Adult learning and the world of work

This article provides information on employer-sponsored training in Canada. It examines the reasons for participating in adult education and training, the labour force status of participants, the impact of job and workplace characteristics on adult learning and the relationship between skills match-mismatch and participation in adult learning. The findings summarized here are based on analysis of data from the 1994 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), undertaken in 1994, and the international Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL), undertaken in 2003 ((the Canadian component is called the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS)). The analysis is provided from an international perspective, with the situation in Canada being compared to that of three other countries - Norway, Switzerland and the United States.