Source: https://youthinit.website/2018/03/16/a-review-of-the-research-literature-on-adult-learning-and-employability/
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 00:31:24+00:00

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Because of rising life expectancy and declining birth rates, reducing early retirement and prolonging employees’ working lives have become major goals on social policy agendas. In this context, ensuring the adaptability and employability of the existing workforce has become an important issue. The aim of this article is to conduct a review of the most recent literature on employment outcomes of adult learning. The review covers literature published in English since 2010.
Because of rising life expectancy and declining birth rates, reducing early retirement and prolonging employees’ working lives have become major goals on social policy agendas (Hasselhorn & Apt, 2015; Höfacker, 2010; Walker & Foster, 2013; Walker & Maltby, 2012). Active ageing has therefore gained widespread currency across Europe since the beginning of the new millennium (Foster, 2012) and governments are taking more and more policy action to encourage ageing workers to extend their working lives and their employers to retain them (Raemdonck, Beausaert, Fröhlich, Kochoian, & Meurant, 2015).
Whilst pension reforms have been the primary strategy of governments to date, this approach often fails to address the real barriers to older adults’ continuing participation in the labour force. Countries worldwide are therefore experimenting with structural reforms that introduce greater flexibility into work and retirement, removing softer barriers such as ageism among employers and providing older adults with targeted support to remain in or re‐enter the workforce. In this context, ensuring the adaptability and employability of the existing workforce has become an important issue. According to Foster (2012), there are two approaches to active ageing: a narrow economic and productivist approach focusing on participation in the labour market – advocated by the OECD (2006) and the European Commission (2012) – and a more comprehensive and multidimensional approach advocated by WHO (2002). This article focuses on the narrow approach with an emphasis on employment policy aimed at extending working life beyond the age of 50.
Different perceptions of the factors impacting older workers’ labour market participation and early retirement behaviour stem from differences in the notion of whether their exit is voluntary or involuntary and whether it is mainly affected by labour supply or labour demand (Hasselhorn & Apt, 2015; Jensen & Øverbye, 2013; Midtsundstad, 2015; Nilsson, 2016; Phillipson & Smith, 2005; Poulsen, Fridriksson, Tomasson, Midtsundstad, Mehlum, Hilsen, Nilsson, & Albin, 2017). The most influential theoretical frameworks in the retirement literature have focused on the retirement decision and been dominated by economic analyses (Midtsundstad, 2015; White, 2012). Economic theory links financial opportunities and constraints to labour supply, explaining why pull factors such as payment levels, taxes, age restrictions, pension scheme eligibility criteria and other welfare arrangements are of critical importance in the decision to retire or to continue working (Engelhardt, 2012; Midtsundstad, 2015). Another significant part of the research focuses on involuntary retirement and emphasises the importance of push factors in the labour market and at the company level, such as structural adjustments, rationalisations and other factors pushing older, less productive or less skilled workers out of the labour market (Midtsundstad, 2015). Today, there is little doubt that both pull and push factors influence the timing of retirement (Midtsundstad, 2015; Nilsson, 2016; Radl, 2013).
Early retirement is closely linked to the level of education and skills. Educated people typically continue to work longer (OECD, 2013). There is also a strong correlation between the level of education and occupation. The level of education therefore indirectly influences wage levels, pension and retirement options, working conditions, working environments and opportunities for continued training and development – all factors that influence the decision to retire (Hasselhorn & Apt, 2015; Midtsundstad, 2015; Nilsson, 2016). It also affects individuals’ health and work ability (Poulsen et al., 2017) and hence their ability to find a job and keep it. Last, but not least, the level of education impacts life expectancy and how healthy and thus active one can expect to be when finally retiring (Poulsen et al., 2017).
According to the OECD (2017), lifelong learning opportunities and inclusive labour markets will be essential to ensure that workers of all educational backgrounds are able to extend their working lives. Some studies also suggest that competence development and upgrading throughout the professional career (lifelong learning) may be important for older people to meet job requirements, especially in workplaces where labour and competence requirements are constantly changing (e.g. Ilmarinen, 2003; Yeatts, Folts, & Knapp, 1999).
