Challenge for adult education in the context of the labor market

Annotation: In the article, we want to point out that adults are always educated in a certain historical period and social conditions. Education is not theory and practice in itself, but it is the philosophy and ethics of life, the knowledge and actions of people with one goal, to live as valuable a life as possible. Here we pay attention to the issue of lifelong learning, the globalization trend in education policy, education as a priority for personal and social development, changes in qualifications, the context of adult education and the labor market.

Introduction

As a result of revolutionary changes in its recent history, humanity is in the process of creating a new civilization in which the development and dissemination of information have become the main areas of people's lives. The process of modernization of the economy and society began. A modern society is being formed, dominated by three trends: 1 computerization, globalization and individualization.

Current modernization efforts are also reflected in the term flexibilization. The common denominator of company modernization is its dynamic moment, when all processes are unthinkable without permanent acceleration and modernization. Modernization becomes a paradoxical process: "it is constantly overtaken by itself, and thereby accelerates again" (Gruber, 2001a, p. 36).

Politician N. Gingrich in the introduction to the book Creating a New Civilization by the world-famous authors A. Toffler and H. Tofflerová (1996, p. 15) expresses his belief that "in fact, in every area we are witnessing an information revolution, changing the structure, pace and nature of our lives". The authors of the book themselves will not leave anyone indifferent in its introduction, when they consider our time as a super-fight for a new family model, for a new way of working, for a new way of human relations and life, for a change in people's consciousness.

"Humanity is facing a giant leap forward. We are headed for the deepest social upheaval and creative transformation in all of history. Although we are not clearly aware of it, we are involved in building a completely new civilization from the ground up" (Toffler - Tofflerová, 1996, p. 16). According to the mentioned authors, the term "civilization" includes various facts: both technology and family life, religion, culture, politics, economy, social hierarchy, leadership, values, sexual morality and theory of knowledge.

What does the modernization of society mean for an individual? It is a process that is not straightforward and takes place in such a way that what is traditional in society exists at the same time as what is new and progressive. With the situations and conditions of his life in the process of such a transformation, the individual has to deal with them, so to speak, "on the fly" and at a relatively fast pace. E. Gruber (2001a, p. 36) characterizes the process of modernization as follows: "modernization means an ambivalent process of permanent change, which has positive and negative sides - life today offers the individual many more options for choosing his professional development than ever before. However, these options are both opportunities and limitations. On the one hand, they mean an increase in freedom of decision-making and, on the other hand, a decrease in certainty and the necessity to find one's way outside of traditional models".

In connection with the modernization of society, sociologists talk about significant changes in all areas of life, about fundamental social and socio-psychological changes. The characteristic features of the modernization of society are considered to be expanding rationalization; continued individualization; significant pluralization of society; blurring the lines between work, profession and education; looseness in the rules of behavior that functioned on the basis of traditions and social norms; the need for an individual to permanently search for his position in the world and in his surroundings; change in interpersonal, interpersonal relationships, including work relationships.

The strengthening of human capital has become an inescapable fact, and human resources have begun to be perceived, for the future of various countries, as a guarantee of the country's ability to compete, as well as the living standards of the inhabitants themselves (Rinne, 2000, 1998). Education has come to be thought of as creating a country's value that fosters innovation, creativity and competitiveness in an increasingly international market. Education policy has become an important part of the economy, labor market and social policy.

a) European path to the information society In 1994, the European Path to Information Society initiative was created, aimed at preparing residents for the new era. Its task is to lead citizens to accept the changes that are part of the development of the information society. The priority area of ​​this initiative is education. Common goals of European education grouped into three groups were set:

• educational mobility,
• training programs,
• youth exchange.

A European space for the exchange of ideas and experiences from "good practice" is developing.

b) European dimensions of education have become:

• multinational education;
• exchange of experiences and approaches in education;
• innovative teaching and educational projects;
• creating networks of academic and professional expertise;
• new technologies in education;
• international consensus in the definition of education policy and the definition of qualifications and competences;
• strengthening the link between science, research and practice.

