engleski

Lifelong learning in terms of unemployment reduction: Croatian experience

Any national economy and its long-term development depend on the quality of their human resources, whereas the using of this resources and investing in their quality are the primary factors for development. In this context, lifelong learning is conditio sine qua non of human resources development, and the development of lifelong educational system is the basic infrastructural precondition of growth and development. According to the definition, the lifelong learning represents the learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving of knowledge, skills and abilities within a personal, civil, social and business perspective, or concerning employment. In the European Union the importance of lifelong learning is manifested in established goals of the Lisbon Strategy of 2000 and the revised version of 2005, which emphasizes the ambition of European Union to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-driven economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs, greater social cohesion, as well as reaching full employment. Taking into consideration that the Republic of Croatia is on its way to full EU membership, the aims of Lisbon strategy will become important element of Croatian development strategy. The importance of lifelong education in the Republic of Croatia has been recognized, however, the participation in the lifelong education process is very low and way behind the European average. The aim of this paper is to analyze the importance of lifelong learning in terms of reducing unemployment as one of the serious macroeconomic problems, especially emphasized by the global crisis. The theoretical part of the paper discusses the aspect and importance of lifelong learning in the contemporary economy with the special emphasis on the role of lifelong education in increasing employability and active labour market participation. The attention of this research is focused on the opinions and attitudes of the citizens of Osijek-Baranja County concerning perception of the need for lifelong education and their involvement in one of the possible programs for lifelong education. Regarding the fact that Osijek-Baranja County is the region legging behind, with a burden of high rate of unemployment, among others, it is of high importance to identify citizens’ consciousness regarding the importance of lifelong education, and thereby improving their labour market participation. The results of the research may serve to local/regional decision-makers as a guideline for establishing regional development strategy.

lifelong learning, human capital, Lisbon strategy, unemployment, EU

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