Dealing with societal, technological and global changes requires continuously acquiring new knowledge, competences and skills throughout the lifespan. The knowledge gained through formal education is no longer sufficient in an increasingly complex world. A comprehensive and lifelong approach to acquiring knowledge and skills, which in addition to formal also includes non-formal and informal (experiential) learning, is necessary. Only by doing so can we tackle new challenges more quickly and effectively and respond to them more easily.
Continuous awareness-raising of the importance of lifelong learning and information about numerous opportunities for acquiring and enhancing knowledge is crucial. Up-to-date information on educational and learning possibilities greatly assists in informing the public.
Information gathered on the Where to get knowledge platform as an aid in searching for new knowledge
The Where to get knowledge platform is increasingly used by people searching for information on educational and learning offerings. Employers and HR professionals also turn to it when seeking employee training programmes. The published content is valuable for information, guidance and research activities in ALE. Adult educators can also find a rich and diverse range of training programmes on the platform beneficial for their professional and personal growth.
The Where to get knowledge platform has been recognised by providers as an additional opportunity for their promotion
The response from education providers to showcase their planned ALE offerings on the platform is growing. In 2022, 267 institutions published their educational offerings, providing adults with over 3,700 formal and non-formal education programmes.
Various institutions presented themselves, including secondary schools that educate both youth and adults, private institutions and schools for ALE, adult education centres, associations and federations of associations, institutes, libraries, museums, galleries, chambers, development agencies, funds, foundations and numerous other institutions involved in ALE. Many of them presented their services for the first time. The network of ALE providers is spread across all Slovenian regions, with the highest concentration in the central Slovenian region, where adult demand for education is also the highest. However, ALE opportunities are not available in all Slovenian municipalities.
The significant diversity of institutions influences the variety of education and learning
Up to three-quarters of the entire educational offering is dedicated to non-formal education and training for adults, with the majority focusing on language learning (English, German, Italian, French, Slovenian as a foreign language, etc.), information and communication technology skills, computer literacy, general educational activities, personal skills and personal development.
Among the programmes aimed at obtaining formal education, the majority consists of technical secondary education programmes, three-year programmes for obtaining vocational secondary education and short-cycle higher vocational education programmes.
The rich content diversity extends to various fields
The content diversity of adult education is mainly reflected in non-formal education and learning. Almost half of this educational offering consists of programmes in the fields of arts and humanities, as well as basic and general educational activities. In the arts and humanities field, most programmes are dedicated to language learning. Personal and general educational activities encompass personal skills and personal development, literacy and numeracy, as well as basic and general educational activities. Providers categorise many educational programmes under the fields of technology, production technologies and construction, information and communication technologies, as well as business and administrative sciences and law.
Novelties on the Where to get knowledge platform
In 2022, this task was again associated with the EAAL 2022–2023 project, which allowed the platform to have additional development and recognition and improve its technical and communication aspects. We added a new subpage (in Slovenian) on the platform dedicated to skills for life. We highlighted four of them: green skills, skills for a healthy life, digital skills and skills for cultural awareness and expression. We presented educational offerings for acquiring each of these skills and found that the educational offerings for the first two mentioned are rather modest.
The new Where to get knowledge profile on Facebook has enhanced public awareness and information about education and learning opportunities. This communication channel has attracted significant attention from visitors and new education providers who wanted to showcase their offerings. Here, we promote exciting learning opportunities and attract a wider audience and new education providers. Extensive platform promotion is also conducted through other communication channels of the SIAE.
Erika Brenk (erika.brenk@acs.si), SIAE