Education, as can be seen, is supposed to play an important role in the creation of the "European model" of society. In connection with this model, the importance of lifelong learning strategy in connection with people's mobility is often underlined, which should contribute to the employability of people, to the development of active citizenship, to the support of social inclusion and to the increase of people's personal competence and their personal development in various areas of life.

Lifelong education for all citizens

Creating space and conditions for lifelong education and lifelong learning for all citizens is expected. A society whose main attribute is knowledge, insights and information requires high expertise and at least high-quality professional training, as many people as possible, for an open labor market. Both the state and employers, as well as the citizens themselves, are responsible for education. They are encouraged to actively participate in the process of lifelong education and learning. On the one hand, in connection with work tasks, but also with other tasks in your life.

The educational needs of various target groups of adults are met by activities in the field of professional, cultural and interest-based as well as civic education of adults. According to European documents (Reding, 2002), the activities of educational institutions (state, public, private institutions; schools, workplaces, educational centers, etc.) should aim at creating a simple and transparent framework:

• assessments of qualifications and competences;
• formulating common criteria and rules for determining the quality of education;
• formulation of uniform principles of assessment of formal, informal and informal education;
• creation of information consultancy and advisory services aimed at lifelong guidance and assistance to people (through education and training).

The trend in education policy (adult education) is undoubtedly derived from plans to build the infrastructure of European society, as evidenced by the Presidency conclusion document. Lisbon European council, 2000. Knowledge, insights, information are encoded in the foundations of European society; economic reforms; social reforms (or modernization of the social assistance system); modernization of the education system.

Globalization tendencies in education policy

With advancing information technology, the above-mentioned trends began to be applied as a globalization approach, which concerns all areas of production, consumption and movement from labor and capital to trade, and which is always organized on a wide global scale. Related to this is the building of a "network society" that transcends regional and national boundaries, and transnational networks are gaining a key position (Rinne, 2000).

Networks and changing relationships, together with communication, shape the nature of people's actions and decisions even at the individual level - in the economic, political, cultural and social spheres of life (Castells, 1997, 1998). People's capital, knowledge, capabilities and skills no longer seem to have their "home" country, states R. Rinne (2000, 2002). And he further reminds that national school (and educational) systems face the challenges of globalism in such simple things as, for example, the structure of education or the content of education, syllabi and methods of education.

R. Rinne expressed the decisive facts that describe globalization tendencies in the education policy of a specific country as follows (2000, p.138 - 139):

• choice of education on the free market of educational organizations and educational activities, competition between individuals and schools;
• autonomy of schools and educational institutions and organizations;
• diversification and stratification of the school system;
• privatization in the education implementation system, including financing;
• deregulation and decentralization in the education system, increasing regional and specific requirements of schools;
• managerialism in education administration;
• economic rationalism in the education system;
• focus on effective educational results and evaluation of their benefits.

However, each country has its own specific experiences, traditions and system and method of education. Therefore, the creation of networks that help European integration and transnational and international cooperation in the field of education and dissemination of information is currently being supported. The starting point is the general belief that people's lifelong learning and adult education have a key role in the lives of individuals and society today.

People do not have the same starting line neither in access to employment nor in access to education. Equality of chances and opportunities for education can thus become a proclaimed goal of education policy rather than fulfilling the needs of adult education. Some adults want to learn, but cannot or do not know how to overcome the obstacles (of an objective and subjective nature) that prevent them from learning. For many adults from disadvantaged groups, the opportunity for lifelong learning can become only an individual and difficult to realize wish and a task that society expects them to fulfill, but they are unable to fulfill.

Education as an individual and social development priority

We will try to formulate the general goals of lifelong learning in such a way that they take into account both the individual and the social level. Let's focus on the individual level - the psychological aspect of lifelong learning (Machalová, 2004, 2006).