The aim of this article is to review the most recent literature on adult learning and older workers’ labour market participation. Because of the scarce literature on the employment outcomes of adult learning found in earlier literature reviews, this review is not limited to scientific articles, but also includes book chapters and some grey literature, such as reports and working papers. It covers literature published in English since 2010. Before reviewing the publications found, a brief overview is given of the literature discussed in earlier reviews.
Myers, Frenette, Sweetman, Dostle, and Langlois (2014) provided an analysis of the empirical evidence on the outcomes associated with participation in adult learning. They examined the relationship between foundational learning (basic skills), higher education and workplace learning and a wide range of intermediate and final outcomes (financial and non‐financial) for individuals, for companies and for society. According to the review, evidence on the relationship between adult learning and financial outcomes is mixed. Whilst there is strong evidence to suggest that, in general, adult learners who engage in higher education experience financial gains, the returns are roughly the same as when the education is acquired earlier in life. They also found numerous studies investigating the extent to which individuals benefited financially from participating in workplace learning. This literature is, according to the authors, consistent in finding positive correlations between earnings and workplace‐related training, although estimates vary dramatically. However, they found few studies and therefore little evidence of whether and how adult learning affects older workers’ employability and labour market participation.
Another literature review by Field (2012) which examined the financial impact of lifelong learning and its impact on well‐being (such as health, self‐esteem and confidence) found that much of the research literature (up to 2011) focused on the gains experienced by the individual but less frequently on the benefits for companies and society. Furthermore, most of the literature concerns work‐related training and not general adult learning and has mainly focused on training for unemployed people and other vulnerable groups (single parents and the disabled) and to a limited degree on the impact of adult learning on the extension of working life. According to Field (2012), the research on returns to adult learning is inconclusive. Some studies find that it leads to a rise in average earnings, others that it has little or no impact on earnings, or that it only pays off for men, or that it gives negative wage benefits for relatively low‐level upgrading. Work‐based training is shown in some studies to be associated with higher wages, Field claims that this finding is not consistent across the literature, although, improvement in numeracy and literacy seems to increase earnings. The main conclusion, however, is that most studies of the economic effects of adult learning find that those who invest in new skills tend to be rewarded with higher wages.
In sum, the research in the field can be categorised as follows: 1) studies that describe the variation in participation rates among different groups, 2) studies that explore and/or investigate factors that explain the differences in participation rates in adult learning, adult education, workplace learning, etc., and 3) studies that investigate the effects or outcomes of different types of adult learning for individuals, companies and society. In addition, there are studies that discuss and partly evaluate different EU strategies, government strategies and different policy measures that are implemented in order to increase older peoples’ employability and participation in lifelong learning. In the following, I focus on studies published after 2009 and articles that investigate the impact of adult learning on older workers’ employment and labour market participation. However, in order to be able to grasp some of the mechanisms behind differences in outcomes, I also include some studies which explore other factors that could explain or shed light on the differences currently found in participation in lifelong learning and its outcomes.
The aim of this article is to investigate whether studies on the effects of adult learning or lifelong learning find that further learning and education have an impact on the employability of older workers, defined here as the ability to find and maintain employment.
According to Petticrew and Roberts (2006), systematic literature reviews are ways of making sense of large bodies of information and contributing to answer questions about what works and what does not. Systematic reviews, however, require a transparent and systematic process where you clearly define a research question, search for studies, assess their quality and synthesise the findings. As underscored by Armstrong, Hall, Doyle and Waters (2011, p. 147): ‘this requires an understanding of the literature, including gaps and uncertainties, clarification of definitions related to the research question and an understanding of the way in which these are conceptualised in the existing literature’.
According to earlier reviews (Myers et al., 2014; Field, 2012), few studies in the field investigate the connection between adult learning and employability. In order to unearth relevant literature on this issue, I therefore chose a broad approach and conducted a scoping review. Scoping reviews map the existing literature or evidence base and identify research gaps and summarise research findings. They differ from systematic reviews in several ways. The key phases according to Armstrong et al (2011) are: 1) identifying the research question, 2) identifying relevant studies, 3) study selection, 4) charting the data, 5) collating, summarising and reporting the results, and 6) optional consultation.
