LIFELONG LEARNING: FOR NOW, ONLY IN THEORY

•   IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) has published a representative survey for Germany on the topic of continuing education.
•   65 percent of people in Germany find regular continuing education to be either important or very important, worldwide the figure is 20 percent higher.
•   Despite interest in private continuing education initiatives, more than half of those surveyed do not know or do not know exactly what knowledge they want to acquire.

Erfurt, 16 November 2021. Lifelong learning is important for people in Germany, but for many it is only a theoretical construct: They lack orientation as to the direction they want to further their education in on their own. This is the result of the trend study "The Future of Upskilling. Adult Education in the Age of Digitalisation", which IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) published today. Internationally, 85.6 percent of respondents see their own continuing education (upskilling) as important to very important. In Germany, according to the representative survey, the figure is 65 percent: a full 20 percent less.
 

Almost three quarters of the people who are interested in continuing education in Germany would like to further their personal development (73.2 percent), only about half would like to further their education in a professional context (48.4 percent). The majority do not know what for: 29.3 percent of those interested in continuing education are unsure, 26.8 percent do not know at all what qualifications and knowledge they want to acquire. Internationally, 40.6 percent have done research about concrete CET offers, in Germany not even every fourth person (24.3 percent).
 

"The concept of lifelong learning is well known in Germany, but it has not yet arrived in practice. People want to develop further, especially personally. But in an international comparison, it is noticeable: Germany needs guidance on the subject of private continuing education. We have great potential that we must, and can, better utilise," says Carolin Kreuder, COO Strategic Partnerships & Upskilling at IU.

DIGITAL COMPETENCE NOT YET SOUGHT AFTER
When it comes to content for continuing education, the subject area of business and management lands in first place internationally (30.6 per cent). But while IT skills (25.1 per cent) and data science (21.2 per cent) are among the top topics internationally, they rank lower in Germany: For IT, 18.2 percent want to further their education in this field, for data science 10.1 percent.
 

"Anyone interested in business must be prepared for the digital transformation. However, Germany has a lot of catching up to do in this regard compared to other countries. Although business and management are the top topics for continuing education worldwide, Germany lags far behind in the areas of IT & Software Development and Data Science & Artificial Intelligence. My prediction: If Germany wants to survive in international competition, this must change significantly," says Prof. Dr. Kurt Jeschke, Academic Director Corporate Upskilling at IU.
 

About the study
For the trend study "The Future of Upskilling 2021", IU International University of Applied Sciences surveyed 1,500 people between the ages of 26 and 55 in Germany in June. Internationally, an additional 2,000 people (200 per country) of the same age and equally distributed were surveyed in Brazil, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Spain and South Africa.
 

Please find the link to the Whitepaper here .

Visuals
Lifelong Learning: 65 percent of participants think it is important to keep studying
Many respondents don't know what to look for. 
Some worry, some are looking forward to continue their education.
A lack of orientation is predominant.
Management and IT are most sought after.

 

About IU International University of Applied Sciences 
With over 75,000 students, IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is the largest university in Germany. The private, state-recognised educational institution brings together more than 200 Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes under its roof, which are offered in German or English. Students can choose between on-campus study, dual study, distance learning and flexible combination models and thus shape their studies in a self-determined way. In addition, IU facilitates continuing education and promotes the idea of lifelong learning. The university's goal is to make education possible for as many people as possible. IU began operations in 2000 and is now represented in 28 German cities. It cooperates with over 10,000 companies and actively supports them in employee development. Its partners include Motel One, VW Financial Services and Deutsche Bahn. Further information at: www.iu.de/en/