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CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF LIFELONG EDUCATION IN ECONOMICS AND SITUATION CHARACTERISTICS IN LATVIA

SANNIKOVA, A., DOBELE, A., ZVIRBULE-BERZINA, A.

Abstract

The concept of lifelong education emerged in the European political space within various development strategies and memorandums. The economic aspects of lifelong education are little researched, although the European Commission has emphasised since 1995 that lifelong education contributes to employment and economic competitiveness, but since 1998 the term lifelong education has been associated with employment policies in Europe. The urgency of lifelong education in Europe was determined by the increasing role of education in economies, which was caused by changes in the stage of economic development in the 21st century, transiting from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy. Therefore, the nature of the phenomenon of lifelong education in economic reality is associated with transition to a knowledge economy in which human knowledge becomes a real factor of production in a free market, generating high value added. The role of lifelong education in an economy may be researched as a driver in the formation of a knowledge society, while its role in a national economy is associated with: 1) formation of labour (human resources); 2) it is an information source necessary for an economy; 3) it is one of the economic sectors with considerable finances. Knowledge belongs to two types of knowledge markets: the market of factors of production and the commodity market. Preparing a labour force appropriate for labour market requirements, which is one of the tasks of lifelong education, is an important prerequisite for the competitiveness of the country, its regions and enterprises. In Latvia, with a relatively small population and limited natural resources, the quality of human resources, which is also characterised by knowledge, becomes one of the factors contributing to its economic potential and its competitiveness in the global market. The research aim is to examine the specifics of lifelong education knowledge market and give a description of the situation in Latvia. However, research studies indicate that the participation rate of residents aged 25-64 in lifelong education is not high in Latvia, as the indicators of participation in lifelong education for Latvia's population were considerably lower in Latvia than on average in the EU-28 in the period 2003-2012; besides, in Latvia unlike in the other EU Member States, the participation of adults in lifelong education during the past decade followed the economic development trend (European Commission, 2013), and it was very low during the crisis in 2010, at 5.0\%.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/SGEMSOCIAL2015/B23/S7.016

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