Abstract:

This paper analyses the academic and employment outcomes of adult learners returning to education to make a career change into a new growing industry sector through an Irish Government Funded Reskilling Initiative, and it explores the potential role that deglobalisation could have on the outcomes of future participants on such initiatives.

It builds on previous research presented INTED2022 and ICERI2023 which examined the lessons that can be learned from reskilling initiatives to transition a workforce from a declining sector of the economy into a new growing industry sector.

Data for this case study has been generated from 1,500 of adult learners, transitioning into the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device manufacturing industry through government funded reskilling initiatives on an academically accredited programme between 2020 and 2025. In this paper, data from this group of adult learners has been reviewed through the lens of current Irish Government thinking about deglobalisation, as outlined in publications including “Future Forty: A Fiscal and Economic Outlook to 2065” (2025), from the perspective of a Private Training Provider.

An analysis of both academic outcomes and employment outcomes of these adult learners, showed that:
- 76% of adult learners either get a job OR finish the programme
- 34% of adult learners both get a job AND finish the programme of study.
- 24% of adult learners neither get a job NOR finish the programme

The outcomes of these adult learners were then studied in relation to the recommendations of the Delors et. al report “Learning: The Treasure Within – Report to UNSECO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty First Century” (1996). This report was written during a period of globalisation, where it envisaged that “worldwide interdependence and globalization [would be] major forces on contemporary life”, and these findings now need to be re-examined in the light of this new period of deglobalisation.

This is broadly practitioner research across an extended case study as illustrative of real-world phenomena. The methodology for comparison draws heavily on Bereday’s model of comparative styles and their predispositions which includes:
- Interpretation of the data relevant to the case study
- Juxtaposition for preliminary data using a set of relevant criteria
- Simultaneous comparison of the data for the emergence of conclusions and hypotheses

It is envisaged that the conclusions and hypothesis in this paper potentially hold insights for Governments as they begin future planning for this new era of deglobalisation in relation to higher education reskilling initiatives.

Keywords:

Adult learners, online education, deglobalisation, Delors, UNSECO, reskilling initiatives.