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Adult Education Survey 2022

Formal Education

CSO statistical publication, 30 April 2024, 11am

This chapter examines the relationship between formal education and a range of social and demographic characteristics. It identifies some of the key reasons why people pursue formal education and also the key outcomes achieved, and the delivery methods employed.

Formal education refers to institutionalised learning activities, which are made up of structured hierarchical programmes recognised by the QQI.

One in ten adults aged 25-69 (10%) participated in formal education in 2022

Persons aged 25-34 were six times more likely to have participated in formal education in the twelve month reference period (18%) compared to those aged 55-69 year olds (3%).
Regionally, the Mid-West had the highest participation rate in formal education of adults aged 25-69 at 13% with the Border area the lowest at 4%.
Nearly seven in ten (69%) of those participating in formal education were pursuing third level courses with 9% pursuing non-honours degree courses and 60% pursuing honours degree or above courses.
Business, administration and law was the most common field of education for those participating in formal education (24%) followed by Health and welfare (21%). See Figure 3.1 and Tables 2.1, 3.1 & 3.2.

X-axis label	Male	Female
Business, administration and law	29	22
Health and welfare	12	26
Engineering, manufacturing and construction	16	3
Information and communication technologies	12	6
Education	4	13
Other	11	11
Art and humanities	1	6
Services	5	4
Generic programmes and qualifications	4	3
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary	4	1
Social sciences, journalism and information	3	3
Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics	0	3

Table 3.1 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by the level of education participation, 2022

Table 3.2 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by the field of education participation, 2022

Reasons for participation in Formal Education

The most popular reason for participation in formal education was to Improve my career prospects, reported by nearly seven in ten adults (69%), followed by To increase my knowledge/skills for my own general interest and curiosity (45%).
Four in ten adults (40%) reported that the main outcome from their participation in formal education was Better performance in their present job. See Figure 3.2 & Tables 3.3 & 3.4.

X-axis label	Male	Female
To improve my career prospects	72	67
To increase my knowledge/skills for my own general interest and curiosity	48	43
To increase my possibilities of getting a job or changing a job/profession	33	36

Table 3.3 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by the reason for education participation, 2022

Table 3.4 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by outcomes from the education participation, 2022

Half of adults participating in formal education did so fully or partially online

Over four in ten (44%) of persons aged 25-69 participating in formal education did so completely online.
Just over one in ten (13%) of persons aged 25-69 participating in formal education did so completely on-site.
Four in ten (40%) of adults aged 25-69 participating in formal education had the tuition fully paid by somebody else.
Eight in ten people aged 25-69 (77%) who participated in formal education were currently using the skills or knowledge acquired, a lot (46%) or a fair amount (31%). See Table 3.5.

Table 3.5 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by details about the formal educational activity, 2022

Over six in ten adults aged 18-24 (63%) participated in formal education

Females aged 18-24 were more likely to have participated in formal education in the twelve month reference period than males 65% to 61%.
Regionally the South-East had the highest participation of 18-24 year olds in formal education at 74% compared to the Midland with the lowest at 51%.
Business, administration and law was the most common field of education for those participating in formal education aged 18-24 (18%) followed by Health and welfare (13%). See Table 3.6 & 3.7.

Table 3.6 Persons aged 18-24 who participated in formal education in the last 12 months, 2022

Table 3.7 Persons aged 18-24 who participated in formal education, classified by the field of education participation, 2022

Next chapter: Non-Formal Education

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Table 3.1 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by the level of education participation, 2022¹
% of persons aged 25-69
	Attainment level of most recent formal education activity
	At least Higher Secondary	Post Leaving Certificate	Third level non honours degree	Third level honours degree or higher
State	3	29	9	60

Sex
Male	3	22	8	67
Female	2	33	9	56

Age group
25-34	0	29	7	64
35-44	3	28	10	59
45-54	3	28	13	56
55-69	*	*	*	*

Highest level of educational attainment
Higher secondary or below	*	*	*	*
Post Leaving Certificate	[2]	[66]	[9]	[24]
Third level non honours degree	*	*	*	*
Third level honours degree or higher	2	15	9	75

Principal economic status
Working for payment or profit	2	27	10	60
Unemployed	*	*	*	*
Other including student, home duties, retired	*	*	*	*

Citizenship
Irish	2	28	10	61
Non-Irish	*	*	*	*
¹ See Background Notes for definition of survey population. Participation in the formal education occurred in the 12 months prior to the interview.
* Sample occurrence too small for estimation.
[ ] Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Table 3.2 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by the field of education participation, 2022¹
% of persons aged 25-69
Field of most recent formal education activity
	Generic programmes and qualifications	Education	Art and humanities	Social sciences, journalism and information	Business, administration and law	Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics	Information and communication technologies	Engineering, manufacturing and construction	Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary	Health and welfare	Services	Other²
State	4	9	4	3	24	2	8	8	2	21	4	11

Sex
Male	4	4	1	3	29	0	12	16	4	12	5	11
Female	3	13	6	3	22	3	6	3	1	26	4	11

Age group
25-34	0	13	3	3	24	3	7	12	3	22	6	5
35-44	5	6	2	5	33	1	10	7	1	15	4	10
45-54	7	11	3	2	20	1	8	3	3	26	0	16
55-69	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Highest level of educational attainment
Higher secondary or below	[1]	[7]	[0]	[0]	[1]	[1]	[4]	[17]	[4]	[29]	[15]	[22]
Post Leaving Certificate	0	16	0	0	18	0	14	8	0	30	10	4
Third level non honours degree	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Third level honours degree or higher	4	8	5	5	29	3	8	5	3	17	2	10
Not Stated	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Principal economic status
Working for payment or profit	4	11	2	3	29	2	8	7	2	19	3	9
Unemployed	[0]	[3]	[15]	[0]	[3]	[0]	[8]	[14]	[4]	[23]	[0]	[30]
Other including student, home duties ,retired	[1]	[5]	[3]	[5]	[6]	[5]	[7]	[10]	[8]	[29]	[15]	[7]

