1 - What does “adult education” mainly mean in your country for everyday citizen? What is the main mental association?

Although there is no formal inquiry to the population about their views on adult education, the number of participants in formal education and training offers since the “New Opportunities initiative”, launched in late 2005, leads us to believe that the “main mental association” with adult education is almost entirely restricted to formal education and training offers (understood as any offer that is part of the National Qualification System).

2 – What are the different types of adult learners in your country and what needs do they have? How can adult learning best cater for these group’s needs?

A still very significant proportion of adults have reduced skills, in Portugal. The OECD's "Implementation Guide for Skills Strategy for Portugal" states that, in 2016, 53% of Portuguese adults between the ages of 25 and 64 and 31% of those aged between 25 and 34 did not complete secondary education. In addition, there are still about half a million adults without any level of schooling.

Beyond this reality, the percentage of individuals with basic digital skills or above was, in 2016, only 47%.

As such, in our country there are different priority audiences that have to be covered by adult education and training: those who are considered illiterate; those who have low qualifications and those who need to strengthen or acquire digital skills.

As a response to this, Portugal has devised and put in place the Qualifica program (centered around the work of Qualifica Centers, that perform competence recognition and validation, as well as guidance to training offers that allow “upskilling” up to EQF level 4, as well as modular training aimed at CVET) and the Portugal INCoDE2030 Initiative (an integrated policy action aimed at strengthening the digital skills of adults).

Qualifica Centers (and their predecessors “Centers for Qualification and Vocational Training” and before that “New Opportunities Centers”) have served as the entry point to qualification pathways for many adults who have left school early and who, therefore, do not have the minimum competences for a full experience in society today.

3 – Who are the main providers of adult education in your country? How are they funded? Who sets the pedagogic agenda and syllabi?

The Qualifica Centers develop the processes of recognition and validation of competencies (RVC processes) and perform the diagnosis and guidance of adults to education and training offers developed by education and training providers, which include public and private schools, public and private training centers and other certified training providers.

In the overwhelming majority, the adult education and training depends on European funding.

The pedagogic agenda of adult education and training and of RVC processes is structured according to specific references, with benchmarks and goals to achieve, that were produced by ANQEP.

4 – What impact does adult education have in your country? To your knowledge, what evidence is there of this impact?

According to the OECD study cited above, regarding the implementation of a skills strategy for Portugal, raising the qualification of adults is crucial for economic growth and social cohesion in Portugal.

Skills Strategy implementation guidance for Portugal shows that “adults with higher levels of literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills in a technologically rich environment, and who report using these skills, are more likely to be employed  and earn higher wages than those with lower skill levels. They also tend to be healthier, are more likely to trust others and to volunteer more. Governments also stand to gain from a population with higher skill levels: the benefits range from higher tax revenues to lower social spending”.

5 – Who advocates for and promotes adult education in your country?

ANQEP, acting under the authority of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, is the institution responsible for the regulation of formal adult education and training offers in Portugal. Several other promoters contribute to education and training in Portugal, from public institutions such as the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training, to private institutions such as the ones represented by our EPALE Ambassadors. Fortunately, they are too much to mention, and we believe their work is fundamental to develop lifelong learning in our country.

In Latvia there are many different adult education providers- public and private, rather many for our small number of inhabitants.  On other hand  this competition helps to raise the quality of education and possibilities to get knowledge more closely to our working or living places.

 I don`t think that adult education must be compulsory, but it is important that persons can get support from state or employer, if they need to raise their competence- professional competence for staying in labour market and personal development possibilities to take  responsible decisions and spent free time meaningfully.

Nowadays it is important to learn languages , because our life is becoming more and more global and IT skills for getting and processing information flow.