SOLAS Welcomes Increase in Lifelong Learning Participation Rate to 16%

SOLAS/08.05.2025

Ireland’s lifelong learning participation rate has increased to 16%, exceeding the National Skills Strategy target of 15% for 2025. That’s according to SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority who launched a report today (08.05.2025) highlighting some of the key findings on lifelong learning participation rates amongst adults in Ireland.

The report, which is compiled by the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit in SOLAS using the CSO’s Labour Force Survey, details lifelong learning participation amongst adults in Ireland and shows that for the second year in a row we have seen a substantial increase in the number of adults engaged in lifelong learning activities.

The data focuses on quarter 4 of 2024 and identifies how lifelong learning participation rates differ amongst different cohorts of the population. Lifelong learning includes formal and non-formal learning activities that individuals may undertake throughout their lives.

Key findings from the report:

  • Ireland’s lifelong learning (LLL) rate increased to 16% in quarter 4 2024, up from just under 14% in quarter 4 2023.

  • In quarter 4 2024, nearly 458,000 adults aged between 25 and 64 years in Ireland, had engaged in formal and/or non-formal learning activities in the preceding four weeks. This is the highest number of adult lifelong learners to date.

  • The number of lifelong learning participants fell sharply during COVID-19 and while slow to recover, numbers have now exceeded (by 76,800) their pre-COVID levels.

  • Ireland ranks slightly above the EU average (14%) in terms of engagement in lifelong learning.

  • As in earlier years, lifelong learning rates decreased with age but increased with greater educational attainment.

Commenting on the launch of the report, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD said:

"It is great to see so many adults in Ireland participating in lifelong learning. Our commitment is to ensure that everyone, no matter what their previous level of education, or age, has access to lifelong learning opportunities that fit with people’s personal and work commitments, and that they are encouraged to participate throughout their lives."

Also commenting on the launch of the report, Andrew Brownlee, CEO of SOLAS said:

“We are delighted to see an increase in the lifelong learning participation rate in Ireland for the second year in a row. This reflects the significant growth that we have seen across the Further Education and Training (FET) sector with the learner base expanding by a quarter since the end of 2022.”

“Our focus is now and to sustain momentum and expand the impact and reach of FET even further, ensuring that FET is at the forefront of a thriving Irish economy; is a pivotal driver of equality, inclusion, and social cohesion, and that everyone in Ireland has access to education with clear pathways to develop their abilities and skills, and achieve their goals.

“In addition to this we also want to become an OECD world-class skills leader and continue to increase our lifelong learning participation rate, particularly among older and lower-skilled adults, to build an adaptable workforce for evolving digital and green economies. To meet our 2030 EU target for lifelong learning, we will need an additional 560,000 learning places to be made available.”

Read the full report here: Lifelong learning amongst adults in Ireland