Boom of distance learning (FAD) among adults with the pandemic: in 2020 12 out of 100 Italians between 16 and 74 years of age attended online courses, almost double compared to 7 in 2019. This is revealed by a research by the Foundation for Subsidiarity who edited the essay "Journey into character skills".
“In companies”, observes Giorgio Vittadini, president of the Foundation, “Distance training already represented 20% before the pandemic. In 2020 it had a boom, which seems destined to last, maintaining a share of more than 50%”. Every year in Italy there are over 3 and a half million workers involved in training. The courses are more widespread in large companies, in the North and, among sectors, in financial services.
The Peninsula has thus aligned itself with the European average, even if it remains far from countries such as Finland (29), Spain (26%) and Sweden (23%). "In Europe, the share of 'digital students' doubled in the Old Continent from 2019 to 2020, and has tripled since 2010", observes Giorgio Vittadini.
The online seminars ranged over all topics, from work to leisure. “The growing popularity of webinars is linked to the many advantages”, explains Vittadini, “The possibility of following lessons from home, flexible hours, interaction, availability of materials. Even if there are obstacles, such as less sociability or connection problems. And for many, the digital barrier remains”. The Peninsula, according to the analysis of the Foundation for Subsidiarity, remains below the average European standards in lifelong learning for adults.
In 2019, in fact, only 7 out of 100 Italian adults attended training courses, compared to 6 ten years earlier. The Peninsula remains below the European average, by more than 9 out of 100. In the Nordic countries, "adult students" reach 29% in Sweden, 27% in Finland, 20% in Denmark and 19% in the Netherlands. "We have to overcome an old stereotype", observes Vittadini, "learning does not end with school or university, but must continue throughout life, albeit in a different way, with short courses and seminars". Among adults, women (7,2%) are more attentive to training than men (7,0). Participation is highest among 25 to 34 year olds (15%), while it drops to 4,8% at the end of their careers, over 55 years of age. “Learning as an adult”, notes Vittadini, “is crucial for remaining active at work and in social life. The European Union had set the goal of involving 15% of the population by 2020 but only a few countries have achieved it”.
As emerges from the essay "Journey into character skills", over half of the jobs that will be carried out in twenty years have yet to be invented, while a good part of the existing ones will be automated. “Continuous learning is crucial”, underlines Vittadini, “The acquisition of cognitive skills, such as expressing oneself, writing, deducing, evaluating, is no longer enough. It is also necessary to develop non-cognitive skills, called "character skills", such as mental openness, the ability to collaborate, the spirit of initiative. Key factors in work and social life. A huge contest involving teachers and the whole of society”.
