Abstract:

This paper analyses causal relationships between key factors related to lifelong learning and employability of workers in times of economic crisis: on the one hand, it takes into account variables related to formal education (e-learning, level of studies, number of weekly hours, reasons related to job, and paid by family), and on the other hand, it takes into account sociodemographic variables (gender, age, level of education, level of ICT use, and having a job contract). The research uses a dataset from Eurostat's Adult Education Survey (AES) and its implementation by Spanish Statistical Office (INE) in Spain in 2011, an year of economic crisis experienced in Spain.

The analysis has two levels deep, in relation to show causal effects of formal e-learning on being an employee:
i) logistic regression (N=1,742, B=0.755, Cox&Snell R2=0.294; Nagelkerke R2=0.401; Hosmer & Lemeshow Test=0.828); and
ii) Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) (N=1,742; B=0.1075; χ2(28)=388.095, p=0.0000) using a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) for finding the Bayesian causal structure between e-learning and the rest of variables considered, where each node represents a variable and each directed edge represents a direct cause.

Thus, results allow us to show that, in period of economic crisis, formal e-learning can be good tool to overcome the difficulties of finding a job. In this way, online education has to be considered in lifelong learning programmes.

Keywords:

e-learning, employability, job contract, lifelong learning, economic crisis.