• Summary
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Research suggests that there has been an increased demand for work-related adult education, resulting from changes in the labor market, technology, and management practices. These changes have placed new demands on workers, who increasingly are expected to assume multiple responsibilities, handle changing procedures, and use a broad base of knowledge on the job (U.S. Department of Commerce et al. 1999). During the 1990s there was an upward trend in participation rates in adult education programs overall, and among most subgroups identified by age, sex, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and income (Creighton and Hudson 2002). While previous research has examined trends in participation rates, additional information about reasons for participation is needed to understand why adults take formal work-related courses. Such courses may help adults to respond to labor market demands, fulfill their own desires to learn and improve their skills, or satisfy employers' requirements (for example, for certification or skill development).

The data on reasons for participation in formal, work-related courses discussed in this Issue Brief come from the Adult Education for Work-Related Reasons Survey (AEWR) of the 2003 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES). NHES is a random-digit-dial telephone survey, and the sample chosen for the AEWR is representative of civilian, noninstitutionalized adults age 16 and older in the United States who were not enrolled in 12th grade or below at the time of the survey. Between January and April of 2003, interviews were conducted with 12,725 adults,¹ who provided information about their educational activities during the previous 12 months. The formal work-related courses that respondents described in the survey had an instructor and were reported as related to a job or career, whether or not the adult learner was employed while taking the course. Such courses included classes taken at colleges or universities that were not part of a degree program,² as well as seminars, training sessions, or workshops offered by various providers including businesses, unions, and government agencies, among others. Courses categorized as work-related education could pertain to any topic so long as the adult learner considered the courses to have been taken for work-related reasons. Excluded from this type of adult education are basic skills or GED classes, as well as courses that participants took in pursuit of a degree or diploma or as part of an apprenticeship leading to journeyman status.

All respondents who had taken formal work-related courses, regardless of employment status, were asked whether they had done so for any of a series of selected reasons: to maintain or improve skills or knowledge they already had; to learn completely new skills or knowledge; to help change their job or career field, enter the workforce, or start their own business; and to get or keep a state or industry certificate or license. In addition, participants who had been employed at some time in the previous 12 months, excluding those who were self-employed and had no other employer, were asked whether they had taken work-related courses to receive a promotion or pay raise or because their employers had required or recommended participation.

As shown in table 1, the maintenance or improvement of skills or knowledge was the most frequently mentioned reason for taking formal work-related courses. Almost all adult participants (92 percent) indicated that they sought to maintain or improve skills or knowledge that they already had, and a majority (77 percent) also sought to learn completely new skills or knowledge. One-third took courses to get or keep a certificate or license,³ and about one-fifth took courses to help change their job or career field, enter the workforce, or start their own business.

About 94 percent of work-related course participants were employed sometime during the period from early 2002 to early 2003 (not shown in table).⁴ Among these employed participants, about three-fourths took a course because their employer required or recommended that they take it, while 18 percent took a course to receive a promotion or a pay raise.

Reasons for participation varied by characteristics such as age, educational attainment, employment status, and income. The youngest participants were most likely to take classes to learn new skills or knowledge, compared to older participants. In contrast, they were less likely than those in the three middle age categories to be taking classes to maintain skills or knowledge they already had or to get or keep a certificate or license. Coursetaking to help change or get a job or start one's own business declined with age. Among employed participants, coursetaking to receive a promotion or pay raise also declined with age. Additionally, it was more common for employed participants ages 16 to 40 to take courses because of an employer's requirement or recommendation than for those over age 65 to do so.

Among participants, women were more likely than men to report taking formal work-related courses to learn completely new skills or knowledge (80 percent vs. 73 percent, respectively).

Among all participants, Whites were less likely than Blacks or Hispanics to take a course to learn new skills or knowledge or to help change their job or career field. Among employed participants, Whites (16 percent) were less likely than Blacks or Hispanics (26 percent each) to take courses to receive a promotion or a pay raise.

Reasons for coursetaking also varied by the course taker's level of education. The percentage of participants who reported taking courses to maintain or improve existing skills or knowledge increased with educational attainment, from 78 percent among high school dropouts to 96 percent among those with a graduate or professional degree. Other reasons for participation were cited less frequently by participants with graduate or professional degrees. For example, course takers with a graduate or professional degree were the least likely to take courses to help get or change a job (11 percent), while participants with less than a high school diploma were most likely to report this reason (41 percent). Among employed participants, the most highly educated workers were less likely than those with less than a bachelor's degree to take courses in order to receive a promotion or pay raise (9 percent vs. 21-27 percent).

