Definition: share of the population aged 25 to 64 who participated in (formal or non-formal) training in the last four weeks before the interview. The data come from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Statistics Belgium organises this EU-harmonised survey in Belgium and makes the results available, in particular to Eurostat. The survey methodology was reviewed in 2017. Comparison of the 2017 data with previous years should be done with caution. The data used here come from Eurostat, which publishes detailed and comparable results between EU Member States. Since these data are based on surveys, a margin of uncertainty must be taken into account. This margin of uncertainty increases as the indicator is calculated on smaller sub-populations. The confidence intervals for these data are available on request from Statistics Belgium.

Goal: the share of the population taking part in lifelong learning must reach at least 15% in 2030.

The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 4.3: "By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university".

The European Council of 12 May 2009 adopted in its conclusions a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET, 2020; Official Journal of the European Union, 28/5/2009). It set the following target: "With a view to increasing the participation of adults in lifelong learning, particularly that of the low-skilled: By 2020, an average of at least 15% of adults should participate in lifelong learning".

In the framework of the European pillar of social rights, the European Commission has set a target for an indicator close to this one. Namely that 60% of adults should participate in training each year. In that context, Belgium set a target of 60.9% and additional numerical targets for 55-64-year-olds of 49.8% and for the low-skilled of 32.6% (European Commission, 2022; Federal Public Service Social Security, 2023).

International comparison: Belgium is running more and more behind the European average. Belgium's small lead of 0.7 percentage points in 2002 (even 1.5 in 2004) steadily turned into a gap of 1.6 percentage points in 2022 (even 3.3 in 2016). Since 2016, Belgium's backlog has rather been reduced. When Member States are divided into three groups, Belgium is part of the group with average performance and is below the European average in 2022. In that year, Sweden ranked first with 36.2% and Bulgaria last with 1.7%.

UN indicator: the selected indicator corresponds to indicator 4.3.1 - Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex.

Sources

• General

  • SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals: United Nations (2015), Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, document A/RES/70/1.

  • Indicators: United Nations (2017), Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, document A/RES/71/313.

  • UN Sustainable Development: https://sdgs.un.org/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).

  • UN Sustainable Development Goal indicators website: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).

• Specific

  • Council of the European Union (2009), Council conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (‘ET 2020’), p. 7, Official Journal of the European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu, 2009/C 119/02, (consulted on 22/11/2022).

  • European Commission (2022), The European Pillar of Social Rights: state of play on the national target for 2030, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&furtherNews=yes&newsId=10299 (consulted on 23/11/2023).

  • Federal Public Service Social Security (2023), The evolution of the social situation and social protection in Belgium 2021, https://socialsecurity.belgium.be/sites/default/files/content/docs/en/publications/silc/silc-analysis-social-situation-and-protection-belgium-2021-en.pdf (consulted on 23/11/2023).

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