Education can be understood as an important way of realizing life's developmental tasks. Education should be based on the dispositions of individuals - their abilities, as well as their own limitations in personal development. The content of education is determined by the need to develop people's competencies:

• their ability to socialize - professionally (in preparation for the profession and during its implementation); socio-psychologically (in social relations, with other people and social groups); cultural (in identifying with the cultural patterns, norms, traditions of the community);
• their ability to adapt (adjust) - in the social environment (to handle the tasks of life and create their life in work and non-work areas).

Through education, it is possible to teach people to navigate in the amount of information, in the complexity, contradictions and contradictions occurring in the social environment, in interpersonal and personal relationships, in the contradictory requirements of various social roles.

The purpose of adult education consists in forming the cognitive and emotional capacity to evaluate reality so that they can identify and implement constructive procedures in solving work, social and personal problems.

An important document that influenced education policy in the European area is the Memorandum on lifelong learning (adopted in 2000), well known to the professional public. In the very introduction (p. 3), it states that "Europe has undeniably rolled into the era of knowledge with a corresponding impact on culture, economy and social life. The style of education and work is changing violently. This means that the individual must adapt to the change, but at the same time well-established approaches to work must change."

Lifelong learning in society is closely linked to the successful transformation of the current economy and system of society's life, in favor of a knowledge-based economy and society. In the mentioned document, the dominant idea is that lifelong learning becomes the principle that determines how education will be created and ensured in its entire spectrum.

Lifelong education is considered a targeted continuous educational activity, the purpose of which is to acquire, innovate, expand, and deepen people's capabilities (and the knowledge and skills contained in them). From the point of view of social interest, two equally important goals of education are highlighted in lifelong learning:

1. support of active citizenship,
2. support of employability and employment of people.

The key messages in the Memorandum on Lifelong Learning (2000) form the platform for promoting lifelong learning into the education policies of individual countries. We perceive the key messages as a set of general long-term educational goals and at the same time as a "philosophy" of lifelong learning.

Adult education and employment on the labor market

Work2 is the most important activity of an adult, whether he performs it in the role of an employee, in a free profession or it is realized outside the labor market.

It is important for a person to realize himself

• in the economic field (on the labor market) - it is implemented as a workforce, materially provided for;
• in the social field (in the system of social relations) - he is realized as a worker and an active person outside the workplace in various positions and functions, which depends on his social security and social status;
• in the psychological field (as a personality system) it is realized as a person who adapts through work, actively changes and creatively produces a new environment of life (noosphere). Through work, he realizes his individual potential, which results in work-related life self-realization and quality of life).

The outlined areas of a person's work activity led us to the opinion that an important factor in the development of education and a strong motivation for education can be for many adults their efforts to apply themselves on the labor market. Work activity and work application have a visible impact on the economic and social level of life of individuals.

In countries where the principle of equal opportunities in education for all residents was supported and these equal opportunities were guaranteed, the situation has changed in this direction. Those responsible for the implementation of education policy are forced to adopt the doctrine of competition, desired results and performance in the practice of education as soon as possible. Education is becoming an important part of the active labor market policy tool system. The role of education is among the most important in employment policy, it is expressed in the requirement to prepare people for the labor market. People are led to learn continuously throughout their lives.

In the traditional concept of the work system in society, professional training was established in such a way that after completing education and training for a certain field of work, people usually got a job in that field. The individual's professional career had a smooth course. At the beginning of the destabilization of the labor market and later, a direct connection between education, qualification, professional field and the possibility of employment on the labor market became apparent. This also applies to the Slovak labor market.

Education is becoming an important part of the population's life. The unstable labor market and professional career interruptions (for example, unemployment, the need to change professions) require a certain readiness to perform diverse work tasks and different professions. We were interested in the observation (Rinne, 1998) that expectations and demands in connection with lifelong learning are derived from what is expected of people involved in "the world of work". Thus, lifelong learning is partly understood as an alternative to employment and partly as a mechanism for directing changes in society.

