Guidance tools to support motivation

Guidance measures are a vital part of successful basic skills policies because they enable learners access, choose, engage and persist in the type of learning provision that is most adequate to their needs. Adults with basic skills needs present a very diverse competence profile and they are likely to have less than positive experience from learning. Guidance is therefore important to ensure motivation and to create a clear picture of the type of training they need. Both in terms of employability or permanence in the labour market and in terms of avoiding exclusion in times of swift societal change it is an imperative to provide optimal support measures to this specific target group. 

Read more about how lifelong guidance measures can contribute to the successful implementation of basic skills policies in an EPALE blogpost written by Graciela Sbertoli. 


Funding schemes and financial incentives

As pointed out earlier, adults may often face barriers when trying to return to learning. Funding can be one of the challenges. Providing the resources (time and financial too) can be a discouraging factor to employers to invest in employee training, when it comes to workplace basic skills programs due to the considerable worker release time when employees are away from work. To remedy this issue different cost-sharing solutions can be put in place to minimise the financial burden on the individual or the employer. In the 2015 Eurydice report of the European Commission the financing model for lifelong learning is presented. (Source: European Commission 2015 p. 119 based on Scheutze 20071) 

1 Schuetze, Hans G., 2007. Individual Learning Accounts and other models of financing lifelong
learning. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 26 (1), pp. 5-23.

For the source of funding Scheutze proposes 3 models:

  1. state funding  
  2. employer funding 
  3. parafiscal funding (collection of employer-employee contribution, public funds)

In the following 4 modes of funding the learner is the direct beneficiary:

  1. individual entitlement (grants, allowances and vouchers covering the fee)
  2. income contingent student loans (i.e. co-funding)
  3. individual learning accounts (usually a combination of savings and contribution from a public authority used for learning purposes)
Read chapter 6 on targeted financial support in the Eurydice report to learn more about co-funding instruments targeting low-qualified adults and employers!