In Canada, there is a strong consensus that a publicly funded education is the cornerstone of a fair, productive, and socially cohesive society. Investments in our provincial ‘first chance’ education systems reflect this consensus. The results of this report suggest that the social and economic benefits of publicly funded adult education would be equally profound. For this reason, we argue that adults should be extended a ‘right to learn’ that is similar to the ‘right to learn’ that is already established for children and youths. We put forward a vision for the adult learning system characterized by the following principles.
The business case for adult learning is clear. Adult education has been linked to a wide array of benefits including improved labour market prospects for learners, and increases in productivity and living standards. A country’s standard of living – the income it generates per person – depends on the employment rate (the percentage of the population that is working) and productivity (how much each employed person produces). Labour productivity in turn depends not only on how hard people work, but also on how ‘smart’ they work. The larger the share of the population with low education/low skills, the further away we may be from maximizing productivity. It makes economic sense for the country to actively develop ways of raising the economic contribution of these people by upgrading their skills. As a key piece of the puzzle on how to raise productivity, the issue of low education/low skills should be as much on the economic agenda, as it is on the social agenda.
While a vision of an adult learning system that guarantees the ‘right to learn’ seems to be broadly accepted by most stakeholders, it is far from being realized in practice. How can we translate this vision of adult learning system into a reality? We suggest the following five steps as essential elements of an effective adult learning system that works for less-educated/less-skilled adults.