Linking the educational level of the population with the labor market

The approach to unemployment as a social phenomenon and people's personal situation is changing. Unemployment cannot be solved by simply increasing the number of jobs, because it has changed from quantitative to qualitative. In this context, it is necessary to pay attention to the connection between the educational level of the population and their position on the labor market.

In the conditions of the Slovak labor market, M. Ďurďovičová and O. Srna (1997) found that the duration of unemployment in individual categories of the population is inversely proportional to the level of education of the unemployed.

According to the aforementioned authors, an important fact of new entry into employment is the level of education of the unemployed. The higher the education of people, the shorter their unemployment period. From a national economic point of view, adult education can be considered one of the cheapest forms of social development. Education and learning of people is the way to maintain and strengthen employment.

The Slovak labor market has long been characterized by an uneven distribution of the workforce. Also because of the educational level of the population in individual regions of Slovakia. At the same time, the level of education achieved affects the interest of individuals in further education. It is assumed that people with low education will not be willing to learn. After all, the level of education is significantly reflected in all areas of society's life. It is important for the political, economic, cultural and social life of the inhabitants of a certain state.

Even in the most economically developed countries of the world, almost half of the workers are at risk of losing their jobs. "Even if they are not illiterate in the full sense of the word, they do not have a sufficient foundation on which they can be further educated in those sectors in which there will be job growth in the next 25 years...Educating these adults means not only further education, but it requires going back to basic knowledge" (Lefort, 1997, p. 37).

Education as part of life in the third millennium

Education is an important part of life for a population of people who are confronted with the "complexity of the world and gripped by the power of the financial world, the scientific-technical world and the world of mass media," writes Lefort (1997, p. 37). In such an environment, we have to "re-establish the primacy of reason," he says further, while, according to him, this requires "permanent acquisition of knowledge" from people. Education, as he sees it, leads adults to be aware of and exercise their rights as well as their intellectual responsibilities. We want to add that not only intellectual, but also moral responsibility for life in general.

A. Toffler and H. Tofflerová (1996) offer stimulating reflections on education3 versus lack of education within the society of the third millennium called the civilization of information technology. They have no doubt that all organizations, institutions, enterprises, firms are forced to rethink the role of knowledge.

In these words there is an encrypted message for institutions and organizations of adult education. These institutions and organizations, given the education sector in which they operate, should be aware that it is a highly educated sector with an obligation to expand education. From the practice of adult education, it can be concluded that many institutions and organizations in the education sector have employees with a high level of education. Their work activities are often marked by the "essential" work engagement of workers.

Social function of education

A. Tokárová (2003, p. 192) draws attention to the social function of adult education in the context of the social situation in Slovakia. It states that "within the system of lifelong learning and education, adult education fulfills many social functions and saturates diverse social needs, which are the consequences of globalization and socio-economic changes in recent years in Slovakia".

The social function of adult education is contained in an active employment policy. Education can contribute to reducing unemployment and increasing people's employment. Adult education is affected by changes in the restructuring of the economy and thus also in employment structures. According to V. Prusáková (2001), the changes are directly reflected in the educational needs and retraining needs of both employed and unemployed persons. The scope and content of educational and counseling activities are expanding (also for persons from disadvantaged groups on the labor market).

The connection between the social system and the organization of lifelong learning can be illustrated by an example. The interesting solution of G. Esping-Andersen and A. Green was combined by the Finnish sociologist R. Rinne (2002, p. 94) and created a combination of social system models and lifelong learning organization models:

• The Nordic model of the social system, i.e. a state-run lifelong learning model.
• Peripheral model of the social system.
• Conservative model of the social system, i.e. social partnership model in organizing lifelong education.
• Liberal model of the social system, i.e. market-driven model of organizing lifelong learning.

Political and global economic changes are believed to have a strong influence on education policy (including adult education) in a given country. It is in the latter model that the state shows less and less responsibility for the education of adults.

