nation. This process of collectivisation needs to be facilitated by the unions themselves through the implementation of effective strategies designed to assist such collectivisation. These processes cannot be arbitrary but need to be worked out in a democratic way with both members and potential members, taking into account the progress and welfare of the nation as a whole. Fundamental to the success of collectivisation with respect to unions, is the perception of potential members that unions have a valuable part to play in enriching and rewarding their working lives. A vigorous commitment of unions to the responsibility of providing for effective education for the world of work for all citizens, whether members or not, will considerably enhance the status of unions within the society as a whole. This can only result if they are more effectively engaged in the decision-making of the nation.

Unions and the mobility of the labour force

Many factors, including the development of a global market, have contributed significantly to the mobility of the labour force. This has important ramifications on the support by membership of unions. It has also resulted in unions having a more global concern for the well-being of employees who are in particular roles that are significantly related to the world markets. The responsibility of unions must, therefore, include engagement in the processes in various countries of recognising and crediting training and experience gained by workers in countries other than the one in which employment is being sought. This recognition of qualifications gained from educational institutions in ‘foreign’ countries is vital to the support of an appropriate global mobility of the labour force. The serious consequences that migrants and displaced persons experience as a consequence of their prior learning and experience not being recognised or credited must be minimised to the extent possible. This is an important issue in many countries, and it needs to be addressed by all the partners of education for the world of work, including unions.

The role of unions in change

Unions have a great potential to assist the world of work to respond positively to change. While it is imperative for them to analyse critically impending change to ensure that change is, as much as possible, constructive and beneficial. This appropriate concern must not cause them to be seen as barriers to change. Change has its most positive impact if it is supported by an understanding and positive expectation of it by those who are being affected. With the speed of change that is occurring within the world of work around the world, education has a vital role to play in ensuring that the most productive adjustments are made to it. Unions need to focus their educational role in terms of supporting this productive outcomes of change and buffering those elements of change that are perceived by a significant majority as being harmful, especially to minority groups and to the preservation of culture, the environment and of the perceived worth of individuals within their society. It is patent that all entities associated with changes in the world of work need to harmonise their resources to ensure positive adjustments to and productive outcomes from change. Unions have a fundamental responsibility in this area.

The relationship between unions and management

Worker participation in management is becoming an increasing reality. Co-operatives, in one form or another, are developing. Strategies such as Quality Circles, Performance Appraisal, etc. are spreading throughout the management world. Thus the role of unions in management is becoming more significant. For this to be a constructive and healthy development, unions must provide education for union leaders that gives that leadership the competencies necessary to participate effectively and efficiently in the management processes of both governmental and non-governmental organisations. This education must be recurrent so that its contribution to management reflects the most contemporary know-how, management strategies, innovative ideas and technological innovations relating to the management arena. Enterprise will not accept the role of unions in management unless it is persuaded that unions can make enlightened and constructive contributions to management. They will only be able to do this if they provide the best on-going relevant education for the leadership.

The relationship between unions and the government

While there are some situations in which unions and governments seem to be antagonistic to each other, it has been shown, the world over, that a close co-operation between these social partners, and respect for each others’ roles and responsibilities, will tend to produce the most positive work climate within the productive world. The reality of power is manifested in control. Thus, it is the aim of each of these two entities to manifest as much control as possible. However, one needs scarcely to register the fact that an excessive pursuit of control, of power, by either of these two entities is destructive. A co-operative relation between them is much more constructive and productive of healthy outcomes from their exercise of power. Within the arena of education for the world of work, unions need to assist and support the governments to formulate short and long-term plans for education for this area of education and to co-operate with the government in their implementation. Such plans will be limited in their effect if they do not have the acceptance and support of unions. Again, governments are more likely to provide the resources necessary for such plans to be implemented if they are confident that they have the support of unions.

The government

Without questions, governments are an essential partner in the national responsibilities for providing an effective and efficient system of education for the world of work. This includes both preparation for the world of work, and maintaining the efficiency of workers within it. Thus, technical and vocational education is included, as well as adult and continuing technical and vocational education, and relevant and effective education for the non-formal sector. Further, the responsibilities of pre-vocational education as a vital component of effective education for the world of work is also within its orbit. It must assume a leadership role in this area of social responsibility. It must encourage and support the initiatives of other members of this partnership. It must ensure that all members of the partnership play an active and constructive role. It is the partner that has a primary role of ensuring that efforts within this area of human endeavour are co-ordinated, and that resources are not wasted by unnecessary duplication. It is able to reward human effort in this sphere in a way that encourages participation and initiative by the other partners. It is able to initiate national planning that attends to the disadvantaged, to those with minimal power and thrust in the society, as well as to the design of and commitment to long-term plans for educational development within the nation. The following are some aspects of this responsibility.

