One in four adults participated in education or training in 2023
Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes two indicators measuring lifelong learning among people aged 25-64, based on the Labour Force Survey. Last year, on average, one in four 25-64-year-olds received training: 25.6% in 2023, an increase compared to 2022, when the figure was 21.5%. If we only look at the percentage of participation in training the month before the survey, the figure is 11.1%, also a slight increase compared to last year (10.3%).
The survey examines whether a person has received training in the past four weeks or in the past year. By ‘training’ we mean here all formal and non-formal education and training. Formal education is education that is recognised by the ministries of education and usually leads to a diploma or certificate such as a master's degree or a training course in adult education. Non-formal education is education outside this context but still organised in a structured way, e.g. a course on health organised by the health insurance fund or a webinar on time management organised by a self-employed. Self-study and informal learning are not included.
With one in four 25-64-year-olds, Belgium is still far below the European goal formulated in the context of the Area [1] in early 2021: 47% of adults (25-64) should have participated in education and training in the last year by 2025. We took a serious step forward last year. These figures are available for Belgium since 2005.
(a) Break in the results following a reform of the Labour Force Survey.
(b) Break in the results in 2021 due to the revision of the questionnaire and the change in the ILO definitions of unemployment and employment.
A breakdown into different groups shows hardly any differences by gender. However, there are clear differences by level of education: 9.5% of those with at most a diploma of primary education participated in education and training, compared to 18.9% of those with a diploma of upper secondary education. 38.5% of those with a higher education diploma still participate in education and training. The participation rate in education and training is the highest in the Brussels-Capital Region with 33.4% compared to 26.0% in the Flemish Region and 22.1% in the Walloon Region. Young people aged 25-34 are more than twice as likely to participate in education and training as those aged 55-64: 32.7% vs. 16.1%. The other age groups are in between with 29% (35-44 years) and 25% (45-54 years). Health also plays a major role in training participation: 31.2% of people in very good health participate in education and training, versus only 4.2% to 7.7% of people in (very) poor health.
The breakdown by labour market status shows that 29.4% of employed people, 20.7% of unemployed people and only 13.0% of inactive people on the labour market participate in education and training. The increase among employed people is particularly significant. For example, lifelong learning can help to change jobs smoothly.
If we only look at the place of work, we see that people working in the Brussels-Capital Region participate most often in education and training (34.4%), more than in the Flemish Region (29.8%) and the Walloon Region (24.9%).
We also see striking differences among sectors: in extraterritorial organisations, the financial sector, education, professional, scientific and technical activities, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply and public administration, more than 35% of people participated in education and training in the past year. The three sectors with the lowest participation rate in education and training (and enough observations) are construction, administrative and support service activities and accommodation and food service activities, where less than one in five participated in education and training.
People with a temporary job participate more often in education and training (39.2%) than people with a permanent job (28.8%). About as many full-time employed people (29.4%) as part-time employed people (29.3%) participate in education and training.
Education and training in the last four weeks
In addition to the indicator on the participation in education and training in the past 12 months, the Labour Force Survey also examines the participation in education and training in the past four weeks. 11.1% of Belgians participated in education and training in the four weeks prior to the survey in 2023. International goals are also linked to this objective. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim that by 2030, 15% of the population participated in education and training in the last four weeks.
Low-skilled people are the least likely to participate in education and training: only 4.6% of those with at most a lower secondary education received training in the previous month. Among medium-skilled and highly-skilled people, this share amounts to 7.6% and 16.6% respectively. As far as the region is concerned, we again see that the Brussels-Capital Region registers the highest participation rate in education and training: 15.6%, which is more than in the Flemish Region (11.2%) and the Walloon Region (9.1%). Over a four-week period, unemployed people are more likely to participate in education and training (13.6%) than employed people (11.3%) and inactive people on the labour market (9.8%). Young people are much more likely to participate in education and training: 16.1% of 25-34-year-olds received training in the past four weeks. This drops to 12.3% in the 35-44 age group and to 6.0% in the 55-64 age group.
People with a temporary job also more often report to have participated in education and training (21.4%) in the past weeks than people with a permanent contract (10.3%). Full-time (10.8%) and part-time (11.4%) employed people received training nearly as often in the past four weeks.
[1] https://education.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/education-and-training-statistics
Definitions
Employed, unemployed and inactive people
The survey is harmonised at European level. The definitions regarding employment and unemployment that are mentioned are those of the International Labour Office (ILO) to allow international comparison.
People with a job (employed people) comprise all people who during the reference week performed some work ‘for wage or salary’ or ‘for profit’ regardless of the duration (even if this was only one hour), or who had a job but were temporarily absent. For example, one can be temporarily absent for holidays, illness, technical or economic reasons (temporary unemployment),....
Family workers are also included in the category ‘employed’. Since 2021, people who have been temporarily unemployed for an uninterrupted period of more than three months are counted as unemployed or inactive, and no longer as employed.
The unemployed comprise all people who:
(a) during the reference week were without work, i.e. were not in paid employment or self-employment;
(b) were available for work, i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment within two weeks after the reference week;
(c) were actively seeking work, i.e. had taken specific steps during the last four weeks including the reference week to seek paid employment or self-employment, or who had found a job to start within a maximum period of three months.
Lifelong learning
Lifelong learning is measured using the percentage of the population that attended formal or non-formal education in the last 12 months or 4 weeks.
Formal education is education that is recognised by the ministries of education and usually leads to a diploma or certificate such as a master's degree or a training course in adult education.
Non-formal education is education outside this context but still organised in a structured way, e.g. a course on health organised by the health insurance fund or a webinar on time management organised by a self-employed.
Self-study and informal learning are not included.
Level of education
The level of education is measured using a detailed questionnaire, and the people are then divided into three groups.
Low-skilled people are people who list lower secondary education as their highest level of education. Medium-skilled people are people who obtained a diploma of higher secondary education but not of higher education. High-skilled people obtained a diploma of higher education.