Adult education across the policy spectrum

We share the opinion that adult education as part of lifelong learning should be a priority of social development. As a social phenomenon, it is implanted in the entire spectrum of policies. Education as a social activity and education as a result of this activity are incorporated primarily in employment policy, including labor market policy, in cultural policy, in social policy, in school policy, in adult education policy in Slovakia.

The current task in Slovakia is to improve the educational level and qualification structure of the population. Especially in a situation where two-thirds of the adult population has only primary or at most secondary education without a high school diploma. The educational level of the population is largely reflected in the employment rate of people within the regions and the whole of Slovakia. It is the areas with a low educational level that are characterized by unemployment, which turns into long-term unemployment. Precisely because of the impossibility of applying on the labor market due to insufficient qualification prerequisites and the inability to acquire new skills for work.

Changes in the development of qualifications - a challenge for adult education

In connection with (un)employment, "flexibility" is often mentioned, which many refer to as one of the attributes of life in the information society. The term flexibility in education (Palán 2001, p. 40) refers to flexibility, the ability to adapt to new requirements and situations in education, as well as the ability to change personally. Flexibility is required from individuals, groups, institutions, organizations (e.g. schools, educational facilities, companies, enterprises, etc.).

And this is how Finnish experts explain flexibility (Julkunen - Nätt, 1994, In Rinne, 1998, p. 111): External flexibility is the spatial mobility of people moving on the labor market, as a result of the deregulation of working conditions in society. Associated with this is the need for the workforce to be educated. Internal flexibility means the process of removing psychological barriers to education and movement on the labor market for individuals. In the conditions of the transformation of work activities, the demands on people's abilities are increasing. Internal flexibility is current and required in the area of ​​personnel qualifications.

Lifelong development of qualifications and changes in qualifications4

Changes in qualification requirements are related to the transformation of society, especially the state's economy. There are such qualifications that are not in accordance with the traditionally defined stable professional career and the associated qualifications. The requirement to manage several diverse tasks, the ability to work in various functions, positions and professions is established. Qualifications are established in a work environment that requires competence, high performance and pace in work activities.

People are confronted with both geographic mobility (movement for work) and professional mobility (movement within one or more professions). A high degree of personal responsibility and adaptability in the work environment is required. Competences related to people's qualifications are at the forefront of lifelong learning activities, especially adult further education.

The dynamic development of people's qualifications, during their working life, is hardly realistic without a basis for further education. Qualification development

• depends on the high-quality basic education of people, which they received in childhood and at a young age;
• depends on the prerequisites for adult education, the basis of which lies in their professional, social and psychological abilities or competences (the ability to master theory and practical application of knowledge is important);
• depends on the level of quality of the educational environment, on the development of the information and communication environment and on the nature of relationships (this applies to the school and extra-curricular education system, formal, informal and informal education);
• depends on the formation of awareness of the "culture of lifelong learning" in society, as well as on the formation of advisory services in the field of education.

Adult education, qualifications and (un)employment

An accompanying phenomenon of the process of transformation of the Slovak economy after 1989 is the increase in unemployment. Currently, there is still a high rate of unemployment, which is, among other things, a consequence of new requirements for people's qualifications. There is still a high number of job seekers registered at the labor office who have low or inadequate qualifications required to perform work activities.

The priority of the employment strategy in Slovakia is education. In the implementation of the employment policy, the quality of preparing young people and adults for employment in the labor market, during the economically productive age, is emphasized. Vocational training is the responsibility of the system of school and extracurricular education, for adults, the system of further education.

Adult education is faced with the task of integrating current qualification transformations into its system and activities. The transformations are described by E. Gruber as follows (2001 b, p. 38):

• qualifications become unpredictable,
• qualification (expertise) becomes outdated and depreciated relatively quickly,
• the content and level of knowledge required in the profession are not clearly defined,
• work activity and qualification are separated,
• the learning content is more general,
• the gap between structural changes in society and education is opening,
• the understanding of the usefulness of education changes - education becomes a factor of flexibility and mobility in working life.

