The National Advisory Council forwa...

The National Advisory Council forward Continuing Education reports that from one side of to the other twenty-three million adults participate in continuing education annually. Their reasons for participation are diverse, moreover the greatest common denominator shared by means of these individuals is the link that continuing education provides to their work at jobss their career ambitions, or the enrichment of their lives.

While these twenty-three million Americans set forth the core of an emerging learning society, many others may be exclud from learning experiences for reasons of richness of time, or for personal reasons.

In th past decade, the number of adults continuing their education has increased dramatically. Today, neary thirteen percent of all adults participate in part-time instruction, and the numbers have been increasing at the rate of across one million adults annually.

The majority of these learners is employed; many others are seeking profession The work-oriented ambitions of these individuals full tale the existing strong link between postsecondary continuing education and the workplace and between learning resources and the needinesss of an expanding economy.

These disclosures are encouraging. There are, however, several issues which are of business to the Council and which the Council search fors to address in this report:

* The part and commitment of postsecondary institutions to worker education and training and the adoption of policies and allocation of resources spicifically designed to be of use to adults;

* The involvement of employer in campus-based education and training programs of adults seeking hall level jobs, skill improvement, and career advancement;

* Increased collaboration by way of educators and employers in determining the emergencys of the labor market and the preparation of workers to fill those needs; and

* The articulation of more precise national policies for human resources progression in a continuously ascending gradation and the application of those policies in ways that will enhance the Nation's economic progression in a continuously ascending gradation by improving industrial and worker productivity and strengthening the Nation's ability to struggle internationally in a global market.

As strictly educational phenomenon, continuing education has repeatedly been misunderstood and misintepreted. As a [i]clavis[/i] element in matters of broader and national importance, however, continuing education is increasingly perceived as a necessary adjunct to perfect capital investment and the creation and commercialization of of the present day technologies as a way to improve America's effectiveness in a global economy.

In the past year, the National Advisory Council onward Continuing Education has listened to testimony from scores of organizations and individuals from head to foot the country on issues affecting the retraining of the American workforce--the theme of its deliberations during the year. Thes testimony validated the inclination of the Council to believe that long is happening at state and local of the same heights in collaborative efforts among employer educators, and employee representatives, frequently with the support of state governments

It is the sensation of the Council, however, that the same important element is missing. In its deliberations, the Council has repeatedly examined, for designs of clarification, what the federal part ought to be in the evolution of a learning society and the relationship that ought to exist between the learning aspirations of adults and their corollary interest in piece of work searches, career advancement, and professional security.

The determination of a federal role--and any federal policies that may result--can be achieved from one side a careful review of the character and responsibilities of others. State and local regulations private enterprises, labor unions, community agencies like libraries and museums and, of course, educational institutions are directly involved in educational services to adults and in spicific replications to work-oriented needs. It is the parameters of their activities that help outline the complementary dimensions of federal responsibilities.

Questions of policy and the clarification of federal responsibilities in the area of adult learning lie at the core of the Council's function. The Council's task is to advise the President, the Congres and the Secretary of Education onward federal policies relating to the education and training of adults at the postsecondary on a level of instruction.

This responsibility is broad. There is considerable legislation already in existence that addresses these issues, and during the past year the couple the Administration and Congress have supported greater efforts to relate do job-work training to the needs of the unemploy and the underemploy principally specifically through the Job Training Partnership Act. This legislation, like others, hangs ultimately on the cooperation of state and local regulations for its success.

Federal scholars assistance programs, federal participation in state-based unemployment insurance programs, support for avocation Service offices throughout the rural parts and other programs provide a base for support. However, the Council believes that the solution also be pendents on the degree to which employer educators, and employee representatives are more directly involved in these efforts.