On the Importance of Continuing Education in Unpredictably Changing Economic Conditions

 

Andrej Cvetkovski

Assoc. Prof. Dr., Mother Teresa University, North Macedonia, acvetk@gmail.com

 

Abstract

No school, no faculty today, when everything is changing so fast, can claim to form educated people with complete and final knowledge in their profession at graduation time. One of the main tasks of educational institutions should then be to teach their students to learn how to learn throughout their lives, embracing the paradigm of continuing education. We argue that diversified education forms with strong emphasis on continuing education, as opposed to classical education models, are necessary for ensuring employability and livelihood in unpredictable economic conditions. It must be acknowledged that even the developed countries cannot boast that they have harmonized the classical education system with the needs of continuing education for retraining and lifelong professional development. In this paper we also set forth a number of recommendations for improving the educational capacities to provide continuing education through well thought-out and planned reforms, taking as a model the current situation of the education system in North Macedonia.

Keywords: Education Policy and Administration, Education System Reform, Continuing Training