What is it for?
The Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe (EPALE) is an upcoming online space to exchange, showcase, and promote methods of good practice in adult education, scheduled to come online in late 2014. Individuals involved in organising and delivering adult education will be able to access an adult learning platform to share the latest developments and learn from each other.
What will it involve?
EPALE will support the following goals:

• • Future users can already get involved: by taking the survey found on the EPALE site , they can help shape the content of the site
  • EPALE on Twitter . See more...

What is the Commission doing?
The Commission is working with 32 countries to implement the European Agenda for Adult Learning . The Agenda highlights the need to increase participation in adult learning of all kinds (formal, non-formal and informal learning) whether to acquire new work skills, for active citizenship, or for personal development and fulfilment. For example, the Commission coordinates a network of national coordinators(123 kB) who promote adult learning in their countries, provide policy advice and support, and gather and disseminate best practices. The Commission also works with a range of European associations, networks, and labour organisations to promote adult learning.
Why is it needed?
More adult learning can help Europe overcome the economic crisis, meet the need for new skills, and keep its ageing workforce productive. Learning is also essential for social inclusion and active citizenship. These days, people cannot just rely on the skills they acquired at school to last them till the end of their working life. The participation of adults in learning varies significantly between EU countries: from 1.4% to 31.6% (2012 figures), and the overall trend is that numbers are stagnating. Participation rates are especially disappointing for low-skilled and older adults. Action at European level will increase knowledge about successful policies, provide support, and enable a better exchange of experiences between countries.
What has been done so far?
To support policy developments:

This new initiative funded by the European Commission is the latest development in the EU’s long-term commitment to promoting high quality adult learning in Europe.
The new platform is open to teachers, trainers and volunteers, as well as policy-makers, researchers and academics involved in adult learning.
Links: EPALE. See more...

By Tracy Lorenz. How successful is higher education, today, when it comes to serving working adults?
When you look at the statistics, only 30 percent of working adults in the United States have a degree. However, when you look at the research, it shows that 75 percent want more education. So you think of this as a supply and a demand issue, but only five percent [of working adults] think they can afford it. …
We believe everyone should have access to affordable college degrees that are attainable. While great things are happening in the higher education space today, I think we have a lot more work to do. More...

Increasing the participation of adult learners in higher education is an important objective in European education policy. At the same time, higher education institutions are diversifying their services to reach out to adult learners. One form of such outreach are distance education programmes.
Against this backdrop, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), together with the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE), and StudyPortals (SP) has set out to examine the potential of distance education as provided by higher education institutions on adult learning in Europe. The project, which is entitled “Impact of Distance Education on Adult Learning” (IDEAL) is funded by the European Commission’ Lifelong Learning Programme.
Running from October 2013 until September 2014, the project will optimise our knowledge of distance learning services throughout Europe and provide valuable information on the profiles of potential students.
For more information on the project, please visit: www.idealproject.eu

By Vanessa Milne. Since 2008 74,000 people have participated in an Ontario program that funds post-secondary education. After Sambra Marrodan from Aurora was laid off in 2012 she had trouble finding work. She’d been a billing analyst for Rogers Communications for about six years, but the training she had received “was strictly Rogers, their software, their data,” she says, so it wasn’t transferable. More...