In August 2024, new unemployment figures showed that 33,000 more New Zealanders were jobless compared to the same time in 2023, bringing the total number of unemployed to 143,000. The unemployment rate reached a three-year high of 4.6% in the three months ended June 2024, up from 4.4% in the previous quarter. The figures also showed that people aged between 15 and 24 made up almost half of the newly unemployed, and many of them want more work but cannot get the hours. Further commentary suggests that the unemployment level will increase to 5% by the end of 2024 and young people will continue to be overrepresented in the figures.

Gaining new skills to participate in a changing workplace and upskilling to better meet market demands are both options for people looking for new work opportunities, with new skills often seen as one of the main solutions to the challenges of a low employment market.

However, a recent OECD report – OECD (2023), Flexible adult learning provision: What it is, why it matters, and how to make it work – highlights that while adult learning plays a key role in raising the skill levels of individuals and populations, it is the weakest link in the lifelong learning agenda. European figures show that many countries are struggling to increase participation in adult learning in general and, in particular, to close the participation gap between more- and less-advantaged groups.

The report outlines the view that this lack of progress can be explained by the fact that adults (including young adults) face multiple, interrelated barriers to participation in learning. These include concerns about their ability to succeed; situational barriers, such as caring responsibilities or lack of employer support; and institutional barriers, such as a lack of learning opportunities tailored to their specific needs and, according to German research, low skilled adults face a greater number of barriers than those with higher skills.

Across OECD countries, lack of time for work-related reasons is the main barrier to participation in training both for low-skilled and high-skilled adults, with 31% of high- and medium-skilled adults who wanted to participate in learning and 22% of low-skilled adults citing this as the main reason.

For low-skilled adults, the second most important reason is lack of time for family reasons (18%), such as caring responsibilities, followed by lack of financial resources (17%).

The report found that adult learning systems need to do better for those currently least likely to participate in education and training. The lack of progress in closing participation gaps and the persistence of barriers to participation highlight the need for a systematic reform of adult learning systems, in particular the need to give individuals greater choices and make adult learning provision more flexible.

Flexible learning options will recognise the constraints of people who are working, have family or other responsibilities and are trying to improve their skills at the same time, and the report recommends that options should enable them to combine or move easily between education, training and employment.

The report outlines the four key dimensions where greater flexibility can be offered to learners, and these are applicable to both formal and community education.

The four factors defined are time, place, mode and content.

Time
Offering more flexibility in terms of when learning opportunities take place, how long they last, and how much time learners need to dedicate to them makes a difference.

Place
In addition to timing issues, an inconvenient location is frequently cited as a reason for not participating in learning. This barrier can partly be addressed by offering distance or online learning options, allowing adults to learn at a place that suits them.

Mode
Offering a variety of learning modes accommodates learners with preferences for different learning styles. It can also significantly reduce the time cost of training: for instance, the use of online delivery reduces commuting times to and from a venue.

Content
The most challenging dimension to offering greater flexibility is in the content of programmes, courses and other learning opportunities, essentially enabling adults to create individual learning experiences that meet their needs.

Synchronous and asynchronous learning concepts cut across several of the factors that offer greater flexibility. Synchronous learning describes a situation where instruction and learning take place at the same time. This could be in the same physical place, such as a classroom, or in an online environment, such as a virtual learning platform. The key feature is that the instructor and learner(s) can interact in real time.

Asynchronous learning describes a situation in which the instructor and the learner(s) are not interacting with each other in real time. In some cases, there may not even be an instructor. This type of learning can be virtual, for example, in the form of pre-recorded video lectures, or face to face, such as a self-directed practical exercise in a learning workshop.

The OECD report also found that policy development was important for encouraging and supporting adult education both in the community and the more formal tertiary sector.

As a sector, this report provides valuable learnings in terms of factors we must consider when developing our programmes. You can read the full report here: https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/topic/policy-sub-issues/adult-learning/booklet-flexibility-2023.pdf

This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its member countries.