"Adult learning is vital for guaranteeing Europeans' continued employability and mobility in the modern labour market. Apart from the personal benefits of development and fulfilment which it brings, adult learning also helps avoid the problems of persistent social exclusion that are often the consequence of people having only basic skills." Ján Figel’, European Commissioner for Education, Culture and Multilingualism Adult learning: It is never too late to learn

The Adult education in Italy Adult education was defined by the European Commission, in the Memorandum 2000, a strategy for employment. Adult education identifies itself with all the lifelong learning forms of which a people can use to develop his own knowledge and competences and to be able: to pose questions, to have analysis capacity; to accede to the resources; to place himself in the different life and work contexts.

Gli obiettivi In Italy adult education (EDA) is made up by all the formal education opportunities, matured in the certified education and vocational training courses, and non formal, as culture, health, social, physical education, addressed to all adult citizens and organized by Permanent Territorial Centres (CTP), instituted in the year 1997, and by upper secondary schools. Activities in non formal adult education are carried out either by public bodies (ministries, regional, provincial and local administrations) or private bodies (associations, enterprises, various no-profit and profit-making organisations).

Management/Competent authorities a) National level The functions connected with the integration of the systems are entrusted to a joint committee on which there are representatives of the Ministry of Education, universities and research bodies, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the Regional Representation Body, the local authorities and the social partners. These functions are aimed primarily at setting strategic priorities, defining general guidelines and the available resources, setting criteria for the allocation of the resources, defining the guidelines for the setting of standards, for monitoring and for assessment and defining the arrangements for the certification and recognition of the credits awarded.

Management/Competent authorities a) Regional level The Regions set up a regional committee made up of regional council members, representatives of the local authorities, the representative of the regional education department and the social partners. This committee decides on the actions to be taken to promote adult education, defines the criteria for the implementation of the actions on its own territory, based on knowledge of the local vocational and training needs, defines the overall framework of available resources for the integrated system of adult education and sets the criteria and arrangements for monitoring and assessment. In addition, the Regions in consultation with the local authorities, define the criteria for the identification of the territorial scope of the local committees and the deployment of the territorial centres.

Management/Competent authorities a) Local level The Province assists the Region in defining the selection of adult education programmes, outlines the guidelines for territorial planning, arranges the supra- municipal information and advertising services. The Municipalities and the mountain communities arrange for the monitoring and analysis of the training and vocational needs that emerge within the territory, arrange (in consultation with the local committees) the shared use of the available resources, promote initiatives within the framework of adult education, assist in defining pilot projects (based on the territorial priorities), promote the implementation and coordination of all the opportunities present at territorial level, organise initiatives geared towards providing information and guidance to users on the different opportunities and, finally, set up the local committees.

Organization 1.Types of training establishments Permanent Territorial Centres for adult education and training can be located in schools of any level or type, and the objectives and priorities are set by the regional integrated training plan and coordinated by the local authorities and the social partners. The centres are designed to serve as points where adult education and training can be organised on the basis of needs, planning, consultation and the implementation and management of initiatives and where documentation can be gathered and disseminated. Through the work of their coordinators, these centres are in contact with public and private actors involved in education and training.

Furthermore, over the last few years, a large number of training consultancy firms have been founded, joining the free-lance experts already on the market proposing their services to SMEs. SME and artisan associations also at times take a direct part in vocational training through their own training bodies which emanate directly from the national or regional employers' associations. In business enterprises we encounter a great diversity of behaviour, depending on the size of the production units and the degree of technological and organizational innovation in different economic sectors and regions. Large and medium- sized enterprises are still the most innovative, and those belonging to groups and holding companies usually have their own internal training departments, with employees working full time in this field. The private, non-commercial bodies working in this sector are mainly voluntary associations. In some Italian regions there exist, on average, one association working in the field for every 700/800 adult inhabitants.

Admission requirements The activities of the territorial centres are open to all adults who have reached the age of 15 years who do not have a school leaving certificate and to adults who have a school leaving certificate but intend to enrol for education and training courses. Priority access to the activities of the centres is guaranteed for those who must obtain the school leaving certificate.

Objectives Each centre provides a service aimed at combining the right to education with the right to vocational guidance, career advice and training. This includes training and cultural and functional literacy, cultural consolidation and promotion, re-motivation and re-orientation, the acquisition and consolidation of specific knowledge and skills, pre-professionalization and vocational retraining. We have to mention too the offer of special programmes connected with the needs of specific strata of the public (older people, young people, immigrants, etc.). Often these programmes are delegated to associations, cooperative bodies, etc.

Time and place The activities of the centre are ongoing, but the integrated education and training courses must be guaranteed for at least 200 hours a year. The Teachers’ Committee decides on the syllabus and sets the calendar (number of days of attendance per week, number of hours per day and per week and distribution throughout the year).

The curriculum The Teachers’ Committee also decides on the organisational models for the various activities and defines the training courses offered according to individual course options which are negotiated and structured according to groups of interest, laboratory/workshop activities, placements and individualised activities. The teachers gather information to identify the resources, needs, expectations and interests of each student enrolled. The personal qualifications include the cultural credits based on the training and work experience of each student. Based on the information gathered, the Teachers’ Committee negotiates with each student who enrols to define an appropriate specific course of education and training. As part of this process, they set the objectives, methods and timescale of the course and the arrangements for adaptation, ongoing testing and assessment. The result of this process is the training agreement which is based on the initial analysis of each student’s situation

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Assessment, certification and recognition At the end of the activities of the centre, one or more of the following certificates are issued: a primary school certificate, a lower secondary school diploma, a certificate of award of the qualification and the credits that can be used in vocational training or a vocational qualification certificate and certification of the credits that can be used in the school system. For students who have not obtained the final qualification and/or vocational and cultural certificate provided for by the training agreement, any credits they acquire are mentioned in the personal libretto. The coordinator of the centre issues a certificate of attendance to these students

Assessment, certification and recognition The centres run literacy classes, leading to the elementary school leaving certificate, and courses for workers, leading to the lower secondary school leaving certificate, which more than one third of workers aged over 40 do not hold. These workers are employed in the lowest levels of industry and the service industries. The lower secondary school leaving certificate is a necessary qualification for employment in public services. These courses, also known as "150 hours" courses, were initially followed by employed workers, but over the years they have increasingly been being followed by adults looking for a first job or returning to the labour market and by others, such as foreigners from countries outside the European Union, who have too little knowledge of Italian to be able to operate in the country

Statistics Training courses offered by Permanent Territorial Centres - Year 2003/04 no. of courses no. of students enrolled 1 - Courses leading to the final qualification Literacy courses (primary school): Lower secondary school courses for workers (150 hours) 1,92444,912 2 – Courses for foreign students (linguistic and social integration) 3,160 63,743 3 – Short modular courses in functional literacy 13,219270,507