In this review, adult learning and education are defined as formal and informal education and learning obtained at an age beyond common graduation age. Employability is broadly defined as the ability to find and maintain employment, including upward and downward mobility. I also include studies that investigate whether further education and learning increase earnings, because this has been the usual way to measure outcomes from adult learning in earlier studies. In order to clarify whether adult learning and training seem to have a causal effect on labour market participation or not, most studies reviewed are based on longitudinal data or panel datasets. In order to shed light on possible mechanism and processes, I have also included studies that investigate and discuss some possible intermediate variables which influence the outcomes of adult learning.
The main strategy used to identify relevant literature was a search in Web of Science for scientific articles, using the following combination of keywords: lifelong learning OR adult learning OR adult education OR workplace learning AND older workers AND employ* OR employability. It produced 42 articles. After carefully examining the articles, I found that only two investigated the effects of adult learning on employment and/or earnings. This search was combined with a broader search in Google Scholar in order to find not only scientific articles, but also relevant chapters, reports and papers published in or since 2010 (up to April 2018). When searching Google Scholar, I used the following combination of keywords: ‘adult learning’ OR ‘lifelong learning’ AND ‘older workers’ AND ‘employability ‘AND ‘effect’. The search produced 711 publications. After carefully examining each publication (abstract and summary), only 20 were found to deal with the effects of lifelong learning or adult learning on older workers’ employability. I also searched for relevant articles in the European Journal of Education. Finally, I searched for relevant publications in the reference list of the articles found through the Web of Science and Google Scholar searches. In total, I found 27 articles that investigated the effects of adult learning or adult education on employability or labour market participation that were published after 2009.
Staying employable and participating longer in the labour market are important political goals for most European Governments. This review focuses on studies that investigate adult learning and training’s impact on employment, including work‐related earnings and occupational mobility. The studies are presented in Table 1.
Csanádi, G., Csizmady, A., & Róbert, P. (2014) The Hungarian Household Panel (HHP) conducted by TARKI (2600 household surveyed yearly between 1992‐1997, follow up a sub sample in 2007) DV = length of unemployment; upward and downward mobility (using the ISCO occupational codes and ISEI values) Follow up 1992 – 2007 Standard logistic regression methods FAE seem to shorten the length of unemployment, especially for women.
Hannekam, S. (2015) Cross‐sectional survey among older workers (50+) – all registered with a job agency specialized in older workers and currently in work DV = career success (= self‐reported salary level), career satisfaction (previously validated scales) and wish to continue employment Mixed method approach Multile regression analysis The quantitative analysis showed that older workers who possess social skills and are able and motivated to continuously develop themselves throughout their careers experience more career success and are more satisfied with their career, which then leads them to wish to continue employment.
Several studies over the last eight years have tried to investigate the effects of formal adult learnings on employment and labour market participation using longitudinal data (see Table 1). Although the effects of upgrading seem to vary according to whether the participants acquired basic skills or a degree from upper secondary school or tertiary school, the overall effect seems to be positive (Elman & Weiss, 2014; Hällsten, 2012; Kilpi‐Jakonen, Kosyakova, Stenberg, Vono de Vilhena, & Blossfeldt, 2012; Kristensen, 2012; Nordlund, Stehlik, & Strandh, 2013; Stenberg & Westerlund, 2013, 2016). Wahler, Buchholz, Jensen, and Unfried (2014) also found that adult education (especially vocational upper‐secondary education) reduced the unemployment risk and increased the reemployment chances for the unemployed in Denmark, whilst de Vilhena & Gamund (2014) found no such effect in Spain. Barbieri, Cutuli, Lugo, and Scherer (2014), on the other hand, found that adult education reduced unemployment in Italy and Csanádi and Csizmady (2014) found that formal adult education shortened the length of unemployment in Hungary. In addition, a few studies investigated whether educational upgrading had any impact of the likelihood of exiting precarious work (de Vilhena & Gamund, 2014; Kosyakova, 2014). However, de Vilhena & Gamund (2014) did not find any such effect in Spain, whilst Kosyakova (2014) found that new tertiary‐level qualifications increased the likelihood of exiting a precarious labour market position in Russia. Many studies also studied the impact of formal adult educations on wages, salaries or earnings related to work (often used as a proxy for employment) and found that, in most cases, it led to increased earnings (Jepsen, Troske & Coomes, 2014; Hällsten, 2012; Nordlund et al., 2013; Kilpi‐Jakonen & Stenberg, 2014; Kilpi‐Jakonen, Sirnio & Martikainen, 2014; Stenberg, deLuna & Westerlund, 2012, 2014), although, Elman and Weiss (2014) did not find that additional adult education affected wages in the US.