Citizenship
Irish	4	10	4	4	25	2	8	8	1	20	4	10
Non-Irish	[3]	[4]	[0]	[0]	[21]	[0]	[8]	[6]	[10]	[25]	[5]	[18]
¹ See Background Notes for definition of survey population and lifelong learning.
2 Other includes formal educational courses unable to code and not stated.
* Sample occurrence too small for estimation.
[ ] Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Table 3.3 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by the reason for education participation, 2022^1,2
% of persons aged 25-69
	To do my job better	To improve my career prospects	To be less likely to lose my job	To increase my possibilities of getting a job or changing a job/profession	To start my own business	I was obliged to participate	To increase my knowledge/skills for my own general interest and curiosity	To obtain a certificate	To meet new people/for fun
State	34	69	4	35	5	3	45	32	7

Sex
Male	36	72	1	33	4	1	48	36	3
Female	33	67	5	36	6	4	43	29	9

Age group
25-34	29	82	4	37	4	4	41	42	6
35-44	41	66	2	35	7	0	44	25	5
45-54	33	66	6	32	3	3	40	26	3
55-69	[30]	[28]	[0]	[30]	[12]	[8]	[79]	[25]	[25]

Highest level of educational attainment
Higher secondary or below	[24]	[55]	[1]	[30]	[8]	[1]	[47]	[25]	[22]
Post Leaving Certificate	[24]	[70]	[6]	[39]	[7]	[2]	[40]	[33]	[5]
Third level non honours degree	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Third level honours degree or higher	40	71	3	33	5	3	47	33	5

Principal economic status
Working for payment or profit	40	70	4	32	5	3	42	31	4
Unemployed	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Other including student, home duties ,retired	[10]	[86]	[0]	[46]	[8]	[0]	[45]	[39]	[11]

Citizenship
Irish	32	70	4	33	5	3	45	32	7
Non-Irish	[46]	[63]	[3]	[45]	[10]	[4]	[41]	[31]	[6]
¹ See Background Notes for definition of survey population. Participation in formal education occurred in the 12 months prior to the interview.
² Note that more than one reason may be have been selected by respondents.
* Sample occurrence too small for estimation.
[ ] Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Table 3.4 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by outcomes from the education participation, 2022^1,2
% of persons aged 25-69
	Getting a (new) job	Promotion in the job	Higher salary/wages	New tasks	Better performance in present job	Personal benefits (meet other people,refresh or acquire skills on general or specific subjects )	No Outcome yet	Outcome not listed
State	18	14	11	19	40	22	25	6

Sex
Male	14	15	15	19	47	23	21	5
Female	20	14	9	19	36	22	27	6

Age group
25-34	20	21	16	24	39	16	30	7
35-44	23	17	14	16	46	16	18	5
45-54	11	5	3	16	43	29	28	3
55-69	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Highest level of educational attainment
Higher secondary or below	[6]	[19]	[2]	[5]	[2]	[22]	[53]	[4]
Post Leaving Certificate	[27]	[19]	[11]	[21]	[34]	[21]	[25]	[4]
Third level non honours degree	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Third level honours degree or higher	17	14	14	22	51	23	20	5
Not Stated	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Principal economic status
Working for payment or profit	19	17	14	21	49	20	19	5
Unemployed	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Other including student, home duties ,retired	[9]	[5]	[1]	[10]	[6]	[19]	[59]	[14]

Citizenship
Irish	18	14	11	20	43	22	24	6
Non-Irish	[18]	[16]	[10]	[12]	[28]	[25]	[29]	[5]
¹ See Background Notes for definition of survey population. Participation in formal education occurred in the 12 months prior to the interview.
² Note that more than one outcome may have been selected by respondents.
* Sample occurrence too small for estimation.
[ ] Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Table 3.5 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in formal education, classified by details about the formal educational activity, 2022¹
% of persons aged 25-69
Number of formal education activities participated in during the last 12 months
One activity	90
Two activities or more	10

Place of instruction of the most recent formal education activity
Completely online	44
Mostly online	21
Mostly on-site	20
Completely on-site	13
Not Stated	1

Who paid for the tuition, registration, exam fees, expenses for books or technical study means for the most recent formal education activity
Fully paid by yourself	38
Partly paid by yourself and partly paid by somebody else	10
Fully paid by somebody else	40
Free actvity	10
Not Stated	1

Current use of the skills or knowledge acquired from the most recent formal education activity
A lot	46
A fair amount	31
Very little	12
Not at all	10
Not stated	1
¹ See Background Notes for definition of survey population.

Adult Education Survey 2022

Formal Education

Formal Education

One in ten adults aged 25-69 (10%) participated in formal education in 2022

Reasons for participation in Formal Education

Half of adults participating in formal education did so fully or partially online

Over six in ten adults aged 18-24 (63%) participated in formal education

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Table 3.6 Persons aged 18-24 who participated in formal education in the last 12 months, 2022
% of persons aged 18-24
State	63

Sex
Male	61
Female	65

Region
Border	54
West	63
Mid-West	70
South-East	74
South-West	67
Dublin	64
Mid-East	56
Midland	51

Principal economic status
Working for payment or profit	45
Unemployed	30
Other including retired or unable to work	25
Student or pupil	95
Engaged in home duties	0

Citizenship
Irish	63
Non-Irish	60