Financial support

While it is undeniable that governments have a primary responsibility for financing education for the world of work, it has been shown that financial support from the private sector can also enhance significantly the availability and quality of such education. As in many other areas of social responsibility, governments need to support those areas of education that may well be neglected by the society as a whole. These include appropriate education for the disadvantaged and those with minimal clout in the political arena. Governments also have the primary responsibility of initiating and financing long-term planning. Much of education fall in this sphere. Governments also have the responsibility of financing areas of human endeavour that are difficult to attach to any realistic analysis of cost-benefits, yet are seen to be important components of life. While education for the world of work may be more realistically subjected to cost-benefit analyses, such analyses are still of dubious validity and reliability. Thus, governments must give that financial support to occupational education that results in all members of the society developing and maintaining competencies that reflect their potential for productive and satisfying engagement in work.

National status for technical and vocational education

It is universally recognised today that the status of technical and vocational education within our societies must be lifted if we are to attain the goals of full-employment, and maximum and competitive productivity. University education must no longer command such a status as to bias the wage reward structures within the economy. It is imperative that the distribution of the generated wealth of the economy encourages participation in the wide spectrum of education for the world of work, and not just in the narrow sphere of ‘higher-order’ professions. Education for the world of work will not achieve its national goals until technical and vocational education is given the status it needs to attract a sufficient clientele to meet the human resource needs of the nation.

Locus of control of technical and vocational education within government

A factor that inhibits governments from giving the co-ordinated support to education for the world of work that is needed is the division of responsibility among various ministries and departments for this area of education within a government. Frequently, a number of ministries hold some responsibility in this area. The ministries of education, ministry for employment, the ministry for labour and industry, the ministry for youth affairs, possibly ministries for rural development, even ministries responsible for prisons and the incarcerated; all these may be responsible for elements of education for the world of work. The strategies among these various identities for fulfilling their responsibilities for education and training for work must be co-ordinated if a maximum productivity of education expenditures is to be achieved.

Legislative framework to support education and training for the world of work

There is a healthy development occurring around the world. That is, governments are setting up commissions to recommend the legislative structure needed to support effectively and efficiently all areas of education for the world of work, and to ensure that the various areas of support are co-ordinated. Long-term planning is essential, and it is imperative that such planning is supported by the legislative framework needed to implement it. Governments have the primary role to play in this area of responsibility. This may include all areas of government - national, state, regional, local - depending upon the constitution of the nation. If there are different levels of government involved, it is imperative that these different levels work together to ensure that cooperation and mutual support characterise their individual efforts.

Parameters of education for the world of work

In order to achieve greater economic and social success in the twenty-first century the primary recommendation affirmed is: that adult and continuing education for the world of work be open to all individuals, and that, to the extent possible, they be supported and encouraged to engage in it. This education should enable enterprise to engage in the global economy without the exploitation of human and material resources, especially in developing countries.

To ensure that this affirmation results in the progress in human development that is envisaged by it, it is proposed that the following aspects of education for the world of work be implemented:

- Comprehensive career guidance be provided, as much as is reasonable and possible, to citizens as a life-long support for effective work-related decision making.

- General education assume a responsibility for an effective orientation to the world of work and for the development of generic concepts and attitudes that are essential to the transferability of knowledge, attitudes and skills in the learning of occupational-specific competencies.

- Context-relevant research that supports the application of science and technology to the world of work be supported by both government and industry. Such research must also address the multifarious issues of environmental protection.

- Education for the world of work engender in its learners attitudes of responsibility for the environment and cultural heritage, and the commitment to practices that support this area of human responsibility.

- Irrelevant barriers to the access of all levels of education that are based on discriminatory factors such as, sex, race, creed, class, etc. or on spurious measures of academic ability and potential, be removed in order to support the development of the full potential of the individual and to allow, to the extent possible, for a seamless career path.

- Those who have withdrawn from the world of work for prolonged periods of time to fulfil other responsibilities, such as parenting, be provided, to the extent possible, the adult education that enables them to re-engage in work without penalty.

- Competencies be developed that are necessary to support effective entrepreneurial initiatives, in whatever context or arena. These may also include competencies in supervision and management for appropriate people to assume leadership roles in social partner organisations and NGOs.

- Articulation among educational institutions should facilitate the recognising and crediting of relevant learning and experience from all strands of education. Such articulation needs also to address the issues that support an increased international recognition of a person’s learning and experience.

- The informal economy must be provided for through the application of strategies that enable that sector to engage in such education.

- Teaching/learning strategies be implemented that are student-centred and appropriate to the particular circumstances of the learner.

- Curricula for education for the world of work must be continually developed and revised in order to ensure relevance and life-long occupational opportunities and employability.

- Selection procedures for teachers and trainers within the world of work be improved and that these professionals be given thorough and continuing professional development in order to fulfil their responsibilities to the highest standards.