We can summarize the demands placed on the personality of the present time by stating: it is necessary to learn quickly and efficiently; people have to cope with new and rapidly changing situations; they cope with the unexpected consequences of their decisions and actions; they often act under pressure, that is, under the influence of physical, psychological and social stressors.

Currently, more broadly defined competences are preferred over narrow specialization. A qualification is not considered something that is once completed. It requires its permanent expansion, deepening, renewal and often change in the course of working life. The philosophy of working life is moving from lifelong employment to lifelong employability of people.

A. Preinerová (1993, p. 25 - 26) pointed out that new elements of education and qualification are in the foreground, among them are: a) The process of continuous improvement of qualifications - insufficiently qualified workers are considered the main obstacle to economic development. b) Striving for multi-professionalism - it is necessary to master new knowledge from several fields. c) Adaptability and mobility of the workforce - the ability to adapt to the demands of the labor market. d) Adaptability of education - creating a flexible system of education. e) New understanding of investments in education - not only economic efficiency is monitored, but also social-economic efficiency, which includes the efficiency of education. f) Retraining - education and preparation for the labor market, as the main tool of an active labor market policy, which ensures the flexibility of the labor force on the labor market.

Education as a goal of the implementation of the employment policy is also enshrined in the European employment policy. With regard to the employment strategy, the task is of prime importance

• modernization of the European social fund (investing in human resources),
• elimination of social exclusion and marginalization of individuals and groups.

The problem of social exclusion and marginalization of individuals and groups can be solved by recruiting them for education.

In conclusion

Adult education cannot be considered abstractly and outside the reality of people's lives. The current development of civilization brings new individual and social development tasks that do not stand side by side, but are in many ways the same tasks that an individual being (personality) and/or a group being (society) has to fulfill. In solving life's tasks and in creating the environment and conditions of life, it is always a question of the cooperation of the personality and the social environment. Finally, the expectation and demands related to lifelong learning are derived from what is expected of people involved in the labor market. The labor market creates space for the practical application of knowledge in the professional education of adults.

Author: Prof. doc. PhDr. Mária Machalová, CSc. Professor in the field of Social Work. Docent in Andragogy. PhDr. in Psychology. Candidate of Sciences (CSc.) in Psychology.)

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1 Let's get closer to these processes through the adjectives that are explained in the Dictionary of Foreign Words (Ivanová-Šalingová - Maníková 1990, p. 401, p. 329, p. 398, p. 294) as follows: informative - serving for information, providing data, reports, lessons, information, informing, informing; global - overall, summary, general, referring to the entire range of phenomena or questions belonging to each other; individual - relating to an individual, performed by an individual, peculiar, peculiar, special, unique, belonging to a given individual; flexible - having the ability to bend, bendable, flexible, mobile, unstable. 2 Work is a productive, meaningful or recognized activity, activity, including the result of the activity. In addition to the creation of material and spiritual values, it also means the self-realization of a person, it is a reflection of his value orientation. It is a process in which a person changes himself and his environment. From the point of view of adult education, work is a means, a method and an important goal of adult education (Adult education and education - Andragogy. Terminological and explanatory dictionary, 2000, p. 352). 3 According to Š. Šveca (1995, p. 72) is "Education...synonymous with culture and differs from training and one-sided training (indoctrination) in the degree of culture, in which the level of freedom of moral conscience is manifested, the degree of awareness of the social consequences of motives and the depth of knowledge of the meaning of the law of faith, utility and beauty, interpersonal relations, life and the rest of the surrounding world and of its humanizing improvement". 4 Qualification - according to the Dictionary of foreign words (Ivanová-Šalingová - Maníková, 1990, p. 503) is a summary of professional knowledge, skills, habits and experience necessary for the performance of certain complex work in the profession, competence, ability, degree of professional competence, assessment, evaluation, qualification of competence.