Reasons for participation also varied by the course taker's employment status. Participants who held a job at some time in the 12 months prior to the survey were more likely (93 percent) than those who were not employed (83 percent) to take courses to maintain or improve existing skills or knowledge, while employed participants were about half as likely (18 percent) as those not employed (38 percent) to take courses to help get or change a job, enter the workforce, or start a business.

Among participants who were employed in the 12 months prior to the survey, there were some differences in reasons for coursetaking by occupational group (classified as professional/managerial, sales/service/clerical, or trades and labor). Across the three occupational groups, most participants took work-related courses to maintain or improve skills or knowledge they already had. However, participants in professional or managerial jobs were the least likely to take courses in order to get or change a job (12 percent), because their employers required or recommended participation (73 percent), or to receive a promotion or pay raise (13 percent), compared to participants in other occupations. Additionally, participants working in sales/service/clerical occupations were less likely than participants in other types of occupations to report taking formal work-related courses to get or keep a certificate or license.

Household income was associated with differences in reasons for course participation. Participants in higher income households were more likely than those in lower income households to take courses to maintain skills or knowledge they already had. Conversely, participants in higher income households were less likely than those in lower income households to take courses to learn completely new skills or knowledge or to take courses to get or change a job. Among employed participants, those with lower household incomes were more likely than those with higher household incomes to take a course in pursuit of a promotion or pay raise.

Table 1. Percentage of adult participants who gave selected reasons for participation in work-related courses, by adult characteristics: 2002–03

¹Full text as worded in the survey: “To help you change your job or career field, enter the workforce, or start your own business.”

² Full text as worded in the survey: “To get or keep a state or industry certificate or license.”

³ These items were asked only of adults who reported having worked in the past 12 months and who were not only self-employed.

NOTE: Formal work-related courses include any training, courses, or classes that had an instructor and were related to a job or career, whether or not the respondent had a job when he or she took them. Excluded from this type of adult education are basic skills or GED classes, as well as courses that participants took in pursuit of a formal postsecondary credential or as part of an apprenticeship program. Information was collected on up to four work-related courses or trainings taken in the previous 12 months and reported as work-related. If an adult took more than four courses, four were sampled for data collection. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Standard errors for this table are available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005088_se.pdf.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Adult Education for Work-Related Reasons Survey of the 2003 National Household Education Surveys Program.

More than 90 percent of adults who took formal work-related courses in 2002–03 reported doing so in order to maintain or improve skills or knowledge they already had, while fewer than 20 percent took such courses to get or change a job or career field. Among employed adults, the majority took courses because their employer required or recommended participation, while about a fifth did so in order to get a promotion or pay raise.

The likelihood of taking classes for the selected reasons examined in this brief generally varied by participants' age, education, employment status, occupation, and household income. A few differences also were found between participants of different races/ethnicities and between men and women. Participants who were older, the most highly educated, employed, or living in higher income households were more likely to say they took work-related courses to maintain or improve the skills they already had and less likely to report doing so in order to get or change a job. Among employed course takers, participation to fulfill an employer's requirement or recommendation, or to get a promotion or pay raise, was less common among the oldest, most highly educated, and professional/managerial workers.

Creighton, S., and Hudson, L. (2002). Participation Trends and Patterns in Adult Education: 1991-1999 (NCES 2002-119). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Hagedorn, M., Montaquila, J., Vaden-Kiernan, N., Kim, K., and Chapman, C. (2004). National Household Education Surveys of 2003: Data File User's Manual, Volume I (NCES 2004-101). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

O'Donnell, K. (2005). Tabular Summary of Adult Education for Work-Related Reasons: 2002-2003 (NCES 2005-044). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

U.S. Departments of Commerce, Education, and Labor, the National Institute for Literacy, and the Small Business Administration. (1999). 21st Century Skills for 21st Century Jobs. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

¹The weighted sample represents approximately 206.5 million civilian, noninstitutionalized adults age 16 or older and not enrolled in 12th grade or below. The overall response rate for the 2003 AEWR, which is the product of the response rate for a screener questionnaire and the response rate for the AEWR interview, is 52.1 percent. For further detail about the NHES survey methodology and response rates, see Hagedorn et al. (2004).

²Enrollment in college/university degree programs is ascertained separately from enrollment in work-related courses that are not taken in pursuit of a formal degree. Therefore, estimates included here do not include adults enrolled in programs in pursuit of a college or university degree.

³Examples of such certificates or licenses include teaching certificates; licenses for physicians, nurses, and cosmetologists; commercial driver's licenses; and industry certifications such as A+ certification for computer technicians.

⁴In this report, adults referred to as employed are those who had worked at some time in the previous 12 months. These adults were not necessarily employed either at the time they took the course or on the date the interview was conducted. Additionally, respondents who were self-employed and had no other employer are not included in the group of employed participants, because they were not asked reasons for participation having to do with an employer.