- NGOs be given full support by governments and industry to assume increasing responsibility in adult and continuing professional education

- Policies must be developed by decision-making authorities and legislation implemented by governments at all levels that support life-long adult and continuing education for the world of work.

- Authorities, including governments and ministries at the various levels within a nation, co-ordinate their responsibilities for education for the world of work.

- Every effort should be made by all relevant parties, such as NGOs, enterprise, governments, etc. to work towards the adequate financing of adult and continuing education for the world of work.

- All relevant entities should aim for a fair and just distribution of wealth within the world of work, without inhibiting individual initiative and personal freedom.

- All education for the world of work must be sufficiently comprehensive to contribute to the development of the learner as a mature, autonomous and socially responsible person; in addition to its primary responsibility of developing occupationally-specific competencies.

Conclusions

Much more could be said about these five different entities involved in this universally accepted responsibility of adult education for the world of work. Enough, however, has been said in this paper to impress upon us the wide spectrum of responsibilities involved, and the need to ensure that all those who are engaged in this area of human endeavour co-ordinate and co-operate in their individual efforts to work together as partners towards achieving the goal of providing for all people effective, efficient and continuing education for the world of work.

IV. PARTICIPANTS’ PRESENTATIONS TO THEME FIVE



SESSION 1: CHANGES IN THE WORLD OF WORK THAT IMPACT ON ADULT EDUCATION AND TRAINING

ICFTU: What Are The Most Significant Changes In The World Of Work?

Renate Peltzer

The ICFTU is a confederation of national trade union centres. It has now 196 affiliated organisations in 136 countries on all five continents, with a membership of 124 million. 43 million of them are women. As an international movement advocating social justice, equality and human dignity, it continues the traditional work of trade unions for decent pay and conditions for men and women at their place of work and for improved social welfare, for example through education, health care and social security.

Today, unions at national level are seeing much of what they have achieved being undermined by global financial and industrial decisions. The world of work is changing dramatically. Competition is global and intensifying, bringing a new level of insecurity to developed nations and increased poverty to much of the developing world. Over one-fifth of the world’s population survive in conditions of abject poverty and more than 700 million working men and women are not productively employed. Social inequality within and between nations is increasing and is a root cause of the numerous conflicts that threaten to sweep away restored or newly-won democratic rights and the fragile foundations of international co-operation against unemployment and poverty. It must not be forgotten that there are still oppressive dictatorial and authoritarian regimes.

Training and retraining, employee empowerment, high-performance work organisation - does this prevent downsizing the work force, out-sourcing services, contracting jobs? Behind these buzzwords - which in fact are euphemisms - lie major challenges for workers and their trade unions almost everywhere on this globe, as they seek to adapt to global and domestic competition, international trade, unrestrained financial markets, rapid technological change - often summed up under the notion “Globalization”. Workers must be able to keep up with developments - developments that affect their and their families’ very existence. Structural adjustment measures like privatisation have made the working population bear the brunt of the severe cuts in public spending. The World Bank and the governments that called the Bank into their countries have meanwhile been learning that without putting the people in the centre of economic attention and without involving the unions, their policies are doomed to fail.

The World Bank’s 1997 Report which deals with “The State in a Changing World” shows a change of heart. It accepts that the state has a role in market-led development by providing the right environment of rules, institutions and core services. The proponents of the global free market, however, seem far removed from the reality of ordinary life. Their successes and profits have not brought down the high unemployment figures. An over-riding new indicator for a seemingly successful economy is what is called the shareholder value. So far, the chances which are supposedly inherent in globalization are not very obvious for the working men and women and have benefited rather the happy few than the general public.

In order to be competitive, business seeks to produce goods and services at the lowest possible cost level. Workers are seen as part of the cost, not as part of the gain. So what do the changes in the world of work due to the economic environment mean for the working people and trade unions and finally for the economy? Plants are closed thus increasing the number of unemployed, especially women. Plants relocate - another buzzword - and create usually much fewer jobs than they destroy. In some developing countries foreign companies or their local contractors pay less than the minimum wage or even exploit child labour. In downsized companies the remaining personnel faces increased responsibilities and increased demands on their flexibility.

New job patterns based on the flexible use of the work force by employers have been increasing. This means that those with such temporary work, contract work, home work are being put in a very insecure situation, particularly so when the employer contracts work like a commercial service. This development has significance for how labour laws are being by-passed, labour laws which oblige the employer to pay wages and salaries, social security, etc.

It entails further a most incisive rupture of an internationally acquired understanding of social justice. Most labour legislation and regulations are based on the concept of a relationship between workers and employers. The employment relationship in many countries is treated as a special kind of contract. The justification for a special contract - and indeed the justification for most of the labour legislation - is the fact that from the outset the power relationship between workers and employers is unequal. Labour laws recognise that human labour is not a commodity and that market