This chapter looks at the relationship between non-formal education and a collection of sociodemographic characteristics. It also shows the main reasons for participation in non-formal education, most popular field of education, key outcomes, and the delivery methods.
Non-formal education refers to institutionalised learning activities which are made up of structured hierarchical programmes typically not recognised by the QQI. The different types of non-formal education are courses, workshops or seminars, guided on-the-job training and private lessons.
- Nearly six in ten (57%) of 25-34 year olds reported participating in non-formal education compared to 33% of 55-69 year olds.
- Regionally, Dublin had the highest participation rate in non-formal education of adults aged 25-69 at 55% with Border area the lowest at 37%.
- Employed persons aged 25-69 were nearly twice as likely to have participated in non-formal education than those who were unemployed (58% versus 30%).
- The most popular type of non-formal education was Courses (63%), followed by on the job training at 39%. See Tables 2.1 & 4.1.
Table 4.1 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in non-formal education, classified by the type of non-formal activity, 2022
- Health and welfare was the most common field of education for those aged 25-69 participating in non-formal education (29%) while Business, administration and law was the next most common field of education (18%).
- For nearly four in ten (36%) Females aged 25-69 participating in non-formal education Health and welfare was the most common field of education this compares to just over two in ten males aged 25-69 (21%) in this field of education. See Figure 4.1 & Tables 2.1 & 4.2.
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X-axis label | Male | Female |
Health and welfare | 21 | 36 |
Business, administration and law | 19 | 17 |
Engineering, manufacturing and construction | 15 | 2 |
Information and communication technologies | 14 | 7 |
Education | 4 | 12 |
Services | 7 | 6 |
Generic programmes and qualifications | 6 | 5 |
Social sciences, journalism and information | 2 | 6 |
Art and humanities | 3 | 5 |
Other | 3 | 4 |
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary | 3 | 0 |
Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics | 2 | 1 |
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Table 4.2 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in non-formal education, classified by the field of the activity, 2022
- Amongst 25–69 year olds the most popular reason for participation in non-formal education was, To do my job better, with nearly four in ten persons (36%) reporting it.
- For younger adults improving their career prospects was a more important reason (13%) for pursuing non-formal education than for 55-69 year olds (1%).
- The most popular outcome selected from non-formal education was also job-related with 52% of adult 25-69 choosing Better performance in present job.
- Nearly six in ten (58%) of 45-54 year olds chose Better performance in present job as their main outcome compared to half (50%) of 55-69 year olds.
- As age increases, the main outcome chosen of Getting a (new) job decreased in importance with 5% of 25-34 year olds choosing this as their main outcome for participation in non-formal education compared to just 1% of 55-69 year olds. See Tables 4.3 & 4.4.
Table 4.3 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in non-formal education, classified by the main reason for the non-formal activity, 2022
Table 4.4 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in non-formal education, classified by the main outcome of the non-formal activity, 2022
- Nearly half (48%) of persons aged 25-69 participating in non-formal education did so completely online.
- One third (33%) of persons aged 25-69 participating in non-formal education did so completely on-site.
- Nearly two thirds (65%) of persons aged 25-69 participating in non-formal education had the tuition fully paid by somebody else.
- Nearly eight in 10 persons aged 25-69 (78%) who participated in non-formal education were currently using the skills or knowledge acquired a lot (46%) or a fair amount (32%). See Table 4.5.
Table 4.5 Persons aged 25-69 who participated in non-formal education, classified by details about the activity, 2022