Whether formal adult education had an impact on occupational or social mobility, also varied a great deal between studies. Some found that further education had a positive impact on upward mobility, but did not prevent downward mobility (Hamplová & Simonová, 2014; McMullin, & Kilpi‐Jakonen, 2014), whilst others found that educational upgrading had a positive impact on upward mobility, and likewise, reduced the chances of downward mobility (Buchler, Chesters, Higginson, & Haynes, 2014; Wahler et al., 2014), or that formal upgrading as adults only impacted women’s upward mobility(Csanádi, Csizmady, & Róbert,2014; Saar, Unt, & Roosmaa, 2014).
All in all, the effects of formal and non‐formal education seem to be greatly influenced by the labour market status of those who upgrade their skills (whether they are employed, unemployed, have a fixed‐term contract or are permanently employed) and their level of education (whether primary, general or vocational upper‐secondary, or tertiary education) (Kilpi‐Jakonen et al., 2012). Most studies also found gender differences in outcomes. In general, women seemed to gain more from educational upgrading than men (Hällsten, 2012; Elman & Weiss, 2014; Kilpi‐Jakonen et al., 2014; Bucholz et al., 2014; Csanádi et al., 2014; Saar et al., 2014; Stenberg, de Luna, & Westerlund., 2014). The effects also depended on whether it was a short–term or a long‐term effect. Stenberg and Westerlund (2016), for example, found that the positive effect of obtaining higher education late in life first emerged about 10 years after enrolment. Last but not least, the effect of adult learnings on employment varied considerably between countries (Blossfeld, Kilpi‐Jakonen, de Vilhena, & Buchholz., 2014). The divergent effects observed were influenced by differences in data and methodologies used, but it is also reasonable to attribute some of the differences to institutional differences and differences between the educational systems, the welfare systems and the labour markets, as well as the population’s level of education (Kilpi‐Jakonen et al., 2012; Triventi & Barone, 2014; de Vilhena, Kilpi‐Jakonen, Schührer, & Blossfeld, 2014).
Whilst formal adult learning on average seems to increase employment outcomes, the impact of non‐formal learning and training is mixed (Blossfeld et al., 2014; de Vilhena & Gamundi, 2014; Wahler et al., 2014). Picchio and van Ours (2013) found that firm‐provided training for older workers significantly increased future employment prospects in the Netherlands and Elman and Weiss (2014) found that on‐the‐job training increased women’s employability in the US. Unlike what one might expect, however, non‐formal adult learning in Denmark seemed to increase the risk of becoming unemployed and decrease the chances of (re)entering the labour market for the unemployed (Wahler et al., 2014). A similar result was found in Spain: both non‐formal and formal education had a negative effect on the chances of being reemployed among those who were unemployed in the first place (de Vilhena & Gamundi, 2014). However, in Italy, non‐formal adult learning seemed to reduce the risk of unemployment (Barbieri et al., 2014). Furthermore, one study showed that the economic returns to non‐formal training were on average systematically greater in the short run than returns to formal adult education (Triventi & Barone, 2014).
In addition to the above mentioned studies, three cross‐sectional studies emphasise the importance of the organisational environment and the individuals’ learning strategies and how they may impact on the outcomes of adult learning. Although they do not measure the direct effects of adult learning, they focus on individual and workplace factors that could help to better understand the processes and mechanisms that influence differences in participation in adult learning and why the outcome is not always what we expect it to be.
Dordoni, Van der Heijden, Peters, Kraus‐Hoogeveen, and Argentero (2017) studied the impact of older workers’ participation in employability‐enhancing‐activities on their intentions to retire in relation to perceived support for learning and negative age stereotypes on older workers’ productivity. The results indicate that having a supporting and non‐age‐discriminatory work environment could be important for employment‐enhancing activities to promote longer working careers.
