Lifelong learning as a response to an ageing labour force in the EU

Abstract

This thesis analyses how lifelong learning is addressing the problem of ageing in the labour force of the EU. Several Member states are experiencing ageing in their overall population and serious concern has risen on how it is affecting their economy. The negative effects of ageing suffered by the EU' s labour force were mentioned, some of them being related to long-term unemployment, productivity, wages, pension expenditure, dependency ratio, obsolete skills and more. Statistics were included in this dissertation so that the reader would be able to understand better the current situation while being able to compare it to past times and to what analysts are speculating on the future. Moreover, the positive effects of the lifelong learning programme were analysed, such as increasing employability among older workers, offering higher job-security, increasing workers' productivity through training, motivating more workers to participate in the labour force and increasing the human capital of people. This thesis also shows how the lifelong learning programme is being implemented at an EU level by providing the most relevant policies and reforms, along with the general framework. Additionally, it takes a closer look at the programme at a national level by using two member states as case studies. ·The two member states chosen were Sweden and Denmark, two countries that through their policies managed to obtain the highest participation rates in the lifelong learning programme throughout the EU. These case studies offer a wider perspective of the results which would be obtained by the programme if a country has a high participation rate in lifelong learning, in other words showing the best case scenario when the programme's benefits are at their best. Moreover, the thesis shows how the programme helps building a knowledgeable society, which would help the labour market become stronger and more productive, while inciting economic growth. In the conclusion, an assessment on how lifelong learning actually tackles the problem of ageing in the labour force of the RTJ is provided, while indicating its successes and shortcomings including some ideas on what else can be done in order to improve the results and the overall situation.