Froehlich (2017) investigated whether the approach to informal learning at work was an important mediating variable in the relationship between age and learning outcomes (broadly defined as any gains in skills or job and career performance) and found that the older managers became, the more they seemed to adopt a surface‐disorganised learning approach which, in turn, decreased their learning outcomes. Hannekam (2015), who examined how social skills and continuous learning ability influenced the career success and career satisfaction of older workers, found that older workers who possessed social skills and were able and motivated to continuously develop experienced greater career success and were more satisfied with their career and, hence, wished to continue to be employed. As underscored by the author the need to constantly stay informed about technological developments was, however, sometimes perceived as a threat which pushed older workers into retirement, since it negatively affected their career satisfaction.
The data in these three studies are cross‐sectional and cover small and select groups of older workers. No causal interference can therefore be drawn.
The studies reviewed here found some evidence that adult learning increased older workers’ employability and work‐related earnings. The quality of the data and methodologies in the studies reviewed do, however, vary considerably and few document a causal effect between adult education and learning and subsequent employability. We therefore still need to study in more detail how and why formal and non‐formal adult learning contribute to employability, i.e., the ability to find and maintain employment. There is also a need for more longitudinal studies based on population registered data in order to determine whether there is a causal interference between adult learning and training and older workers’ labour market participation, using advanced statistical methods. In other words, we still need to answer the question whether adult learning and training increase the number of years in employment amongst older workers or not and if it contributes to postponed retirement.
Moreover, the positive outcomes of lifelong learning observed cannot always be generalised across time periods. Although some studies could find a positive effect of lifelong learning on employability in one period, the same effects might not be seen in later periods. As Hällsten (2012) mentions, the risk of over‐education and educational inflation has risen over the years and this could have a negative impact on the returns of lifelong learning in the future. Studies also show different effects of different types of adult learning and training.
The studies reviewed also highlight the importance of conducting separate analyses for different types of adult learners and considering how outcomes could vary between groups of older employees according to gender, age, initial education level, labour market status, etc. As the comparative study by Kilpi‐Jakonen et al. (2012) shows, the outcomes will in most cases also vary between countries because of different institutional and labour market contexts. The results based on data from one country cannot therefore always be applied to others. There is therefore a need to examine the effects on employment of different types of adult learning and training, and for whom and in which situation and context they have an effect.
Although adult learning is often described as one of the main strategies to increase the labour market participation of older workers, surprisingly few studies have examined whether adult learning actually increases the employment possibilities of older workers, although the number of relevant studies have increased lately. The number of current studies is also too small and the quality of the data and methodology used in most studies too weak to conclude that adult learning (formal or informal) has a causal effect on older workers’ employability.
The most promising studies investigate labour market outputs for adults who enrol in education and/or finish a formal education late in life (e.g., after 40) using longitudinal register data and advanced statistical methods and tests, like Stenberg and Westerlund (2013, 2016). They find that adult learning (tertiary upgrading after 42) both increases older workers’ earnings (and employability) and the likelihood of postponed retirement. It is, however, unclear whether these results can be generalised to other countries with different educational systems, levels of education, labour markets and welfare states.
However, although educational upgrading late in life may increase the likelihood of longer working lives, there are still some unsolved problems. Today, there is a social gradient in adult learning leading to increased rather than decreased social inequalities in skill, labour market participation and earnings over the life course (Blossfeld et al., 2015). Those in most need of educational upgrading in order to be employable, such as low skilled individuals with health problems who need to change jobs and those at risk of losing their jobs, participate least in educational upgrading. There are different explanations to this paradox linked to differences in cognitive/intellectual abilities, learning problems, different experiences with the educational system earlier in life, lack of suitable educational options, problems with financing further education, etc.
Thus, if adult learning and upskilling late in life should lead to prolonged working lives for all, the most vulnerable groups of older workers must be motivated and find it profitable to invest in further education (i.e., their expected profit or advantages must exceed the expected cost) and there must be appropriate adult education/learning options available. In other words, there has to be easy access to education and skill upgrading and it must not be too expensive to enrol in courses or classes. Furthermore, there must be ways to finance one’s lives while studying. And last, but not least, we need to know more about how to motivate the less skilled older workers; those who are most vulnerable to labour market exclusion in old age.
This work was funded by The Research Council of Norway as part of the project “Silver lining – a study of employability and learning trajectories of Late Career Learners” grant number 255210.
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